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August 9, 1999
Web posted at: 3:11 p.m. EDT (1911 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Stamps.com Inc. and privately held E-Stamp Corp. said Monday they have received approval from the U.S. Postal Service to sell stamps on the Internet.

The move marks the first time in 80 years that the federal agency has allowed a company to offer a new form of postage to customers.

The systems work by printing postage amount, class of mail, date and city on an envelope or label. The same information is embedded in a bar code, already used by the post office for faster electronic reading of destinations.

The bar code also has a unique digital signature to prevent against tampering.

There is also an area for advertising. It is hoped that this feature will attract small office and home office users.

In separate statements, Stamps.com and E-Stamp said they were the only two companies to receive regulatory approval for online postage sales.

Using the Stamps.com service, customers can log onto the company's Web site and print stamps with an ordinary laser or ink jet printer, requiring no hardware.

Stamps.com proudly displays a big stamp of approval on their updated web site
The E-Stamp electronic vault sits in the back of your PC and stores your postage dollars

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company said it will start offering the service next month. It concluded a 12-month test in Washington, D.C., Hawaii and California.

San Mateo, Calif.-based E-Stamp said online postage is available to consumers immediately. Its service requires software and a small device about the size of a roll of stamps that connects to a personal computer.

Once connected to the E-Stamp Web site, consumers can buy postage using a credit card and download up to $500 of postage. Using the hardware, customers do not have to stay logged onto the Web site to print stamps.

Other companies have offered postage services meant to cut the trips that businesses and consumers make to post offices. Pitney Bowes, for example, offers postage by phone for businesses.

Correspondent Marsha Walton and Reuters contributed to this report.