GoldMoney Review

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If you are looking for a precious metal investment company chances are that you’d like to work with a firm that has a proven track-record. Gold Money is one such company.

It has been around for more than two decades and has cut a niche for itself in this vast market. But as it turns out, though, the company is far from perfect.

A Quick Overview of Gold Money

This is a precious metal sales and storage services provider. It has been around since 2001 and has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Over time, it has expanded its reach to different countries and different continents. They currently have a physical presence in Hong Kong, Canada, USA, UAE, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Switzerland.

Who Owns GoldMoney? The Company’s Ownership

James Turk is the founder of GoldMoney Inc. He created the company along with his son Geoffrey. The company’s official profile on the Toronto Stock Exchange however lists Joshua Dale Crumb and Roy Sebag along with James as the founders.

James himself looks like an experienced banker and investor. He claims to have worked as a senior executive at The Chase Manhattan Bank.

Josh Crumb is previously of Goldman Sachs. He claims to have a Master of Science degree from the Colorado School of Mines.

Lastly, Roy Sebag is a serial entrepreneur behind several different financial technology companies including some in crypto.

Products & Services

The company’s business model is slightly different from what its key competitors in the precious IRA space provide. Indeed, it stands out from the pack thanks to its in-house Holding system which makes it quite easy to buy and sell precious metals. Talking about precious metals, here are the four options they have on sale.

Gold

We all know just how important gold is for an investment portfolio, don’t we? Well, it is one of the products available on GoldMoney’s inventory. But unlike other companies that encourage you to buy coins and bars, this one sells it as online units through their Holding company.

Of course, you still get to buy real gold but its value will be availed to you through your GoldMoney account. And that way, you can conveniently trade with others without having to physically ship the gold.

It is almost the same way you transact with crypto, only that in this case, the value is backed by real gold held in one of the 15 storage facilities owned by this company.

Silver

Unlike gold which is primarily used for its value, silver has currency as well as industrial uses. So, you can never go wrong by having a bit of it added to your portfolio.

GoldMoney is known for selling and storing this precious metal through their Holding company. And since the company is almost entirely digital-powered, you get a highly convenient way to transact as well as the ability to keep the premiums low.

If the idea of buying silver but in crypto like fashion fascinates you, then GoldMoney might be worth working with.

Platinum

It’s probably the most sought-after industrial application metal in the world. But beyond its industrial use, the metal has fast grown to become a reliable store of value. When buying Platinum from GoldMoney, one thing to keep in mind is that you need to set up a Holding account.

The main catch with using this method is that you have to part with a 1% fee each time you sell your precious metals.

That might not seem like much but if you have a really large investment, a 1 percent charge can be quite huge and punitive.

Palladium

With the world moving more and more toward reducing greenhouse emissions, the popularity of Palladium is also rising steadily. It’s a rare metal, no doubt about that. Just like the other three, you get to purchase palladium under GoldMoney as a tangible asset and without any counterparty risks.

There’s however, a 0.5% buy/sell fee for this metal along with a storage fee which varies from 0.065% to 0.082%.

How It Works

So, you’ll basically be required to set up a holding account and have it verified. The verification process involves you sending your documents as part of the company’s Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. The verification process can be done both online and offline.

The benefits of owning a holding account include extra freedom to make transfers and purchases across the globe.

Another key benefit of this type of arrangement is that you can own anything from just a few ounces of your favorite metal or large quantities. So, this is how to get started.

Step One: Apply for a Holding Account

If this is your first time using GoldMoney, you’ll be required to provide your basic details including:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Email
• Password
• Nationality
• Place of Birth
• Current Country of Residence
• Phone Number

Once you fill in that information, you’ll be required to confirm that you have read the company’s client agreement document.

Step Two: Verifying Your Account Details

Now that your account is up and running, you’ll need to verify your details so you can fully access the GoldMoney services. Well, this is a basic requirement by pretty much all legitimate financial organizations in this day and age – it is actually a measure to prevent fraud and money laundering.

You’ll basically be required to provide a copy of your government-issued ID as well as your utility bills or recent bank statement as proof of address.

Step Three: Fund Your Account

As part of your initial registration, you’ll be required to provide clarifications on information regarding your source of funds. Your source of funds can be anything from:

• Gifts
• Pension/retirement income
• Salary
• Sale of business
• Profit

Failure to provide adequate information can lead to delays in approving your account. So, be sure to get this part right.

To add funds, you simply need to go to your account dashboard under “Manage Funds” and select Add Funds. You’ll then be prompted to choose your preferred funding method. Some of the methods you can use to add funds to your Gold Money account include:

• Bank Wire transfer
• Credit Card
• Cryptocurrency
• PayPal
• Alipay
• Wechat Pay
• Transferwise & Xoom

If you are going to opt for bankwire transfer, it is important to note that this company only accepts funds in nine different currencies namely USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, CAD, NZD, JPY, AUD & HKD). 

Step Four: Buy/Sell Precious Metals

Obviously, the first step you need to take is to purchase precious metals so you can store them and sell them at a future date. 

To buy your first gold/silver/platinum/palladium, simply visit the menu Indicated by three-lined hamburger icon at the top of your account. Under the menu, select Precious Metals and then Buy metals.

The rest of the process is pretty straightforward. It involves selecting which type of metal you want to invest in, the currency balance you want to use and also the amount to purchase.

You’ll then be prompted to select the vault under which you want to have your precious metals stored. There are at least 13 vaults that you can choose from (across 6 countries).

Please note that each vault charges different storage fees generally ranging from 0.065% to 0.082%.

It takes 24 to 48 business days for your buy and sell order to be fully processed.

Benefits of Buying Your Precious Metals from GoldMoney

We may not be huge fans of GoldMoney (because of reasons stated a bit later on in this write-up), but there are a few things we truly like about them. These include:

1) Transparency

It is rare to come across a precious metal company that is this transparent. Most shady companies choose to hide some information only to reveal it when you’re at an advanced stage of the deal – but not this one.

GoldMoney states everything in black and what including buy/sell fees, storage fees and so forth.

This way you can do your own math and make independent decisions at each step of the way without feeling rushed or conned.

2) Easy-to-use

Whether you’re setting up your Holding account, funding it or purchasing gold, everything is simplified for you. And in case you find yourself struggling at any stage, they have videos that you can conveniently refer to.

It took us barely 15 minutes to create an account and upload verification documents. So, it’s a pretty easy thing to do.

3) PayPal & Cryptocurrency Support

There’s no denying, this is one of the best things you get when you choose to work with GoldMoney. You see, most companies that limit you to Bank Wire transfers can often mess you up further when they limit your choice of currencies. And while this is also the case with GoldMoney, they make up for that by providing you with a zillion other funding methods.

From the ever-convenient PayPal to the newest kid on the block – crypto, the kind of versatility you get here is undisputed.

4) They Take Safety Seriously

GoldMoney does not cut corners when it comes to client safety. They will ask you for all manner of details just to prove it’s you – and while this is a good thing for safety, it might seem like too much if you’re not used to this kind of scrutiny.

We happen to like this kind of thoroughness and that’s why we think it’s truly of the benefits of investing your hard-earned money with this company.

5) Gold IRA Assistance

Would you like to invest in precious metals as part of your retirement plan? Or maybe you’d like to transfer your 401(k) account to a precious metals IRA? Well, GoldMoney has a bespoke solution that you can tap into.

Unfortunately, unlike Goldco which handles your IRA issues internally, GoldMoney does this through a third-party company called Entrust.

Entrust is a reputable IRA company and apparently has been in partnership with GoldMoney since 2009.

Disadvantages of Gold Money

Much us this is a legit company that seems to get most things right, there are a couple of concerns we have about them. 

1) Expensive Metal & Storage Prices

This is one of the main problems of dealing with greedy but well-established brands. GoldMoney takes full advantage of its popularity to charge a premium for its services. Picture this, they charge you a commission whether buying or selling! They also charge for you storing gold with them.

What’s more, all their charges are on percentage basis. They don’t have fixed charges. That means, the more you trust them with your money, the more they’ll want to eat it.

Fixed charges work best for people with large accounts while percentages seem to favor small-time investors.

So, if you’re thinking of investing anything above $5,000, we suggest looking elsewhere.

2) Rigid When Selling

So, what happens after you hold your deposits for some time? Obviously, you’ll want to sell your precious metals at some point in time. And now this is where things get a little complicated with GoldMoney.

They will ask for your identification documents (once again despite the fact that you provided them during sign-up) and keep you waiting for an approval. This can sometimes take weeks.

This often means missing out on market opportunities you initially wanted to capitalize on. 

3)  A Series of Negative Reviews

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And if that phrase is anything to go by, then GoldMoney is having it rough there. They have an unbelievably low rating on Trustpilot (2-stars after 1,000+ reviews) and a long list of complaints on their BBB page.