Visa Now Paying Businesses to Stop Taking Cash*

Visa Now Paying Businesses to Stop Taking Cash*

Visa has officially announced that they intend to snub out cash and create a world in which all transactions are monitored and tracked.

According to the most recent data, Visa — which is mostly owned by banks–accounts for over 50% of all credit card transactions and 70% of all debit card transactions in the world. Hundreds of billions in transactions process through Visa’s databases every year and this number continues to grow.

Despite their overwhelming increase in market share, cards issued, and overall total volume, Visa has made a recent move that shows they intend to completely snub out their most unaccountable, untraceable, and most liberty-associated competitor and means of payment–cash.

In a news release, ostensibly written as an attempt to “help small businesses,” Visa announced that they are launching “a major effort to encourage businesses to go cashless. Aiming to create a culture where cash is no longer king, the program will give merchants increased ability to accept all forms of global digital payments.”

“At Visa, we believe you can be everywhere you want to be, and that it should be easy to pay and be paid in more ways than ever — whether it’s a phone, card, wearable or other device,” Jack Forestell, Visa’s head of global merchant solutions, said in a statement.

“We have an incredible opportunity to educate merchants and consumers alike on the effectiveness of going cashless.”

Laughably, Visa claims that companies who stop accepting cash — a major form of payment for people around the globe — that they could increase profits.

Apparently, they want business owners to forget that they take upwards of five percent of every single transaction.

“The important thing to realize is that going with ‘fast and easy’ is not always the best and most cost effective,” Marco Carabjo, a credit expert, wrote in a 2013 U.S. Small Business Administration blog post.

“Typical merchant account companies can charge up to 5% of everything a company earns with prices consisting of merchant processing costs, gateway fees, interchange costs, Visa, MasterCard, American Express charges, statement fees and so on.”

Outside of the obvious reason of convincing businesses to go cashless so they can tax their sales into oblivion by creating a monopoly on accepting payments, the implications for control and surveillance are far more insidious.

Visa — just like government — wants to monitor your spending habits and use that data to exploit humanity. This is why governments and banks across the world have almost simultaneously launched a war on cash.

Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed enforcing “restrictions on payments in cash” under an all-too-familiar premise — terrorism.

“Payments in cash are widely used in the financing of terrorist activities,” the Commission’s proposal states. “In this context, the relevance of potential upper limits to cash payments could also be explored. Several Member States have in place prohibitions for cash payments above a specific threshold.”

According to the Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment, “Cash has the important feature of offering anonymity to transactions. Such anonymity may be desired for legitimate reason (e.g. protection of privacy). But, such anonymity can also be misused for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. The possibility to conduct large cash payments facilitates money laundering and terrorist financing activities because of the difficulty to control cash payment transactions.”

Just before the E.U.’s announcement of their war on cash, Citibank announced similar moves and stated it will no longer accept cash deposits or deal in cash.

Citibank Australia’s head of retail bank Janine Copelin offered an explanation saying,

“We have seen a steady decline in the demand for cash services in our branches — in fact, less than 4% of Citi customers have used this service in the last 12 months.”

The company stated it will no longer handle currency as a result.

“This move to cashless branches reflects Citi’s commitment to digital banking and we are investing in the channels our customers prefer to use…While the number of customers visiting our branches to access cash handling services has fallen, the branch network remains an important component of how we serve our high-net-worth customers,” said Copelin.

As Mises Institute professor, Joseph Salerno predicted in 2015, the war on cash is an inevitable move by big banks and the State. “I think this could come in the next couple of years. If they have to bail out the financial system again…they’ll block the cash in the banks to prevent it from escaping and destabilizing these fractional reserve banks,” Salerno said in an interview with Ron Paul.

It appears that the Trump administration has already been preparing for this move by filling the swamp with Goldman Sachs execs and essentially remaining silent on his campaign promise to audit the Federal Reserve.

Make no mistake, when governments and banks control and monitor 100 percent of what you spend, tyranny has set in. If ever there was a time to start investing in crypto currency and precious metals, it is now.

Source*

Related Topics:

U.K. Enforce Cash over Digital Currency*

How Greece Became a Guinea Pig for a Cashless and Controlled Society*

Congress Want to make it Illegal to Hold cash, Bitcoin, or Other Assets outside of a Bank*

In the Move towards a Cashless Society India’s GDP Growth Slumps*

IMF Issue Working Paper on Eliminating Cash*

E.U. Desperate to Raises Taxes Starts Cashless Society Project November 2017*

Ban Cash to Help Central Banks stinks of Total Control – NWO’s Cashless Society*

You Pay more while Banks Profiteer in a Cashless Society…that’s the Convenience*

Federal Reserve Exposed Working as Arm of U.S. Intelligence*

Federal Reserve Exposed Working as Arm of U.S. Intelligence*

A new report claims U.S. intelligence uses the Federal Reserve to analyse the asset holdings of the central banks of Russia and China.

By Rachel Blevins

While some may have called it a conspiracy theory at one point, a new report is shedding light on the United States Intelligence services’ cozy relationship with the nation’s central banking structure, and how they collaborate to spy on foreign banks.

Confidential accounts within the Federal Reserve have been used by the U.S. Treasury and other departments “several times a year to analyze the asset holdings of the central banks of Russia, China, Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Libya and others,” according to a report from Reuters that cites more than a dozen current and former senior U.S. officials.

“The U.S. central bank keeps a tight lid on information contained in these accounts. But according to the officials interviewed by Reuters, U.S. authorities regularly use a ‘need to know’ confidentiality exception in the Fed’s service contracts with foreign central banks.”

The report claimed that the exception was used by U.S. federal officials “to glean information about the movement of funds in and out of the accounts.” That information was then used to help the U.S. “monitor economic sanctions, fight terror financing and money laundering, or get a fuller picture of market hot spots around the world.”

The Federal Reserve was established in 1913, and the current headquarters in New York houses around $3.3 trillion in assets from around 250 foreign central banks—which adds up to about half of the world’s dollar reserves.

“In all, the people interviewed by Reuters identified seven instances in the last 15 years in which the accounts gave U.S. authorities insights into the actions of foreign counterparts or market movements, at times leading to a specific U.S. response.”

The report cited a case from March 2014, in which U.S. intelligence used the Federal Reserve loophole to monitor Russia after its invasion of Crimea. As a result, when the Obama administration responded by placing economic sanctions on Russia, and the foreign holdings at the New York Fed dropped by $115 billion, the U.S. automatically knew that Russia’s central bank had pulled its funds.

The Federal Reserve acknowledged the practice of disclosing account intelligence, but attempted to downplay it, by claiming it was only used on “rare occasions.”

“While our account agreement does provide for the sharing of information with the U.S. government in limited circumstances, we require a clearly demonstrated need for the information and a commitment that the information will be treated confidentially,” a New York Fed spokeswoman told Reuters.

“This exception has been used on rare occasions and on a limited basis for such issues as compliance with sanctions requirements and anti-money laundering principles.”

Reuters noted that the requests from information through the Federal Reserve “became more frequent after the passage of the 2001 U.S. Patriot Act, mostly from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a Treasury division enforcing sanctions and targeting terrorist financing, money laundering, and weapons and drugs trafficking.”

The Free Thought Project has reported on multiple instances of the failure of the Federal Reserve. In June 2016, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan even warned that the world is in “the worst period” he has ever seen.

“If we went back on the gold standard and we adhered to the actual structure of the gold standard as it exited prior to 1913, we’d be fine,” Greenspan said. “Remember that the period 1870 to 1913 was one of the most aggressive periods economically that we’ve had in the United States, and that was a golden period of the gold standard. I’m known as a gold bug and everyone laughs at me, but why do central banks own gold now?”

Even Donald Trump called for an audit of the Federal Reserve. However, like most of his promises, this one will most likely be broken too — just as Ron Paul predicted last year.

It is so important to audit The Federal Reserve, and yet Ted Cruz missed the vote on the bill that would allow this to be done.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2016

There have also been multiple versions of legislation seeking to “Audit The Fed,” in order to gain insight into how the world’s most powerful financial institution conducts its business. The latest version was sponsored by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and was approved by the Republican-controlled Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in March.

While the report does serve as a reminder of the capabilities of U.S. intelligence, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Countries such as Iraq, Libya and Syria have all felt the wrath of the United States after their respective leaders chose to drop the U.S. dollar—and each invasion should serve as a reminder of the power of coercion between the government and the media to push an agenda that furthers the U.S. central banking system.

Source*

Related Topics:

Arizona Passes Landmark Bill to End Federal Reserve’s Monopoly on Money*

Hitler Was Financed by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England*

Anonymous Strikes the Heart of the Empire — Takes Down U.S. Federal Reserve Bank*

U.S. Senate Blocks Bill to Audit the Federal Reserve*

Fed Official Confesses Federal Reserve Rigged the Stock Market Crash*

Foreign Countries Held Hostage by the Federal Reserve*

Signs of Federal Reserve Instability Coming to the Surface*

If the Noose is Still Tightening and, you Still Think It’s Austerity, the Former Governor of the Bank of England Will Tell You*

The Secretive Bank of England — Controlling the World’s Money Supply*

How the DoD Squandered Billions of U.S. Taxpayer Dollars*

How the DoD Squandered Billions of U.S. Taxpayer Dollars*

The Pentagon continues to squander U.S. taxpayer dollars on extravagant projects and meaningless initiatives, Sputnik contributor Alexander Khrolenko wrote, shedding light on the most glaring examples of the U.S. Department of Defense wasting money.

The senseless spending of funds has become the Pentagon’s modus operandi, Sputnik international affairs contributor Alexander Khrolenko wrote.

This prompts questions about who actually benefits from wasted U.S. taxpayer dollars.

On Wednesday, Newsweek magazine turned the spotlight on the pointless waste of $94 million by the US Defense Department.

According to the media outlet, the Pentagon squandered millions of dollars on “a fashion faux pas for Afghan cops” providing them with forest-colored camouflage uniforms “in a country where forests cover barely 2 percent of the land.”

“The Taliban haven’t had to look too hard to find their government foes in green forest uniforms,” the media outlet remarked ironically.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident, Khrolenko pointed out.

A glaring example of federal money squandering was demonstrated by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency which spent more than $ 10 billion on developing useless weapons, the journalist noted.

He quoted the findings of a Los Angeles Times investigation that nailed the Pentagon for wasting money on projects which had “ended up with nothing.” He specifically cited the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), the Airborne Laser, the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, and the Multiple Kill Vehicle.

“The world’s largest sea-based SBX radar cost US taxpayers $2.2 billion,” Khrolenko wrote.

“It was expected that the self-propelled radar station with, centimeter-level precision, would be able to track objects the size of a baseball ball at a distance of up to 4,700 kilometres, detect [intercontinental]ballistic missiles launched towards the USA, and participate in repelling the strike.”

“The SBX was supposed to keep an eye on possible [missile] launches from the territories of China and North Korea, but its visibility zone turned out to be too narrow; [as a result]the gargantuan radar station with a height of a 20-story building and weighing 50,000 tons sat idle [for years]at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii [as of 2015],” the journalist noted.

But that’s not all.

Back in 2016 the U.S. Department of Defense published a report which revealed that between 1997 and 2015 the Pentagon had spent $58 billion on 22 weapons programs which were later cancelled.

Commenting on the matter, Thomas Phippen of the Daily Caller pointed out that nearly half of the wasted funds went to two programs: “the Future Combat System (FCS) built high-tech computers, tanks and drones in one fell swoop, and received $20.7 billion before it was canceled; and the stealthy Comanche reconnaissance and attack helicopter project, which received $9.8 billion.”

Khrolenko has called attention to yet another embarrassing episode which surfaced in the press in 2014.

It was reported that the US destroyed 16 cargo planes intended for the Afghan Air Forces and sold the scrap metal for $32,000. The most damning part of the story is that the destroyed aircraft had been acquired by Washington for $486 million.

“Apparently, the difference [between the bid and the offer]did not vanish into thin air,” Khrolenko suggested, adding that it is no secret that billions of dollars meant for the restoration of occupied Iraq went “into the unknown.”

“Probably, the very presence of the U.S. military in 160 countries and the maintenance of about 800 foreign military bases can hardly be called a reasonable expenditure of budgetary funds,” the journalist pointed out, adding that U.S. spending on its global defense network is spinning out of control.

What is needed is a full audit of the Pentagon’s financial flows, he noted, adding that it still remains unclear when the US Department of Defense will be ready for it.

“The senseless spending of U.S. taxpayer dollars has become a way of life for the U.S. Department of Defense, and it is the military-industrial complex which benefits from it,” Khrolenko emphasized.

It is obvious that the squandering of $60 billion is just the tip of the iceberg, the journalist noted, referring to a 2016 Department of Defense Inspector General’s report that revealed — to the embarrassment of many — that the Pentagon was unable to provide adequate documentation for how it spent $6.5 trillion.

We agree that the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) is a useless project from the standpoint of it being used as a microwave heater to induce atmospheric disturbances in terrestrial regions they want to flood, or scorch.

It was used against the Philippines to produce Typhoon Hainan [Yolanda] in November 2013.

Source*

Related Topics:

The U.S. Gov’t Killed More Civilians This Month than All ‘Terrorist’ Attacks in Europe over the Last 12 Years*

The New Imperial Roman Empire*

Global Warming Hoax Was Costing U.S. Taxpayers $4.7 Billion per Year*

U.S. Tax Dollars and Companies Support Sex Traffickers in Iraq*

U.S. Taxation Deadline Looms for Trinidad and Tobago*

U.S. Taxpayers Funded Clinton’s Private Email Servers through ‘Former Presidents Act’*

U.S. Taxpayers Now Alone in Financing Ukraine’s Ethnic Cleansing*

Tens of Thousands March Across U.S. Demanding Donald Trump Release His Tax Returns*

U.S. Sued over $280bn Tax-deductible Aid Sent to Israel*

Americans aren’t Filling their Taxes this Year says IRS*

The U.S. Spent a Half Billion on Mining in Afghanistan with ‘Limited Progress’*

U.S. Has Spent $11.5 Million A Day for Past 542 Days Straight in Fight against ISIS*

U.S. Navy Just Spent $2.1bn on a Fancy Transport Fleet That Sinks*

U.S. has Already Spent Five Billion Dollars to Subvert Ukraine*

Trump To Continue Bankrupting The U.S. Through Foreign Wars*

The Arab Scholar Who Beat Adam Smith Economics by Half a Millennium*

The Arab Scholar Who Beat Adam Smith Economics by Half a Millennium*

By Dániel Oláh

In one of the most seminal works in the field of history of economic thought (History of Economic Analysis, 1954), Joseph Schumpeter argued that there is a “Great Gap” in the history of economics. The concept justifies the general ignorance in economics curricula towards economic thinking between early Christian and Scholastic times, emphasizing the lack of relevant positive (“scientific”) economic thinking in this period.

Statue of Ibn Khaldun in Tunis

 

Thanks to this self-created gap the most outstanding Islamic figure of the Middle Ages, the Andalusian scholar and politician Ibn Khaldun is neglected in mainstream textbooks (Screpanti and Zamagni 2005, Roncaglia 2005, Rothbard 2006, Blaug 1985). Several of these works often misleadingly start to identify the roots of modern theories with discussing the mercantilists or the Scottish Enlightenment.

The truth is that these weren’t the beginning of economic thinking at all.

Establishing social science in the 14th century

The biggest merit of Khaldun lies in his revolutionary methodological thinking. He completely rejected the methodology of his ancestors, which made him the first “social scientist […] in the strictest meaning of that term” (Fonseca, 1988). Before Khaldun, the role of islamic historians was limited to transmit knowledge without modifying, editing or adding any remarks to the tradition. They never questioned the validity of stories, but analyzed the credibility of the transmitter quite carefully instead.

Khaldun discarded the practice, stating the need for a new, scientific method which allows thinkers to separate true and fake historical information. But how to achieve that? According to him we should “investigate human social organization” to have “a sound yardstick” helping us to analyze society instead of accepting absurd stories of historians (Khaldun pp. 7-8).

Khaldun highlights that this is a completely new, original and independent science, which hadn’t existed before (Khaldun p. 8).

The stepfather of economics

Khaldunian thinking may be embarassingly familiar to today’s economists. He states that the division of labour serves as the basis for any civilized society and identifies division of labour not only on the factory level but also in a social and international context as well. Khaldun highlights on the example of obtaining grain that division of labour creates surplus value: “Thus, he cannot do without a combination of many powers from among his fellow beings, if he is to obtain food for himself and for them. Through cooperation, the needs of a number of persons, many times greater than their own (number), can be satisfied” (Khaldun p. 87).

His example of the division of production process is completely forgotten by economists and it’s not less expressive than the pin factory of Smith: “such include, for instance, the use of carvings for doors and chairs. Or one skillfully turns and shapes pieces of wood in a lathe, and then one puts these pieces together, so that they appear to the eye to be of one piece” (Khaldun p. 519). What is more: opposed to Smith, Khaldun doesn’t make any distinction between productive and unproductive work.

Based on this it’s easy to understand that Ibn Khaldun presented very similar ideas as Adam Smith, but hundreds of years before the Western philosopher. But Khaldun said even more about the economy.

He analyzed markets which arise based on the division of labor and examined market forces in a simple didactic way which is very similar to the attitude of Alfred Marshall. The invention of supply and demand analysis wasn’t invented in the 19th century: the Islamic scholar also described the relationship of demand and supply, and also took the role of inventories and merchandise trade into account. He divided the economy into three parts (production, trade and public sector) since the market prices in his theory include wages, profits and taxes (Boulakia 1971). At the same time he analyzed market for goods, labor and land as well. This structured approach led Khaldun to invent the labor theory of value, which makes the Islamic scholar a pre-marxian (or classical) thinker in this sense (Oweiss, 1988).

His idea, that the produced value is zero if the labor input is zero seems surprisingly classical, far ahead of his time.

How neoclassicals created a false story

In the dynamic Khaldunian model of economic development, the government plays a crucial role. Its policies, primarily taxation has a great effect on the development of a civilization. After the nomadic way of life tribes change to sedentary lifestyle, giving birth to urban civilization. The sedentary lifestyle demolishes the original group solidarity and creates a need for a new clientele. Creating a new group identity is costly and needs a new army as well.

So with the deepening of urban civilization, and thanks to the increasing luxurious needs of the dynasty, the ruler has to increase taxes. In the end, tax rates become so high that the economy collapses. “It should be known that at the beginning of the dynasty, taxation yields a large revenue from small assessments. At the end of the dynasty, taxation yields a small revenue from large assessments” (Khaldun p. 352) – writes Khaldun, describing the micro incentives behind taxation as well. On  the other hand, he rejects customs and government involvement in trade since the economic-political power of government is disproportionately large.

These ideas are so unique in the Middle Ages, that even Ronald Reagan quoted Khaldun’s work stating that they had some friends in common, referring to Arthur Laffer. The reason for this was that even Laffer himself regarded Khaldun as a forerunner of supply-side economics and the Laffer-curve, although Khaldunian ideas have not much in common with the Laffer-curve. The reason is that these should be interpreted in time dimension rather than as a policy rule of thumb.

So this narrative is not only false but illustrates how neoclassical economics forms economic history to justify its existence. These are unhistorical oversimplifications to create the story of a glorious and direct evolution towards neoclassicism as the most developed state of economic thinking.

In this process, scholars of the past are neglected, tried to be integrated into the context of neoclassical history – or both.

Keynesian ideas from the 14th century North-Africa

Finally, the ideas of the Muslim philosopher anticipate ideas of Keynesian economic theories as well. Khaldun’s words are telling: “dynasty and government serve as the world’s greatest market place, providing the substance of civilization. Now, if the ruler holds on to property and revenue, or they are lost or not properly used by him, then the property in the possession of the ruler’s entourage will be small. Thus (when they stop spending), business slumps and commercial profits decline because of the shortage of capital”. “ […] Furthermore, money circulates between subjects and ruler, moving back and forth. Now, if the ruler keeps it to himself, it is lost to the subjects” (Khaldun p. 365).

These are strong arguments for government spending in the context of 14th century North-Africa.

Adam Smith as a Khaldunian thinker?

Not only Khaldunian ideas, but the methodology behind them is also truly original, since it relies on abstraction and generalization. Khaldun gives us the economics of 14th century North-Africa and numerous relevant issues. He addresses questions for which we don’t have a single solution even in the 21th century. Khaldun helps us to bridge the gap in history of thought showing the importance of medieval Islamic culture. He also helps to understand the relationship between Islamic economics and other schools of thought being a theoretical common ancestor.

It’s not known for certain that Adam Smith or any other classical scholar hadn’t been inspired by Khaldun’s work when developing their own theories. Among others we have to uncover this information – which lost in the Great Gap – as well, in order to discover a new narrative which is closer to reality.

But why do we need a new narrative, rediscovering our past? The answer is simple: to avoid such superficial beliefs that Adam Smith (or Ibn Khaldun) is the father of economics, the development of economics started in the New Age to culminate in neoclassical thought, Khaldun already invented the Laffer-curve, the financial market effectively regulates itself or a big government is always bad for the economy – among others. Economists have to exercise self-reflection: the crisis of 2008 proved that gaps in the mainstream transform easily into policy mistakes.

With a new, more plural approach to history of thought the Alzheimer’s disease of mainstream economics can be cured which is badly needed in the 21th century.

Source*

Related Topics:

Dear Future Generations: Sorry

Usury – The Root of All Evil?*

Making the Most of What You’ve Got!

Personal Freedom, or My Freedom vs. Yours?*

One Economy, One Government, Your World!

Anti-Austerity and Living on the Edge

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Love for the Poor*

Muslim Cordoba Going for a Song

 

In the Move towards a Cashless Society India’s GDP Growth Slumps*

In the Move towards a Cashless Society India’s GDP Growth Slumps*

The GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2017 came lower than most experts had expected [Xinhua]

 

India’s GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017 slumped dramatically to 6.1%– its lowest level in two and a half years, the federal Central Statistics Office (CSO) said late Wednesday.

The surprise drop in the growth rate pulled India from its status as the world’s fastest growing economy.

India’s Central Bank (RBI) is expected to maintain its December 2016 policy to keep interest rates at 6.25% despite the latest economic figures.

Most economic experts say the drop in GDP growth in the period between January and March is directly as a result of the government’s demonitization drive initiated by Prime Minister Nadrendra Modi.

There had been a public backlash against Modi’s “essential” move on November 8 to end the use of the 500 and 1,000 rupee currency notes in order to tackle graft in the country and crack down on unknown sources of income, what he called black [unaccounted for] money.

At the time, economist Subhanil Chowdhury wrote that the huge monetary shock from demonitization to the economy has both short-term and long-term effects.

“The biggest impact of this demonetisation policy, however, has been on the informal sector and agriculture. India is an economy where around 45% of the GDP is produced in the informal sector providing employment to 80% of the workforce,” Chowdhury said.

In its annual report in January 2017, the World Bank warned that the immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation brought upon by demonitization “and subsequent replacement with new notes announced by the government in November contributed to slowing growth in 2016”.

However, it classified India’s economy as “still robust” and forecast that GDP growth would bounce back in coming years.

“India is expected to regain its momentum, with growth rising to 7.6% in Fiscal Year(FY) 2018 and strengthening to 7.8 per cent in FY 2019-20,” the report went on to say.

Source*

Related Topics:

India’s Cashless Villages not Really There Yet, But the Nightmare Has Begun*

Monsanto Has Lost $11 Million As Indian Cotton Farmers Begin To Use Indigenous Seed*

Indian Economy Crashes As Modi’s ‘Black Money’ Theory Collapses*

India: Millions Rise Up Against New World Order Ban on Cash*

India’s PM Admits NWO Plan towards becoming “Cashless Society”*

IMF Issue Working Paper on Eliminating Cash*

E.U. Picks Up Speed in the War on Cash*

E.U. Desperate to Raises Taxes Starts Cashless Society Project November 2017*

A New Digital Cash System was Just Unveiled at a Secret Meeting for Bankers In New York*

Ban Cash to Help Central Banks stinks of Total Control – NWO’s Cashless Society*

Royal Mint Bullion Achieves Shari’ah Standard on Gold Compliance*

Royal Mint Bullion Achieves Shari’ah Standard on Gold Compliance*

The Royal Mint has become the first mint worldwide to achieve compliance with the Shari’ah Standard on Gold for retail sales of its gold and silver bullion coins and bars, enabling it to serve an even wider audience of investors via trading site http://www.royalmintbullion.com. The move is part of the organisation’s strategy to be seen as the ‘complete bullion solution’ – offering a comprehensive range of bullion products that are suitable for a variety of investors.

Chris Howard, Director of Bullion for The Royal Mint said:

“The recent introduction worldwide of the Shari’ah Standard on Gold has enabled The Royal Mint to take the next logical step in the expansion of its ‘complete bullion solution’. Shari’ah compliance allows us to make Royal Mint bullion accessible to a wider variety of investors at a time when Islamic investment is experiencing rapid growth in the U.K. and worldwide.”

Royal Mint bullion has been endorsed as Shari’ah-compliant by Shari’ah advisory organisation Amanie Advisors, in accordance with the Shari’ah Standard on Gold. This standard is set by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and has been developed in co-operation with the London-based World Gold Council (WGC).

In order to achieve the endorsement, The Royal Mint has undergone scrutiny of the ways in which it markets and charges for its bullion. There has been no need for any change to The Royal Mint’s bullion product range in order to accommodate the new Shari’ah-compliant status, however, which applies to Royal Mint gold and silver bullion coins and bars, as well as Signature Gold™ – the simple and cost-effective service that enables investors to own fractions of a 400oz gold bar based on value rather than weight.

“The growth in Islamic investment globally and the clarification of how gold and silver can be included within it could drive upwards of $20bn of investment in gold over the coming years. This is a great time for The Royal Mint to be playing its part in attracting Islamic investment to the UK, by securing Shari’ah-compliant status for its bullion products” said Chris Howard.

Shari’ah-compliant gold and silver bullion is now available on The Royal Mint’s trading website www.royalmintbullion.com. The site gives customers the opportunity of buying, storing and selling The Royal Mint’s bullion coins and bars quickly and securely, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Vault™, The Royal Mint’s on-site storage facility has been welcomed by investors looking for a highly secure storage option.

Source*

Related Topics:

Gold-backed Currency Launched in Dubai*

David Cameron Takes on Sukuk*

Islamic Crypto-currency E-Dinar Coin Released*

India’s Cashless Villages not Really There Yet, But the Nightmare Has Begun*

Ban Cash to Help Central Banks stinks of Total Control – NWO’s Cashless Society*

E.U. Desperate to Raises Taxes Starts Cashless Society Project November 2017*

The Usury Based System. Towards A Worldwide Financial Disaster?*

Behind the Global Financial Reset*

Gold-backed Currency Launched in Dubai*

Gold-backed Currency Launched in Dubai*

By GoldCore

• New gold-backed currency OneGram launched
• Backed by one-gram of gold, uses blockchain technology
• OneGram is first in wave of new Shariah, tech-savvy gold products
• 2017 sees big changes for gold thanks to Shariah gold and blockchain
• Gold investors should prepare for tightening in supply
• Bitcoin and shariah gold demand suggest change in retail investor thinking

Technology, shariah gold and bitcoin point to changing views

Ramadhan Kareem rang out across Dubai and the rest of the Muslim World this weekend as the holiest month in the Islamic calendar began. For 29-30 days over a billion Muslims around the world practice sawm (fasting), charity (zakat) and salat (prayer). This period is a time of spiritual reflection, increased devotion and worship as well as a time to come together with loved ones for both the break fast meal (Iftar) and pre-fast meal (Suhur).

Ramadhan is obviously observed in different ways around the Muslim world. Here in Dubai a non-Muslim will experience a place full of both celebration and reflection, with events happening every evening that are there to welcome everybody. The month also sees a number of companies launching Ramadhan promotions ranging from bank accounts (free banking for six months, anyone?) to spa treatments (2-for-1 massage?) to huge packs of dates (the first food to break the fast).

As part of the celebrations, a new gold-backed currency has been launched, here in Dubai. It is a new currency known as OneGram (OGC) backed by one gram of gold and can be used for digital payments. There is a fixed number of OGCs and digital transaction fees (minus admin costs) will be reinvested to buy more gold. According to the managers, “the amount of gold backing each OGC will increase with time.”

OneGram has been launched by a private company of the same name. The company claims to offer a proof-of-stake blockchain that is ‘’further anonymized’ than Bitcoin. Reports state that ‘developers employ zero-knowledge dual-key stealth addresses and ring signature protocols toward ‘instant, untraceable, unlinkable, trustless transactions.’

Shariah Gold Standard

In December we witnessed the launch of the Shariah Gold Standard. Announced in Bahrain by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the World Gold Council, the Standard is the first ever set of guidelines for the 2 billion Muslims looking to invest in gold-based financial products.

As we explained in December:

According to Islamic texts, gold is a ribawi item, which means that it must be sold on weight and measure, and cannot be traded for future value or for speculation. In order for a gold instrument to be Shariah-compliant, the precious metal must be the underlying asset in related transactions.

When the Shariah Gold Standard was launched, one of the world’s leading investors Mark Mobius labelled it as a “godsend” that was both “innovative and revolutionary”. Currently the Islamic Finance market accounts for 1% of the global GDP, and is growing at nearly 20% per year. The new AAOIFI issued guidelines are expected to propel demand for gold as more companies (such as GoldCore) launch Shariah-compliant gold investment products. The combined use of both innovative Shariah gold investment standards and new technology could boost demand by around 500-1000 tonnes per annum.

The launch of OneGram is part of the new wave of gold financial products that we are beginning to see as a result of the Shariah Gold Standard. Muslims have long looked for more gold products to be made available to them in the $2 trillion Islamic financial markets.

A gold-backed cryptocurrency is not just a positive sign for Muslim investors, it is also a positive sign for those who are looking to invest outside of the financial system. Of course, investing in physical gold has long been available for both Muslims and non-Muslims for many years, but this recent announcement says a lot more about the demands for safe-haven investing than previous changes in financial markets have.

A new safe-money standard?

Right now it seems the world is paying attention to a financial and geopolitical situation that is proving to have one too many cracks to fix and fill. But, in the background, there is a growing awareness of how we can protect ourselves when those cracks turn into canyons.

There is something in the air that suggests we might be seeing a turn in the way savers and investors are beginning to view their money. The launch of technologically advanced, shariah compliant gold-products is an early indication of this. But when one also considers the recent performance of bitcoin, then we see that the desire to hold money outside of the financial system with reduced counterparties is growing.

The size of the bitcoin market might be minuscule compared to gold, and gold’s market size minuscule compared to that of the dollar, but times are changing. The increased accessibility to these sound-money, safe-haven assets is a sign that the most powerful financial group in the world – the people on the street – are harnessing ways to gain control of their investment portfolios.

Ultimately we believe bitcoin is a complementary asset to gold, but time will tell. Whilst watching and waiting on bitcoin, gold investors should feel assured that launches of gold-backed products such as OneGram are not only validation of the modern approach to investing in gold, but also validation of their decision to invest in gold.

This is good news for gold investors who have chosen to invest in not only the ultimate form of financial insurance but also one that is finite and physical. As awareness and demand grow, it is not unreasonable to expect to see some tightening in the availability of physical gold, which will have a positive impact on the price.

Source*

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Russia and Iran Escape the Petro-dollar*

Russia and Iran Escape the Petro-dollar*

By Tyler Durden

Iran signed an agreement with Russia under which it has broken free from the petrodollar, and will “sell”, or rather barter crude oil to Russia in exchange for products. The announcement was made by Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, as reported by Russia’s RIA and TASS news agencies.

“The deal has been concluded. We are just waiting for the implementation from the Russian side. We have no difficulties; we signed the contract, everything is coordinated between the parties. We are waiting for Russian oil companies to send tankers,” he said, as quoted by Russian news agencies.

While sanctions against Iran have been lifted, restrictions on trade in U.S. dollars for the country’s banks remain, making it difficult to sell oil on the open market.

As reported here just over three years ago, the $20 billion agreement was initially signed in April 2014 when Iran was under Western sanctions over its nuclear program. Russian traders were to participate in the selling of Iranian oil. In exchange, Iran wanted essential goods and technology from Russia.

This is what Reuters reported in April 2014 when the deal was first announced:

Iran and Russia have made progress towards an oil-for-goods deal sources said would be worth up to $20 billion, which would enable Tehran to boost vital energy exports in defiance of Western sanctions, people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

In January Reuters reported Moscow and Tehran were discussing a barter deal that would see Moscow buy up to 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods.

The White House has said such a deal would raise “serious concerns” and would be inconsistent with the nuclear talks between world powers and Iran.

Little did the U.S. know back in 2014 that less than three years later, Russia would also be running the U.S., courtesy of wholesale manipulation of tens of millions of Americans, whom it hacked and convinced to vote for Trump.

Sarcasm aside, when the sanctions against Tehran were lifted in 2016, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the deal was no longer necessary. However, Novak said in March 2017 that the plan was back on the table with Russia buying 100,000 barrels per day from Iran and selling the country $45 billion worth of goods, Russia Today reported.

Russia and Iran discussed energy, electricity, nuclear energy, gas and oil, as well as cooperation in the field of railways, industry, and agriculture.

Novak had announced in February that Russia’s state trading enterprise Promsirieimport has been authorized by the government to carry out the purchase of Iran’s oil through the oil-for-goods program under study by both countries. Meanwhile, Zanganeh had been quoted by the media as saying that Iran would be paid in cash for half of the oil that would be sold to Russia.  The due payments for the remaining half would be made in goods and services, the Iranian minister had said. 

A February report by the International Monetary Fund said that while Iran has been reconnected to SWIFT, significant challenges prevent Iranian banks fully-reconnecting to global banks still exist mostly due to remaining U.S. sanctions.

“U.S. primary sanctions apply to U.S. financial institutions and companies, including their non-U.S. branches (but not their subsidiaries). Moreover, with very limited exceptions, businesses and individuals related to the U.S. continue to be generally prohibited from dealing with Iran, including with the government,” the IMF said.

“U.S. dollar clearing restrictions have not been lifted and pose a significant challenge for non-U.S. banks who may do business with Iran, but may not be paid in U.S. dollars,” it added.

And since necessity is the mother of invention, what better way to bypass the world’s reserve currency than to go back to the way commerce was conducted before currencies were even created: through barter.

Source*

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