An online shopping platform for the post office is under development by a top professional services firm.

Wayne Furbert, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, said KPMG was working on a three-year proposal which is expected to see the public service compete with private delivery companies.

He told the House of Assembly last Friday: “As part of the Bermuda Post Office strategic objective to increase revenues, the department will be introducing an online shopping platform to allow our customers to purchase products and have them delivered through the Bermuda Post Office network. We believe that we can compete with the other courier services.”

Mr Furbert added: “Our price structure will be, of course, much lower.”

He said: “The work is being done right now by KPMG, looking at a three-year business plan to see how this whole thing can be put in place so as soon as we get more information from them we can reflect the numbers in the Budget.

“Right now they are not reflected in this Budget.”

The minister added that “spot checks” were planned for customers who receive items through the postal service — instead of requests to open every parcel in front of staff — as part of an effort to speed up the process.

Mr Furbert explained that other improvements were expected to include touch screen kiosks at the General Post Office in Hamilton and all sub-post offices.

Wi-fi will also be provided at the GPO.

Susan Jackson, the One Bermuda Alliance’s Shadow Minister of Government Reform, asked for more information on the separation of an online shopping platform from “traditional processing” of the island’s post.

Mr Furbert explained that although the post office already provided a service for goods to come into the country from overseas, the value of the items was a fraction of that carried by private firms.

He added that talks were taking place with shipping service MyUS.com.

Mr Furbert said it was hoped that the KPMG plan would be completed in the next six weeks.

The late Walton Brown announced plans for a post office online shopping service a year ago, when he was the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

MPs were told that there will be five stamp issues in 2020-21. These are expected to include the themes of Bermuda bridges, the 400th anniversary of Parliament and the 100th anniversary of The Garden Club.