Patent ID: 6938018

Claim:
A modular postage accounting system for generating and printing secure postage indicia, comprising: a computer having a first I/O port, a second I/O port, and a third I/O port; a printer having a first printer port, said first printer port operatively coupled to said first I/O port for printing secure postage indicia and other information from said computer; a modem having a first modem port and a second modem port, wherein said first modem port is operatively coupled to a telephone line and said second modem port is operatively coupled to said second I/O port; a secure metering device having: a first communications port operatively coupled to said third I/O port, wherein said first communication port is configured to communicate postage information between said secure metering device and said computer; storage means configured to redundantly and securely store said postage information, secure communication means configured to securely communicate with said computer, and first computing means coupled to said storage means and coupled to said secure communication means, wherein said first computing means is configured to control said storage means and transfer said postage information from said storage means to said secure communication means; first automated reading means configured to read human-readable information from said secure postage indicia; second automated reading means configured to read encoded postage information from said secure postage indicia; and second computing means coupled to said first automated reading means and coupled to said second automated reading means, wherein said second computing means is configured to compare said human-readable information and said encoded postage information to determine the authenticity of said secure postage indicia.