Boss begins paying employees in gold instead of cash as part of a new wage trial

Cameron Parry, CEO of e-money provider TallyMoney, employs around 20 people and says each person will have the opportunity to be paid in gold as part of a new attempt

The boss of a city company has offered to pay his employees in gold instead of pounds as part of a new pay system.

Cameron Parry, CEO of the e-money provider TallyMoney, employs around 20 people.

It is not mandatory for employees to enroll in the gold trial scheme, which means they can continue to be paid in sterling if they wish.

If someone chooses to be paid in gold, PAYE taxes will be collected as usual, taking into account the gold to pound exchange rate.

For example, a monthly gross salary that was previously £4,000 would be defined as gross 82,000 – 82,000 milligrams of gold – on her payslip.

Gold is reported in ‘tally’, with each ‘tally’ representing one milligram of physical gold.

Mr Parry said: “With the cost of living crisis getting worse, there was no point in continuing to offer pay increases in pounds when their value is being eroded further by the day. It was like putting a plaster over an open wound.

“We see the purchasing power of the pound continuing to decline at an alarming rate while gold has steadily appreciated in value throughout 2022.

Would you be paid in gold? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

“Gold is a proven inflation hedge and has maintained its purchasing power for millennia.

“In times like these, when traditional money is steadily declining in purchasing power, gold offers people the best chance of staying ahead of inflation.”

Tally was the first e-money provider to offer an account linked to the price of gold – not the value of the pound.

Because the price of gold fluctuates, it means that if the value of precious metals went down, your money would be worth less.

Because of this, critics have labeled Tally as an investment rather than a traditional savings account. With any type of investment, your capital is at risk as your money can go up or down.

When money is deposited into your account, those pounds (or euros or dollars) are used to buy gold at the global wholesale price.

You can then spend the equivalent value in stores or online using the Tally app or Tally Debit Mastercard.

However, it does not come with the protections of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

FSCS is an independent statutory body set up to reimburse customers up to a maximum of £85,000 when a bank fails.

Tally says it secures its customers’ money in gold and some fiat currencies, which are held in a bank in Switzerland.