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If you look around on the relevant Internet pages, you will quickly find instructions on how to prepare postage stamps that have already been canceled in such a way that the ink dissolves and they can be used again.

Of course, this is an unlawful procedure, it can lead to a complaint or even a conviction for the offense of counterfeiting of stamps and fraud.

After all, postage stamps from Deutsche Post count as certificates.

But “counterfeit postage goods” and “reusing postage stamps”, as it is officially called, are “a massively growing problem”, according to the Post.

The Bonn-based group does not give any figures on the economic damage from this.

After all, Swiss Post transports around 55 million letters every working day.

But now this problem could diminish and one day maybe even disappear completely.

Because on February 4, Deutsche Post will be introducing franking for letters with a matrix code.

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This symbol next to the motif makes the stamp forgery-proof.

According to Swiss Post, the new technology ensures that postage stamps cannot be used more than once.

Post employees now have to scan the stamps and check their validity.

On February 4th, the first stamp with a so-called matrix code appears next to the actual stamp motif

Source: Deutsche Post DHL

Post customers who scan the matrix code in the Deutsche Post app with a smartphone receive additional information about the stamp, such as the motif, history or image sources.

However, the old postage stamps remain valid.

The major digital offensive is clearly focusing on the smartphone

"Of course, the classic postage stamp will not die out even after the introduction of the matrix code," asserts the Post.

Last but not least, this is a cultural asset that is also indispensable for philatelists.

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The matrix code complements the brand and enhances it.

How long all of this will last remains to be seen.

After all, in its major digital offensive, Swiss Post is clearly relying on smartphones for franking and tracking consignments.

The matrix code is printed next to the actual stamp motif and makes each stamp unique.

According to Swiss Post, this makes sending letters transparent.

"With immediate effect, customers can see in the Swiss Post app when their letter was processed in the mail center in the region of departure and when it arrived in the target region," promises the group.

However, the matrix code does not offer seamless tracking, as is the case with parcels.

This is due, for example, to the fact that the items are not recorded again when they are thrown into the mailbox at home.

Therefore, the following also applies: If you want legally binding proof of delivery to the recipient, you must send the shipment by registered mail.

The stamp remains

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The motif of the first brand with a matrix code is called “Digital Change”.

More stamps of this type will follow in the course of this year, and from 2022 all will be provided with a code.

For Deutsche Post, this coding enables irregularities such as runtime delays to be identified - and hopefully corrected.

However, it remains with one stamp: Although letters with a matrix code stamp are digitally canceled, they will still be stamped in the letter centers.

However, this is done with a blue instead of the previous black stamp color.

According to Swiss Post, the reason for this is that customers still have to be able to scan the code after it has been stamped.

The formats are also new, these stamps have a larger motif area.

However, the technology in postal delivery is not entirely new.

It is already used when franking business customer mail, and the internet stamp available online also has a matrix code.

Buy stamps with the app

There is also another major innovation for letter mailers: since last year, postal customers have been able to purchase stamps from the Internet using an app.

The buyer can print out the stamp as a PDF file or receive a two-line alphanumeric code that he manually enters in the top right of the envelope instead of a classic postage stamp.

The shipment is then franked and can be thrown into the mailbox.

This so-called mobile postage stamp replaces the product “mobile phone postage”, with which additional handling and mobile phone costs were added to the respective postage.

Now the normal price also applies on the Internet.

Also comparatively new is a free service from Swiss Post, where customers can be notified of letters by e-mail to their GMX and WEB.de mailboxes.

This applies to letters that are in the Post's delivery network and will soon be thrown into the mailbox by the deliverer.

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Swiss Post takes photos of the envelopes and sends them to the recipient's e-mail inbox at the recipient's request.

The letters themselves will be delivered to the home address as usual.

In this way, customers can find out about incoming mail anytime and anywhere, is the argument of the postal company.

The mechanization of their coveted postage stamps could also have advantages for collectors and philatelists.

After all, their old and analogue stamp collections are likely to increase in value later on.

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