Posting a letter the traditional way will soon become more high-tech in Denmark as the country is set to roll out a new service in which people can pay the postage by sending a text message.
The Mobile Postage service, which will be launched on April 1, will do away with stamps for standard sized letters.
Instead, people will send a text to the post office and get back a code they write on the envelope, the BBC reported.
Customers sending a text bearing the word “PORTO” to the 1900 number will get in return a code that must be written on a letter in the place they would usually stick a stamp.
“Mobile Postage is a useful supplement for those in need of a stamp regardless of place and time,” said Henrik Larsen, a spokesman for Post Denmark in a statement.
Initially only letters up to 50 gram in weight can bear the mobile postal code. Getting a code will cost DKK 8, or 0.92 pounds, the standard rate for a letter, plus the usual cost of a text message.
The charge for the code will be added to a mobile user’s phone bill, the report said.
According to Larsen, codes must be used within seven days of purchase and only on letters being posted to other addresses within Denmark.
The service was not intended to replace stamps, he said.
“We will, of course, still keep the Danish stamp tradition alive as the stamp adds qualities to a letter,” he said.
Sweden is also reportedly considering using a similar system for standard letters as well as small parcels up to 2 kg in weight, the report added.
