Precious Metals, Bullion & Jewellery — banking, EMI and payment rails.

The primary challenge for bullion dealers is not the legality of the trade, but the risk-appetite mismatch within the Tier-1 banking sector. Large, infrequent wires typical of the jewellery and precious metals industry trigger the same automated red flags as high-risk money laundering. To circumvent this, we position clients with institutions—often in Zurich, Dubai, or Singapore—that maintain dedicated desks for commodities and trade finance. These banks operate under regimes like the UAE’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws or the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law. For a bullion operator, this means moving away from retail-grade compliance and into a relationship-driven model where the bank understands the underlying assets. We focus on securing operating accounts that can handle the high-velocity, high-magnitude nature of bullion flow without triggering perpetual 'Requests for Information' (RFIs). This requires a documented source of goods, a clear understanding of the 'closed-loop' nature of many trades, and an institutional-grade counterparty due diligence process. By framing the business within the context of global commodity trade rather than high-risk retail, we secure more stable and sustainable treasury rails for our clients. These accounts often provide access to specialised settlement products, including bullion-settled accounts where the bank holds the physical metal as a direct collateral or liquidity layer. Typical onboarding timelines for such specialised structures range from eight to twelve weeks, depending on the complexity of the supply chain.

Physical delivery remains the cornerstone of the bullion industry, yet few banks can effectively bridge the gap between a SWIFT message and a vault receipt. We structure banking stacks that integrate directly with insured vaulting and logistics partners. This ensures that the chain-of-custody is documented and verifiable, satisfying the stringent requirements of regulators like the Labuan FSA or the ADGM's FSRA. For jewellery wholesalers, this involves coordinating between the seller’s warehouse, the international carrier, and the buyer’s storage facility. We often utilise insurance-backed escrow accounts, where funds are held by a regulated third party—frequently a boutique bank or a licensed fiduciary—and released only upon the issuance of a 'Release of Liability' or a 'Warehouse Receipt'. This significantly reduces counterparty risk and allows for the safe execution of multimillion-dollar transborder trades. Furthermore, we advise on the use of trade finance instruments, such as standby letters of credit (SBLC) and bank guarantees (BG), tailored specifically for the precious metals market. These tools are essential for operators looking to scale their procurement capacity without tying up excessive working capital. In the UAE particularly, the regulatory framework supports the 'Good Delivery' standard, and we ensure our clients’ banking structures are fully aligned with these local and international benchmarks. This integrated approach allows for seamless settlement, whether the client is moving physical kilo-bars or high-value loose diamonds, ensuring that the financial rails move at the same speed as the physical goods.

Compliance in the precious metals sector has evolved beyond simple KYC. Banks now demand a 'Source of Wealth' and 'Source of Funds' analysis that extends back to the mine or the refinery. This is particularly relevant for those operating in the Dubai Gold Souk or the Singaporean bullion market, where the Ministry of Economy and MAS respectively enforce strict guidelines on gold provenance. Xavion Capital assists clients in adopting the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance or the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals. By embedding these standards into your corporate governance, we make your firm an 'A-grade' prospect for the world’s most stable commodity banks. This proactive stance on compliance is not merely about ticking boxes; it is about building a 'compliance moat' that protects your banking rails from the risk of sudden de-risking. We work with principals to document their counterparty onboarding processes, ensuring that every trade is backed by a robust audit trail. For firms involved in the scrap or secondary market, the requirements are even more rigorous, often necessitating periodic on-site audits and independent compliance reviews. Our role is to ensure that these requirements are met without impeding the operational flow of the business. By maintaining these high standards, our clients can access lower-cost capital and more favourable FX rates, as the bank views them as a lower-risk participant in a historically opaque industry. Typical compliance advisory for these structures ensures that even under intense scrutiny, your banking rails remain operational and transparent to the regulator.

In the modern precious metals vertical, fiat-only rails are often insufficient. Many wholesalers and high-net-worth clients now demand the ability to settle in digital assets or maintain a portion of their treasury in gold-backed tokens. We facilitate banking relationships that are comfortable with this hybrid model, particularly under the supervision of regulators like VARA in Dubai or through the Swiss DLT Act. This involves securing accounts with banks that can facilitate seamless on-ramp and off-ramp services, allowing for the conversion of stablecoins into physical bullion or fiat currency. For a bullion dealer, this adds a layer of liquidity and opens up new market segments. However, it also introduces unique regulatory challenges, specifically regarding the 'Travel Rule' and VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) compliance. We ensure that your digital asset rails are as robust as your traditional ones, with clear procedures for tracking the origin of funds in every crypto-to-gold transaction. This hybrid approach is particularly effective for businesses that operate as 'Gold-as-a-Service' platforms, where end-users may buy, sell, or trade fractions of physical metal via a digital interface. We help structure these platforms to ensure they remain within the scope of their respective financial licences, whether that be an EMI licence in the UK or a brokerage licence in Singapore. By integrating digital asset capabilities into a traditional bullion banking stack, our clients can offer a modern, efficient, and highly competitive service to a global clientele. Typical setups involve a primary fiat bank and a secondary digital asset custodian to ensure redundancy and operational flexibility.

Operating in the precious metals and jewellery trade requires a footprint in key global hubs. Each jurisdiction offers distinct advantages and challenges. Switzerland remains the premier destination for high-security vaulting and private-bank-led commodity finance, offering unparalleled stability and a long history of bullion expertise. Singapore serves as the gateway to the Asian markets, with a sophisticated regulatory environment overseen by the MAS that is increasingly focused on becoming a global gold hub. The UAE, and specifically Dubai, provides a dynamic and highly liquid market with a regulatory framework that is specifically tailored to the needs of the bullion trade, including the 'Dubai Good Delivery' standard. For operators looking for a more cost-effective but still reputable entry point, the Labuan FSA in Malaysia offers competitive tax structures and a well-defined regulatory path for commodity trading companies. Xavion Capital assesses each client’s specific needs—whether they focus on wholesale bullion in the Middle East or retail jewellery in the UK—and tailors a multi-jurisdictional banking stack accordingly. This often involves a 'Core-and-Satellite' approach: a primary treasury hub in a Tier-1 jurisdiction like Switzerland, supported by regional operating accounts in Dubai or Singapore. This structure provides redundancy, ensuring that if one rail is temporarily disrupted by regional regulatory shifts or bank-specific policy changes, the business continues to function. We evaluate the typical fees, which for these specialised accounts can include higher-than-average monthly maintenance and transaction costs, to ensure they represent value for the level of service and security provided.