Mail, money order can now be tracked through SMS

A customer sending an electronic money order or a speed post article can now keep track and trace their money or article through SMS, reports Satyen Mohapatra.

A customer sending an electronic money order or a speed post article can now keep track and trace their money or article through SMS (Short Messaging Service).

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General Manager Business Development and Marketing Directorate Department of Posts , Alok Sharma , speaking to the Hindustan Times said, “ Earlier money order forms used to be physically moved from one post office to the delivery post office. Since Oct 10 last year we started electronic transmission of money orders by communicating the information of the money received through computers thus doing away with physical transit of forms and making delivery much faster. We could track the delivery of the electronic money order on our website – www.indiapost.gov.in by providing a unique PNR number. The customer could also do so by accessing the website and providing the PNR number. Now we can track it by sending an sms to 55352 ”

The eMO is being offered in more than 7,000 post offices all over the country. The tariff structure is the same as that of the ordinary money order - Rs 1 for every Rs 20. The messages however have to be in standard codes. The tracking facility is through a 18 digit PNR number which gives the status delivered or not delivered.

Similarly for the articles booked for under speed post it was possible to keep track and trace the movement of articles on the website but now it is possible by just sending an sms, he said.

“For money orders , you type M0 eMO PNR No and for speed post articles type SP speed post number. The service is not case sensitive and available across all service providers like MTNL, Airtel, Vodaphone,”he added.

There are 315 National Speed Post Centres and 991 state speed post centers. Speed post a premier service of the department provides guaranteed delivery with faster transmission, he said.

Speedpost which started in 1986 and is available for 97 countries earned a revenue of more than Rs 500 crore in 2008-09 dealing with a traffic of 2114 lakh speed post articles .

Joint Director Postal Training Centre, Mysore, S Rajendra Kumkar who developed the tracking software for tracking money orders and speed post articles, speaking to HT said, “Every article in speed post is given a unique bar code and with help of a bar code scanner the movement of the article can be tracked from the time it is received till it is delivered, both by us and the customer”

“The software is now integrated with mobile service providers. Now the customer can send an sms on 55352 to track and know the status of his article.”