General News
UPS Gives Online Shoppers World Delivery Confidence
UPS said it will expand UPS My Choice and the UPS Access Point network, two of the company’s powerful services that work seamlessly together to provide busy online shoppers and global retailers new personalized solutions to manage residential package deliveries.
UPS My Choice, the customizable online and mobile service where consumers choose delivery preferences and more, will now be available to consumers in 15 additional countries throughout North America and Europe.
UPS My Choice is an industry-first innovation introduced in the U.S. in 2011.
The UPS Access Point network, with the broadest integrated cross-border footprint in Europe, is now available in New York City and Chicago and will expand rapidly to cover all major U.S. metropolitan markets during 2015.
The UPS My Choice and UPS Access Point combined service will also be available in Poland, Italy, Canada and Mexico later this month.
UPS My Choice
More than 10 million U.S. consumers already use UPS My Choice to plan for their deliveries when and where it is convenient for them.
Consumers in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom will be able to sign up for the free service at ups.com/mychoice.
“UPS My Choice has received outstanding customer response and continues to experience rapid growth with one new consumer enrollment every six seconds,” said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive vice president and chief commercial officer, in a statement on UPS’ site.
“Our mobile apps allow users to access UPS My Choice with their smart phone in a streamlined manner and offers several delivery and shipping solutions that fit their needs.”
UPS My Choice members receive advance delivery notifications informing them of the delivery timing of each UPS package.
Consumers also have the ability to reroute eligible packages to another address or reschedule deliveries for a future date before a UPS driver makes a delivery.
Consumers can also activate a vacation setting to have packages held and delivered when they return home.
Unique to the UPS My Choice service, consumers only enroll one time and never need to provide additional information to retailers or UPS to begin taking control of their UPS deliveries.
“UPS My Choice and the UPS Access Point network are a powerful duo that give e-tailers new solutions for personalizing their customer’s package delivery experience,” Gershenhorn said.
“UPS My Choice status alerts have industry-leading e-mail open rates and are extremely valuable for retailers that want to extend special customer offers or communications in addition to the shipment delivery notification and confirmation. We have more than 375 shippers in the U.S. utilizing this feature, including some of the most widely recognized names in retail.”
UPS Access Point Locations
The only thing consumers dislike more than missing a package is having to rearrange their lives to retrieve it.
Earlier this year, 37% of U.S. online shoppers participating in the 2014 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, said they want alternate delivery locations when they are not at home.
Now there is a convenient alternative: UPS Access Point locations. These local businesses, primarily neighborhood convenience and grocery stores with evening and weekend hours, fit a consumer’s busy lifestyle. The locations are designed to be approximately 10 minutes or less from the consumer’s delivery address.
UPS drivers, when unable to deliver a package at the consumer’s residence, will leave a note informing them when they can expect to collect their package at a nearby UPS Access Point location.
Consumers will go to www.ups.com and use the tracking number on the note to get the address.
Consumers will need photo identification to receive their package. In addition, UPS My Choice members will have the ability to send qualifying shipments directly to a UPS Access Point location as their preferred delivery address.
Consumers can also drop off pre-labeled and prepaid packages at a UPS Access Point location during the store’s hours.
There are nearly 300 UPS Access Point locations in New York City and Chicago with more locations being added each week. As part of the UPS Access Point network, UPS is installing self-service smart lockers in metropolitan Chicago.
With government issued identification, or a mobile device, consumers can retrieve their package from a locker in less time than it takes to withdraw cash from an ATM. UPS My Choice members can route their packages directly to these lockers when they will not be home to receive deliveries.
In January 2015, the company plans to add all 4,400 The UPS Store locations throughout the U.S. to the UPS Access Point network.
Currently, there are more than 12,000 UPS Access Point locations in seven European countries. UPS expects to have 20,000 locations in key markets throughout Europe and the Americas by the end of 2015.
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Police in Abuja have uncovered a criminal group making fake diplomatic and government number plates.
Ahmed Sanusi, commissioner of Police FCT, stated this during a press briefing on Friday.
He explained that criminals use these fake plates to dodge security checks and enter restricted areas.
The investigation started soon after Sanusi took office.
He noticed too many unauthorized cars driving around with official government and diplomatic tags.
“I immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into this disturbing trend,” Sanusi said. He noted that these individuals use the plates as a cover to commit crimes and avoid arrest.
The police have already arrested several people caught using the fake plates.
They have also figured out who is making them.
The manufacturers operate outside Abuja, and police are actively hunting them down.
Sanusi kept their names secret so they would not flee.
He stressed that this is a highly profitable illegal business.
Buyers pay between N500,000 and N1.7 million for a single fake plate.
“This will tell you that they are making such huge expenditure because they have an agenda,” Sanusi explained.
“Now they will face punishment that is bigger than both the cost they incur and the agenda they are planning.”
The commissioner urged residents to report any cars with suspicious diplomatic plates.
He reminded the public that real diplomatic tags follow a very specific format.
A diplomatic number plate in Nigeria is a special vehicle identification tag issued to foreign embassies, high commissions, and accredited international diplomats.
Gavi has approved $500 million to strengthen Nigeria’s immunisation programme, primary healthcare services and long-term vaccine financing.
The move followed high-level discussions between Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, ]and Dr. Sania Nishtar, chief executive officer, Gavi in Abuja.
The funding, approved under the Gavi 6.0 programme, will support Nigeria’s efforts to accelerate routine immunisation, sustain polio eradication, expand HPV vaccination, strengthen primary healthcare services, and improve long-term vaccine financing.
Speaking during the meeting, Pate said Nigeria was strengthening its partnership with Gavi to accelerate immunisation, expand primary healthcare services, and ensure sustainable financing for vaccines.
He welcomed Gavi’s country-focused reforms, including the introduction of a predictable five-year funding envelope.
Pate said the US$500 million allocation will enable Nigeria to plan more effectively and deliver life-saving vaccines to more children and vulnerable populations.
The minister also revealed that quarterly visits to primary healthcare centreshad increased from about 10 million in 2023 to more than 45 million, reflecting significant progress in revitalising the country’s primary healthcare system.
Pate welcomed the announcement of a US$600 million pledge by the United States government to Gavi, describing it as a strong endorsement of the alliance’s leadership and the global value of vaccines.
He also commended Nishtar for prioritising Nigeria and praised the closer coordination among Gavi, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, World Bank, Gates Foundation, and other development partners, describing it as a model that has improved efficiency and aligned support with Nigeria’s health sector reforms.
The minister expressed appreciation to Gavi and its partners for their continued technical and financial support, while calling on state governments to invest more in healthcare and immunisation to complement federal efforts.
For many women, financial independence means the freedom to provide for their families and build a better future. Yet, this remains out of reach due to limited access to opportunities, business support, and secure payment solutions.
Like millions of women in Nigeria determined to be financially independent, Pricillia started with a single PalmPay POS terminal, and as an agent, every successful transaction provided a commission which brought her one step closer to achieving her dream.
Through consistency, discipline, and support from the payment platform, she reinvested her earnings and eventually opened her own provision store.
“I started as just a PalmPay agent with one POS. The consistency of the platform gave me the confidence to expand. With the income I earned, I was able to open my own provision shop.” Priscilla said.
For Priscilla, PalmPay was more than a payment platform. Its secure payment infrastructure gave her the confidence to serve her customers, build trust, and grow her income.
Today, Pricillia has joined the statistics of SMEs powering Nigeria’s economy and PalmPay continues to support her daily operations, helping her receive payments, as she works towards her next business milestone. Her journey is a reminder that when women have access to secure financial tools and opportunities, they can build lasting economic independence.
Speaking on Pricillia’s journey, Femi Hanson, Head of Marketing, PalmPay said: “Providing a secure platform that users can trust, whether for everyday payments or high-value transactions, is central to our vision of advancing financial inclusion. Priscilla’s story reflects our commitment to supporting the ambitions of Nigerians by providing a platform they can rely on to grow their finances. After all, seamless banking begins with security, and every successful transaction reinforces the trust our users place in us.”
Priscilla stands among thousands of PalmPay agents nationwide who are helping to expand financial access across Nigeria while earning commissions to create sustainable sources of income for themselves.
Every payment tells a story. It begins with trust, the confidence that your money is secure and that financial services are accessible. And when that opportunity reaches women, it creates ripple effects that transform families, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth.
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