U.S. Postal Service seeks salvation in banking

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/m ... on-in.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The U.S. Postal Service has a new idea to get its financial house in order: banking. A white paper released by the USPS Office of the Inspector General projects that offering debit cards and other financial services could generate almost $10 billion in annual revenue. That would be more than enough to cover the $5 billion loss suffered by the Postal Service in the latest fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
The Postal Service would not be going head-to-head with traditional banking powers. It would target its financial offerings to consumers outside the mainstream of the U.S. banking system — those without a bank account, or who use costly services such as payday loans and check-cashing exchanges just to make ends meet.

The Postal Service estimates the entire population of those under-served by traditional banking services is more than a quarter of all U.S. households, approximately 68 million adults. That represents a huge market which spent about $89 billion in 2012 just on interest and fees for alternative financial services. The white paper concludes the Postal Service could feasibly capture 10 percent of that spending by offering more affordable products than are currently available, bringing in $8.9 billion in new revenue per year.
Services that could be offered include small loans, credit services, debit and other prepaid cards, check cashing, bill payment and savings programs.

The USPS is taking inspiration from many international postal operations already offering financial services. Some foreign services have enjoyed great success, including Switzerland, where financial services earnings account for 71 percent of operating profits, and Italy, 67 percent of profits.

[Lounge Lizard]

Maybe Royal Mail could do the same, and call it something like National Girobank ?