Thailand Post plans to launch Prompt Post, a digital mailbox service, in the third quarter of this year to take advantage of the increasing popularity of handling electronic documents and support their Post Digital mission. Dhanant Subhadrabandhu, the CEO of Thailand Post, explained that the company has been actively expanding its services to offer comprehensive postal and logistics solutions. Prompt Post is a digital mailbox platform designed to provide convenience to customers.
The digital mailbox system ensures security by verifying identities through an ID card system, confirmed by the Department of Provincial Administration. Once the identity is verified, customers can access the Prompt Post service. The process of sending and receiving documents through Prompt Post is similar to traditional mail, but in an electronic format. For business-related registered letters, senders must provide an electronic signature to ensure authenticity and prevent forgery. These electronic documents can serve as evidence in court.
Dhanant emphasized that the key difference between a digital mailbox and email is that emails can receive spam or messages from unknown senders, whereas Prompt Post is a closed platform. Therefore, senders must register and verify their identities through a KYC (Know Your Customer) process.
Thailand Post is currently in discussions with various government agencies to develop a pilot project for Prompt Post. As the sole authorized agency under the Postal Act, Thailand Post has full authority to operate certified digital mail and documents in the country.
In addition to the digital mailbox service, Thailand Post has invested in IT infrastructure to become an intelligent logistics operator. Last year, they allocated approximately US$64 million for such development.
The transformation from traditional mail to a digital mailbox platform will prepare Thailand Post’s postmen for integration into the e-commerce ecosystem. Dhanant mentioned that their 18,000 postmen could assist in introducing products to the community, receiving orders, and delivering products as required in the retail business.
Transport and logistics currently account for 47.6% of Thailand Post’s total revenue, followed by the postal group at 31.2%, the international service group at 15.9%, the financial business group at 1.78%, the retail business group at 2.78%, and other business at 0.66%.
Thailand Post is utilizing its extensive database to tap into the retail sector. Their retail business generated US$16 million last year, showing an increase from US$9.6 million in 2021. Bangkok Post reported that the retail business provides stalls for merchants to sell and deliver their products.
