USPS defends banking pilot, while opponents call it illegal

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) argued this week that the controversial pilot program it is operating is not a test of postal banking and therefore, it is not illegal.

Currently being carried out in four locations, the pilot program allows a consumer to cash a paycheck up to $500 in exchange for a gift card. However, few people have taken advantage of the service.

“For more than a decade, the Postal Service has been authorized to sell Gift Cards as a competitive postal service, [similar] to its sale of greeting cards and stationery that are often mailed along with gift cards,” USPS said in documents filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

The commission has been soliciting opinion on the legality of the program, with the deadline for comments coming this past Thursday. In requesting the comments, the PRC is asking whether the program is a non-postal product. If it is, it must be ended, the commission stated.

 

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