Digital letter becomes part of Swiss Post's basic mandate

Today, when we talk about the postal service, we mean the delivery of a paper letter by post. But this could change one day, as Swiss Post could soon be officially delivering letters digitally. The Federal Council wants to amend the basic mandate for Swiss Post. It submitted the corresponding revision of the ordinance for consultation on Wednesday.

The basic postal service should take greater account of the high level of digitization among the population and companies and be expanded to include digital services, the Federal Council explains in the press release.

Lower requirements for physical delivery

It sees the newly planned digital delivery channel as a supplement that should not replace physical basic delivery. However, the Federal Council is also using the revision of the ordinance to relax the quality requirements for physical mail delivery. The transit times for letters, parcels and subscribed daily newspapers are to be reduced to 90 percent for the basic service (currently: letters 97 percent, parcels and subscribed daily newspapers 95 percent). In addition, Swiss Post will no longer have to deliver letters "to houses inhabited all year round", but "to settlements inhabited all year round". According to the Federal Council, all of this should enable Swiss Post to "optimize its processes from a business management perspective and thus provide basic services more efficiently and cost-effectively".

The Confederation is also including more digitalization in the basic mandate with regard to the banking services provided by Swiss Post, namely a means of payment accepted for online payments (e.g. debit card or payment app) and digital access to electronic payment transactions (e-banking).

Post wants fundamental political discussion

In an initial statement, Swiss Post describes the proposed changes to the ordinance as an "important step". In recent years, the company has specialized in the secure and reliable transmission of digital information, the company explains. Nicole Burth, member of the Group Executive Board and Head of Digital Services, says: "If a customer sends a letter by post in future, she will have the option of posting it digitally. In this case, the recipient can then choose whether they want to receive the item physically or digitally. This gives customers the freedom of choice. We are convinced that the hybrid letter is the right way forward for Switzerland and for the modernization of the universal postal service."

As far as the lowering of the quality standards for physical delivery is concerned, these allow more leeway in the event of extraordinary events such as train failures or tunnel closures, Swiss Post continues. Around 2 percent of all Swiss households would be affected by the second relaxation - regarding delivery to all settlements inhabited all year round instead of all houses inhabited all year round. They would receive alternative delivery solutions and the changeover would take place over a period of 10 years.

However, Swiss Post does not want to leave it at the changes to the ordinance drawn up by the Federal Administration. In the press release, the Group writes that it is "dependent on a fundamental political discussion about a modern universal service mandate from 2030 onwards."

The federal government is also keeping this option open. With the revision of the ordinance, it is responding to a report on the modernization and stabilization of Swiss Post that was adopted in spring 2024. The proposed "easing" of the quality requirements should save Swiss Post up to 45 million francs a year, according to the press release on the report. In the medium to longer term, however, a comprehensive modernization of the basic service is unavoidable, the Federal Council concedes. However, it has not yet decided on further measures. However, the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) is to submit the key figures for a revision of the Postal Services Act in the course of 2025 with regard to the structure of the universal service from 2030. (René Jaun/fsi/swi)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.