Good afternoon, dear readers. In the wake of the growing popularity of investments in precious metals, it would be appropriate to once again turn to the topic of compulsory medical insurance and financial institutions that have introduced services for their clients.
We will look at what kind of impersonal metal accounts Gazprombank offers to its counterparties. What are their features and which product is the most promising in terms of investing money.
What is an impersonal metal account
This is a popular banking product, similar to a regular personal current account, but opened not in cash, but in metal currency. It allows you to purchase precious metals at the bank rate, which is only slightly higher than the exchange rate. Such an operation is not subject to VAT, can be carried out almost instantly and allows you to avoid unnecessary expenses, unlike the purchase of investment coins, the price of which by default includes production costs.
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Lyudmila Pestereva
Our most experienced gold investor
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Funds in an unallocated metal account remain as liquid as possible, and the profitability of the investment will depend on the exchange quotes of precious metals at the time of purchase and sale of your asset.
Gazprombank offers two types of impersonal metal accounts: with a maturity of 367 days (urgent) and on demand. In fact these are different products:
- Urgent. Opens for 1 year and 2 days, it pays a guaranteed income at a rate of 1% of the deposit amount per year. However, the minimum contribution is much higher. If the contract is terminated early, the interest rate is reduced to 0.1%.
- Poste restante. It has no time limits, the minimum top-up amount is 0.1 g. No reward is offered for it.
How to open and close a metal account
Here are step-by-step instructions for opening compulsory medical insurance:
- Selecting a metal for investment.
- Selecting a bank (comparing conditions, spreads between sales and purchases). In some banks, the spread for opening compulsory medical insurance online and in the office may be different.
- Conclusion of an agreement. Some credit institutions allow you to draw up an agreement online, through your personal account or mobile application.
Next, you work with the account: it can be replenished and withdrawn at any time, unlike bank deposits.
To close the compulsory medical insurance, your personal presence will be required. You must go to a bank branch with your passport and write an application in the prescribed form.
Please note that compulsory medical insurance service is free of charge. You can withdraw funds and leave the account active - you may want to use it in the future.
What metals can be bought on compulsory medical insurance?
Unallocated metal accounts can be opened in four units that are actively traded on international exchanges - gold (XAU), silver (XAG), platinum (XPT) and palladium (XPD).
Gold
The minimum balance on a metal account is 0.1 g for a permanent deposit and 50 g for opening a fixed-term deposit.
Silver
The only metal that is traded from 1 gram. The permissible minimum on a fixed-term deposit is at least 3 kg.
Palladium
An indefinite compulsory medical insurance may have a balance of 0.1 grams. One-year depersonalized metal account – from 200 g of metal.
Platinum
Compulsory medical insurance for 367 days is issued if you have 50 g of platinum remaining. The demand account allows for the traditional minimum of 0.1g.
Taxation
As I already mentioned, transactions on an impersonal metal account are exempt from VAT, except in cases where the client wishes to “cash out” the assets - that is, convert virtual metal into physical form.
But income (profit from transactions) under compulsory medical insurance is subject to personal income tax at a rate of 13%. For example, you bought gold for 1 million rubles, and sold it for 1 million 100 thousand rubles. Thus, 100 thousand rubles. – your profit, which is the taxable base. The amount of personal income tax payable will be 13 thousand rubles. (100000*13%).
There are also benefits similar to those for IIS holders. The following are exempt from personal income tax:
- income from operations on compulsory medical insurance active for three years;
- income from accounts when the amount of sales for the year is less than 250 thousand rubles.
Whether you qualify for income tax relief or not, you still have to file a tax return. A declaration in form 3-NDFL must be submitted to the Federal Tax Service no later than April 30 of the following year. The same deadline is set for paying taxes.
Online exchange rate chart at Gazprombank
Exchange quotes for precious metals are highly volatile, so the price at Gazprombank changes daily. For the convenience of bank clients, current commercial rates for the purchase and sale of precious metals are published on the official website with access to data from previous indicators.
Gold price per gram in an unallocated metal account for today
Commercial rates directly depend on world prices. Those who have chosen this method of investing money will find it useful to use an online price chart with up-to-date current information.
| Price 999 standard according to the Central Bank | Market value of the sample today | Scrap price | Price in jewelry |
Is it possible to exchange compulsory medical insurance for real metal?
Yes, it is possible, but it is extremely unprofitable. And that's why:
- the metal will have to be purchased at market value, which may differ significantly from the bank rate;
- In addition to the market price, VAT will be added at a rate of 20%;
- You carry out transportation costs for the delivery of metal at your own expense, at your own peril and risk;
- the metal needs to be stored somewhere - this is again an expense.
And in general, gold and silver bullion are a complete inconvenience compared to compulsory medical insurance. And even more so, few people will need palladium or platinum in their natural form.
How the price is formed
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Lyudmila Pestereva
Our most experienced gold investor
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The key factor, as I have written many times, is the ratio of supply and demand in the international market. And it, in turn, is significantly influenced by the economic situation in the international arena. This includes the hardness of reserve currencies, various crises, and political events.
This does not apply to palladium, since the demand for it from industrialists is growing every year. The method of its extraction is still complex, and an increase in production is not expected in the next few years.
If the market situation is stable, the demand for palladium will continue to significantly exceed supply, which means its cost will continue to rise. But it will begin to decline during a crisis, during which investments in other precious metals, on the contrary, will increase.
Forecast
Analysts unanimously predict a further stable increase in prices for precious metals against the backdrop of weakening reserve currencies.
To read: Procedure for refining gold with zinc and vitriol at home
Let me remind you once again that today the crisis of 2008, which prompted an increase in interest in these investment objects on the part of investors, has not been exhausted and can make itself felt again. This is another signal in favor of the further growth in the popularity of metal investments, and, as a result, an increase in their prices.
Advantages and disadvantages of compulsory medical insurance
There are pros and cons to using impersonal metal accounts. The advantages include access to precious metals as an investment object, convenience, and high liquidity. These transactions are not subject to value added tax.
A separate advantage of impersonal metal accounts at Gazprombank is the possibility of receiving profit as interest for placing a time deposit and the possibility of withdrawing funds in the form of real bullion. There are no service or storage fees.
Negative aspects include the presence of income tax, the calculation and payment of which is carried out by the client independently. Such deposits are not subject to government guarantees of refund, and for transactions involving physical bullion you will have to pay VAT.
How does compulsory medical insurance work?
Here are the features of compulsory medical insurance that you need to know:
- free opening and maintenance;
- the account is open-ended;
- when closing compulsory medical insurance, the client bears expenses in the form of the difference between the selling and purchasing rates (spread) established by the bank for the current date;
- replenishment and withdrawal of funds can be carried out in precious metals or money (depending on the individual conditions of the bank).
In simple words, the scheme for investing in compulsory medical insurance is as follows: you open a free perpetual account, deposit money there at the rate set by the bank, and monitor the exchange rate of the currency (precious metal). You can receive your money at any time. Everything is quite simple.
By comparison, bank deposits are subject to a commission, their yield is usually lower, and withdrawals are carried out according to the terms of the deposit.
There are other nuances of compulsory medical insurance that need to be highlighted. For example, investment insurance.
How to make money on compulsory medical insurance
Profit from such an operation will be received upon successful completion of the transaction, that is, the sale of the precious metal at the right time and at a favorable price. Here you will have to be patient, since this method of investing money is good in the long term.
Expert opinion
Lyudmila Pestereva
Our most experienced gold investor
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If you frequently buy and sell an asset, all income will be eaten up by the difference between the bank's commercial buying and selling rates.
What does profitability depend on?
The main income from unallocated metal accounts is the rise in world prices. The cheaper the asset is purchased and the more expensive it is sold, the more significant the income received will be. Of course, transactions with small volumes of precious metals may be highly profitable in terms of percentage, but in quantitative terms they are unlikely to please.
In other words, if the price of gold doubles and we sell 0.1 g, then the profit will be small. Therefore, not only the term and cost matter, but also the amount of capital invested.
Yield calculator for precious metals OMS
Many banks provide this free service. You will not be able to use it to calculate future income, but by indicating the date of acquisition of the asset and its quantity, you will receive a calculation of profit when selling it at the moment.
Features of purchasing precious metals through compulsory medical insurance
Let's look at the features and pitfalls of compulsory medical insurance.
- Commercial bank rate
The metal account works the same as a regular one. The client deposits money on it and buys the required number of grams of one or more metals. At any time he can sell assets and withdraw funds. This is where the first pitfall lies. The purchase and sale prices are determined by the bank, taking into account the commission, similar to the purchase and sale of foreign currency. The difference between the discount price of the Central Bank and the price at a commercial bank can be significant.
Let's compare the prices of the Central Bank, Sberbank and Gazprombank as of 02/26/2021.
| Metal | Central Bank of the Russian Federation | Sberbank | Gazprombank |
| Gold | 4 233,41 | 4,423 (up 4.5%) | 4,409.14 (up 4.2%) |
| Silver | 65,54 | 68.31 (up 4.2%) | 68.87 (up 5.1%) |
| Platinum | 2 959,92 | 3,117 (up 5.3%) | 3,087.19 (up 4.3%) |
| Palladium | 5 733,22 | 6,146 (up 7.2%) | 5,881.32 (up 2.6%) |
- Spread
There is always a spread, i.e., a difference between the buying and selling rates of an asset. Here, an investor can lose part of his capital if he suddenly decides to make money on speculation. For example, at Sberbank the difference in gold is almost 400 rubles, and in palladium the spread is even greater.
- Protection against the fall of the ruble exchange rate
The Bank of Russia publishes the discount price for metal in rubles per 1 gram. It is defined like this:
- Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Quotes are set in dollars per ounce.
- The Central Bank of the Russian Federation converts ounces into grams: 1 ounce = 31.1 grams.
- The Central Bank converts dollars per ounce into rubles per gram and receives a discount price, which commercial banks use as a guideline for setting their own prices.
For example, as of February 26, 2021, the following prices were set (dollar to ruble exchange rate = 73.9833).
| Metal | London Exchange, $/ounce | Central Bank of the Russian Federation, rub./y |
| Gold | 1 779,65 | 4 233,41 |
| Silver | 27,93 | 65,54 |
| Platinum | 1 248 | 2 959,92 |
| Palladium | 2 465 | 5 733,22 |
If the dollar rises and the ruble falls, this means that the price of precious assets will rise, although the quote on the London Stock Exchange will not change. You can make money from this situation - sell at a higher price and make a profit. And when the national currency strengthens, you can incur a loss if at the same time the price of the metal in dollars increases.
- Taxation
The income that the taxpayer received from the sale of precious assets is subject to personal income tax at the rate of 13%. But if you own property for more than 3 years, you do not have to pay income tax. In addition, there is another benefit: if the amount from the sale does not exceed 250,000 rubles, then personal income tax is not paid, even if the ownership period is less than 3 years.
Normative base:
- Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
- Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
- Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
- Letter from the Federal Tax Service dated March 5, 2014 No. BS-4-11/ [email protected] explaining the procedure for paying personal income tax upon receipt of income.
Check with the bank whether it is a tax agent for compulsory medical insurance. If not, then you will have to independently file a declaration of income received and pay 13% personal income tax.
- Insurance
Unlike deposits, which are insured by the state for up to 1.4 million rubles, compulsory medical insurance does not participate in the deposit insurance system. You need to remember this when you choose a bank to open an account. This must be a reliable credit institution that will definitely not go bankrupt in the next 10–20 years.
Taxes on income under compulsory medical insurance
Income from unallocated metal accounts at Gazprombank can be of two types. Both are subject to income tax, but in different ways:
- Time deposit. The taxable amount is accrued deposit interest. However, in this case, the bank acts as a tax agent; it will also calculate and withhold the tax.
- Deposit on demand. Income arises from the sale of an asset, and the tax amount will be the difference between the funds invested and the funds received. Here, a tax agent is an individual who is obliged to independently draw up a declaration, submit it to the fiscal service and pay the tax fee.
Account opening methods
To use the service, you will have to visit a Gazprombank branch with an identification document and a certificate with a taxpayer number.
Poste restante
A perpetual impersonal metal account is opened for the client, provided that he already has a service agreement with Gazprombank and a current account in national currency.
Urgent compulsory medical insurance
When opening a fixed-term impersonal account, you do not need to fulfill additional conditions and enter into an agreement for comprehensive services with Gazprombank.
Sale of gold bars in Gazprombank
Gazprombank offers bars weighing from 1 to 1000 grams. Gold has the highest standard - 999.9.
Bullions can be purchased at any Gazprombank branch. Small bars (up to 10 grams) are sold in the bank’s original packaging. Each ingot has its own marking and is accompanied by a certificate from the manufacturer.
Ingots can be issued in person. However, Gazprombank also offers additional services - in particular, a safe deposit box where you can store gold safely.
How to open compulsory medical insurance at Gazprombank
At the moment, this banking service is suspended due to the preparation of updates. We look forward to what additional opportunities Gazprombank is preparing for its clients.
The procedure is simple, but first you need to decide on its type and currency, in this case, the metal you want to work with, after which you can go to a Gazprombank branch.
