The pilot by the Royal Mail will add unique barcodes to second-class stamps from March 23, in a bid to make the service more efficient as each individual letter can be tracked. The first barcodes will appear on around 20million stamps sold to business customers via office supply and stationary specialist Viking Direct and the Royal Mail online shop. Royal Mail has used barcode technology printed directly on to envelopes and labels for some time. Royal Mail said there are 'absolutely no plans' to make the traditional stamp featuring the Queen, created by Arnold Machin and first used in 1967, redundant. In October, the Royal Mail launched a parcel pick-up service in a shake-up of the daily round.

Source: Daily Mail March 18, 2021 00:04 UTC