Common myths and facts you should know before investing in E Gold
People have been investing in gold for ages, and the yellow metal has remained one of the popular asset classes in the country. Apart from the physical gold, there are other options to invest in yellow metal. In the last few years, the boom in the digital revolution expanded to the gold market, and it introduced a new form of investment – E Gold. E Gold as a concept is quite new in India.
What is E Gold?
Simply put, E Gold is a mode of investing in physical gold. It is just like regular gold, can be bought online and is stored in insured vaults by the seller on behalf of the customer. You can buy or sell 24 karat Hallmark gold for as low as ₹100 on MyShubhLife app.
How is E Gold different from physical gold?
E Gold, simply put, is vault-stored, 24K, pure gold that users can access via digital channels. Platforms like MyShubhLife enable customers to buy, sell and receive vaulted gold at low ticket sizes, around the clock, with the tap of a button. With this innovation, gold has become more functional, approachable and efficient.
Physical gold, on the other hand, is usually bought for ornamental purposes but cannot be considered a smart investment option. It covers many non-refundable fees such as making charges, storage costs etc., making it a liability rather than an asset. Moreover, holding gold in its physical form at home is fraught with risks.
The pandemic has accelerated the rising preference among users to transact and invest digitally, making E Gold one of the most popular investments.
Why should you invest in E Gold?
With E Gold, we offer customers a smart way to invest in gold. It is ideal for those customers who want the dual benefits of investing in gold as well as the option to easily take physical delivery. Indians are amongst the second-largest buyers of physical gold in the world. Apart from jewelry, we use it for gifting and as an integral part of every household’s assets. E Gold is a safe, convenient and hassle-free way for those wanting to accumulate gold, with the eventual option for delivery.
The largest digital platforms in the country, including e-commerce portals, wealth management channels, banking and payment apps, are offering E Gold as part of their offerings. Over 100 million consumers own E Gold today.
Is E Gold better than physical gold?
Gold is a popular investment among Indians and is purchased to commemorate every auspicious occasion and even passed on to future generations. The purchase of physical or E Gold depends on the needs of the customer.
Physical gold is usually bought for consumption purposes, largely in the form of jewelry. It can be bought directly from a jeweler with no involvement of an intermediary.
However, there are some drawbacks to physically holding gold. One has to buy physical gold in multiples of 1gm (equivalent to approximately ₹5,300) compared with multiples of Rs 100 when buying E Gold. In addition, jewelry and ornaments will come with high making costs and there is always the risk of theft. Selling physical gold involves a trip to a jeweler whereas E Gold can be sold anytime (after 48 hours of buying) with money instantly credited to your bank account.
E Gold combines the convenience and speed of the internet with the safety and security of traditional gold purchases. As an investment option, E Gold is considered to be safer and cost-effective. In short, if you’re sure of the jewelry you want, buy physical gold. If you want to accumulate gold and have complete flexibility over how to use this gold in the future – jewelry, gifting, investment or collateral for a loan – then E Gold is a great option for you.
How is it different from Gold ETFs and Gold funds?
Purity, convenience and liquidity are a few of the key factors that differentiate E Gold from ETFs(exchange-traded funds) and Gold funds. Buying E Gold is as easy as purchasing clothes, food or recharge online. It can be bought online, stored in insured vaults on behalf of the customer, and can be purchased via multiple mobile e-wallets, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) IDs or banks.
Currently, E Gold is not directly under the purview of any regulatory body. So there is an element of risk as rules are not yet in place yet? How safe is E Gold?
E Gold, being a relatively new offering in the country, does not have regulations guiding it yet. However, to safeguard customer interest, we at MyShubhLife have partnered with SafeGold that has put in place several independent checks and balances through a Security Trustee, as well as an Independent Custodian. This ensures that customer gold balance is always safe and they do not take any risk on SafeGold. We believe in having robust systems that would protect customer interests.
According to recent industry reports, the regulators are looking at framing guidelines for the sector. Such a step is welcomed and will lay the foundation for the healthy growth of the E Gold space in the country. We look forward to working together with all regulators to build a transparent, seamless digital ecosystem in the country
What are the key benefits of buying E Gold?
Convenience: Consumers can buy E Gold from a variety of mobile wallets, UPI apps and apps such as MyShubhLife and many more.
Authenticity: SafeGold sources gold bars that subscribe to the ‘Good Delivery’ standards and all the coins manufactured for are assay certified by a government licensed agency. All coins and bars are independently certified to ensure the highest purity of 99.99% 24K gold.
Liquidity: Customers can sell their gold for cash, via their bank account, through a live 24/7 market-linked rate
Safety: Gold corresponding to each transaction is already stored in the physical form in a secured vault with full insurance
Budget: Investing in E Gold can be considered as a versatile tool to start a SIP or buy even for a nominal amount, as per the customer’s financial capacity
Easy possession: Users can have gold delivered to their doorstep, at any time in a tamper-proof, insured package
How has the recent NSE guideline affected the gold market?
While the revised regulations have restricted stockbrokers from offering E Gold, we have not seen a significant impact on the sale of E Gold. The yellow metal still remains one of the most sought forms of investment in India, and just as buying physical gold remains legal, the purchase of physical gold through digital means, also remains legal and safe.
Users who held E Gold on our platform, via stockbrokers were not impacted by this new directive. E Gold bought via any of our authenticated partners are safely stored in a vault.
Big brand jewelry stores are selling gold as low as ₹100. What does this mean for the jewelry industry?
This is a positive development for the gold industry, as it democratizes access to gold. Low ticket sizes dramatically expand the market size for the players in the sector.
With offerings like E Gold, people can invest in gold for as low as Re 1. It is a state-of-the-art product that allows customers to possess a traditional asset while reaping the benefits of cutting-edge technology. Digitisation of gold has encouraged an increasing number of users to adopt E Gold, given its versatile usage.
Common misconceptions around E Gold
It is a paper certification of gold ownership: One of the most common myths is that when a customer invests in E Gold he/she does not own it physically. This is not true. Gold corresponding to every purchase, irrespective of the amount, is stored in a secured and insured vault. Customers can access and take delivery of the gold bought at any time.
Extensive documentation is required: A user just needs a phone, access to the internet and a bank account or UPI. It is as simple as shopping online for any other product. Only in cases of the transaction exceeding ₹2 lakh, PAN card information must be provided.
Online gold is not pure gold: SafeGold offers 24 Karat gold of 9999 purity (99.99% pure). All SafeGold coins and bars assay certified to ensure the highest purity.
Credit: Excerpts from the original article on Mint