Indian ATMs dispense gold coins.

From the outside, it looks just like a regular cash dispenser, but this is India’s first-ever “gold ATM,” delivering gold coins at the click of a button in a country where gold is often seen as a safe and preferred investment.

Set up in Hyderabad, the gold ATM is the brainchild of GoldSikka and dispenses gold coins that weigh between 0.5 and 100 grams.

A 100-gram coin is worth around $7,000, making hiding your PIN from whoever’s waiting in line behind you even more urgent.

“Instead of going to jewelry showrooms, they (customers) can come here directly, and they can get the coins here,” GoldSikka Vice President Pratap, who only gave his first name, said.
India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer. Two-thirds of India’s gold demand usually comes from rural areas, where jewelry is a traditional store of wealth.

The gold ATM, which began operations on Saturday, can store up to 5 kg of gold.

On a recent evening, several customers lined up to buy gold coins, inserting their credit cards into the machine and then choosing the coin’s weight.

“The entire transaction took less than a minute. So, whoever goes for investment, I think this is the best way to take gold,” one customer said. (Reuters)