There’s a new player in the Utah financial arena — and it makes it possible for an Average Joe to walk up to a convenience store kiosk and buy real gold.
In a move to make it easy and viable for every person to purchase, store and exchange gold, Salt Lake City-based GoldATM has premiered new gold-dispensing ATM kiosks at five locations along the Wasatch Front along with six in Las Vegas and two ATMs in Reno. GoldATM introduced its gold-vending ATM concept at the ATM Industry Association trade show in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Catering to a growing demand for alternative gold currency, the new machines dispense “Goldback” bills made of pure 24-karat gold, with the lowest denomination bill available for just $20. The bills look and feel like regular currency with the same flexibility and durability.
GoldATM said the response to the concept has been positive and the company has begun receiving requests for the ATMs from additional Utah locations. Interest in the ATMs from consumers and additional businesses has been growing significantly by the day, the company said
Goldbacks are considered “specie legal tender,” a recognized alternative gold currency in the state of Utah and a growing set of states that also includes Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming and South Dakota. Many other states like Florida and Texas are also proposing legislation for Goldbacks as specie legal tender or have adopted similar legislation already.
“The Goldbacks our GoldATMs dispense are not a promise of gold,; they are the gold,” said Andrew Carey, GoldATM co-founder and CEO, said. “[They] can be easily used to save, store, exchange to dollars or even used to make payments at the steadily growing list of more than 1,000 merchant locations in Utah that accept the bills as a legal alternative currency.”
The Utah sites where the gold dispensing ATMs are located are the KSS Food Mart in Kearns, the Shell station on State Street in Pleasant Grove, the Kwick Stop in Roy, the Sunburst Food Mart in Salt Lake City and the Shops at Southtown in Sandy. The Las Vegas locations are throughout the city with several of them on or near the Las Vegas Strip.
“Gold is more popular than ever with rising inflation,” Carey said. “Costco reportedly sold more than $100 million of one-ounce gold bars last fiscal quarter and had to limit purchases to two bars per customer because of overwhelming demand. Most gold bars have a minimum investment barrier of $2,000, which is out of reach for most people who just want to buy smaller amounts. Our Gold ATMs allow customers to buy as little as $20 of gold and to dollar-cost average over time. We are serving a part of the retail gold market that has never been properly served before via a distribution method as familiar as an ATM.”
Carey concluded, “The interest in our GoldATMs is tremendous and growing, for a variety of reasons — which opens the need and opportunity for us to use our legacy of experience in the ATM industry to make this resource available in a way that is accessible and convenient for all. We have plans to deploy and distribute several thousand GoldATMs across the United States over the next two years. We’re also in early discussion with prospective partners for international distribution already.”
“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and the economy continues to evolve, the introduction of GoldATMs represents a significant step towards democratizing access to gold as a stable investment,” said an analyst at Bloomberg’s BNN financial website. “By providing an easy and accessible way for people to purchase, store and exchange gold, GoldATM is redefining the financial landscape and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate in this valuable market.”
GoldATM.com is a privately held Utah corporation.