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E-goldTM is a digital currency, a way of owning gold and transfering it using the internet. The company who handles storage and transfer, E-gold Ltd, is the most popular issuer of e-metals. E-gold actually is gold, not just a fancy name. It's lumps of gold sitting in a vault. The value of your account will change with the price of gold. Changes in price might affect you if you store a large amount of gold.
Many different types of digital gold exist, like E-bullion, GoldMoney and Pecunix. E-gold is the most widely used one right now by sites offering products and services. E-gold Ltd stores gold you purchase. You can make payments by sending gold, either by weight or its money value, to other people. E-gold Ltd doesn't accually sell gold. It only stores and transfers it. To buy gold for an E-gold account, you need to use a 'market maker'. It's a strange name for a simple task - they make the market work by buying and selling gold. They charge a small fee when you buy gold, adding the physical gold to your e-gold account. E-gold Ltd, the people who store E-goldTM, charge a yearly storage fee called the Agio. This is currently 1% a year, taken monthly. It's a tiny cost if you keep a small amount in your account (perhaps between $20 and $200). They make their main money from transfer charges called a Spend Fee. Every time you send e-gold, a small amount of the money is skimmed of by e-gold as a Spend Fee. If you send $100, the person receiving it might get $95. Almost every other kind of money transfer has the same kind of charge. Compared to wire transfer, it's a cheap way of sending money. For websites selling stuff, this spend fee is much cheaper than what credit card processers usually cost. If you are sending money to a friend, remember to send enough to cover the spend fee. When buying stuff online, the seller will have added this in already so don't add it yourself. Setting up an E-gold account is very simple. It's free, no obligation and takes around 5 minutes. You can have more than one. After going to the E-gold site, go to the new accounts page. Read the terms and condition before creating your new acount. E-gold accounts are identified by number, e-mailed to you after sign-up. It is vital you use a working e-mail address. Your choice of password is also important as it ensures your funds are secure. Any other details are much less important. E-gold asks for accurate details like name and address. These are rarely checked. Some people choose to enter false details to protect their privacy. Be warned this might cause problems if you ever need to prove your identity, like in some fraud cases. If you use false details, be aware you might lose your gold. Once set up, the account is free until you store gold. Then the agio (storage fees) of 1% per year will start. If you want to know more about signing up, see our detailed instructions. Your first task will be to add gold to your account. You need to find a market maker and buy some gold. Our list of E-gold sellers can help you find one. Once you have gold, it's simple to spend it. With some things, like site memberships, it's usually as quick as picking a membership, giving your e-gold account number and authorising the transaction. E-gold requires you to transfer money. Sites can't take money from you like they can when you pay by credit card. Make sure you understand how much you are transferring. If the site only accepts gold by weight or a currency you're not sure about, check the converter on www.e-gold.com. Transfers cannot be refunded. If you pay into the wrong account, your money is almost certainly lost. Some people might be kind enough to send it back but don't count on it. |