The “digital stamp” is here: 5 questions about La Poste’s initiative
A digital stamp? That’s La Poste’s new idea. Its arrival is scheduled for 2023.
In the space of twenty years, e-mails have largely replaced letters. This shift in usage – fewer and fewer people send postcards, for example – is having a profound effect on a group like La Poste, which must learn to renew and reinvent itself.
This is where the “digital stamp” comes in.
What is this digital stamp from La Poste?
The digital stamp (“digital” here being an equivalent of “digital”) is an initiative announced by La Poste on June 28, 2022, as part of its drive to further digitize its activities. Between now and 2025, the heir to the PTT intends to invest 800 million euros to modernize its distribution network, increase its territorial presence and continue to adapt to digital uses.
The idea behind the digital stamp is to replace the conventional stamp on envelopes with a little flick of the tongue on the back. Instead of handling this small piece of paper, you write a code in pen to frank your envelope. This digital stamp can be purchased via La Poste’s website or mobile application.
The idea behind the digital stamp is to be able to frank mail directly from home, or even on the move, using your smartphone. In detail, the stamp is an alphanumeric code made up of eight characters (numbers and letters). This is a unique code, generated once the stamp has been purchased. All you have to do is copy it in.
What is the advantage of a digital stamp?
For the general public, it saves the hassle of going to a post office or tobacconist to pick up stamps – even if you can have them delivered to your home or even print them out. In particular, this stamp could be very useful when away from home, for example on vacation.
For La Poste, it’s also an additional franking solution, more in tune with the times, offering a solution that can be accessed at any time. ” This service will make it possible to frank mail in real time, at any time of the day or night,” says the company in its announcement. The only constraint: you’ll need to have a pen handy.
The digital stamp enables you to frank an envelope at the green letter rate. This corresponds to an offer invoiced at 1.16 euros (this is the price at which the digital stamp will be sold) for a letter weighing up to 20 grams. For the rest, the digital stamp offers no other advantages: mail delivery will not be any faster (two days in mainland France).
How does the digital stamp work?
The digital stamp is an eight-character code, obtained via the La Poste store. These characters, which are grouped in pairs on the app and website, must be written on the envelope, in the same place where the stamp is usually affixed. Then simply post the envelope in a letterbox, and that’s all there is to it.
Of course, La Poste asks the public to take care to write the code neatly and legibly – on a single line and if possible with a ballpoint pen. In short, you’re asked to be as careful as when copying the recipient’s address on the front of the envelope. On the application side, the procedure for acquiring and using the code looks like this :
On the distribution network side, reading the code written on the envelope will rely on optical character recognition similar to what is already implemented with the address written on postal envelopes – which the algorithms are also capable of correcting automatically if an error is detected, in order to limit routing errors.
That’s why we ask you to write neatly, to facilitate the work of the cameras and software, so that there’s no mistaking between a “1” and an “I”, for example. If there are any errors, they will be dealt with manually by La Poste’s teams. But the group’s aim is to ensure that problems are very rare, hence the experiments to detect errors and forgeries.
According to La Poste, the secure code generator has been entrusted to Probayes, a subsidiary of the group since 2016. It is described as ” specialized in artificial intelligence to create algorithms from cryptography “. In 2017, it was involved in improving address reading on envelopes.
La Poste has planned a mechanism whereby each code will be a single-use code – it will obviously be impossible to buy a digital stamp and use it twice. The system will be able to read the code and determine whether the stamp has not yet been used, or whether it has already passed. It should also be noted that, according to La Poste’s capture, each digital stamp has a time limit for use.
What about postage stamps?
Postage stamps won’t disappear with the launch of the digital stamp, at least not in the foreseeable future. It will still be possible to buy them as usual (at La Poste, in a tobacconist’s, have them delivered or print them out). The withdrawal of the paper stamp, assuming it is ever decided, can only be envisaged in the very distant future.
The disappearance of postage stamps is all the more unlikely, given that the digital stamp can currently only be used in France – in mainland France and the French overseas territories. The system is not designed for European or international mailings, at least not yet. We could, however, imagine it being taken care of in certain countries, such as Switzerland, which has a similar system.
When does the digital stamp arrive?
The digital stamp is expected to go on sale next year, at a date yet to be determined. ” The service will be available during 2023,” promises La Poste. In the meantime, experiments are continuing to identify any friction, both in the user experience and in the efficient processing of mail in the distribution network.
Source : Numérama – Julien Laussin
Source: Numérama – Julien Laussin
Article link: https: //www.numerama.com/tech/1024300-le-timbre-digital-arrive-5-questions-sur-linitiative-de-la-poste.html
