Precious Metals, Digitally Assured.
Since 2017, India's digital bullion ecosystem has made precious metals more accessible to customers, bringing a larger portion of the precious metals domain into the organised sector with an emphasis on transparency, digital payments, and purity testing. Following its innovation in India, the product has now been adopted by customers in UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, UK, and beyond.
Trust in Purity
Supporting strong bullion integrity standards, recognised quality benchmarks, and robust testing practices.
Transparency in Processes
Promoting visible, auditable, and consumer-friendly processes across the value chain.
Democratisation of Access
Making precious metals simpler to access through digital channels with stronger safeguards.
Digitisation of Payments
Encouraging traceable, cashless transaction journeys that support accountability and compliance.
India's Digital Bullion Self-Regulatory Organisation
The Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI) is a proposed self-regulatory organisation for the digital bullion ecosystem in India, bringing together both digital precious metal sellers and distributors under a common framework.
Building trust in India's digital precious metals industry
DPMACI has been formed to create awareness around digital precious metals, engage constructively with regulators to shape sound industry regulation, and set a unified code of conduct for sellers and distributors. The council is committed to driving consumer awareness, upholding transparency and purity standards, and providing a credible grievance redressal mechanism so that every customer can transact in digital precious metals with confidence.
Consumer Protection
Defining operating processes for players in the digital precious metals ecosystem to ensure consumer protection.
Independent Verification
Establish a process through which an independent auditor can verify that firms are following the defined standards.
Redressal Pathway
Provide a grievance redressal mechanism for customers of member platforms.
Nirupama Soundararajan
Nirupama Soundararajan is Co-founder and CEO of the Policy Consensus Centre, after previously serving as CEO of Pahle India Foundation. A macroeconomist with over two decades of experience in research and policy advocacy, she has worked across the financial sector, retail, e-commerce, gems and jewellery, defence economics, ease of doing business, and digital technology.
She is especially recognised for her contribution to gold policy in India, including leading the landmark report Why India Needs a Gold Policy at FICCI and contributing to multiple government-led initiatives on gold market development. She holds an MSc in Financial Economics and an MBA in Finance from Cardiff University, along with a postgraduate diploma in Finance and Financial Law from the University of London.
Core Operating Standards for Digital Metal Providers
DPMACI's proposed operating framework is designed to improve market discipline, strengthen asset backing controls, and create a more consistent consumer experience.
Bullion Integrity & Verification
- All bullion sold must conform to recognised good delivery standards such as BIS or LBMA-certified benchmarks.
- An independent Big Four auditor should conduct physical audits of vaulted bullion at least twice each year.
- Audits should include random destructive testing to verify stated weight and purity within agreed tolerance limits.
Fund Flow & Settlement Controls
- Customer payments should be routed through an authorised Payment Aggregator.
- All money will be routed through segregated accounts under the supervision of the Trustee.
- Digital metal transactions should carry the correct MCC (5412) to support oversight and reporting requirements.
- Any cash redemption proceeds should be credited only to a bank account belonging to the same customer.
Custodian & Trustee Appointment
- All precious metals will be stored in a secure vault managed by an independent Custodian.
- The SRO should maintain a list of impanelled Trustees to strengthen oversight and governance.
Distributor Platform Obligations
- Distributors must transparently display price, purity, and all charges before and after the transaction.
- Only digital payment instruments should be permitted. Cash transactions should be prohibited.
- Customers must be able to view total holdings and transaction histories for a defined period.
- Distributors must not represent themselves as sellers of the metal.
Joint Obligations for Grievance Redressal
- Distributor platforms should maintain a board-approved grievance redressal policy published across all consumer touchpoints.
- Customers should have an easy way to raise complaints, with best-effort resolution within 30 days.
- Sellers remain responsible for complaints related to redemption, delivery, purity, weight, and service levels.
- The SRO should publish a formal dispute-handling framework with metrics around resolution timelines.
Founding Members & Partner Platforms
The DPMACI ecosystem brings together digital precious metal sellers and distribution platforms.
Digital Precious Metal Sellers
Distributor Platforms
Partner Distributor Platforms
Additional distribution partners where member products are available to consumers across India.
Consumer-First Ombudsman Workflow
Submit your complaint using the form. Our ombudsman will review and work towards a fair resolution.
How it works
- Complaint is logged with all mandatory fields and supporting evidence.
- Complaint is shared with the relevant distributor platform or product provider/seller within 5 business days.
- A resolution or response is provided within 21 business days of receiving the complaint.
Raise a Complaint
All fields marked * are mandatory
Coming Soon
Building consumer education resources
DPMACI plans to publish resources explaining how digital precious metals work, what safeguards customers should look for, and how grievance pathways can be used effectively.