GLINT - 'reintroducing Gold as currency'

Computer_Beginner

Drp8713 wrote: »

I would go for the iShares Physical Gold ETC, 0.25% charge, 0.05% spread, and I think Blackrock may outlast Glint.

Agreed.
In theory there is no risk, as the gold just sits there in the vault.
The risk is whether there's some kind of theft / fraud etc.

Funny enough, I just saw a news article about a Mr James Ward, wanted by the FBI for some kind of precious metals fraud.

markj113

I joined Glint a few weeks back.

So far so good, responses to questions via telephone and facebook have been prompt.

Took around an hour for my transfered funds to show up in my Glint account (they dont have faster payments yet).

Switched from GBP to gold in a few clicks on the app, linked the master card to my gold account and you can spend it any shop that accepts master card (gold/GBP/USD/Eur act as sub accounts and you link your master card to one to spend via the app)

Few limitations found to date.
1) pin number cant be changed at a cash point (you can access it through the app if you forget it)

2) you cant check your balance at a cash point only in the app.

The apps are still under development and the IOS is ahead of the Android version currently.

IOS - You can swich between Gold/GBP/Euro/USD (checked on daughters Ipad)
Android - You can swich between Gold/GBP

There is an early adopter bonus running at the moment :

"[FONT=&quot]The first 50,000 clients to buy £1000/1000 Eur worth of gold get fee-free buying and spending of gold and FX until the end of 2019."[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Obviously if you hold your funds in gold the price can go down as well as up. My balance is currently up £40 on the £1750 I deposited a few weeks ago. If you do get a spike in the gold price you can switch back into GBP to secure the gains.
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[FONT=&quot] If you look at the product roadmap there are plans to
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]1) Be able to send gold to friends accounts[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Make payments directly to bank accounts
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]3) Have allocated bars with physical delivery possible[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://glintpay.com/about-glint/
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

Computer_Beginner

markj113 wrote: »

I joined Glint a few weeks back.

So far so good, responses to questions via telephone and facebook have been prompt.

Took around an hour for my transfered funds to show up in my Glint account (they dont have faster payments yet).

Switched from GBP to gold in a few clicks on the app, linked the master card to my gold account and you can spend it any shop that accepts master card.

Few limitations found to date.
1) pin number cant be changed at a cash point (you can access it through the app if you forget it)

2) you cant check your balance at a cash point only in the app.

The apps are still under development and the IOS is ahead of the Android version currently.

IOS - You can swich between Gold/GBP/Euro/USD
Android - You can swich between Gold/GBP

There is an early adopter bonus running at the moment :

"[FONT=&quot]The first 50,000 clients to buy £1000/!!!8364;1000 worth of gold get fee-free buying and spending of gold and FX until the end of 2019."[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Obviously if you hold your funds in gold the price can go down as well as up. My balance is currently up £40 on the £1750 I deposited a few weeks ago. If you do get a spike in the gold price you can switch back into GBP to secure the gains.
[/FONT]

So how is Glint managing to undercut the ETFs, in terms of costs?
Is it a synthetic fund? Or do they actually hold audited physical?

Presumably you chose them due to lower costs? Selling gold ETF shares will often have a small fee.

dealer_wins

Drp8713 wrote: »

I would go for the iShares Physical Gold ETC, 0.25% charge, 0.05% spread, and I think Blackrock may outlast Glint.

Got that exact thing in my portfolio, but only at 3% so far, adding when my share dividends hit a total £1000 each time every few months.

Only because I genuinely believe there is a chance of a hard left government (All be it a slim 10% chance) which will literally trash everything bar gold lol

markj113

Computer_Beginner wrote: »

So how is Glint managing to undercut the ETFs, in terms of costs?
Is it a synthetic fund? Or do they actually hold audited physical?

Presumably you chose them due to lower costs? Selling gold ETF shares will often have a small fee.

I asked the question on their facebook page if gold purchased was backed 1:1 with real gold or if a fractional backing was in place.


They responded that all gold purchased was backed with physical metal.
https://www.facebook.com/glintpay/


I chose them due to the flexibilty of the linked master card. I hold quite a large position in physical gold and silver but see this as an easy way to have a play around with short term price fluctuations with the ability to spend the proceeds easily.

Computer_Beginner

dealer_wins wrote: »

Got that exact thing in my portfolio, but only at 3% so far, adding when my share dividends hit a total £1000 each time every few months.

Only because I genuinely believe there is a chance of a hard left government (All be it a slim 10% chance) which will literally trash everything bar gold lol

Do you fear the government taxing your wealth or crashing the stock market?
Because if it's tax that concernes you, I don't see why they'd exempt gains or holdings in a gold ETC, compared to a shares fund.

If it's a stock market crash that concerns you, I don't think the UK government really has that much influence. Most of the FTSE 100 is multi-national anyway. Sterling may crash (again), but both stocks and gold should protect against that.

Computer_Beginner

markj113 wrote: »

I asked the question on their facebook page if gold purchased was backed 1:1 with real gold or if a fractional backing was in place.


They responded that all gold purchased was backed with phyical metal.
https://www.facebook.com/glintpay/


I chose them due to the flexibilty of the linked master card. I hold quite a large position in physical gold and silver but see this as an easy way to have a play around with short term price fluctuations with the ability to spend the proceeds easily.

So it seems as if their business model is to make up for the low custody charges on the gold, by collecting more revenue on frequent day-to-day transactions?

markj113

PuzzledDave wrote: »

ARRGGHHH !!! It's the apocalypse :eek: !! The end times :eek: !! All my pounds and dollars are worthless !

At least I have some gold that I can barter for food. Oh... it's in Switzerland.... and apparently not mine either.

You may mock but I bet those in Venezuela and now Turkey wished they grabbed a little gold pre crisis. If you held the funds in gold in your Glint account and sold a little as needed you would be protected from the currency devaluation.

Computer_Beginner

dealer_wins wrote: »

Interesting thread. I think having maybe 5% of your portfolio in gold isnt a bad idea,

I've heard this 5-10pc gold allocation often, but I'm not sure what it's based on.

It seems to be based on using gold as a hedge against a stock market crash. But if the stock market crashed 50pc (measured against fiat), and gold remained stable, that wouldn't be much of a hedge.
Obviously it's also dependent on risk profile, other asset classes held etc.

I think gold has a role as an emergency fund, separate from investments. But some may prefer cash for that role. Both have their pros and cons.

Computer_Beginner

markj113 wrote: »

You may mock but I bet those in Venezuela and now Turkey wished they grabbed a little gold pre crisis. If you held the funds in gold in your Glint account and sold a little as needed you would be protected from the currency devaluation.

You wouldn't be protected if the government decided to take the gold funds from your account.