Indiagold launches EMI-based gold purchase product ‘EasyGold’
2 min read 30 Mar 2021, 04:04 PM ISTEasyGold allows users to lock the price of the total gold they look to purchase, by paying 20% of the order value upfront
PremiumFintech platform for digital gold services, Indiagold, on Tuesday announced the full-scale launch of its third product, EasyGold, which allows users to buy the precious metal digitally, across equated monthly installments (EMIs) of three to nine months.
Indiagold, which has been piloting the product for the last 3-4 months, has partnered with precious metals management company, Augmont Gold for the service and has already received close to 1,500 orders during its pilots.
Citing the key differentiator of the product, the startup said that EasyGold allows users to lock the price of the total gold they look to purchase, by paying 20% of the order value upfront. This further insulates consumers from any future appreciation or depreciation of the asset price.
Users can then pay the remaining amount across monthly installments spread equally over three, six or nine months. In addition to this, EasyGold allows users to purchase gold for ticket sizes as low as Rs5,000, with the final product shipped to the consumer’s doorstep.
Currently, users have the option to buy gold digitally through EasyGold, in the form of gold coins, bangles, earrings and chains, on the Indiagold website and its Android and iOS app.
“Our target audience is completely different from the existing products since we not only deliver the products digitally but also tap the bottom of the pyramid segment and early salaried individuals which are outside the income tax net. To make the product more lucrative for these segments, we have introduced different form factors of gold through simple ornaments. But we are not a jewellery startup," said Deepak Abbot, co-founder of Indiagold.
Currently, most of EasyGold’s customers are from tier-II and tier-III geographies, with 60% of the demographic from South India residing in cities including Vijayawada and Warangal, Abbot told Mint.
Customers can also choose to cancel their gold purchase anytime, after paying a 2% commission to Indiagold, the company added.
Indiagold has also partnered with India Post as well as Blue Dart to enable deliveries of EasyGold products, across all pin codes in India. It also provides free shipping insurance for doorstep deliveries across India, the company said.
The company plans to scale this product to 500 orders on a monthly basis, in the coming year.
"EasyGold enables customers to buy gold within their budget, without worrying about rising gold prices or worrying about purity. Another benefit is that because customers bought their gold from us, we can comfortably lend against it and offer higher loan to value, which is given to hallmarked jewellery. So we're solving for both their consumption and credit needs," said Nitin Misra, co-founder of Indiagold.
Indiagold, which was founded in 2020, by former Paytm executives Misra and Abbot also offers instant doorstep loans against gold and jewellery, as well as an offline gold locker service for a monthly commission of Rs99.
The company provides loans against gold collateral at an annual interest of 9% to 14% and has already delivered close to Rs16 crore in credit to customers. Both its products of doorstep "gold loan" and "gold locker" are currently operative in the Delhi and national capital region (NCR). It plans to scale these offerings to fivnew cities this year.
According to Indiagold’s estimates, around 240 million of the 290 million households in India own gold products.
Recent data from the commerce ministry shows that gold imports fell 3.3% to $26.11 billion during April-February 2020-21.
