Mailing and logistics solutions provider Neopost today said it has partnered with India Post to sell digital franking machines to mass-mailers in the country.

Digital franking machines allows mass mailers, such as companies that send out a large number of mails, to pay for postage as and when they need it instead of having to paste stamps.

"Our partnership allows us to sell 'DigifrankPlus machines' in the country to corporates and small and medium businesses, while the same machines will be contracted to government bodies through the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals," Neopost India CEO Sanjeev Sharma told PTI.

The machines will be priced upwards of Rs one lakh depending on the capacity of the machines, he added.

The capacity of the machine starts from franking 1,200 mails an hour and goes up to 15,000 mails per hour.

"India Post, in December 2009, had granted approval to Neopost range of new digital franking machines using Remotely Managed Franking System (RMFS), Earlier Electronic Franking Machines were used and the deadline set for replacing such machines is June 30, 2013," Sharma said.

RMFS allows the user to pay for the postage online.

"Earlier, the machines had to be taken to the post offices where some official would open it and manually put in the value of franking that was purchased. Now the payment can be done online and the machine is automatically updated," he said.

Asked about how many machines Neopost expects to sell, Sharma declined to comment but added that there is an established base of more than 20,000 machines and there is a huge growth potential in the segment.