E-Stamp to Begin Testing in Canada

Online postage retailer E-Stamp is expected to announce today that Canada Post Corp. will begin testing its Internet postage system in early February. The market trial in Calgary, Canada, represents the first test of Internet postage in an international market, according to the San Mateo, Calif.-based company, which competes with Stamps.com of Santa Monica. Customers of Canada’s federal mail service will be able to send letters and packages throughout Canada and the U.S. as part of the pilot program. About 60% of the worldwide postage market is outside the U.S., and the opportunity to serve other countries extends E-Stamp’s potential market by about $90 billion, said Robert Ewald, the company’s president and chief executive. E-Stamp shares closed at $18, down 13 cents, on Nasdaq.