POL00023612
POL00023612
DOCUMENT - 25
DRAFT - IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE AND SUBJECT TO LEGAL PRIVILEGE
GLO COMMUNICATIONS — HORIZON ISSUES JUDGMENT
FACT SHEET — HORIZON — FOR USE ON INTRANET AND TO BE PROVIDED TO RELEVANT
EXTERNAL/ INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
The Horizon system
Horizon is the electronic point of sale system used across all 11,500 Post Office branches to
record and reconcile each transaction.
Horizon supports approximately 30,000 terminals in branches, with currently around 60,000
users and 47 million transactions a week.
Horizon was first introduced in 1995 on a pilot basis in a small number of Post Office branches,
before being rolled out more widely. The current version — Horizon Online — was introduced in
2010 and has been continually improved and updated. Investing in technology remains a
priority and in 2018/19 Post Office rolled out new equipment to all branches and transformed
its back office systems.
Transactions in Post Office branches are undertaken on behalf of other large-scale organisations
including high street banks, utility companies and Government departments. The accuracy of
transactions is therefore subject to reconciliation checks with their systems, as well as with
those of Post Office systems. Around £60 billion worth of transactions are processed through
Horizons.
[Horizon, which is supplied by Fujitsu, is subject to regular comprehensive and independent
reviews, testing and audit procedures — top line details XXXXX]