SECURE METERING VAULT HAVING LED OUTPUT FOR RECOVERY OF POSTAL FUNDS

A secure metering vault for use with a host printing module via a secure communication link includes a secure output device such as a light emitting diode (LED) configured for outputting the available postal funds stored in the secure metering module in response to a detected malfunction in the secure communication link. The vault includes a processor that monitors the condition of the secure communication link, and that controls the storage and updating of the stored available postal funds in a nonvolatile memory. If a failure is detected in the communication link, the processor outputs to the LED the stored value of the available postal funds based upon a prescribed format, such as Morse code or some other blinking pattern that is equivalent to the postal funds remaining in the vault. Use of the secure output device to output the stored available postal funds enables a user to recover the funds without tampering with the secure metering module, which may otherwise cause self-destruction of the vault or deletion of the available postal funds from memory.