After it began winding down last year, Canada Post’s 22-year-old electronic-mail service, “epost,” will go offline in December 2022.
Until then, customers will still have access to their digital inboxes, which hold emails and allow users to view and pay statements, bills and other documents.
“Since epost launched in 2000, the way businesses connect and communicate with their customers has evolved significantly, and other companies are now better suited to meet Canadians’ changing needs,” reads an FAQ on the Canada Post website. “Each epost mailer will provide instructions on how to receive your important documents going forward. Banks will be withdrawing from epost services during this period as well. These financial institutions will inform epost customers of their departure schedules.”
The epost service was unable to compete with its competition – mainly Apple, Google and Microsoft – according to Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton University.
“There was no real value added to the service,” Lee told iPolitics, a digital media website focused on Canadian politics, this September. “I don’t have to go to Canada Post to get my water bill.”
Apple launched its Mail app in 2003, and a year later, Google followed it up with Gmail. Microsoft launched its Hotmail service in 1996 before rebranding it as Outlook in 2012. Each of these major platforms offers similar services as epost.