From September 1, 2024, pawnshops will have the right to accept investment precious metals from individuals as collateral or for storage, as well as sell or transfer unclaimed investment precious metals to refining organizations for refining. This became possible thanks to the decree of the Russian government dated May 15, 2024, as reported by Kommersant.
Despite the fact that the infrastructure for buying out precious metals is poorly developed, and pawnshops do not always have the necessary competencies, they can become key participants in the turnover of investment precious metals. The only public player in the pawnshop market is Mosgorlombard. Pawnshops will be able to take on almost the entire turnover of measured bars from 1 g to 100 g, which are unprofitable for banks to work with.
In 2023, more than 90 tons of gold were sold without the appropriate purchase and sale infrastructure. The turnover of physical gold in measured bars may reach 200 billion rubles (excluding 12-kilogram measured bars).
It is expected that by the end of 2023, the pawnshop market portfolio will amount to 65-70 billion rubles. With a turnover of 2 months and a margin of 5%, annual revenue over three years may reach about 70 billion rubles. At the first stage, the segment will be developed by network participants with the possibility of attracting additional working capital.