Ask HN: Why doesn't USPS act as a payment processor?

[piratesAndSons]

As their revenue dwindles due to new technology—such as email reducing the number of letters sent—and increased competition from other shipping companies, I think the USPS needs to enter the payment processing business. Instead of relying on thousands of middlemen like PayPal, Stripe, and similar services, USPS would be a far more reliable and trustworthy option for legal businesses. The fees generated could not only finance the entire agency but also generate profit for the U.S. Treasury.

The rule would be simple: as long as you are not violating a federal law, USPS payment processors would handle your transactions. Do you know how many legitimate businesses currently struggle or cannot operate because of these parasitic middlemen? USPS could operate similarly to the Bank of North Dakota, legally unable to deny banking services to someone without strong legal grounds. This move could save the agency, eliminate parasitic middlemen who siphon money and favor certain clients, and provide a viable path for many businesses to remain operational. I know that in the 1990s, USPS wanted to offer email services, but the DOJ blocked it. So, my idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds—people smarter than me in the agency were already thinking about expanding USPS’s services thirty years ago.

[josephcsible]

Because powerful people like being able to deny banking services without strong legal grounds. Everyone who complained about https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/12/2025-15... would be opposed to your idea too, because they want to be able to debank people they don't like.

[danielschreber]

They do.

https://www.usps.com/shop/money-orders.htm

[tldrthelaw]

I've argued[0] for similar involvement by the USPS. Got a lot of "good idea!" comments and no traction.

[0] https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/se...

[pants2]

USPS should have issued every American an official government email address 20 years ago

[toast0]

The USPS offers and redeems Postal Money Orders. There's your (inconvenient, expensive) payment processor right there.

[JojoFatsani]

Don’t you think they’ve got enough to do already with dwindling resources?

[nacozarina]

do you have a moment to talk about your savior the Congressional Lobbyist?

[iwanttocomment]

Sure, postal banking [0] has been around forever. Could it be updated to the modern day and in the US? Of course! Why not? Because we apparently just can't have nice things.

It's a perfectly good idea that just doesn't have political traction in this era.

We could also have, you know, universal health care. Like any other normal country.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_savings_system