Financial services firm Tallymoney has offered its 20-plus members of staff the chance to get paid in gold rather than pounds and pence, in order to help them stay ahead of inflation.
Cameron Parry, chief executive officer at Tallymoney, has himself signed up to the scheme. Parry began piloting his gold payroll scheme among senior staff, and will soon offer it to everyone in the organisation.
The gold is denominated in a ‘tally’, with each representing one milligram of physical gold which can then be saved and spent anywhere, including shops and restaurants in the UK and overseas using the Tally App and Tally Debit Mastercard.
According to Tallymoney, PAYE taxes are applied as normal, with the exchange rate for gold to pounds taken into account. An example gross monthly salary that was previously £4,000 would be defined as 82,000 tally gross, or 82,000 milligrams of gold, on an employee’s payslip.
Parry explained that he did not think it made sense to continue offering pay hikes in pounds, when the value of sterling continues to depreciate. However, the value of gold has risen 11% since the beginning of the year, while the Bank of England expects inflation to surge to 10%.
He added: “Gold is a time-tested inflation hedge and has maintained its purchasing power for millennia. At times like these, when conventional money is steadily losing its buying power, gold offers people the best chance of keeping ahead of inflation.
“The purchasing power of the pound has been eroded significantly in recent months, while the value of gold continues to steadily rise. This means that gold goes much further when it’s exchanged for goods and services that are priced in pounds and pence. Tally is monetised gold that can be used for everyday spending or saving.”