Muthoot Exim Private Ltd has tasted success buying back old gold from customers and recycling it. Its Gold Point retail outlet, which buys back gold, has expanded to 50 centres currently. 

“We bring it (old gold) to Mumbai and send it to refineries where it is refined into pure gold. Then, it is supplied to gold coin manufacturers,” said Keyur Shah, CEO of Muthoot Exim .

Launched in 2015 in Coimbatore as a pilot project, Gold Point is currently present across metropolitan cities, tier I and tier II cities. “We are yet to venture into rural areas. We have aggressive plans to expand to 100 centres before the end of the current fiscal or the first quarter of next fiscal,” he told businessline in an online interaction.

Why it was launched

Gold recycling is an “interesting element” of the Muthoot Exim Private Ltd, which is the precious metal vertical of the Muthoot Pappachan Group. The company launched it because India has a huge amount of gold, but it is not being recycled. “That’s why there has been over-dependence on imports, which does not help the country’s macro-economics,” said Shah.

There are two reasons for Muthoot to launch Gold Point. One was to create a platform for end-consumers to sell their gold holdings transparently.  “We do the testing in a scientific way through XRF machines. We don’t rely on goldsmith methodology, which is more of an estimation,” he said.

All the process, smelting and everything is done in front of the customer. “The second reason was from the Government’s standpoint, as nearly 99 per cent of the country’s demand is met through imports. The World Gold Council (WGC) had estimated over 30,000 tonnes of gold in the hands of private people and temples. Even if one per cent of it is recycled, it will reduce imports by 30-40 per cent,” said Shah, who earlier worked with the WGC.

Gold saving scheme

Muthoot, which launched its 50th Gold Point centre recently, has got a good response to its purchases of old gold. “Most of the customers who walk in find our valuation more fair and better than what they got at other places. So, it is doing pretty well. We are the only national player who is into this gold recycling, the company’s CEO claimed. 

The Gold Point outlets in Bengaluru, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata and Delhi are doing well. “Even in Thiruvananpuram, we have one branch which was launched last year. That is also doing well,” he said.

Muthoot Exim has a scheme, Swarnavarsham, for consumers to purchase gold as savings over a period of time. “You can buy as per your budget - half a gram or one gram, or 5 grams, month on month. You can buy and keep accumulating,” he said.

If a low-income customer wants a 2-gram ring or 8-gram bangle or a 6-gram chain, they may not be able to pay upfront. These customers get the option of finding the product, making a 15 per cent down payment and blocking the product with the price being frozen. 

For silver too

“We raise the invoice and the customer can pay the balance in instalments of his choice -daily or weekly or monthly,” Shah said, adding that the success of the scheme can be seen from over 55 per cent of the customers coming for repeat orders.  

Muthoot Exim has a similar scheme for silver, but it is available only in a few States where the white precious metal is popular. The company has come up with the digital version of the scheme called e-Swarna, which is compliant with all regulations, he said. 

Mostly, the younger generations are opting for this digital version, where the money deposited is converted into digital gold. “Even if someone deposits ₹10, it gets converted into that much value of gold. The gold gets accumulated in the customer’s wallet. Once the customer accumulates half a gram of gold, it can be redeemed. Even physical gold can be delivered,” the CEO said. 

Understanding gold value

On whether there is any rise in gold as an investment, Shah said he has not witnessed an increase to that extent. “But Indian housewives understood the value of gold as a hedge against inflation. This is a term that wealth managers use today. Indians have been doing for the past many years,” he said. 

On a Gold Point-like outlet for silver, Shah said the company has it in mind, as a lot of queries have been received. But infrastructure-wise, it needs a lot more space as the volume for silver will be huge. “At this stage, we have not considered buyback of silve yet,” the CEO said.  

Published on June 12, 2025