Gold bars from Belarusbank: offers, procedure and benefits

Stacked gold bars can often be seen in films when characters discover a treasure. But any resident of Belarus can become the owner of gold bars. And you don’t have to be the hero of an adventure novel to do this. It is important that the purchasing conditions may be much better than in the United Arab Emirates or Switzerland.

Advantages

When purchasing gold bars in the Republic of Belarus, VAT is not charged.
The quality of each measuring ingot is confirmed by a state certificate. The purchase and sale of precious metals carried out by an individual is carried out without the presentation of official documents. Ingots with a total weight of 500 grams intended for personal purposes can be exported from the country without hindrance and without paying customs duties. Despite the fact that private individuals, both residents of Belarus and non-residents, have the right to export precious metals.

Exchange of silver items:

1. Select silver jewelry from the range provided.

2. Exchange your products for goods from the entire range presented in the ZIKO store and (or) for ZIKO gift certificates. More details in.

3. Get additional benefits with your customer card and use bonus points when purchasing. If the cost of the new item is higher than the amount offered to you for the trade-in item, you may be able to pay the difference in price.

Addresses of ZORKA purchase points

Addresses of ZIKO purchase points

Belarusbank offers

Purchasing gold in measured ingots from JSC JSB Belarusbank guarantees a profitable investment of available funds, since the cost of precious metals is constantly rising.
Possession of gold bars, the quality of which has been confirmed by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, will create a cushion of financial security in an unstable economic situation in the world. And the fact that an ingot of precious metal is the best gift for any person, regardless of his status, age and religion, is an indisputable argument.

Should Belarusians invest in gold?

A fresh look:

Not everything is gold that is an asset

30.03.2020

Vadim Iosub talks about whether it is worth investing in gold and other “defensive” assets

Legal options

Alas, Belarusians cannot, like residents of Iraq or Jordan, go to the city bazaar and buy a kilogram or two of gold in the form of bars or jewelry. Independent purchase and sale of precious metals, stones or products made from them, outside of the options permitted by the state, is a serious crime, for which a long prison sentence is threatened in Belarus. According to Art. 223 of the Criminal Code, even for a one-time small transaction, its participants face up to 3 years of imprisonment, and aggravating circumstances (especially large size, as part of an organized group) can lead to a prison term of 5 to 12 years.

Therefore, we will only consider options permitted by law. Today in Belarus you can legally purchase gold (we are considering it first, but there is an opportunity to invest your money in other metals: silver, platinum, palladium) in three main ways:

– purchasing jewelry in official stores;

– purchase of National Bank bullion;

– opening an impersonal metal account (hereinafter referred to as OMS) in a commercial bank. They will not give you the bullion, but the bank owes you an amount in rubles equivalent to a certain weight of gold, silver, platinum or palladium.

In addition, there is the opportunity to invest in gold through a forex company or a foreign broker operating on metal exchanges.

Let us immediately note that we will not even try the purchase of jewelry as an investment In most cases, this is the riskiest and illiquid way to invest money. Thus, at the time of writing this article, the minimum cost of a simple 585 gold engagement ring weighing 0.9–1.0 g in jewelry stores in Minsk averaged from 119 to 131 BYN (and this is taking into account 45–55% discounts). Having purchased such a product, you can later sell it to a pawnshop at a price of about 40–41 BYN per gram, i.e. you will lose almost two-thirds of the value.

It makes sense to invest your money in jewelry, unless it has some historical value or represents the work of a famous master. But to acquire something truly valuable, with high growth potential, you need to be a real expert - this is not the type of deal where luck is on the side of the beginner.

The price of 1 g of 999 purity gold in the form of bars in Belarusian banks ranges from 86 to 105 BYN and subsequently it can be sold to the same bank at a price from 84.33 to 90 BYN, i.e. losses will be much less than when investing in jewelry. If gold rises in price, then you can even earn something.

You need to purchase bullion from banks, because... Having bought gold of 999 purity in other places or products, you can hand it over to a pawnshop or buyers at a price of 69–70 BYN per gram, and the bank will always buy its bullion from you.

Compulsory medical insurance: not gold and not a deposit

Today, banks are promoting another way to invest your funds in precious metals - the opening of compulsory medical insurance, designed to account for precious metals without indicating their individual characteristics (weight and fineness of bars, their individual serial numbers, name of the manufacturer, etc.) Only the name of the metal and its weight are indicated. Essentially, this is a bank account, which is measured in grams of precious metal and depends on its current exchange rate. And if you want to buy a kilogram of gold, then you will have not money in your account, but a kilogram of gold at the current rate.

Compulsory medical insurance is very slowly gaining popularity among the population. The key players in this market segment are Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank and BelVEB Bank.

It was not without difficulty that we found a compatriot who placed funds on compulsory medical insurance and was ready to talk about it. Professional investor and manager of Midas Invest LLC Dmitry Narivonchik noted the following: “I have little experience investing in precious metals. I opened an impersonal metal account at BPS-Sberbank, although a long time ago. The main problem is the spread and commissions. As a result, to generate income, it is necessary not only for the price of the metal to increase relative to the purchase price, but also for its growth to cover these expenses.

For actual metal, real bars that you can hold in your hands, the difference between the purchase price and the bank sale price is even higher, i.e. the spread is even tighter. Moreover, if proper storage conditions are not provided, for example, the case is damaged, the bullion can be accepted at the discount price of gold from the National Bank. This way you will lose even more.

In the “era of anti-devaluation deposits”, when everyone was trying to be tied to the currency, there was another interesting instrument in Belarus - a deposit pegged to the gold rate (if I’m not mistaken, in BelVEB Bank).

In general, gold as an investment instrument is greatly overvalued. Since it does not generate income, it is just a commodity asset, the price of which is subject to periodic fluctuations. Look at the price chart - it's still a rollercoaster ride. My opinion is that any investor should ignore gold as an investment because... it is not capable of performing the functions of a conservative component"

Compulsory medical insurance has another unpleasant feature - interest is not accrued on this deposit.

Is gold getting cheaper?

Yes, and often. Figures and facts about the situation with the dynamics of gold prices over the past 30–40 years were provided to “EG” by a person who has been professionally monitoring this market for many years - senior investment analyst Vadim Iosub. He notes that, unfortunately, there are a lot of myths associated with gold, which are easily shattered by reality.

One of these myths is “gold always rises in price.” But that's not true. Suffice it to remember that in September 2011 gold cost more than 1,900 USD per troy ounce; now it costs about 1,360 USD, i.e. almost 30% less.

In relatively recent history, there have been examples of more protracted and deep declines in gold prices. If in 1980 the price for this precious metal was 800 USD per ounce, then 20 years later, by the end of the last millennium, its price dropped to 250 USD, i.e. more than three times. And if we take into account dollar inflation, the price of gold never rose above those notorious 800 USD. In other words, 1900 USD in 2011 in terms of purchasing power is less than 800 USD in 1980. That is, those who bought gold 38 years ago never made a profit in terms of the value of their investment in real, inflation-adjusted terms.

The second myth: “gold is a protective asset that saves during global crises.” This thesis is only partly true. Indeed, gold is a good “safe haven” during global crises associated with high inflation. But, firstly, when inflation is defeated, gold can quickly fall in price, and secondly, it is completely useless as protection if the economic crisis is associated not with inflation, but with deflation, i.e. falling prices. This was precisely the nature of the last global financial crisis in 2008, and inflation in the US and the Eurozone still, despite the efforts of regulators, cannot sustainably rise to the optimal 2% per year.

If you look at the dynamics of gold over the past year, the price of gold has increased from 1150 USD to 1300 USD per troy ounce, or by 13%. Not bad at first glance. But purchasing cash euros last year would have brought a slightly higher return against the dollar, and a deposit in euros would have brought even more income through interest. That is, the profitability of gold was not extraordinary, and there were worthy alternatives to investments in this precious metal.

What does this historical “golden” excursion mean for the average investor? It is important for him to understand: gold as an investment object does not have any unique or magical properties. Like any other asset, gold can rise or fall in value.

If you have a strong desire to invest in a precious metal, you should allocate no more than 5–10% of your savings to it, and distribute the rest among other assets, for example, the same world currencies.

Posted by:

Oleg KHATKEVICH

Where can I buy

On the website belarusbank.by you can use the search service for a nearby branch that sells bullion. The client can navigate the work schedule and visit the unit at a convenient time. Or use the service that allows you to make an appointment by phone for an exact time and date.

Branches of the division are located in Minsk and the regions: Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev. Prices may vary between departments. The price of gold changes throughout the day.

Procedure

The weight of one measured ingot can be in grams: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100. The sale and purchase of ingots is carried out after examination. Examination and weighing takes place in the personal presence of the client based on the requirements of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

Upon purchase, the client receives a certificate of quality from the manufacturer, but must visually verify that there are no visible damages on the ingot.

The owner of gold has the opportunity to sell it at a favorable price in the same structural divisions of Belarusbank. The sales procedure also involves an examination and presentation of a certificate.

Why choose us?

1. SIMPLE! Select the store closest to you where the purchase point is located

2. PROMPTLY! Present your passport and our specialist will quickly evaluate the products and make a calculation

3. PROFITABLE! Best prices per gram of gold when exchanging for a new product*

Buying gold:

1. Select the ZIKO store closest to you where the purchase point is located.

2. Present your passport and have your product assessed by a specialist at the purchasing point.

3. Get money.