On the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the country's largest mobile payment and commerce platform Paytm, has launched Digital gold, enabling Indians to buy, store and sell pure gold instantly.

This facility has been launched in collaboration with MMTC-PAMP.

Paytm users can now purchase gold online and store it in MMTC-PAMP's highly secure vaults free of charge. They can also request for their gold to be delivered at their home in the form of minted coins or sell it back online instantly.

Speaking on the launch, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO-Paytm said, “Gold is the preferred form of investment for Indians and we are making it easier for our users to invest in gold digitally.”

With this product, Paytm customers can buy and sell international quality gold at market-linked prices instantly, he said. “The goal is to offer complete flexibility in deciding the amount they want to invest, and enable consumers to develop habit of saving regularly in digital gold for long-term wealth creation,” Sharma added.

Consumers can buy gold for as little as Re 1, thus democratising access to a wider set of customers as it will make investing in gold more affordable.

Vijay Sharma said that Paytm was launching its first wealth management product through this digital gold.

"This is the first step in Paytm's journey in wealth management", he said. .

After having disrupted payments and shopping segments through its digital offerings, Paytm is now offering a gold savings product targeted at the masses.

In the pilots done ahead of the launch today, Paytm has already processed 10 kiliogram of gold through its platform, he said. Paytm expects atleast 100 million accounts to be opened for digital gold in next one year.

Mehdi Barkhordar, Chairman at MMTC-PAMP India Pvt Ltd said "As India's first and only internationally accredited gold and silver refinery, we are proud to be placing India in its deserved leadership position in the global bullion market. Our partnership with Paytm provides every Indian access to high quality, 24K 999.9 pure gold in a convenient and transparent manner"

Arjun Raychaudhuri, Head-Strategy & Digital Transformation, MMTC-PAMP India Pvt Ltd, said this kind of digital gold product was pioneering on two counts-- one could come in with as little as Re 1 and secondly it can be accessed through a mobile phone.

"You are able to transact in gold at a low denomination.This Product was only conceptualized with the poor in mind. It's basically a financial inclusion product and a retail product targeted at the bottom of the pyramid", Arjun later BusinessLine.

Srivats.Kr@thehindu.co.in

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