Aol & Postal Service Join Forces To Offer E-Stamp Service

Online Newsletter, Feb, 1999

Looking for a 33 cent stamp? ... AOL (America Online, Inc.) has announced its "E-Stamp Internet Postage" (tm) service in conjunction with the E-Stamp Corporation and following U.S. Postal Service endorsement for beta testing trials of the new online electronic service.

The new service offers users the convenience of purchasing postage online, and then printing "digital stamps" on labels, envelopes, or onto a document anytime from the Web or directly from leading desktop software applications such as Microsoft Word using their own PC and a standard printer.

The E-Stamp Internet Postage software automatically verifies the address and the correct postage, simultaneously deducting the postage amount from the customer's account.

The E-Stamp service has been approved by the U.S. Postal Service for consumers and small businesses in limited test markets. National approval is expected in early 1999 to make the service available nationwide.

[This is all very highly interesting since the U.S. Postal Service recently phased-out -mechanical- postage meters to prevent counterfeiting, and this, obviously, is a new "Pandora's Box". - ed.]

E-Stamp will be a partner in AOL's new Postage Services Center, scheduled to launch in early 1999. The service will also be available to CompuServe members, and visitors to AOL.com and Digital City soon to be available on each brand. These postage centers will feature direct links to E-Stamp's Web site [e-stamp.com]. Postage will be purchased using a major credit card, transferring funds electronically, or pre-paying by check.

The E-Stamp Corporation, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a privately-held company [(650) 843-8000]. To receive information via email, address requests to: info@estamp.com or access the company's Web site at http://www.estamp.com