On the improvement and expansion of electronic commerce in Cuban Post office and the novelties of international money orders that will begin to be implemented starting next Friday, Liber Labrada Suárez, director of Marketing and Business of the Cuban Post office Group, commented at the Round Table.
In order to provide some new service in the Post Office of Cuba -he said- it is necessary to have two basic infrastructures. “In the first place, logistics. In this sense, new investments have been made in equipment, including electric cars. Second, there are the technologies. 85% of post offices are computerized, a total of 734”.
He added that the goal is for 2023 to increase the figure to 95%. Why not take it one hundred percent? “This is due to an objective situation and there are places where it is not possible to reach with this technology, although portable connections are implemented. When Etecsa advances in this sense we will get to complete all the offices”.
Cuban Post office, at the time of covid-19, participated in electronic commerce in the distribution of products and also has its own virtual store on the Superfácil platform. Liber Labrada Suárez said that based on these experiences, Cuban Post office will implement cross-border electronic commerce in three stages.
A group of products pass through the postal system, which will be purchased electronically abroad. "Private parcel operators have electronic commerce platforms and customers living abroad can access them, make their purchases online and the operators send it to Cuba in the form of a shipment," he explained.
He added that this purchase is expected to arrive in Cuba for between 15 and 30 days.
What new elements does this service have? In the first place, the representation and nationalization of the combos. “Once purchased from abroad on the platforms of our partners (virtual stores), they are distributed and delivered in our postal network, based on the treatment that is given today to an express shipment, since these products are in our temporary warehouses of customs in Cuba.
“They would be delivered in seven days. When the customer makes the purchase and the order is made, the delivery would be made. This Friday the service would begin, since the loads available in the country are found,” the director of Marketing and Business of the Post Office Group of Cuba said.
He reported that the combos will be cleaning, food, medicine, school supplies, durable items (household supplies and appliances).
In a second stage, he added, it is intended to distribute in the country the products of economic actors, from the state and non-state sectors, that are for sale on national e-commerce platforms, owned by the Post Office or third parties. "Customers from the national territory will be able to purchase the products found on this platform and they will be delivered as if it were a traditional postal shipment."
Exporting products of economic actors, from the state and non-state sectors, that are for sale on national e-commerce platforms, owned by the Post Office or third parties, supported by postal operators from other countries, for distribution abroad of a Cuban product purchased via the Internet, is the third moment of this commitment to the modernization of electronic commerce, according to the director of Marketing and Business of the Post Office Business Group of Cuba.
News about international money orders
The legal package approves the dimensions for correspondence shipments, postal parcels and the value of the amount of national money orders.
Regarding the international portal transfers, he recalled that this is a service that has been provided since 2011. Cuba has agreements with Spain, Chile, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru and Panama.
“There are two ways to send the money order, by account deposit in MLC accounts, this service requested by the person who imposes the money order at origin. Cuban Post office deposits the amount in any of the banks with which we have a commercial relationship today (Metropolitano, Bandec and BPA)," he said.
This procedure - he added - was carried out in a term of 22 days, now it is reduced to 48 hours.
In the case of standard drafts with cash payment (CUP), it was adopted as a measure to apply the current exchange rate in the country for foreign currencies established by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), for example: 1 USD = 120 CUP .
“A commercial margin authorized by the BCC of one percent is applied to the international transfer. The customer receives at the window an amount in relation to, for every 1 USD = 118.80 CUP”, he explained.
Liber Labrada Suárez said that among the novelties is that the client can request the accreditation of the balance in CUP towards national accounts also in CUP at the request of the beneficiary.
He reported that this new measure will begin to be implemented as of Friday, October 14, 2022.