Patent ID: 7433849

Claim:
A method for a postage metering system including a data center and a remote computer to generate postage evidence, the data center maintaining a meter account for a mailer, the method comprising: receiving from the mailer a first set of rating parameters for which postage evidence is authorized by the mailer to be dispensed from the mailer's meter account, the first set of rating parameters including at least one of a weight classification, a mail classification, and an oversize indicator; storing the first set of rating parameters at the data center; receiving at the data center a request for the postage evidence from the remote computer, the request including a second set of rating parameters associated with a mail piece; determining at the data center if each of the parameters included in the second set of rating parameters associated with the mail piece matches one of the parameters included in the first set of rating parameters stored at the data center; generating at the data center the postage evidence utilizing a processor and cryptographic keys stored at the data center if each of the parameters included in the second set of rating parameters associated with the mail piece matches one of the parameters included in the first set of rating parameters; and inhibiting generation of the postage evidence by the processor if one or more parameters included in the second set of rating parameters associated with the mail piece does not match at least one parameter included in the first set of rating parameters.