USPS allows large direct mail customers to pay postage after despatch

The Postal Regulatory Commission is encouraging the U.S Postal Service to adopt a more modern approach to business by granting them permission to allow direct mailers to pay online after mailing.

by Helen Leggatt

Up until now U.S. direct mailers have had to pay the Postal Service for 'anticipated postage' before sending out mailing campaigns. All that is set to change now that the Postal Regulatory Commission has granted permission for payments to be delayed until those mailings have been distributed.

The changes were approved last Wednesday and mean companies that have a Negotiated Service Agreement with the USPS no longer have to pay up front before they can mail their advertising materials.

"Our staff looked at the various issues and recommended that the risk was minimal," said Ruth Goldway, Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission. "It's the intention of the commission to encourage the Postal Service to act in a more modern business-like manner. Extending credit to large customers seemed to be a well-established practice and one they should engage in as they move to more flexible market practices."

If it is to return to profitability the U.S. Postal Service must reduce operating costs by $20 billion by 2015. Ten percent of those savings will come about from changes to first-class mail delivery standards including the ending of next-day delivery.

Tags: direct mail, online payment, payment methods, postage, postage service, Postal Regulatory Commission, U.S Postal Service