Toronto-based BitGold Inc. launched its Business Accounts and merchants processing service today at the Money 20/20 Europe conference in Copenhagen.
The service gives ecommerce merchants a modern option to accept a currency that was used as far back as ancient Greece – gold. The payments processor is focused on enabling international transactions by trading real physical gold stored away in vaults. Merchants can accept payments via credit card or debit card and either keep their funds in gold or opt to convert payments in gold to their local currency for a one per cent fee.
BitGold Business Accounts pairs its international gold-trading platform with several other services more familiar to ecommerce merchants.
- BitGold Invoices: A customizable template allows users to send invoices internationally in any currency they want. A global tax and shipping calculator is included and approved customers can make payments with gold after purchasing it for a one per cent transaction fee.
- BitGold Pay: A checkout button similar to PayPal checkout that allows customers to pay without cross-border fees or exchange rates.
- Developer API: A soon-to-be-released tool for developers that will help them integrate it to third-party invoicing solutions, ecommerce platforms, and payment gateways.
BitGold’s proprietary Aurum software enables a global network that allows its users to find the best price for gold in one of its vault locations and then purchase that gold in amounts of as little as three cents. It enables global payment processing by working with banks and companies like Visa and MasterCard so users can buy gold in their local currency. That gold is stored in one of 100 different vault locations around the world, operated and insured by Brink’s.
BitGold works with KPMG as a third-party auditor, and complies with bank-grade Know Your Customer regulations. The company is positioning itself as an alternative to BitCoin that is friendly with regulators, so the name is no accident. It doesn’t use blockchain technology however, instead referring to a “digital ledger” that tracks transaction history.