e-gold® Exchange Provider Guidelines

The e-gold organization itself does not provide exchange services or formally credential third party exchange providers. Any individual or organization may become exchange providers and operate to their own guidelines in accordance with local law. Experience with numerous exchange providers does allow us to offer ideas for starting an Exchange.

• You need Internet access and an e-gold account, enabling you to receive and make e-gold payments via computer or web-enabled phone.
• You need to be able to receive and make payments to/from your exchange customers in local currency. This is the tough part. Be sure each payment you accept is good and final before you click e-gold to your customer!
• Maintain records, for larger cash payments it is prudent and depending upon location it may be required to document identification of your exchange customers.
• Maintain a source of information on current exchange rates for e-gold. This data is available on the e-gold website.
• Maintain sufficient liquidity to fulfill largest offered trades from existing e-gold inventory or local currency.
• Maintain access to an outside market for obtaining or selling e-gold in order to be able to rectify trading balances if either buying or selling becomes dominant.
• The key to maximizing exchange profits is to make a two-way market, buying and selling, replenishing both your e-gold and your supply of local currency via trades with your customers. The more balanced your book of business, the less you will need to resort to an external market where you are the customer paying the spreads or fees.
  
• The exchange provider may sell e-gold at a higher ("ask") exchange rate, and buy at the lower ("bid") exchange rate; or calculate everything at "spot" and simply charge a flat fee or percentage.
• Customers and exchange providers may hold e-gold as a store of value, or as a means for on-line payments. Familiarize yourself with the benefits of e-gold so that you are able to explain and market it effectively.
• Find your competitive niche. Most Internet users worldwide do not have credit cards. By offering over-the-counter exchange for cash, be it rupees, pesos, yuan or your local currency, you can help the unbanked masses benefit more fully from the global market that the Internet represents.
• Ensure a high level of security to prevent fraud or breaches of security.