14th July 2021 – Jason Cozens, Founder & CEO of Glint, says:
“When will those in power admit that inflation is out of control? UK inflation is spiralling upwards, already at a three year high with no signs of slowing. The Bank of England has already accepted that 3% inflation is likely this year; it seems we may surpass that new target sooner rather than later.
“Of course, inflation is a global issue – consumer prices in the US are up 5.4% in a year, to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, whilst in China, producer price inflation is up 8.8% in a year raising real fears that these added costs may be passed onto consumers before long. But central banks all seem incredibly reluctant to raise interest rates. This decision is hitting both consumers and savers hard.
“The value of the world’s major currencies is being further eroded on a daily basis driven by inflation outstripping interest rates but also the huge amounts of borrowing and debt – the UK national debt sits at £2.2tn or over 99% of GDP, the equivalent figure for the US is 108% and a staggering 266% for Japan. It’s no wonder that consumers are looking for alternative ways to spend and save their money – this is a search for not only greater value but also greater control over their finances.
“Many have turned towards cryptocurrencies in recent months, however as these assets’ have demonstrated extreme volatility – Bitcoin has fallen 17% in a month and is valued at under half of its April peak – there has been a trend of some savers and investors ‘off-ramping’ or switching to gold. Whilst the value of gold can decline, it has proven its reliability as a long-term store of value and prices continue to rise; up 3% in the last three months, outperforming many other assets.”
About Glint
Glint Pay Services Ltd. (glintpay.com) is a fintech company, based in London, Boulder (US) and Tokyo, that uses gold as an alternative global currency to enable its clients instantly to buy, sell, save, spend and now, share their physical gold and other currencies, through the Glint Mastercard® and Glint App.
Glint offers no credit facilities, it allows users to transfer, receive and save real gold, which is secured in Brink’s vaults in Switzerland.
The new Glint P2P offer, Glint it!, allows customers to instantly send or receive money, including real, spendable gold and other currencies between Glint account holders. This facility is available as part of the Glint app which can be downloaded to smartphones from Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
Glint is authorised and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority which has given permission for Glint to issue electronic money (e-money) and provide payment services (FRN 900657).
Gold is not regulated by the FCA. However, Glint’s clients know their gold is secured in a Brinks Vault in Switzerland. Brinks is insured by Lloyds of London and their policy covers the replacement value of Glint client’s Gold as held in their vault.
The Glint card is issued in the UK by Glint Pay Services Ltd pursuant to licence by Mastercard International Inc.
Glint is a U.S.-based authorized Card Program Manager. Funds are held at Sutton Bank, Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in an FDIC-insured account.
Glint Pay Inc. employs effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and fraud prevention systems and controls to mitigate and combat risks.
Whilst we strongly believe that gold is the fairest and most reliable currency on the planet, we obviously need to point out that it isn’t 100% risk free. Whilst we have seen a steady increase over time, the value of gold can fall, which means the purchasing power of the customer can also fall.
