23 January 2026
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
For an organisation often criticised for moving slowly, An Post’s Digital stamp or eStamp is a genuinely modern idea. It allows users to buy postage online, write a unique code on an envelope, and post a letter without ever touching a physical stamp. At first glance, it’s elegant and practical. In reality, my own experience highlights why the service still feels unfinished.
I used an eStamp myself in December 2025, posting an letter through a standard post box. The process of buying the eStamp was straightforward, and writing the code on the envelope felt oddly futuristic. What didn’t follow, however, was any sense of closure. I never received a delivery notification, confirmation, or update of any kind to indicate whether the letter had arrived.
How the eStamp Works
The system is simple. You purchase postage online, receive an alphanumeric code, and write it clearly on the top-right corner of the envelope. That code replaces the traditional stamp and is scanned as the letter moves through An Post’s system.
Crucially, though, the eStamp is not tracked mail. Once the letter goes into the post box, the sender has no visibility beyond faith in the system, in pratice. In theory, there is supposed to be a notification of delivery, making this a sort of cheaper version of registered post.
The Convenience Is Real
There’s no doubt the eStamp solves a real problem. Many people rarely send letters and don’t keep stamps at home. For remote workers, students, or small businesses posting the odd envelope, the ability to pay online and post immediately makes perfect sense.
From a design perspective, it’s also clean and efficient. No queues, no stickers, no paper stamps — just a code and a post box.
The Confidence Gap
But that convenience comes at a cost: certainty.
Using the eStamp in December, I was left wondering whether the letter had been delivered at all. There was no notification, no “delivered” status, and no reassurance beyond An Post’s general delivery standards. .
This is where the eStamp begins to feel out of step with modern expectations. In an era where parcels, food deliveries, and even taxi journeys can be tracked in real time, posting a letter digitally only to lose visibility immediately feels like a missed opportunity.
Why Uptake Remains Low
Despite being available for some time, the eStamp is still rarely used in Ireland. Many people simply don’t know it exists. Others are uneasy about writing a code on an envelope and trusting that it will be correctly read and processed. Others question the high cost of €2.22, indeed most people now question the traditional stamp cost of €1.65.
My own experience didn’t inspire confidence. The system worked — presumably — but without confirmation, it felt more like posting a letter in the 1990s than using a 21st-century digital service.
A Good Idea, Still Half-Finished
The eStamp isn’t a bad product. In fact, it’s a good one. But it sits awkwardly between two worlds: digital in how it’s purchased, analogue in how it’s experienced.
If An Post wants the eStamp to gain real traction, it needs to address that gap. Actually giving the sender a basic notification — scanned, processed, delivered — would transform the service from a clever workaround into something people actively trust.
Until then, the eStamp remains what it is today: a smart, underused idea that makes posting easier, but not more reassuring.