Uzbekistan introduces gold bars as a means of payment

Uzbekistan's central bank announced a new set of gold bars in November Introduced which can also be used as money. The new gold bars have credit card-sized packaging and contain a QR code in addition to a unique serial number. Due to the closed packaging, one can easily check the authenticity and determine the value. With this, the central bank wants to promote the use of gold as an alternative means of payment among its own population.

The central bank shall bring the Gold bars with weights of 5, 10, 20 and 50 grams in circulation. They have a purity of 99.99% pure gold and come in the same size packaging. This packaging is made by an Italian manufacturer and includes two additional security features to check authenticity.

Uzbekistan's central bank puts new gold bars into circulation (Source: CBU)

Gold bars as a means of payment?

The new gold bars are in circulation by 28 different banks in Uzbekistan brought to the. These banks also buy the precious metal. The smelter that produces the gold bars has an LBMA accreditation, which makes it easy to sell the gold bars internationally.

Until recently, Uzbekistan's central bank only sold 1 troy ounce collector coins. However, by offering gold bars in a smaller size, the central bank can appeal to a much larger target group. In a statement, she writes the following about this:

"The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan begins the sale of gold bars through commercial banks to expand the investment and savings opportunities of the population and promote the circulation of precious metals in the country."

The packaging contains several safety marks (Source: CBU)

QR code on gold bars

The population of the Central Asian country will mainly buy gold bars as a form of savings, but the central bank thinks they can also play a role as a means of payment. For larger purchases, people can also use these types of credit cards with gold in addition to normal money. Because of the QR code and buyback guarantee from banks, more people will accept these cubes of gold.

This is not the first time that a smelter has put a QR code on the packaging of gold bars. Gold market analyst Jan Nieuwenhuijs van The Gold Observer notes that the Swiss company PAMP has been using this technique for some time under the name Veriscan.

This contribution was made from Geotrendlines