Patent ID: 8060445

Claim:
Method of franking mail items in a mail franking System of a user method comprising the following steps: opening of a franking session by establishing a secure connection through a user's local area network between local secure metering devices of a plurality of local franking management modules of the user and a central secure metering device of the user connected to a remote credit reloading server of a mail franking system operator, booking by each of the local secure metering devices of a predetermined franking value from said central secure metering device, transmitting by the central secure metering device a temporary session key to each of the local secure metering devices; secure franking of mail items by each of the local franking management modules up to the limit of this pre-booked predetermined franking value, at the end of the session, transmitting to the central secure metering device by each of the local secure metering devices the franking value consumed during the session and statistics relating to the corresponding frankings, and debiting in the central secure metering device of an overall franking value equal to the sum of the franking values consumed by each of the local franking management modules.