Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos (''Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation''), abbreviated as ECT, also known as Correios, is a state-owned company that operates the national

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

of Brazil since the seventeenth century. The company created and manages the Brazilian

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

system known as

Código de Endereçamento Postal ''Código de Endereçamento Postal'' (Postal Addressing Code) is the Brazilian postal code system commonly known as CEP. Introduced in 1972 as a sequence of five digits, it was expanded to eight digits in 1992 to allow for more precise localizatio ...

. It also provides

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

platform (''CorreiosNet Shopping''),

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

(''Banco Postal'') acting as proxy of

Banco do Brasil Banco do Brasil S.A. ( en, Bank of Brazil) is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. The oldest bank in Brazil, and among the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world, it was founded by John VI, King ...

Boleto ''Boleto bancário'', simply referred to as ''boleto'' (English language, English: bank ticket) is a payment method in Brazil regulated by (FEBRABAN). A boleto can be paid at Cash machine, ATMs, branch facilities and internet banking of any ba ...

bill payment collection and express mail service ''Sedex'', with its international service network reaching more than 220 countries worldwide. It is the largest employer in Brazil with more than 109,000 own employees and outsourced, being the only company to be present in all municipalities in the country, with a wide network of owned and franchised units. The company is fully owned by the

Federal Government of Brazil The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided in 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided in thre ...

and subordinated to the

Ministry of Communications A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...

(MCom).

History

The Post Office had its origin in Brazil on Thursday, 25 January 1663. In 1931 the Federal Decree Number 20.859 of 26 December merged the Directorate General of Posts to the General Bureau of Telegraphs and creates the Department of Posts and Telegraph. The new name and status, ECT, was created Thursday, 20 March 1969, as a public company under the Ministry of Communications through the transformation of the Federal Authority which was then the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. In the years that followed, several services were being incorporated into the portfolio. Besides the traditional services of letters, courier, postage and telegrams among the new services can be highlighted those belonging to the SEDEX family, express delivery service. In August 2013 the company has provided 2,000 of its mail delivery staff with smartphones to provide real-time information on their deliveries. The move is the first phase of a new Mobility in the Postal Service project in which the company is looking to allow customers to track their deliveries in real time on the Internet. The first phase covered the SEDEX 10 express service in various states (a service that delivers documents and goods with a guaranteed delivery time before 10 am the next day after posting). In December 2013 the company inaugurated its second hybrid mail production center in Santa Catarina. The new facility near Florianópolis will serve the south and the states of Ceará and Bahia. It has the ability to scan and produce 2.7 million items each month, a little smaller than the Brasilia plant's 4.5 m capacity, which was opened in August of that year. At the moment, the two plants together are producing about 2.5 m mailpieces a month, including communications for the Ministry of Health and notifications for the Federal Highway Police and the Judiciary. The company is also planning to open a facility in São Paulo later this year, while next year facilities will be opened in Belém, Salvador and Belo Horizonte as the company's hybrid mail capabilities expand. In February 2014 it was reported that Correios has inked an agreement with its Italian counterpart Poste Italiane to launch a mobile virtual network operator (

MVNO A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobile ...

) in Brazil. Until then Brazil had two MVNOs, Portoseguro and Datora. In October of that year National Presort Inc. has won a $11m contract to upgrade sorting technology, which will see the replacement of controlled electronics,

barcode reader A barcode reader is an optical scanner that can read printed barcodes, decode the data contained in the barcode to a computer. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor for translating optical impulses into e ...

s and software within existing sorting machinery of Correios. In October 2019, a

Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

was published including the Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos (ECT) in the Investment Partnership Program (PPI), enabling studies to be conducted and alternatives for partnership with the private initiative to be evaluated. In March 2021, ECT was included in the National Privatization Program (PND), the inclusion of which was recommended by the Investment Partnerships Program Council (CPPI). During the first studies the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

opted for the total sale of the company. In-depth studies were conducted by the

National Bank for Economic and Social Development The National Bank for Economic and Social Development ( pt, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, abbreviated: BNDES) is a development bank structured as a federal public company associated with the Ministry of the Economy of Braz ...

(BNDES) and the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

was approved by the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, according to the approved text, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) will regulate the sector, changing its name to 'National Agency of Telecommunications and Postal Services' (Anatel). The proposal still has to be approved by the

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

and sanctioned by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

before being evaluated by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). In June 2022, the company's president Floriano Peixoto, spoke about the changes implemented in recent years during the radio program A Voz do Brasil. According to the president, radical actions were taken to accelerate the investigation of irregularities and strengthen

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...

, in addition, they sought to rationalize its resources, getting rid of unused and unserviceable assets. The alienation of 50 buildings yielded R$ 41 million and R$ 80 million from vehicles. Changes in the Collective Labor Agreement (ACT) generated annual savings of R$ 500 million (around ). The company is present in all 5,570 municipalities with 11,000 service units.

Logo history

Before 1970 Correios used governmental insignia to identify itself. From 1970 Correios used a logo designed by architectural student Eduardo J. Rodrigues in a public competition. From 1990 on this logo became part of a new logo which basically added a textmark and afforded a colour scheme as part of a broader visual identity. To celebrate its 350th anniversary Correios requested the agency CDA to design a new logo which takes recourse to the original design by Eduardo J. Rodrigues and has been in use since May 2014. File:Correio do Império do Brasil.jpg, Emblem 19th century File:CoA Brazil Post 1932 - 1968.svg, Emblem 1932 -1969 File:Correios (1970).svg, Logo 1970-1990 File:Correios (1990).svg, Logo 1990-2014 File:Correios (2014).svg, Logo 2014-

Sponsorship

Correios was one of the benefactor of the

Jordan Grand Prix Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. The team was based at Silverstone, UK but raced with an Irish licence. In early 2005, the t ...

in the 1994–

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

season.

References

External links

Official Website
(Portuguese, Spanish & English) {{authority control Service companies of Brazil Logistics companies of Brazil Braz Companies based in Brasília Companies established in 1663 Communications in Brazil Government-owned companies of Brazil Brazilian brands