Draft law to start postal saving system introduced

TIRANA, Nov. 9 – Albania will soon start its own postal saving system, which is known as Postbank in many countries, Minister for Innovation and IT Genc Pollo said on Wednesday introducing an amendment to the current postal service law at the trade parliamentary committee.
Pollo, who is the man in charge, says that establishing the Postbank will be a huge event not just for the financial sector, but the public in general. Postbank will also be instrumental to purchasing treasury bills, which are very important to get public funding.
The proposed draft law aims at granting the Posta Shqiptare (Albanian Post) the right to open current accounts and interest free deposits at the Bank of Albania, under a special customer status.
Describing the initiative as a further step to the establishment of the already announced Posbank, Pollo said the Albanian Post’s role with an account at the central bank will increase competition in the T-bill market and help with the transfer, deposit and reporting of revenues in real time.
Many nations’ postal offices operate postal savings systems to provide depositors who did not have access to banks a safe, convenient method to save money and to promote saving among the poor.
In Albania the Postbank is expected to be part Posta Shqiptare, the public mailing company, and will function just like its sister companies in other European countries.
Data show some 48 million dollars was deposited through post offices during 2009 by individuals and small businesses in tax, customs, legalization of illegal building and treasury bills payments and another 2.5 million USD during the first half of this year.
Posta Shqiptare sh.a. offers a wide range of traditional postal services (letter post, postal parcels, and the service of money order), EMS express service, business services as well as financial services (fast money transfer, payment of taxes and duties, distribution of pensions, encashment of telephone bills, electricity bills and other payments.)