epost.ca: Electronic Wonder or Standard Email Service?
Published January 2000
Tired of those trips to the post office? Canada Post Corporation brings you the Electronic Post Office (EPO), a service that is supposed to make mailing more convenient.
EPO - commonly referred to by its web address, Epost.ca - allows Canadians to receive their mail, conduct financial transactions and access information online. This service promises businesses the opportunity to subscribe to 'complete electronic mail delivery'. This includes bills, statements, advertising, catalogues and electronic forms.
The security link on the company's website boasts of well-established technology being used to protect the security of a customer's personal information and mail when using the EPO.
Rheal LeBlanc, spokesperson for Canada Post, reassures prospective EPO recipients that security is "an absolute priority for Canada Post."
Personal customer identification and passwords aid in providing security, he says. As well, a digital electronic postmark, which accompanies new mail, lets the receiver know whether or not their mail has been previously viewed or manipulated.
But don't most web-based email services, such as Hotmail, offer similar features? Epost says their system is 'more than email'. But how?
The main advantage, it seems, is that customers can receive and pay certain bills directly through this outlet with VISA, MasterCard, debit, Amex, Diners Club or a private label, for free. This saves time and a few cents in stamps.
Whether or not users would view the targeted advertising from select company as a positive or negative, only time will tell. <
P> Other than that, it doesn't seem like anything new. After scraping off the jargon in their 'guided tour' over the Internet, all we're left with here is a secure, web-based email service with a couple of new features.
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