Filenews 8 November 2024
Those who do not have access to the internet or there are no EAC offices nearby, will be able to pay the electricity authority's bill at the post office, which will mainly facilitate residents outside cities, provided of course that a post office operates in their area.
The repayment will be possible following a relevant decision of the Council of Ministers and is expected to be implemented soon, given that the Ministry of Transport announces that this will be possible in 2024 and we are already in November.
It is noted that at a later stage, invoices/bills of other services/organizations and generally third parties will be paid at post offices. According to the Ministry of Transport, a relevant agreement will be signed for the payment of bills (services/organizations) at the post offices.
Based on current data, an EAC bill can be paid mainly at the Customer Service Centres of the Authority, or a bank cheque, or a bank card or by post or bank cheque in the name of the "Electricity Authority of Cyprus". At the same time, the bill can be paid automatically via bank transfer, or at customer service centers.
Bill payment is possible by bank card, through the AHK website or the website of banking institutions. Payments can also be made by wire transfer via E-BANKING or even via a mobile application.
The post office is trying with various moves to compete with the private companies that entered the game since 1/1/2013, when the postal market in Cyprus was liberalized.
The competition faced by the post office concerns the whole range of services it provides, particularly in the parcel and small parcel sector.
As a result of the changes, the main traditional work of the post office has been significantly reduced. According to the Ministry of Transport, the pandemic has significantly accelerated the pace of digital substitution of letter mail.
Along with everything else, 2021 was, according to the Department, a challenging year due to the implementation of new regulatory measures by the European Union, which have caused significant variations in the business model of postal organizations. The application concerns the abolition of the exemption from VAT for items containing goods, imported from non-EU members and having a value of less than €17.09, which led to a decrease in the number of low-value e-commerce items imported into the EU and consequently into Cyprus.
The Post Office plans to enter into agreements that allow the provision of high quality services, as are the requirements of e-commerce companies and their customers, as e-commerce is a critical area of activity for the future of postal organizations.
The Department of Post is also limited by the obligation to provide a set of basic postal services, of specified quality, at uniform and affordable prices throughout the country.
The universal service provided by the post office includes the clearance, transport, sorting and distribution of postal distributors five times a week.
90% of domestic First Priority mail must be delivered the day after posting.
Since the beginning of 2014, the Department has been providing services on behalf of other Government Departments, while since October 2015, the Citizen Centers (KEPOs) have been operational, from which all the services of the Citizen Service Centers (KEP) are offered. Today, KEPO operates in the four District Post Offices, the rural Post Offices of Agros, Kakopetria, Lefkara and Xylofagou.
