For Poczta Polska, the check is in the mail
Such a decision would complement the state-owned company's other financial products, such as banking and non-life insurance, as well as dovetail with its announced plans to create an investment fund company later this year.
"We would like to have a complete offer," says Dominik Czajewski, director of PP's strategic management department. He explains that in pursuing the financial route the company is following the trend of other post offices in Western Europe - in the UK and Germany, in particular.
It would appear that PP is entering competitive territory with the country's largely foreign-owned banking sector. But, according to Czajewski, it has found a unique niche within the financial services sector: the lower and middle classes in the country's small villages.
He notes that larger financial institutions, such as PKO BP and PZU, give villages of roughly 200 people short shrift, largely owing to the significant costs that they would incur by servicing out-of-bounds clients.
PP, however, already has the distribution infrastructure in place to service mail traffic; financial services just require it to hire more staff and train existing workers in the niceties of finance. He also notes that the company's research has shown that villagers are under-served in terms of insurance, banking and pension services. PP wants to plug the gap.
Artur Szeski, analyst at CDM Pekao, is not yet convinced that PP will be a success. "I'm still not quite clear on what their strategy is," he says, noting that the company has not carved out enough of a part of the market to be noticed.
Furthermore, he adds that PP's history could be a hindrance. "Poczta was never perceived as a company that could provide [high] quality service," he said. As such, he notes that customers might think twice before opening up a bank account with their local post office. As well as this, he said, in terms of banking services, there is already a market presence in small towns in the form of cooperative banks. "They have competition there as well," he warns.
However, Szeski is optimistic that the European Union could give PP a boost. "They have a chance in rural areas now with the farming subsidies," he says. The EU will have to transfer cash to farmers via a bank account, which, at present, many farmers do not have. "Now the farmer has to have a bank account," he notes. And Czajewski hopes PP will be there to meet this demand.
"We would like to have a complete offer," says Dominik Czajewski, director of PP's strategic management department. He explains that in pursuing the financial route the company is following the trend of other post offices in Western Europe - in the UK and Germany, in particular.
It would appear that PP is entering competitive territory with the country's largely foreign-owned banking sector. But, according to Czajewski, it has found a unique niche within the financial services sector: the lower and middle classes in the country's small villages.
He notes that larger financial institutions, such as PKO BP and PZU, give villages of roughly 200 people short shrift, largely owing to the significant costs that they would incur by servicing out-of-bounds clients.
PP, however, already has the distribution infrastructure in place to service mail traffic; financial services just require it to hire more staff and train existing workers in the niceties of finance. He also notes that the company's research has shown that villagers are under-served in terms of insurance, banking and pension services. PP wants to plug the gap.
Artur Szeski, analyst at CDM Pekao, is not yet convinced that PP will be a success. "I'm still not quite clear on what their strategy is," he says, noting that the company has not carved out enough of a part of the market to be noticed.
Furthermore, he adds that PP's history could be a hindrance. "Poczta was never perceived as a company that could provide [high] quality service," he said. As such, he notes that customers might think twice before opening up a bank account with their local post office. As well as this, he said, in terms of banking services, there is already a market presence in small towns in the form of cooperative banks. "They have competition there as well," he warns.
However, Szeski is optimistic that the European Union could give PP a boost. "They have a chance in rural areas now with the farming subsidies," he says. The EU will have to transfer cash to farmers via a bank account, which, at present, many farmers do not have. "Now the farmer has to have a bank account," he notes. And Czajewski hopes PP will be there to meet this demand.
