Estimated contract value, (Payments by Department and Post Office):
£1 billion, net present value over 7 years
Number of post offices to be equipped:
Up to 20,000, with 40,000 counter points in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Number of post office staff to be trained in use of the system:
67,000 staff, serving 28 million customers per week
Number of social security benefit recipients to be issued with Payment Cards:
17 million, claiming some 24 different benefits
Number and value of benefit transactions:
In 1999/2000 some 760 million payments worth £56 billion were made through post offices