Remotely managed Franking System

Introduction RMFS introduced from 16.8.2010 Existing licenses with more than 5 years existence will not be renewed Existing licenses with less than 5 years will not be renewed beyond 30/06/2013 Franked articles from old machines will not be accepted beyond 30/06/2013

Salient features of RMFS Elimination of human intervention in credit on franking machines; credits updated electronically No requirement of mechanical seals on franking machines Generates secure 2D barcodes with frank impression; The barcode can be scanned to check genuineness of frank impression Frank impression will be in blue colour and indicate the following Class of article and Pin code Authentication code Date of frank Mail item number License identifier number Frank value and 2D bar code Sample of the impression is in the next slide

Specimen frank impression

Salient features cont’d Only approved models are to be used Each manufacturer has to maintain it’s own centrally located ‘Remotely managed franking server’ in India RMF server of each manufacturer will call DOP server thrice a day to exchange data regarding Funds deposited Funds downloaded Uploading of reports The credit will be automatically uploaded when the franking machine calls concerned RMF server and meters will be reset automatically Each machine has to call server at least once in 30 days, otherwise machine will be blocked; Will start functioning only after dialing server

Licensing process The Franking Machine User (FMU) buys a digifrank plus franking machine of model approved by Department of Posts from Franking Machine OEMs authorised by it. At present there are three Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), viz. Pitney Bowes,Neo Post and Forbes. The FMU deposits in any post office the prescribed license fee (presently Rs. 375/- for five years) and obtain ACG-67 receipt for it. Then the FMU applies for Franking Machine License through the Franking machine Vendor to the Licensing Authority The Licensing Authority issues the license after carrying out prescribed verification. The operator at the office of the Licensing Authority captures the FMU particulars through the access provided in this web based software and the same is approved by the concerned Licensing Authority.

Licensing process cont’d One copy of the approved Certificate of License each will be sent to the FMU Department of Posts Central Resource (DCR), Designated Post Office/ Mail Office/ FPO where mail has to be deposited, Franking Machine Vendor and one copy is retained as office copy. The same will also be available in the web portal to the respective users under reports option. After activation of Franking Machine License in the Web Portal by the Licensing Authority, a customer account file will be created on the DOP server. The respective OEMs will download the file meant for them from the DCR server so that the customer accounts are automatically updated on their (RMFS) server. The Franking Machine is now ready to download funds from the RMFS server and ready to frank The web portal is http://www.ptcinfo.org/digifrank The entire process is shown in the schematic diagram on the next slide

Snapshot of licensing process

Credit process The franking machine user (FMU) will deposit funds through cash / cheque / draft/ netbanking in any authorized branch of the SBI (State Bank of India) or also through epayment credit in PO The Department of Posts will receive the credits centrally from the Bank Server through SFTP at the end of the day. The DOP Server will update the credits onto its server and will bifurcate and create files for the respective OEMs. The OEM’s RMFS Server will pull the credit information from DOP Server through SFTP. The FMU will connect their machines to the OEM’s RMFS server through a telephone line and download the credit from its account maintained at the RMFS server. The transactions do not involve any manual intervention. The process is fast, convenient and secure. The entire process is shown diagrammatically on the next slide

Snapshot of credit process

Some conditions… Customer has to pay a minimum of Rs. 2000/- as first credit Machine needs to be reset when the credit falls to Rs. 100/- Renewal of the license has to be done one month before the expiry of license; Failure to do so will incur additional charge of Rs. 100/-

Posting franked articles - conditions Franked articles will be accepted only at the designated PO/Mail office Franking is allowed up to any amount Frank impression has to be made on the right hand top corner of the address side of article or on a label pasted The impression should be blue in colour The franked articles should be presented at the counter and on the date of frank itself Posting at a later date is subject to certain conditions Articles should be presented pre-sorted destination pin code wise The PA accepting the articles will sign the Statement of mailing pasted on the User’s copy of record book and paste another copy in the record book maintained for the user at the office

Posting of franked articles - Process The franking machine user generates frank on articles by placing the article on the weighing scale and selecting the class of article On completion of franking of all the mail, the FMU prints 2 copies of Statement of Mailing FMU pastes one copy of mailing list to customer record book FMU presents his copy of record book, another copy of SOM and articles at the counter of PO PA at the counter can conduct random impression of franks PA can also scan the 2D barcode of some franked articles to check genuineness before accepting the articles Discrepancies, if any are reported to the supervisor