Gold Bullion International implements Ripple to buy "digital physical gold"

Gold Bullion International (GBI) has announced its implementation of the Ripple protocol to electronically buy, sell and transfer physical gold.

GBI is based in New York and facilitates the sale and storage of precious metals to investors. The company aims to streamline what has traditionally been a cumbersome and expensive process. Customers can order any amount of bullion online and aren't restricted to standard sizes.

Ripple is a protocol that provides for the decentralized transfer of digital assets. Fidor bank reportedly implemented the protocol for low-cost funds transfers.

In a press release, the company even goes as far as to term the implementation as a "digital, gold-backed currency" and "digital physical gold". It is traded under the "XAU" symbol. Savneet Singh, co-founder and head of the Digital Currency initiative at GBI, explained:

"Investors can withdraw their XAU balance at any time and GBI will send the corresponding amount of physical gold. GBI allows those who prefer the security of a precious metals-backed currency to now buy digital units of that currency on Ripple with complete confidence in the security of their assets. This continues our movement into the digital currency world and we look forward to sharing future exciting announcements shortly."

Clients will also be able to pay for goods and services with the new currency.