It is not your conventional hole in the wall. Gold to go, a gold dispensing ATM machine unveiled in Madrid is the first of its kind in Europe. It provides gold bars and coins in exchange for cash.
The exterior of the machine is coated with a thin layer of gold and offers customers several options, ranging from gold bars that can weigh one, five and 10 grams. Customised coins are also available. A computer inside the ATM ensures that real time gold prices are updated every 10 minutes. The smallest denomination costs approximately 40 euro.
"The big benefit for the client is to have gold at an always reasonable price, what you never can get on a daily basis in banks or with other deals, so if you want to buy gold at a good price you come to the machine and you buy, if you are looking for some small souvenir, the smallest souvenir is for 40 euro, you can find here in the machine," said Thomas Geissler, inventor of Gold to go and CEO of Ex Oriente Lux AG, after unveiling the dispenser at Madrid´s Westin Palace Hotel.
The shiny machine blends in with the posh decor at Madrid´s five star Westin Palace hotel, a favourite for the rich and the famous. The economic crisis does not worry the manager of the hotel chain who sees Gold to Go as a good investment and an option for gift giving.
"Well first of all I don’t think I am going to solve the economic crisis. I wouldn’t call it a gimmick but I think it is something which will allow people to just change the habits in the way they do a gift," Marc Lannoy, Westin general manager said. "The smallest coin is 40 euro, that instead of giving a bunch of flowers, it’s something that you can offer."
Gold to go was first made available in Abu Dhabi´s Emirates Palace Hotel. The cash-for-gold machines were first tested in Germany in 2009, but Geissler chose Abu Dhabi for the official launch of his invention because of the region's high demand for gold.
Geissler's timing is spot-on, as investors choose to gold as a safe haven from economic turbulence.
"At a time when the euro is low and people are fearful of the loss of value of currency, we are offering this opportunity although we don’t want to raise fears in the financial sector," the Gold to go inventor said.
Geissler plans to open 10 more gold dispensers in the United Arab Emirates in the next two weeks. The one in Abu Dhabi currently sells 40 to 100 pieces a day and makes a couple of hundred thousand euros a month, Geissler said.
In addition to Madrid´s dispenser, Gold to go was also unveiled in Bergamo airport in Italy on Thursday.
Reuters