A new technology is making it easier for Swiss Post customers to send letters and purchase Swiss stamps via text message. The company has developed a smartphone app that allows customers to text a keyword to 414 to receive a code to replace the traditional stamp. Using this system, the customers only pay 1.20 francs, which is about 20 centimes more expensive than regular stamps. Some consumer groups have objected to the price increase, but the technology has been used to secure more than 100,000 letters. The lack of security has been criticized by consumers‘ forum directors, as well as by consumers‘ groups.
The Swiss Digital Initiative (SWI) has developed a new label to make it easier for customers to identify safe online services. As more digital data flows across the world, privacy fears are a major concern. The Swiss Digital Initiative is a non-profit foundation with headquarters in Geneva. It is supported by the Swiss government, foundations such as Mercator, and associations like digitalswitzrland.
The Swiss Post Digital Trust Label was developed in collaboration with the EPFL, a leading institution in Switzerland. A consortium of first-movers, academics, and a leading Swiss audit firm have helped create the label. The initiative is spearheaded by the non-profit foundation Swiss Digital Initiative, which has offices in Zurich. Other organizations supporting the initiative include the Mercator Foundation, the association digitalswitzrland, and the government.
