UAE tourists, investors splurge $7m at gold ATMs

Tourists and investors in the UAE spent nearly US$7m at gold vending machines over the last 18 months, the CEO of the German firm which installed four units in the country, told Arabian Business.

“Around 17,000 consumers took the chance to purchase gold bars or coins from the UAE gold vending machines,” Thomas Geissler, CEO of German firm Ex Oriente Lux, said in a statement. “Each single purchase had an average of AED1,500 (US$408),” he added.

The Gold-to-Go units, which are covered in 24-carat gold, dispense one, five and 10g bars, as well as 1oz bars of gold. It also tracks the gold price on fluctuating markets with an inbuilt website that transmits the information every 10 seconds, and updates the price every 10 minutes.

Ex Oriente Lux has installed four units in the UAE, at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, at the Atlantis The Palm Hotel and two in Burj Khalifa.

Geissler confirmed that the best performing gold ATM in the UAE was the unit at the ground floor of the Burj Khalifa, followed by the Emirates Palace unit, which was the first one in the country.

He told Arabian Business last year the firm was aiming for 15 units in the UAE as part of its expansion in the region.

“The plan is to be very stable in the UAE and have 15 machines installed. Then we will stop when we think the market is covered, before going further to the other territories of the Middle East,” he said.