PRECIOUS METAL BULLION ARBITRAGE RETAIL KIOSK AND ASSOCIATED METHODS OF USE AND MANUFACTURE

• US 20110047062A1
• Filed: 08/17/2010
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Security Pacific Capital Corporation
• Original Assignee: Security Pacific Capital Corporation
• Inventors: Gardner, Donald L., Kerschner, Michael B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,321,330 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/00 Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards a bullion arbitrage kiosk portal device that enables a customer to buy and/or sell precious metal bullion. A price for the bullion is dynamically determined based at least in part on a plurality of real-time market quotes, an operational markup, and an inventory determination of bullion at a single or multiple number of kiosk portal device(s). The kiosk portal device is further configured such that bullion purchased by the kiosk portal device may be resold by the same kiosk portal device, thereby integrating the buy/sell of bullion, even by the same customer. The kiosk portal device further enables a customer to exchange bullion for differing configurations and/or amounts of other bullion, as well as other forms of payment, such as cash, credit, or alternative denominations of bullion.

Claims

1. A method of managing gold bullion transactions at a consumer operated kiosk, the method comprising:

receiving, at the kiosk, one or more gold bullion market quotes from one or more market sources, wherein the kiosk is a consumer operated kiosk;

determining a gold bullion transaction price for buying or selling gold bullion at the kiosk based at least in part on the one or more market quotes;

presenting the transaction price to a customer at the kiosk to buy or sell gold bullion; and

receiving from the customer a request to buy or sell gold bullion at the transaction price;

wherein when the request is to buy gold bullion from the kiosk, the method further comprises—

receiving payment at the kiosk for the transaction price; and

dispensing the gold bullion to the customer at the kiosk; and

wherein when the request is to sell gold bullion to the kiosk the method further comprises—

receiving the gold bullion from the customer at the kiosk;

determining authenticity of the received gold bullion at the kiosk, and

when the received gold bullion is authentic, paying the customer the transaction price; and

when the received gold bullion is not authentic, returning the received gold bullion to the customer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising reselling the same gold bullion from the kiosk that was sold to the kiosk by the customer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein when the request is to sell gold bullion to the kiosk the method further comprises remotely purchasing a second amount of gold bullion at a price that is higher than the transaction price.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically hedging a sale or purchase of gold bullion in a quantity generally matching a quantity of the gold bullion bought by or sold to the customer by monitoring current real time spot pricing and issuing a market order via a network connection for at least one of buying or selling gold bullion in the quantity of the gold bullion bought by or sold to the customer.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein automatically hedging a sale or purchase of gold bullion comprises automatically hedging the sale or purchase simultaneously when the customer buys or sells the gold bullion at the kiosk.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the gold bullion transaction price comprises determining the transaction price based at least in part on an inventory of the gold bullion in the kiosk.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the gold bullion transaction price includes determining the transaction price based at least in part on the market price plus an additional mark-up price of the gold bullion in the kiosk.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a signal to a gold bullion supplier to increase or decrease an inventory of gold bullion in the kiosk.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein paying the customer the transaction price comprises paying the customer at least in part in another form or denomination of bullion.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein paying the customer the transaction price comprises paying the customer in currency.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein paying the customer the transaction price comprises crediting an account of the customer.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving one or more market quotes comprises receiving one or more real-time market quotes for gold bullion.

13. A method of exchanging a precious metal at a kiosk, the method comprising:

receiving, at a kiosk, one or more market price quotes for precious metal, wherein the kiosk is a consumer operated kiosk;

displaying, at the kiosk, the one or more market price quotes;

determining a transaction price to buy or sell the precious metal at the kiosk based at least in part on the one or more market price quotes; and

offering, at the kiosk, to purchase the precious metal from a customer at the transaction price or to sell the precious metal to the customer at the transaction price;

wherein when the offer to purchase the precious metal at the kiosk is accepted, the method comprises receiving the precious metal from the customer into the kiosk and paying the customer the transaction price; and

wherein when the offer to sell the precious metal at the kiosk is accepted, the method comprises receiving payment of the transaction price at the kiosk and dispensing the precious metal to the customer.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein receiving one or more market price quotes comprises receiving one or more real-time market price quotes via a network coupled to the kiosk.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein determining the transaction price further comprises determining the transaction price based at least in part on a precious metal inventory contained within the kiosk.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein receiving one or more market quotes comprises receiving one or more market quotes for at least one of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein when the offer to purchase the precious metal at the kiosk is accepted, the method further comprises authenticating the precious metal from the customer at the kiosk and paying the customer the transaction price when the precious metal is authentic.

18. The method of claim 13 receiving one or more market price quotes for precious metal comprises receiving one or more market prices quotes from a first market for a first amount of precious metal, and wherein when the offer to purchase or sell the precious metal at the kiosk is accepted, the method further comprises purchasing or selling a second amount of precious metal in a second market different than the first market.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the kiosk is a first kiosk, and wherein dispensing the precious metal to the customer comprises dispensing the precious metal to the customer from at least one of the following:

the first kiosk and a second kiosk separate from the first kiosk.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein when the offer to sell the precious metal at the kiosk is accepted, the method further comprises:

dispensing confirmation information from the first kiosk to the customer after receiving payment of the transaction price; and

dispensing the precious metal from the second kiosk after receiving the confirmation information at the second kiosk.

21. A kiosk for exchanging gold bullion, the kiosk comprising:

a processor configured to determine an offer price to purchase gold bullion from the kiosk, wherein the offer price is based at least in part on a current market value of the gold bullion;

a customer interface configured to display the offer price to a customer and to allow the customer to accept to purchase the gold bullion at the kiosk for the offer price;

a storage region configured to the store an inventory of gold bullion in the kiosk;

a payment region configured to receive payment of the offer price; and

a gold bullion dispensing region configured to dispense the gold bullion to the customer.

22. The kiosk of claim 21 wherein the offer price is further based at least in part on the inventory of gold bullion in the storage region.

23. The kiosk of claim 21 wherein the offer price is further based at least in part on a service charge.

24. The kiosk of claim 21, further comprising a network interface device operably coupled to the computing device, wherein the network interface device is configured to receive one or more market value price quotes for the gold bullion.

25. The kiosk of claim 24 wherein the network interface device is further configured to determine an arbitrage amount of gold bullion to purchase remotely from the kiosk in response to an amount of the gold bullion purchased by the customer at the kiosk.

26. The kiosk of claim 21 wherein:

the offer price is a first offer price and wherein the computing device is further configured to determine a second offer price to sell gold bullion to the kiosk, wherein the second offer price is based at least in part on the current market value of the gold bullion;

the customer interface is further configured to present the second offer price to the customer and to allow the customer to accept to sell the gold bullion to the kiosk for the second offer price;

the kiosk further comprising—

a gold bullion input region configured to receive the gold bullion from the customer; and

one or more sensors configured to authenticate the received gold bullion, and wherein the payment region is configured to transfer the payment of the second offer price to the customer.