Postage meter

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A postage meter is an electro-mechanical device for producing evidence of postage . Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use of postage meters.

The postage meter was introduced in the United States in 1912 by Arthur Pitney, who in 1920 went into business with partner Walter Bowes in order to produce the machines.

Postage meters have evolved from purely mechanical devices to today's Internet-based postage dispensing services. The evolution of the postage meter is covered in the following sections.

1 Electronic meters
- 1.1 Digital meters
- 1.2 Internet-based meters
2 External links

[edit] Electronic meters

[edit] Digital meters

There are a number of companies offering postage meters, also called franking machines.

[edit] Internet-based meters

Paypal works in accordance with USPS and acts as a postage meter. Paypal allows customers to pre-pay and print the postage which can be affixed onto a package and dropped off for delivery.