According to a recent report, the Indonesian supervisory body for futures commodity trade (Bappebti) is preparing a set of regulations for those who purchase gold online.
The regulation aims to protect the consumers from the risks of digital gold transaction, particularly those who purchase gold online through an instalment plan.
The scope of the regulation will include digital gold trade and will address the issues that are linked with those being paid via an instalment scheme.
According to the regulation, the sellers will be required to physically have the gold products on hand before they can actually offer them to potential buyers online.
Aside from requiring them to have the gold physically, the sellers must also acquire permission from the Bappebti first.
More importantly, the transaction should be finalised through clearing, which requires that the product should be received upon completion of payment.
The process and everything else will be regulated in order to guarantee the protection of the consumers.
There seems to be a great demand for digital gold trade and in order for this to succeed, consumers should be reassured that the online businesses will comply with the transactions.
The goal of the Bappebti is to finalise the regulation by the end of the year as it is still currently being processed. So far, there are no recorded cases or instances of scams involving gold trading platforms.
This is being done as a necessary precaution in anticipation of and in preparation for the possibility wherein buyers may fail to receive their purchases upon completion of payment.
Since instalments take longer, there is concern that the product will not be delivered by then.
Consumers who might be scammed and may possibly suffer losses from the possible misconduct of the sellers will now be protected and can have peace of mind once the regulation is finalised.
One gram of gold is being sold for around US$ 44 (IDR 650,000).
With several Fintech start-ups starting to offer the service, it seems that there is indeed an opportunity for digital gold trading to grow and expand.
Among those that are following the growing trend are Indonesia’s very own unicorns, Tokopedia and Bukalapak.
Tokopedia is an online marketplace that allows individuals and businesses in Indonesia to open and maintain their stores online. It is working with Orori for its Tokopedia Emas feature.
Bukalapak, similarly, is an e-commerce platform. It is working with PT Sinar Rezeki Handal (Indo Gold) for its BukaEmas feature.
