Because of the financial nature of our business, we're subject to the “Know Your Customer” provision of the Patriot Act and are required by law to collect this information.
 

Yes. In order to access the SmartMetals® platform and take advantage of our domestic and international storage options, all customers must sign up for and fund a SmartMetals account before making a purchase. Like an online brokerage account, your available cash balance—which you can add to or withdraw from at any time—allows you to place orders online 24 hours a day in multiple markets around the world.

Customers without accounts can purchase certain metals (gold and silver only) with a credit card through Hard Assets Direct. All Hard Assets Direct transactions are capped at $10,000, and the metal must be shipped directly to you (no storage available).
 

HAA is a financially secure, stable business. However, we believe our customers deserve additional assurance that their assets are safe and secure, so we have entered into a three-way agreement between HAA, GBI, and each of our vaulting partners (Malca Amit, Brinks, and Loomis). These specify that the metal held in HAA's account at each vault location is owned solely by HAA's customers and is stored for the customers' benefit.

Should either HAA or GBI become insolvent or otherwise be unable to perform its business duties, the surviving entity shall step in and assume the other party's responsibilities with respect to customer metal. The vaulting partners understand and have agreed to take direction from the surviving entity, which will direct the vault according to each customer's instructions.
 

When you create an order, we communicate electronically with our supplier network to get real-time pricing for the metal, quantity, and selection you've chosen. We have no fewer than four suppliers in each region in which we operate, and their offers are compared against each other to provide you with the best price available in that region. Your actual buy price is determined upon execution of your order, which typically happens shortly after you place your trade.