Come rain or shine, investing in gold is considered one of the safest investments in India — a fact that explains its popularity since time immemorial. As every investment these days is available digitally, the sought-after asset of gold too can be bought online. The advent of technology has made India’s favorite form of investment more accessible contemporarily as you can invest in gold from the comfort of your own room.
This can be done by investing in digital gold online. Digital gold is a relatively new recourse that is gaining popularity. Let’s find out more about this investment option.
What is Digital gold?
Digital gold is 24k pure gold that can be bought online as an alternative to physical gold. It is an embryonic concept compared to the regular mode of gold investment that has been going on since time immemorial. Only three companies offer digital gold in India. These are Augmont Gold Limited, Digital Gold Pvt. Ltd and a collective enterprise of MMTC Ltd and MKS PAMP (a swiss company) called MMTC-PAMP Pvt. Ltd.
How is it different from Physical Gold?
Price & Investment amount
While buying digital gold, investors do not have to worry about fluctuating prices across the market as digital gold investment takes place according to real-time market price which is uniform across the country. In addition, one doesn’t have to worry about a minimum threshold limit for investment as anyone can start with an amount as low as Re 1 at certain platforms.
Both these salient facilities are not available when you invest in physical gold as the price for gold varies demographically. Even though there is not any prescribed amount with which one can invest in physical gold, the amount required for investment is usually a lot higher than Re 1 as buyers generally tend to buy in the multiples of 10 grams or prefer buying coins/ bars/jewelry that is more high-priced.
Purity guarantee
When it comes to digital gold, the 24K 99.9% purity of the gold is a given. The investor doesn’t have to worry about the pureness while purchasing. Although, while getting physical gold, consumers are advised to be careful and buy only hallmarked or certified items from a trusted seller.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites attached when buying gold traditionally. Nonetheless, while investing in digital gold, one is obliged to be KYC compliant. KYC is an authentication process and individuals are required to submit documents such as Aadhaar, PAN as proof of his/her identity.
Storage
Unlike physical gold, digital gold is insured and stored in vaults securely by the selling entity on behalf of the buyer so that the customer doesn’t have to worry about keeping it safe from theft or any other external damaging factor.
Cost
Dealing in the digital form of gold involves some extra costs that otherwise would not have to be borne if one chose the alternative. These costs include storage costs, management and handling fees, insurance, and charge for online transactions. Contrarily, the only supplementary charge usually levied on physical gold is the making cost.
Physical possession
The biggest difference between these options is the physical possession of gold. When buying physical gold from a jewelry store or any other source, the gold is readily available to the buyer. But in the case of digital gold, it is not the same narrative. Investors do not get to keep the gold with themselves physically but can request the gold to be delivered to them. This however involves paying an extra cost.
How to invest in digital gold?
The digital gold can be procured by investing on one of the partner platforms or some relevant apps, websites, and even banks, which act as an intermediary between the issuers and the investors. On some platforms, one can invest in digital gold with a sum as low as Re 1.
On the face of it, digital gold is a more convenient option than physical gold, it can be bought easily by signing on the platform of one’s choice and completing a simple KYC process that includes authenticating one’s identity by submitting certain documents such as aadhaar, PAN, etc.
Both these options have their own merits and drawbacks. Potential buyers can make their decision based on the features that furnish them with the most convenience.
Having said this, there are many other gold securities like Sovereign gold bonds in which one can invest and get returns in the form of interest from the investment. It is essential to make informed decisions while investing and align them with your financial goals.
