Mpost: How To Register, Use Safaricom’s New Virtual Post Office Boxes

Safaricom has partnered with the Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta Kenya) to enable its customers to be able to get virtual post office boxes. Safaricom and the Postal Corporation of Kenya announced the partnership dubbed the MPost service that will supply digital Post Office Boxes to more than 5 million more customers.

The service will see Safaricom customers use their phone numbers as P.O. Box addresses, this will enable them receive mail without getting a traditional post office box.

“Kenya’s economy is increasingly digitizing leading to the growth of online delivery of goods and services. Posta’s logistical capabilities and Post Office branch network are well placed to meet this shift. We are therefore coming together to create value for our customers by empowering them to conveniently and affordably receive parcels and goods wherever they may be across the country” said Michael Joseph, CEO, Safaricom.

To register in order to access the service, Safaricom customers will just need to visit this Mpost registration page or dial *234# (*234*1*9#) and get a post office Box linked to their mobile number. The service will be available at a cost of Ksh. 300 per year. When registering for MPost, customers will also have the option of selecting their preferred Post Office from where they will pick their deliveries, this will be easily done by keying the Postal Code of the particular branch and customers can also change their preferred Post Office at anytime at no additional cost by dialling *234#.

MPost box numbers will be in the format “P. O. Box 254XXXXXXXXX” where XXXXXXXXX denotes the customer’s mobile phone number, for example, “P. O. Box 254722000000”

We have invested in the MPost innovation to meet the shifting demands of our customers in a modern, digital world. This partnership will enable Safaricom’s more than 34 million customers to access postal services from the 625 Postal outlets spread across the country, directly from their mobile phones,” said Dan Kagwe, Postmaster General and CEO, Postal Corporation of Kenya.

Customers do not need any paperwork or physical application to access this service, in addition, the Mpost service is more affordable and will also offer package tracking via an SMS notification, the mail will then be available for collection over the next 7 days over the counter. Customers can also choose additional services such as physical delivery of mail to their doorstep, or mail pickup for delivery. Both services will be offered at an additional fee per delivery based on the source or destination.

“Posta Kenya has identified the importance of technology by developing new ground-breaking products that complement its core mandate of delivering financial, communication and distribution solutions to its customers.” Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology added.