According to Mining.com, this technology initiative causes people, especially the elderly, to queue up to convert old gold into cash in just a few dozen minutes.
At Global Harbor shopping mall, one of the busiest shopping malls in Shanghai, the recyclable gold ATM installed by Kinghood Group has quickly become a phenomenon. People have to book many days in advance, even closing the schedule during the May holiday.
The machine operates according to a fairly simple but professional mechanism: users put gold jewelry in the machine, perform identity verification, then the gold will be weighed, melted at a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, analyzed the content and then evaluated in real time.
The money will eventually be transferred directly to a personal bank account, deducting an 18-yen service fee of $2.5 per gram.
A typical example: a 40-gram necklace priced at 785 yuan ($108) a gram carries more than 36,000 yuan ($4,900) in cash, all in just 30 minutes.
This is not the first time Kinghood Group has attracted attention. Since 2019, the company has launched the smart store system "Smart Gold Store" integrating buying, selling, and recycling gold on the same platform.
The international version of this system was launched last year, with modern hardware, supporting multinational measurement and payment, meeting international standards for accuracy and accessing the global gold market in real time.
The Shanghai gold ATM is the next step in Kinghood's ambition to cover the gold industry in the digital direction. According to the company representative, more than 100 yellow ATMs are expected to be installed in Shanghai, before expanding to major cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong (China).
Currently, the system is present in 40 cities across China, mainly located in banks, supermarkets and shopping malls.
The appearance of gold ATMs not only causes a fever with people, but also " makes it difficult" for small businesses and private gold shops. With high transparency, fast processing speed and attractive prices, many people have chosen the device instead of going to traditional purchasing points.
We bought it for 715 yuan per gram, while the selling price for AU999 gold was 850 yuan. Thanks to its own mining source, prices are still more competitive than some other brands, but the number of customers is still quite gloomy" - an employee at a China Gold store in the shopping mall shared.
Some small stores without their own gold sources are witnessing a serious decline in sales. Customers prefer ATMs because they are transparent and compact, a trader lamented.
The launch of the ATM (16.4) also coincided with the peak of gold prices. China's domestic gold price has surpassed 1,000 yuan/gram (about 137 USD), while the world gold price on COMEX reached more than 3,400 USD/ounce.
The value of gold held by the people has therefore increased sharply, causing the wave of selling gold to make a profit to increase. However, experts recommend not to rush.
Gold is being strongly purchased by central banks and major institutions, and gold prices are expected to continue to increase, said Mr. Tu Ve Tan, a member of the Shanghai Gold Association. "People can consider keeping it if they do not need money immediately".
