BERLIN: German stamps will soon be kitted out with individual matrix codes to help stop letters getting lost in the mail, national postal company Deutsche Post said Tuesday.

Customers will be able to use the codes to track when a letter has arrived in the local processing centre and when it has reached its destination region, Deutsche Post said. The codes, which are similar to QR codes, will sit alongside the traditional images in what will be “a new generation of stamps”, according to the company.

“Stamps with matrix codes make our service even more reliable — and the stamps more interesting,” said Tobias Meyer, head of the company’s German post and parcel division.

The first stamps featuring the codes will be rolled out from Thursday, with more to follow later in the year.

By 2022, they will be featured on all German stamps.

However, the codes do not allow for full parcel-style tracking and they will not tell customers whether a letter has actually been delivered.

DHL owner Deutsche Post reported record results in January as the pandemic fuels a package boom spurred by online shopping. Revenues climbed five percent year-on-year to 66.8 billion euros ($80.4 billion), buoyed by strong performances from the parcels and express units.