PayPoint, a technology-enabled distribution network for financial services, on Wednesday said it has launched e-gold or digital gold facility on its platform, targeting the rural segment to make investment in the yellow metal.

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E-gold has become increasingly popular in urban India, but in the rural market the demand for e-gold remains sluggish due to low digital literacy and awareness, PayPoint said in a release.

In light of these gaps, PayPoint has launched an e-gold facility on its platform, a network of more than 48,000 last-mile physical stores, to make the investment process simpler and safer for rural families.

The initiative is for tech-unsavvy customers to conveniently buy and sell e-gold with guided assistance from PayPoint store staff. Individuals can invest in 22 carat gold for as low as Rs 500, the company said.

PayPoint said e-gold enables purchase of non-physical or digital gold in small quantities without opening a demat account.

Hence, customers can avoid the downsides of buying physical gold such as identifying its legitimacy and purity, high-ticket size, safekeeping, storage problems and others.

On the other hand, once an individual buys e-gold from nearby retail or kirana stores associated with PayPoint, an equivalent amount of physical gold is purchased and stored in government-approved secured vaults on behalf of the customer, it said.

Axis Bank is the trustee of these vaults. These are the measures put in place to safeguard the interests of the customers, the company added.

"The cost of owning physical gold in the form of bars, coins or jewellery is high, as gold is trading at around 5,100 per gram currently. Thus, we aim to take the concept of e-gold to the last-mile with small denomination investment, thereby encourage lower-income households to opt for regular micro-savings," said Ketan Doshi, Managing Director of PayPoint India.

He said the need for security has come to the fore during the COVID-19 induced unprecedented times.

"With e-gold SIPs, individuals can gradually build their assets even with limited income and achieve a degree of financial security in the challenging times," he added.

Citing a pilot run with some retailers, PayPoint said it witnessed strong adoption from customers opting for daily, weekly and monthly investments.

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PayPoint facilitates transparent pricing by allocating or redeeming investments at real-time bullion rates, it added.