Buying Digital Gold in a UPI App This Dhanteras? What SEBI Said, and Where Its Rules Apply
Two taps buy ₹501 of gold in a UPI app. SEBI said on 8 November 2025 that digital gold products operate entirely outside its purview, so its investor protection doesn't apply. Who stores app gold, the 3% GST, SEBI's own gold options, and what the US and UK say. Not advice: just where the rules apply.
Dhanteras is on Friday, 6 November. Mummy buys ₹501 of gold in a UPI app: two taps, and it's in her 'locker'. Mummy and the ₹501 are a made-up example; the question behind it is real: who protects that gold?
They operate entirely outside the purview of SEBI.
— SEBI on digital gold products, press release 70/2025, 8 November 2025
SEBI added that "none of the investor protection mechanisms under securities market purview shall be available" for them. It named no app; the warning covers digital gold sold on any platform. SEBI's own gold products are Gold ETFs, Electronic Gold Receipts on the stock exchanges, and commodity derivatives.
How app gold works
The gold is bought from a seller that stores it in a vault. Google Pay's help page names MMTC-PAMP as the seller that stores and insures it. You pay 3% GST when you buy.
The US and the UK
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission lists a precious-metals agreement that doesn't say where the physical metal is located as a red flag. In the UK, the advertising regulator says the physical gold market isn't regulated there.
None of this is advice to buy, sell or switch. It's only where the rules apply.
This is the long version of Money Trail #02, a reel in Hindi for @buildjayy on Instagram. If you're building a fintech app, send me the word BUILD there, or start with the brief form on the front page.
Sources: SEBI, press release 70/2025, 8 November 2025; News On AIR; Google Pay help; the CFTC precious metals fraud advisory; the UK ASA; and Drik Panchang for the Dhanteras date.
- 5 Nov 2026
- Published, with the reel.
Product builder from Surat. Ships his own apps, runs live broadcasts, and takes on a few founders a year for product, brand and growth. hey@jaybutani.com