South African Fintech Troygold allows Kruger rand owners to upload and digitise their physical assets and then use it for transactions and finances. Customers receive an ownership certificate and can then save, spend and borrow against the estimated R300 billion worth of gold coins in South Africa via a mobile app and Mastercard debit card. The gold storage and insurance are free of charge.
South Africans have an estimated R300 billion in Krugerrands hidden in drawers, under mattresses and in safes
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Troygold was founded in 2018 by brothers Bastiat and Dane Viljoen and allows customers to download the app and deposit their Krugerrands by taking them to a registered drop off point like Scoin Shops. Users can then access their wallet through the mobile app to trade any amount of gold 24/7 and enjoy instant liquidity on gold holdings.
If you own more than 20 coins, Troygold will arrange for secure collection.
“Gold is history’s most stable money in terms of maintaining its value and purchasing power over time. Krugerrands used to be stored at safety deposit boxes in bank branches, but frequent robberies made the practice too risky and banks stopped offering the service,” explains CEO Bastiat Viljoen.
“Most South Africans who own gold Krugerrands are stashing these at home in safes and drawers, which is a security risk. Troygold offers a superior solution where owners maintain full legal ownership of their Krugerrands, but with security at no charge and easy access to increased financial liquidity.”
The physical gold is denominated in Rands in a Troygold Mastercard that is linked to a physical cheque account at Access Bank.
“Gold has outperformed the Rand by an average of 14% each year over the last 50 years”
“Troygold account holders can instantly access cash by way of a loan facility to the value of 75 percent of their gold holdings. The funds in the loan facility can be spent anywhere Mastercard is accepted, or the value can be transferred to another bank account,” says Viljoen.
There are no monthly account fees with a Troygold account but there are standard transactional fees associated with the Troygold Mastercard. The gold-backed loan facility has monthly interest rates from as low as 1.25 percent.
All customer holdings are fully insured against loss or theft and gold holdings are audited monthly. Troygold’s technology gives each gold coin a unique identity number when it is added to the vault storage so that ownership is never in question.
Troygold is currently only available in South Africa, but the company plans to expand internationally. Crossfin Ventures (which includes co-investor Investec) has invested in the business.
Read more: Innovative South African fintech secures funding
Featured image supplied by Troygold
