One of the problems with buying platinum is the cost. Platinum is more expensive than gold ounce for ounce so one has to fork out more money to get the same amount of precious metal.

Usually the most economical method of buying platinum is by the ounce. The premium and shipping costs are a big factor however and can add substantially to the cost. This means it takes longer to recoup the expenses incurred in buying platinum either from a dealer or mint.
However, there is a way of buying platinum that does not involve a lot of cost, saves on shipping and one can buy virtually any amount without an additional penalty. This is through the use of the company called GoldMoney.

Gold Money
Signing up for an account with GoldMoney is free and enables one to buy either real gold, silver and platinum in any amount for a small fee and have it stored in either a London or Zurich Bank Vault.

The precious metal is stored in bullion bars and the amount you own, weather a part of a bar or entire bars, is represented by the account you have. That account shows how much of each metal you have, which bank vault it is in and its current value at any given time. You can buy or sell as much or as little as you want at any time which is very convenient for people who wish to buy small amounts on a regular basis and want to be able to sell just a small amount rather than their entire value of precious metal.

This is an excellent way of buying platinum as one can buy just fractions of an ounce rather than having to pay for full ounces if their economic situation makes that difficult.

Creating an account with Gold Money is easy and uses a similar basic identity application system as many banks. Once an account is opened and the identity of the account owner is verified one can proceed to fund the account with platinum, gold and silver.

One usually transfers funds through bank either by bank wire or CHAPS/BACS (UK bank accounts only).

Security
What about security you might ask. An important question! Itt states on the GoldMoney website:

1. The vault operator is VIA MAT International Ltd.,
MAT International Ltd., an independent third party, routinely prepares a bar list showing all of the precious metals owned by GoldMoney’s customers that is held in its vaults. These reports, which include bar number, weight, refinery, and fineness, are posted quarterly to our website.

2. Reports by the Metal Administrator
The metal administrator, Andium Trust Company, an independent third party, verifies that the totals shown in the bar list prepared by the vault operator equals the amounts of gold, silver and platinum recorded in GoldMoney’s database. The metal administrator has special access to review at any time the total amount of metal recorded in GoldMoney’s database. These reconciliation reports by the metal administrator are posted quarterly to our website.

3. Reports by the Vault Auditor
The vault auditor, Inspectorate International Ltd, an independent third party, audits on a quarterly basis the precious metals owned by GoldMoney???s customers to ensure that the physical bars held in the vaults operated by VIA MAT International Ltd correspond to the bar weight lists posted to our website. The audits are performed on a statistical random sample basis with the exception of Registered Gold Bars which are audited on a 100% basis every quarter. The audit certificates issued by Inspectorate International Ltd are posted quarterly to our website.

An a SAS 70 Type II Audit report is also done once a year and available to account holders upon request.

When you use GoldMoney you actually own real platinum, gold and silver and it is not pooled or shared as is with some ETFs and other services. The precious metal is yours and in your name. And the cost is minimal. There is no shipping or insurance costs to worry about also.

Using Gold Money therefore, is probably one of the best ways of buying platinum around.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 9:56 am.