Malaysia intros mobile post office

Pos Malaysia has unveiled the Pos-Automated-Machine (PAM) and Pos-on-Wheels (POW) or mobile post office, says Bernama.

PAM is currently available at the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office while POW will keep moving to selected locations in Kuala Lumpur. "Both services will be extended throughout the country in stages," Pos Malaysia says.

PAM is essentially a self-service terminal similar to a bank's ATM machine, but the first of its kind that is integrated with postal services. POW offers the range of services similar to a normal post office and is now able to conduct online transactions using satellite connectivity.

Manufacturers and service providers for the ATMs operating in India are hoping that smaller Indian banks, along with their larger private and state-run counterparts, will drive future growth for products and services in one of the world's fastest growing economies, as the nation's banking regulator pushes ahead with its financial inclusion agenda, says The Philippine Star.

With the Reserve Bank of India allowing up to five free ATM transactions to consumers on any bank's ATM network and small cash withdrawals from point-of-sale terminals across the country, industry participants are expecting growth in self-service banking.

“We have seen take-off from a lot of cooperative banks deploying ATMs; that wasn't the case in India earlier,” says Manjunath Rao, country sales manger in India for global ATM manufacturer NCR.

Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport has added 12 check-in counters at the departure hall for the upcoming Spring Festival peak travel period, says What's On Xiamen. Passengers are also allowed to check in and obtain a boarding pass with self-service check-in kiosks.

It is expected that Xiamen airport will handle 320 flights with 35 000 passengers everyday during Spring Festival, up by 15% over last year. According to a spokesman of Xiamen airport, passengers' waiting time will not exceed 10 minutes when they check in during the Chinese New Year holiday travel period.

Xiamen airport has installed these self-service check-in kiosks since 2006. It is said every self-service check-in kiosk can handle 1 000 passengers each day.