Italian and Egyptian Posts launch new money-transfer service

Poste Italiane and Egypt Post have launched the first electronic money-transfer service using a bridge created by the UPU and Eurogiro to connect their respective networks.

Egypt Post's Mosad Abd El Ghani (centre) transfers money to his country from Rome; to his left, Poste Italiane's Massimo Sarmi (Photo: Poste Italiane)

The technical solution connects the UPU’s International Financial System (IFS) network, used by 56 Posts, (including Egypt’s), and Eurogiro’s network, used by Poste Italiane and 64 other Posts, banks and payment handlers.

The new service is available in 14,000 Italian and 4,500 Egyptian post offices.

The UPU-Eurogiro bridge now opens the door to many other Posts using either network to interconnect themselves and start offering similar affordable money-transfer services.

UPU Director General Edouard Dayan said he hopes others will follow in Poste Italiane and Egypt Post’s footsteps. “Remittances have a significant economic impact on communities and countries and contribute to poverty reduction, and making them more accessible through the postal network is a UPU priority,” he said.

For her part, Eurogiro Chair Sylvie Solignac said her organization “was very satisfied that technical and commercial challenges have been successfully overcome thanks to the commitment of all parties".

Affordable service

Poste Italiane says customers can now send electronic money transfers between Italy and Egypt “at very reasonable rates”. Single transactions of up to 1,000 EUR can be sent, at a promotional flat fee of 5 EUR for the next six months.

Money can be collected at destination in local currency within 48 hours. Egypt Post will not charge a fee to convert euros to pounds.

Signing the agreement in Rome on May 2 with Egypt Post chair, Mosad Abd El Ghani, Poste Italiane CEO Massimo Sarmi said Italy’s 92,000-member strong Egyptian community would “benefit from a system that will guarantee efficient money transfers at competitive fees”. He added that the system respects a G20 commitment to progressively reduce the average global price of remittances from 10 to 5 per cent within five years.

“I am very proud that [we] are the first two organizations in the world to make the bridge interconnection operational for the benefit of our clients thanks to the great work of the parties involved,” said Egypt Post’s Abd El Ghani.

Source:-UPU News