Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
Deutsche Post is going digital! In future, anyone who wants to send a letter in Germany will no longer need to worry about physical postage stamps - you just need a pen and your mobile phone.
The German postal service announced last week that its Handyporto service - which enabled customers to pay for their postage via SMS - will be discontinued to make way for a new mobile postage stamp (Mobile Briefmarke). From now on, postage can be paid for round the clock with the Post & DHL app.
You simply need to open the app, select the appropriate postage service, tick “Code for labelling” (Code zum Beschriften), and pay with PayPal. You will then immediately receive a code, consisting of the letters #PORTO and an eight-digit string, which you must write in pen in the top right-hand corner of the envelope or postcard. Then, just pop it in the post box, and you’re done! The code is valid for 14 days and can only be used for Germany-bound mail.
Whereas the Handyporto service slapped a surcharge of 39 cents on top of the regular postage price, with Mobile Briefmarke there are no extra costs - for example, a standard letter will cost the same 80 cents to send, no matter whether you’re using the app or a physical stamp.
“Digitisation is playing an increasingly important role in the mail and parcel sector - not as a substitute for physical communication, but as a supplement,” said Tobias Meyer, Deutsche Post board member.
A Deutsche Post spokesperson added, “Handyporto was quite popular with customers, although the service was not known to everyone.” The company did not provide any figures on the old service’s usage, but nonetheless remains positive that its successor will be well received, “because it serves the same purpose as Handyporto, but it is easier for our customers to use because it is embedded in the app.”
Image credit: Deutsche Post / DHL Group