The struggling South African Post Office (SAPO) has eased the process of sending sensitive paper-based documents by introducing an electronic registered service for customers.
The service, eRegistered Mail, has all the legal validity of normal registered mail, says SAPO.
A SAPO statement notes anyone who needs to send registered mail can use this system as long as they have access to the Web and have the e-mail address of the intended recipient.
With a price tag of R16 per item mailed, the service is expected to be of particular value to various organisations and individuals who work with sensitive and important documents.
eRegistered Mail offers a substantial cost advantage over the alternatives, such as delivery of legal papers by the sheriff of the court, according to the SAPO.
"As with paper-based registered mail, proof of delivery and a full audit trail is recorded and available to the sender. eRegistered Mail provides recipients with a free response service, which in itself will enhance recipient response.
"Access to the system is restricted to ensure protection of data. Users are authenticated through a username and password as well as digital certificates," reads the SAPO statement.
It adds: "The digital postbox used for eRegistered mail is free for life. Because the owner of the mailbox selects parties from whom he or she wishes to receive mail, no spam and no phishing is possible.
"With the digital postbox comes a free storage vault upfront where users can safely store important documents. The storage space can be extended if required."
The SA Post Office is making a determined effort to become digitally-enabled and it plans to launch additional new and enhanced digital services in the future, it concludes.
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