Money Orders issued showed a reduction as compared with 1970-71. Commission earned on the remittance services was $381,631, an increase of $43,915 over the previous year.
Service
Money Order
1970-71
1971-72
Postal Order
1970-71 1971-72
Issued
Paid
No.
Amount
No.
Amount
59,799 $7,029,139.08 57,575 $6,496,368.19
56,805
$4,864,171.35
56,887
$5,911,781.48
89,981 $3,256,826.30 90,177 $3,537,024.30
1,196,350
$66,424,999.83
1,203,240
$74,062,253.66
Social Welfare Department-Public Assistance Scheme
27. Forty-eight post offices were involved in the payment to recipients of 114,038 cash coupons having a total value of $11,428,035.50 during 1971-72.
Business Reply Service
28. On the 31st March, 1972, there were 335 current business reply service licences, 44 having been issued and 37 cancelled during the year.
Postage Meter Machines
29. The increasing recognition by business houses of the advantages of using postage meter machines continues and the number licensed rose from 761 in 1970-71 to 872 in 1971-72. Postage collected through meter accounts was over $35,500,000.
POSTAL SERVICES
30. For the first time in a number of years there was a downturn (of 2.3%) in the total number of postal articles handled-an estimated 246.4 million as compared with an estimated 252.3 million the previous year.
Inland Mails
31. The number of items posted for delivery within Hong Kong, however, increased from an estimated 105.9 million in 1970-71 to 109.4 million in the year under review-a rise of 3.3%. From August 1971 when the 5 cent concessionary rate of postage for printed matter was abolished, a much higher proportion of traffic was carried as first class
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