Packstation

Packstation is a service run by DHL Parcel Germany, a business unit of Deutsche Post's Mail division, in Germany. It provides automated booths for self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as self-service dispatch of parcels 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Packstation started as a pilot project in 2001 and was quickly expanded. In November 2011 there were 2500 Packstation machines in Germany. Only ordinary parcels and letters delivered by Deutsche Post can be delivered to Packstations. Moreover, Deutsche Post allows its subsidiary DHL Express Germany to insert a limited number of express parcels.

A major market for Packstation is the increasing number of single people, especially students and time-poor professionals, who purchase products online but are not normally at home at daytime to accept deliveries, or who do not have the time to deposit parcels at the post office during normal opening hours. As of September 2011 there were 2,000,000 registered Packstation customers in Germany according to Deutsche Post.

Deutsche Post planned to set up a total of 2,400 Packstations in Germany by 2009. Its aim is that eventually no customer should need to travel more than 10 minutes to reach a Packstation. The manufacturer of the Packstation is the Austrian company KEBA.

Using Packstations is free of charge both for private and business customers, however prior registration through the web portal Paket.de is required for collection of parcels.

Each customer obtains a magnetic stripe card ("Goldcard") and PIN that can be used to identify the customer at Packstation machines and post offices. Previously, it was possible to use the Packstation by entering the customer number and the PIN. This was changed in 2011 in order to increase security as said by DHL, usage of the Goldcard is mandatory now. On 29 October 2012, a mandatory mTAN was introduced, this is transmitted solely in the SMS notification. Each mTAN is valid only for one opening procedure (which may entitle to open several booths if the recipient has received numerous shipments), hereby replacing the PIN.

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Wikipedia