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Local fintech Troygold, the creator of SA’s first gold-backed savings account, debit card, has secured an investment Crossfin Ventures, the angel investment arm of Crossfin Technology Holdings.
Founded in 2018, the fintech digitses gold bullion, and Krugerrands and its customers are able to buy, sell, spend and borrow against their gold.
Established by brother duo Bastiat and Dane Viljoen, the pair have in-depth experience in the financial sector with experience at Goldman Sachs.
The founders have provided insight into what inspired them to create the ground-breaking fintech.
“We saw first-hand the damaging effects of money printing and the debt-based financial system, and wanted to introduce an alternative,” explains Dane Viljoen. “After working in the investment banking sector, we turned our attention to understanding the gold value chain, and saw a gap for a technology-led solution that would extend digital financial services to physical gold owners.”
Anton Gaylard, CEO of Crossfin Ventures attributes their investment into the fintech to the startup’s strong team and powerful value proposition.
“Enabling a broader market to save and transact in fractions of gold was particularly appealing, especially since gold is a finite resource that has stood the test of time and is free from the uncertainty and volatility of fiat currency and cryptocurrency.
Our objective for the investment is to leverage the complementary elements of the broader Crossfin portfolio and explore opportunities for expanded banking and financial services backed by gold.”
The gold bars or coins with serial numbers are digitised via Troygold’s system providing either part or whole ownership of the gold.
Each buyer receives an ownership certificate that indicates which bar or coin (with indicated serial number) that the customer owns along with details as to where it is stored.
According to reports, the fintech currently has storage facilities in Singapore and Johannesburg.
Bastiat Viljoen, CEO of Troygold explains that the ongoing volatility of the global financial system and the deteriorating value of fiat currency makes a strong argument for a return to gold-backed stores of value.
“Gold has a six thousand year track record as a safe store of value and is the only money that carries no counterparty risk. In a volatile world, gold offers a safe haven asset that always maintains value. However, most gold sits in the dark in vaults and safety deposit boxes, and we wanted to ‘light up’ that gold with utility and turn it into something gold owners can use for day-to-day transactions.”
The fintech startup offers two options to its customers; either a free-gold savings account which digitises the customer’s gold stores of value or a Mastercard-backed gold debit card that enables gold owners to purchase goods and services at any of Mastercard accepting stores.
“With the investment from Crossfin Ventures, we hope to scale our solution to reach more South Africans wishing to free themselves from the inflationary effects of fiat currency and enjoy the stability and financial freedom that gold brings,” concludes Viljoen.
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