Thailand Post launches digital post ID to improve its services
Thailand Post has collaborated with the country's Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES) to launch digital post ID, with the goal of improving its parcel delivery system by providing high-quality security and time savings.
DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn told a press conference at Thailand Post's headquarters on Thursday that the digital post ID is a part of the “Digital Infrastructure Development Project for Location and Transportation”.
The project's goal is to create an innovative solution based on the use of names and addresses to facilitate delivery while maintaining privacy and security, he stated.
He also indicated that the digital post ID can be used to benefit other activities, such as electronic transactions, future unmanned vehicle transportation systems, disaster relief support, telemedicine promotion, finding tourist attractions, managing agricultural areas, urban planning, natural resource management, and collection of voter information.
"However, of all these advantages, it immediately solves my pain point of frequently missing some parcels due to address changes," Chaiwut said.
Thailand Post's president, Danan Suphatthaphan, said that the digital post ID will assist post staff in delivering parcels to the correct location and person while protecting clients' private information.
This will prevent scammers from using address information to commit fraud, he noted. The digital post ID will be an alternative to the five-digit postal codes that have been in use since 1982.
Unlike a postal code, which can only tell you where you are, a digital post ID can identify where you are by pinning. As a result, it can tell the vertical coordinates, allowing it to more accurately identify addresses of people living in tall apartment buildings and condominiums, he explained.
People must first register with Thailand Post in order to obtain the digital post ID, Danan said. Then they will be given a code that will be converted into a new QR Code each time they make a delivery. To prevent scammers from exploiting the QR Code, it will only be used once.
"I am confident that people will widely adopt digital post ID like they did PromptPay. It is because the digital post ID not only saves time but also provides great potential to protect their private information," said Danan.
Rachawee Poonsawat, an e-commerce entrepreneur and owner of RIREW page, praised the project. She stated that as an online fashion-clothing seller, the digital post ID saves her time from having to write customers' addresses, which the majority of them frequently mistype.
In the meantime, the digital post ID helps her avoid problems like sending a package to the wrong address or one that never reaches the recipient.
Thailand Post expects that by 2024, the majority of Thai citizens will have their own digital post ID, Danan said.
