Postal Service discontinues online messaging service

The Postal Service’s e-commerce initiatives have come under fire from Congress and the General Accounting Office. USPS announced today that it is discontinuing one such program, PosteCS, a secure online messaging service.PosteCS is an international Internet message delivery service that lets users track and trace messages and receive proof of delivery along with sender and receiver authentication. USPS began the service in May 2000, but officials decided to scrap it because customer response has been low, Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said.USPS will continue reviewing its other e-commerce services. Brennan said she expects e-commerce to be a big part of a USPS transformation plan due to Congress April 4.That plan “will provide a framework for how the Postal Service of the future will be reformed and revitalized to meet the changing needs of our customers over the next 10 to 20 years,” said Robert Rider, chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors.Meanwhile, PosteCS will no longer accept new customers or transactions, but it will deliver any current messages. The Postal Service also announced it is adding a change of e-mail address function to its site. Return Path Inc. of New York will provide the service, which should be integrated in the site later this month.