Singaporeans’ reactions mixed as SingPost phases out SAM kiosks after decades of service

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans have had mixed reactions to Singapore Post (SingPost) phasing out its self-service automated machines (SAM). While long-time users are frustrated and confused, others have found workarounds, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported.

In 2018, there were about 300 SAM kiosks across the island providing users a way to buy stamps, pay bills, and weigh postal items. They were commonly found in MRT stations, post offices, and shopping centres.

Now, kiosks at several past locations are gone, as the familiar blue machines have “reached the end of their service life” and have been phased out in exchange for “more advanced and flexible solutions” for today’s consumers, SingPost told CNA.

Currently, the company expects to roll out more of its “next evolution” POPDrop, introduced in 2023 and now in 36 locations. It allows bill payments, parcel drop-offs, postage label printing, and real-time tracking. However, unlike the SAM kiosks, they do not have a weighing scale.

Property agent and regular SAM user Ms Kan C H, 63, said she didn’t know “what to do” with the new kiosks at Toa Payoh since there was no weighing machine to help her figure out how much to pay for postage. “It’s not that I prefer the SAM, but I must know what to do with the machine,” she said.

Others, like lecturer Dr Lewis Winkler, who could not find SAM kiosks, ended up waiting in line at the SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar to buy his stamps.

SingPost said it is monitoring customer feedback during the transition, although it noted responses have been “occasional”. It added that services such as bill payments and stamp purchases are also available through its mobile app and SAM website.

Some users, however, said these alternatives are not easy to use. One described the website as “not very user-friendly,” although others have found a workaround, opting to “simply queue” when needing to pay postage and shifting bill payments to AXS machines. /TISG

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