After requiring the healthcare industry to shift to cost-cutting paperless systems, the U.S. government is taking a spoonful of its own electronic-transaction medicine.
Beginning Jan. 1, the U.S. Treasury will no longer sell paper U.S. savings bonds at banks or through the mail.
Instead, customers can buy electronic versions of the low-risk bonds online at TreasuryDirect.com.
The government estimates it will save $70 million in printing, mailing, storing and processing costs by switching to a paperless product.
“Through TreasuryDirect, investors have an easy and convenient way to purchase and manage their bonds free of charge,” said Public Debt Commissioner Van Zeck. “Investors will no longer have to worry about misplacing, losing or storing paper savings bonds.”
The elimination of over-the-counter sales of paper bonds at banks is part of the Treasury’s all-electronic initiative, launched last year. The Treasury estimates that digital solutions for a number of its processes will save more than $400 million and 12 million pounds of paper over the first five years of the initiative.
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