WGC Releases Fresh Guidelines Aimed at Regulating Digital Gold Investments

The World Gold Council has announced publication of guidelines to potential investors to help them take appropriate decisions on investing in digital gold. The guidelines are aimed at thwarting fears and ensuring safe practices in purchases of gold on the internet. Alongside, the Council also urged the cooperation of governments of countries who are prominent markets of online gold purchases such as India to issue necessary regulatory norms to regulate digital gold trade.

According to WGC, digital gold or similar products are offered by more than 200 providers across the globe. These providers are spread across various countries ranging from Europe and North America to Asia and the Middle East. These providers are believed to hold gold worth billions of dollars.

Recently, India has witnessed notable jump in digital purchase of gold. The service providers are hardly regulated in the country. The new guidelines aim to educate the investor on the safety risks associated with such investment. In addition, it outlines a set of sound practices to be followed by service providers in order to ensure safety of transactions. The government’s push for digitization and cashless transactions has led to phenomenal jump in digital purchases.

WGC suggests carrying out proper KYC checks on investors, providing proper insurance cover and conducting periodic auditing and inspection of gold stored with independent custodians. Moreover, the details of transaction fees must be made transparent to the investors.