Suggestion to Adopt WhatsApp Business for Delivery Notifications and Enhanced Customer Engagement to Reduce SMS Costs

Dear Postmaster General,

I am writing to suggest an improvement in Hongkong Post’s communication strategy regarding SMS notifications such as pre-delivery SMS alerts, EC-Get posting and delivery status SMS, Taobao or PinDuoDuo collection passwords . While these SMS services are crucial, their cost remains relatively high, resulting in significant expenses due to the volume of messages sent.

WhatsApp, widely used by approximately 70.6% of Hong Kong’s population, provides a highly effective platform to reach most message recipients. Hongkong Post has already secured official Meta Facebook verification, enabling the use of WhatsApp Business for these communications.

Assuming an average daily message volume of 6,500 messages over 26 working days per month, Hongkong Post sends around 2,028,000 messages annually.

With SMS costs typically between HK$0.20 and HK$0.40 per message, the annual SMS expense is substantial. By switching to WhatsApp Business — with official pricing for Hong Kong at approximately USD $0.0113 (around HK$0.088) per message for utility and authentication notifications — significant cost savings are achievable.

Estimated annual savings from adopting WhatsApp Business for relevant notifications lie between HK$230,000 and HK$630,000, depending on current SMS fees.

Beyond cost reduction, WhatsApp Business offers Hongkong Post powerful opportunities for customer engagement and targeted marketing. Leveraging recorded customer demographic data, linked Facebook and Instagram pages, and behavioral insights enables tailored marketing campaigns delivered directly via WhatsApp. Features such as broadcast lists, customer segmentation by preferences or demographics, interactive multimedia messages, and real-time customer interaction can foster closer relationships, improve customer satisfaction, and boost promotional effectiveness.

Maintaining SMS as a fallback channel ensures no customer is left unreachable, while maximizing cost efficiency and marketing potential through WhatsApp.

I strongly urge Hongkong Post to evaluate and implement this solution for far more cost-effective, targeted, and engaging customer communications.

In addition, pursuant to the Code on Access to Information, I respectfully request Hongkong Post to provide the number of SMS messages sent in relation to its operations for FY2024/25, along with year-to-date figures from April 2025. This data will facilitate informed evaluation of the communication strategy.

Please acknowledge with a case reference number and contact details of the assigned officer for follow-up and respond within 21 days.

If the case involves different parties, I do not mind receiving separate replies from the different handling teams.

Kam

I refer to your Application for Access to Information dated 29.8.2025. Further to our interim reply on 4.9.2025, we provide below the requested information: -

The reply of Hong Kong Post is conveyed below.

I refer to your emails of 29 August, 3 September and 9 September 2025. Further to our reply of 12 September 2025 regarding your Application for Access to Information dated 29 August 2025, we would like to set out below our reply to your suggestion on the use of WhatsApp Business as a possible alternative channel for Hongkong Post’s notifications to customers.

We recognise that WhatsApp is a widely adopted platform in Hong Kong, and that WhatsApp Business provides useful functions for enhancing customer interaction. Based on observations across both the public and private sectors, this channel is more commonly used to support customer service communications. In comparison, notifications directly related to services, such as delivery status of mail items, transaction updates or payment reminders, are more typically provided through official mobile applications, which allow organisations to manage secure, consistent and integrated services within a single platform.

Apart from the e-Services provided at the website of Hongkong Post, we also use SMS for pre‑delivery notifications to customers, as SMS remains a broadly accessible, reliable and cost-effective means of reaching the public. It can also facilitate our operational arrangement efficiently. Nonetheless, we are open to exploring alternative solutions that may offer greater cost efficiency and functional flexibility, in alignment with current industry practices.

We will continue to examine the feasibility of different approaches, taking into account operational requirements, data security, user accessibility, service effectiveness and overall cost efficiency. We will take note of your suggestion in our ongoing review in this area.

Thank you for your valuable suggestion and concern on postal services . Should you have any questions on the issue, please contact me.

Follow up against Hong Kong Post’s reply:

Thank you for your reply.

Further analysis based on a projected annual volume of 5.6 million messages reveals an even more alarming financial discrepancy. At an average cost of $0.30 per SMS, the annual expenditure is approximately $1,680,000. By contrast, using WhatsApp at $0.088 per message would cost only $492,800. This represents a potential annual saving of over $1.18 million. It is incomprehensible why HK Post would continue to waste over a million dollars of public funds each year on an inferior system.

I appreciate HK Post’s consideration of using a dedicated mobile application for service notifications. This is a positive step towards adopting smart technology to provide secure and integrated services for the public. To better understand the department’s commitment to this direction, could you please clarify the following:

1. What is the implementation plan and anticipated timeline for this mobile application or adopting this function in the existing HK Post mobile application?
2. Is the application currently under development, or is it still in a preliminary feasibility or procurement stage?
3. When does Hong Kong Post estimate the application will be launched for public use?

Issues with the Current SMS System

While I am encouraged by this long-term plan, your reply completely failed to address the critical service failures of the current SMS system.

You described the SMS service as “reliable,” a claim that is directly contradicted by personal accounts. For instance, friends of mine experienced severe delays of up to 45–60 minutes in receiving collection codes after their Tao Bao packages have been put inside the lockers per the online tracking status by the item numbers. This leaves them stranded at the lockers, unable to retrieve their packages. This is a significant operational failure, not a reliable service.

Given that the public must continue to rely on this system until a new one is implemented, I must insist on an answer to these questions in accordance with the Code on Access to Information:

1. What percentage (%) of all trigger-based SMS messages (e.g., collection codes, pre-delivery notifications, alerts from overseas post offices) experienced a delay of more than 30 minutes after the trigger event, for the period of June to September 2025?
2. For the same period, what was the average delay time between a package being put into an “iPostal Station” locker and the time the collection SMS was sent?

Further, regarding operational improvements, please also address the following:

• What are the identified causes for these unacceptable delays?
• What immediate and concrete measures has HK Post taken to fix this issue?
• Will the department consider establishing an official service pledge for the delivery time of its SMS notifications?

These ongoing service failures underscore the urgency of transitioning to a more robust system. A vague commitment to an “ongoing review” is insufficient when the public is actively being inconvenienced.

I look forward to your substantive response to all the questions above within 21 calendar days.

The reply of Hong Kong Post is conveyed below.

I refer to your email of 10 October 2025 regarding your enquiry about our plan to develop a mobile application for service notifications, as well as your request for information on the SMS notifications of Hongkong Post under the Code on Access to Information. Further to our interim replies on 10 and 17 October 2025, we would like to provide our reply below.

On our plan to develop a mobile application for service notifications, we have conducted an initial assessment that the use of a mobile application is a more cost-effective means compared to SMS and WhatsApp Business, particularly for long-term operations. Based on this initial assessment, we plan to conduct a more detailed study in 2026 covering the technical aspects, workflow procedures etc.

Regarding the suggestion to use WhatsApp Business as a replacement for SMS, we had checked with the authorised WhatsApp Business operator and found that the costs for business applications through WhatsApp are higher than those for SMS with similar adoption levels.

As regard your request under the Code on Access to Information for information on the time difference between the placement of an item in the iPostal Station and the time of the issue of notification to the recipient, and the percentage of SMS with such a time difference of more than 30 minutes, we would like to clarify that after an item is deposited into the iPostal Station, for internal workflow, our system has scheduled a standard buffer period of approximately 35 to 45 minutes before sending the SMS notification to the recipient for self-collection of the item. We have recently conducted a review to streamline the workflow and have shortened this buffer time to around 10 minutes to further enhance the customer experience.

Thank you for your interest in our postal services. Should you have any further question on the matter, please contact me.

Dear Ms XXX,

Thank you for your reply on 30 October 2025. I must insist on a full response to the unresolved issues regarding past service failures and seek clarification on the future plans.

1. Unanswered Questions on SMS Service Failures

1.1 Confirmation of Historical Delays (Jun — Sep 2025)

Your reply confirmed that “iPostal Station” users were subjected to an intentional “standard buffer period of approximately 35 to 45 minutes” before receiving their collection codes.Am I correct to understand that for the period of June to September 2025, 100% of all “iPostal Station” collection SMS messages were intentionally delayed for more than 30 minutes after the trigger event?

Furthermore, your reply failed to provide the delay statistics for other trigger-based messages. Please provide this missing data (as requested under the Code on Access to Information) for all other trigger-based SMS messages (e.g., pre-delivery timeframe notifications, alerts from overseas post offices) for the same period.

1.2 Discrepancy in Current Service Levels

You also stated that you “have shortened this buffer time to around 10 minutes to further enhance the customer experience.” I must challenge the validity of this claim. Just earlier this week, my family member still experianced a delay of 35–40 minutes while waiting for a collection code, which is identical to the old, flawed buffer period.

This indicates the problem is systemic and not limited to SMS. My family member noted that it took even longer for the collection codes to synchronize and appear on the online shopping platform (TaoBao or PDD) than it did for the delayed SMS to arrive.

This casts serious doubt on whether any “streamlining” has actually occurred. Please confirm:

• Has this new 10-minute workflow been fully implemented? If so, on what exact date did it take effect?
• What is causing this severe, ongoing delay in your system’s data synchronization with online merchant platforms like TaoBao and PDD?
• What is your improvement plan to ensure timely data-sync with these merchants?

2. Mobile Applications

Regarding your plan to study a mobile application, I support the department’s view that a mobile application is a smart, long-term solution.

However, your 2026 “study” may be planning for an obsolete model. As Professor Sun Dong confirmed in the LegCo, The Digital Policy Office (DPO) is introducing a “Mini-program Platform” within “iAM Smart” this year. The explicit policy goal is to allow citizens to access e-Government services in a one-stop manner, without needing to download individual B/D apps. (Ref: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202510/15/P2025101500409.htm)

Members of the public are unlikely to be willing to spend storage space to download a large, separate app just to receive ocassional collection codes. This is precisely the problem the DPO’s “Mini-program Platform” is designed to solve.

To clarify Hongkong Post’s intentions in light of this clear policy directive, please answer the following:

1. Will your proposed new notification function be developed as a new, standalone mobile application, or will it be launched as a mini-program on the “iAM Smart” platform?
2. Does Hong Kong Post intend to retain its existing “Hong Kong Post Mobile Application” in the long term, or will it be phased out?
3. Even if you retain the standalone app, will Hong Kong Post (as per DPO policy) also migrate its frequently used functions to the “iAM Smart Mini-program Platform” to enhance public convenience and support the DPO’s one-stop-shop goal?

I urge the department to be transparent about its past service failures while being smart about its future digital strategy. The public deserves a reliable notification system now and a convenient, well-integrated one in the future, not a flawed standalone app that wastes public resources.

I look forward to your substantive response to all questions in all sections within 21 calendar days.