An Post may license its online bill payment service, Billpay.ie, to international firms, although it has achieved only moderate success in the Republic to date.

Mr Eddie Manning, customer development and marketing manager, confirmed An Post was talking to several international firms about possibilities. Billpay.ie, enabling consumers to view and pay a range of bills online, had attracted 14,000 subscribers since it was set up in August 2000, he said. This accounted for about 5 per cent of An Post's 15 million bill payment transactions every year, he added.