Canada Post Postal Disruption → Payments Playbook

Because the underlying model of postal-based payments is under stress (both from labor actions and structural reforms), you need to shift fast.

14-Day Triage & Migration Plan

Goal: Minimize missed payments, avoid penalties, maintain receivables and payables flow, smooth stakeholder communication, and transition permanently off physical mail dependencies where viable.

Phase 0 (Day 0 – same day)

1. Activate a “Payments Crisis Command Team”

a. Include heads of finance, treasury, AR, AP, legal, IT, and communications.

b. Daily standups (15 min) to status-check progress by payment category/portfolio.

2. Map “mail-dependent” payment lines/buckets

a. Vendor cheques (AP)

b. Customer invoices (Statements, bills)

c. Internal transfers via cheque

d. Government remittances/tax payments

e. Benefit/pension cheques

f. Other mission-critical cheque mailers

3. Get stakeholder communication ready

a. Pre-drafted e-mail/SMS/web notices for customers, vendors, employees explaining risk, urging digital channels

b. FAQ page, escalation hotline for payment queries

c. Sample script for your collections / AR teams

4. Freeze non-critical cheque mail

a. Identify low-dollar or non-urgent cheque issuances you can pause or batch until after stabilization

b. Communicate to vendors, clients that some cheque-based payments may be delayed, but digital alternatives are open

Phase 1 (Day 1–3)

5. Swift onboarding to digital rails (for both AR & AP)

For each counterparty (vendor or customer):

a. Collect / verify bank account + routing / transit details

b. Confirm supporting information (name, remittance format, correspondence)

c. Execute an agreement/addendum: “electronic payment / deposit / ACH / EFT consent”

d. Deploy minimal fraud risk mitigation (e.g. micro-deposit verification, dual controls)

6. Enable alternate collection channels

a. Online portal / Pay-by-Card / IVR Payments / virtual terminal (ensure its all PCI Compliant)

b. ACH / EFT / wire remittance

c. IVR Payment / Pay-By-Phone phone payments (PCI Compliant)

d. Payment via partner solutions (processors/gateways)

7. Segment and prioritize critical flows

a. Government remittances and tax payments

b. Vendor payments with tight due dates

c. High-dollar invoices or clients in close credit

d. Payroll or benefits disbursements

For these, target same-day or next-day digital conversion (e.g. wire, EFT).

Phase 2 (Day 4–7)

8. Roll out communications & choice mandates

a. Send notices to all counterparties: “cheque payments may be delayed; for uninterrupted service, enroll in e-deposit / EFT / portal by [date].”

b. Incentivize switch: e.g. discount, faster processing, avoidance of late fee penalties

c. Provide guides, video walkthroughs, customer support for onboarding

9. Run fallback checks + reconciliation tests

a. Test send a small ($X) digital payment to a sample vendor to validate routing

b. Monitor failed/returned payments sharply

c. Reconcile mismatch/exceptions

10. Track key metrics daily

a. Changeover rate: percent of analog payments converted

b. Exception/error rate

c. Days sales outstanding (DSO) shift

d. Missed/late payments/penalty costs

e. Cash flow variance due to delay

Phase 3 (Day 8–14)

11. Lock in permanent changes for high-risk lines

a. Close down cheque issuance to top 20% by volume/value

b. For remaining cheque lines, negotiate fallback windows or holdouts

12. Review and rationalize payment architecture

a. Identify gaps in your payment stack (e.g. no IVR, no portal, legacy software)

b. Plan integration or outsourcing of missing rails

c. Build automated remittance advice and reconciliation flows

13. Post-mortem & institutionalize

a. Document what worked, failure points, counterparty resistance

b. Update playbooks, system logic, SOPs

c. Regularly simulate “postal outage” stress-tests

Communications / Messaging Templates & Snippets

• To vendors:

“Due to the ongoing postal disruption, cheque mail may be delayed or lost. To ensure timely payment, please enroll in electronic funds deposit (EFT / ACH) by [date]. If needed, we will send a one-time advance by wire to ensure continuity.”

• To customers:

“Your invoice may not reach you by mail this month. Please view your statement online, and pay via our portal, bank e-transfer, or phone. Cheques may not arrive in time to be accepted.”

On public website / FAQ:

• “Will my payment bounce / incur late fees?”
• “How to switch to e-deposit / EFT / online payment”
• “Contact us: [email protected] / hotline”

Risk Controls / Guardrails

Fraud / verification

• Use micro-deposits or trial small transfers before enabling full volume
• Dual control for payment setup (one person requests/collects, another approves)
• Immediate alerts on payment failures / returns

Liquidity buffer

• Keep a short-term cash buffer to absorb delayed collection / payables lag
• Adjust credit line usage temporarily to maintain cash coverage

Fallback clause for counterparty resistance

• Maintain ability to pay via cheque only if digital fails, but with clear escalation
• Document all attempts to onboard digital route (audit trail)

Longer-Term / Strategic Considerations (30-90 days)

1. Redesign your “payment footprint”

• Push for fully digital-first AR/AP architecture
• APIs, bank-direct integrations, open banking rails

2. Negotiate contract terms / SLAs

• In future contracts, include clauses requiring counterparties to maintain digital payment readiness
• Penalty or discount mechanisms if counterparties force physical payments

3. Insurance / hedging

• Investigate business interruption clauses tied to “postal system failure”
• Work with banking partners on advanced receivables factoring

4. Play “vendor-of-last resort”

• Some fintechs might offer fallback “postal-bridging” services (e.g. scanning & digitizing checks)
• Evaluate embedding that in your supply chain

5. Stakeholder / investor communication

• Use this as a signal: your organization is preparing for disruption risk and is more resilient
• Brand as a payments-forward, modern finance team