BitGold Business Accounts expands payroll, invoicing and checkout solutions

BitGold, the gold-based payments and savings platform, has launched BitGold Business Accounts and merchant processing and with it a suit of new services such as invoicing, payroll, e-commerce and checkout solutions.

BitGold stands alone from other payment processors or remittance providers by not dirtying its hands with the vagaries of currencies or indeed the banking system. It uses use vaulted-gold bullion as a universal, instant payment rail. During a Money 20/20 Europe panel session in remittances earlier in the week, BitGold CEO Darrell MacMullin made the wonderfully terse comment: "With BitGold we are disrupting money; it's not just a race to zero with currencies."

BitGold Business Accounts will build on the platform's existing infrastructure, which allows merchants to transact to and from more than 150 countries and 100 currencies globally in gold for one low cost debit-processing fee.

"We want to accelerate business growth by making it easy to request and accept payments, including micropayments, around the world instantly using a secure, closed-loop network," said BitGold co-founder Josh Crumb in a statement.

"In our view, every business should only have to consider two forms of money when accepting payment for a transaction – a local currency integrated with their local banking system,and gold, the world's most recognised, stable and best performing international money.

"BitGold's global debit network is empowering merchants who might otherwise be limited by their location. This advancereduces the fees and hassle part of 'foreign' in foreign exchange."

BitGold's digital ledger technology uses a "hub and spoke" model for cross-border payment flows, with vaulted-gold enabling low-risk and low-volatility settlement options for all transactions. BitGold's closed-loop debit network enables instant value-settlement of any transaction into vaulted gold. Businesses can easily settle back to a local currency or bank account, or push supplier payments and payroll out anywhere in the world, said the statement.

"We're obsessed with injecting efficiencies into global commerce, so we created a better way for people and now businesses to take advantage of the benefits of using gold safely and securely using our network," added MacMullin.

As well as optimising payments, merchants can retain the gold to store earnings securely, or spend with the GoldMoney PrePaid MasterCard. They can also invoice international customers with a customisable template in the currency of choice. Manage inventory items and customer lists, and use global tax and shipping calculators. Embedded checkout payment flow optimises international ecommerce for a 1% fee. There are no cross border fees or foreign exchange fees for payment, BitGold said in the statement.