Royal Mail joins the 90s with ebusiness service

NEWS The Royal Mail launched what it claims is the first UK ecommerce security service for businesses yesterday, as predicted by Silicon.com last Monday. ViaCode hopes to encourage electronic commerce by providing each of its customers with a unique digital identity which users and suppliers will be able to recognise, but fraudsters will not be able to copy. Richard Dykes, managing director of Royal Mail, said the service will give a boost to the development of ecommerce because it is being offered at such a broad level and because of the strength of his company's brand. The launch of ViaCode comes before the UK government has finalised a policy on encryption and ebusiness security. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is currently running a three week consultation period on proposed ecommerce laws. But Jim Pang, director of electronic services at Royal Mail, defended the timing of the launch: "Ecommerce moves on regardless of debates around key escrow. Ecommerce is an opportunity now and many people are beginning to take it up in a serious way." Pang said ViaCode was launched before the Ecommerce Bill has been passed, because customers have demanded it. Despite the clear enthusiasm the Royal Mail is displaying for electronic services, Pang denied that the launch signals the end of its paper-based services. Information about the service can be found at http://www.viacode.com.