Why did you need to change anything at all?
When you send one letter, it’s not that hard to come to the office, buy stamps and
glue them on the envelope. But most of the mailings are letters and parcels from companies, and these are hundreds or thousands of pieces per day from just one sender. For such volumes, an easier way to mark the fact of payment is needed, otherwise you will have to hire a separate person to stick stamps or order a service from the Post. So, other signs of postage began to replace the stamp: marked envelopes, postcards, impressions of special machines. New methods, more convenient for the sender, began to supplant the old ones, helping to improve business processes both from the client's side and from the Mail's side.
The first alternative to brands
The first attempt to optimize shipping labeling for businesses took place in 1924. Then, for processing large lots (more than 100 pieces), manual franking stamps were introduced, replacing postage stamps. Stamps made it easier to process letters and parcels - instead of selling and sticking stamps, the Post employees received cash and put a payment stamp on the shipment.
Impressions of the stamps of the Sarov post office of the 1910s, source
Mechanization
Later, to speed up the application of marks, they began to use mechanized devices - franking machines. The first car that appeared in the USSR was called "Frankotype". Companies entered into an agreement with the Post and received the right to independently frank postal items or handed over letters for printing to post offices. On the device, depending on the weight and type of shipment, the three-digit number of the postage amount was changed, as well as the date of shipment, the name and address of the organization. In order for the machine to work, it was necessary to top up the balance of the device - to deposit money in the post office and wait for the Post Office employee who posted the amount on the counter. Due to the fact that it was impossible to configure and track the balance remotely, preparing the machines for work took a lot of time and effort.
Go online
From February 1, 2018, all franking machines used in the country were connected to the unified information system of the Russian Post, which made it possible to remotely replenish and track the balance of machines. From that moment, they began to use new devices capable of exchanging data with Mail servers in order to check the client's balance and the amount of paid mail in real time. The transition to a new payment sign took place in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia No. 368 dated August 8, 2016, published and entered into force on February 6, 2017.
The updated print of the franking machine is a combination of an information cliché, a postage sign and a two-dimensional matrix barcode, which stores information about the registration number of the machine, customer ID and payment status.
Imprint of a modern franking machine
But this method of application turned out to be difficult to scale due to the high cost. To use online francs, you have to buy and maintain an expensive car or spend time and money franking at a branch.
Self-printing payment signs
Taking into account everything that was missing in the previous version of the sign, the Post created a new format: a QR code that is generated at the user's request in the information system of the Post. Such a mark can be printed on an envelope using an ordinary printer. Senders already do this with addresses. The sign contains the main characteristics of the shipment: delivery cost, date, sender and recipient indexes, etc. The use of the new payment sign eliminates the need for the sender to order franking or purchase stamps in the branches and speeds up the preparation of items. You can replenish the balance of the online payment sign through your personal Sending account .
Online payment sign on envelope
What will happen next?
It is unlikely that francs will become generally available, since they require expensive equipment. On the other hand, an online payment sign can become a familiar format even for ordinary senders. Now it is used only by companies in the framework of trial operation and only for registered letters and parcels. But we are planning to connect the online payment sign to simple letters, as well as make it available to individuals. And this means that soon any user will be able to prepare a letter for sending on home equipment - pay for sending online and immediately print a QR code on an envelope on a black and white printer.
The creation of an online payment sign is part of the Russian Post trend to create convenient digital services for business. If you want to take part in the digitalization of the largest logistics operator in the country, we are waiting for you in the Postal Technologies team. Open vacancies in 9 cities of Russia can be viewed at hr.pochta.tech/vacancies.