A plain-language guide to the revenue, industry, and economic resilience benefits of TGS — with a concrete model built on verified Texas Bullion Depository data.
|
Transactional Gold and Silver is state legislation that lets you own real gold and silver in a secure vault and spend it anywhere with a debit card — voluntarily, without replacing the dollar, and with nothing to do with crypto or government digital currencies. It is Just Another Way to Pay. |
|
Direct answer A state that enacts TGS legislation benefits economically in four ways: it generates ongoing fee revenue from depository storage, transactions, and licensing without new taxes; it attracts bullion storage companies, fintech developers, payment processors, and precious metals firms to operate within its borders; it builds financial technology infrastructure that serves both citizens and businesses; and it keeps precious metals storage and related economic activity inside the state rather than sending it to overseas custodians. The Texas Bullion Depository — operating since 2018 at no taxpayer cost — provides verified proof that all four benefits are achievable. Plain-English summary: A TGS law turns a state into a hub for sound money infrastructure — attracting companies, generating fees, and keeping economic activity inside state borders. Texas did it without spending a dollar of taxpayer money. Other states can do the same. |
States may benefit by becoming leaders in sound-money infrastructure, economic liberty, and constitutional finance. A state that establishes a TGS framework can attract bullion storage companies, fintech developers, payment processors, and precious metals firms — creating new financial industry jobs and positioning the state as a hub for sound-money innovation and financial technology development.
States may generate meaningful ongoing revenue through transaction fees already paid by merchants in the standard payment network, storage fees from depository account holders, conversion fees when precious metals are exchanged for dollars, licensing and administrative fee structures, and the broader economic activity that follows. These revenues do not require new taxes on citizens. Passing a TGS bill turns the state into an attractive destination for financial technology investment, secure depository expansion, and specialized banking services.
The broader strategic benefit is that a state with TGS infrastructure keeps bullion storage, financial innovation, and sound-money activity inside its own borders rather than sending those economic opportunities elsewhere. Every ounce of gold currently stored by American citizens in Swiss vaults through GlintPay or similar platforms represents economic activity that state-level TGS legislation can repatriate.
|
Feature → How it works → Outcome Feature: A state TGS law creates a new category of regulated financial services — precious metals custody and electronic payment infrastructure — that attracts private-sector investment, generates fee revenue, and positions the state as a fintech leader without requiring state capital expenditure. How it works: The state passes TGS legislation authorizing the state Treasurer to designate or contract with private-sector depository operators. Private companies build and operate the facility at no taxpayer cost. They pay licensing fees and operate under state regulation. Citizens pay storage and transaction fees that flow partly to state revenue. Fintech companies, payment processors, and bullion dealers follow the infrastructure. Outcome: A state-authorized depository generates revenue, attracts industry, employs specialists in security, finance, and technology, and keeps sound-money economic activity within state borders — all without requiring the state to spend money it does not have. |
The blog plan requires a concrete revenue calculation: 100,000 accounts × $4 per month in storage fees = $4.8 million per year. That is the baseline model. The Texas Bullion Depository — with over 1,700 verified account holders and $400 million in deposits as of June 2025 — provides the empirical foundation for scaling that model.
The revenue sources a state generates from TGS are not dependent on new taxes. They come from fees that account holders voluntarily pay for services they are receiving — the same way citizens pay fees for any other regulated financial service. The model below is conservative and uses the verified Texas numbers as its anchor.
|
Revenue source |
Assumption |
Annual estimate |
Notes |
|
Storage fees |
100,000 accounts × $4/month average |
$4,800,000/year |
Based on blog plan calculation; Texas at 1,700 accounts proves the model at smaller scale |
|
Transaction processing fees |
Portion of standard Mastercard interchange on TGS card transactions |
$1,200,000–$3,600,000/year |
Varies with transaction volume; grows as account holder base and spending increase |
|
Conversion fees |
Fee on gold-to-dollar conversions at point of sale |
$600,000–$1,800,000/year |
Small percentage of each transaction — scales with spending activity |
|
Licensing and admin fees |
Annual licensing fees from depository operators and payment processors |
$200,000–$500,000/year |
One-time and annual licensing structure set by state Treasurer's office |
|
Broader economic activity |
Jobs, taxes, and vendor spending from attracted fintech and bullion firms |
Variable — not directly quantifiable |
Multiplier effect of industry attraction exceeds direct fee revenue |
|
Conservative model — 100,000 accounts at Year 5 Direct fee revenue: $6.8M–$10.7M per year at 100,000 accounts from storage, transaction, conversion, and licensing fees combined. Basis: Texas grew from startup to $400M+ in deposits over 7 years. A state with an active TGS framework and electronic payment infrastructure can reasonably project 100,000 accounts within 5 years of launch. Taxpayer cost: Zero — the Texas model demonstrates that private operators build and operate the facility at their own cost under state contract. The state provides legal authority and regulatory oversight. |
Industry attraction is the economic multiplier that amplifies TGS's direct fee revenue. A state that establishes a TGS framework signals to the financial technology industry that it is open to sound-money innovation, comfortable with precious metals financial services, and capable of providing the regulatory environment that allows these businesses to operate. That signal attracts multiple categories of private-sector activity.
|
Industry attracted |
What they bring |
Texas proof of concept |
|
Bullion storage companies |
Jobs in vault security, facility management, custody operations, and compliance; capital investment in secure physical infrastructure |
Texas attracted Lone Star Tangible Assets to build and operate the Texas Bullion Depository — a multi-million-dollar private investment at zero taxpayer cost |
|
Fintech developers |
Software engineers, payment system architects, mobile app developers, and compliance specialists building TGS account platforms and debit card systems |
Texas's legal framework attracted private fintech investment in the electronic payment system authorized by Texas Government Code Chapter 2116 |
|
Payment processors |
Existing payment processors expanding into precious metals conversion services — well-paying technical jobs and processor operations |
The Mastercard-compatible payment processing layer for TGS requires either processor expansion or new processor entry into the state's financial services sector |
|
Precious metals dealers and refiners |
Bullion dealers, coin dealers, and precious metals brokers establishing operations near the depository for sourcing and customer service |
The Texas Bullion Depository's presence in Leander has supported related precious metals business activity in the Austin metro area |
|
Compliance and legal services |
Lawyers, compliance officers, and auditors specializing in precious metals financial services regulation — high-wage professional employment |
Every state-authorized depository requires ongoing independent audit services, legal counsel, and regulatory compliance expertise |
One of the most concrete economic arguments for state TGS legislation is the repatriation of economic activity that currently flows overseas. American citizens who want to hold gold in secure, professionally managed custody today have limited domestic options. The most commonly cited commercial platform — GlintPay — stores gold in Zurich, Switzerland, through Brinks vaults. The economic benefits of that custody — vault operations, insurance, audit fees, security employment — accrue to Switzerland, not to any U.S. state.
State TGS legislation creates a domestic alternative. When citizens choose to hold their gold at a state-authorized depository rather than an overseas platform, the custodial fees, the employment, the insurance premiums, the audit costs, and the payment processing activity all occur within the state. At scale — with hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits, as the Texas model has already demonstrated — this represents meaningful economic activity that would otherwise not exist inside the state.
The Texas Bullion Depository's $400 million in deposits as of June 2025 represents gold that is stored in Texas, insured by Texas-compliant carriers, audited by Texas-based accounting firms, secured by Texas State Police, and managed by a Texas-based private operator. All of that economic activity stays in Texas. A state that has not passed TGS legislation sends that activity elsewhere.
Consider a mid-sized state — population 4–6 million, with a moderate existing interest in precious metals based on cultural and demographic factors — that enacts TGS legislation and launches a state-authorized depository in Year 1.
By the end of Year 1, the depository has attracted 8,000 account holders through a combination of existing precious metals enthusiasts, sound money advocates, and early-adopting consumers. Average account balance: $3,500. Total deposits: $28 million. The private operator has hired 45 employees for vault operations, security, account management, and IT. Two fintech companies have established offices in the state to build TGS account applications.
By the end of Year 3, account holders have grown to 35,000. Average account balance: $4,200 (reflecting both new deposits and gold price appreciation). Total deposits: $147 million. Direct state fee revenue: approximately $2.1 million per year from storage, transaction, and licensing fees. Employment: 180 direct jobs plus estimated 270 indirect jobs in related fintech, compliance, legal, and security services. Three additional fintech companies have expanded to the state following the depository's growth.
None of this required taxpayer funding. The private operator built the facility, employs the staff, and operates the depository under state contract. The state Treasurer's office provides oversight and collects licensing fees. The state legislature has received two annual reports confirming operational performance and growth.
No. This is the most common fiscal misunderstanding about TGS — and it is the misunderstanding that has caused the most unnecessary delays in state fiscal committees. The state does not need to purchase gold, fund the depository, or guarantee account balances. The gold in the depository belongs to account holders who purchased it. The depository is built and operated by a private contractor under state contract. The state's cost is limited to the Treasurer's office time spent on regulatory oversight and annual reporting — standard administrative functions already within existing state budgets.
The Texas model is the definitive proof: Texas Government Code Chapter 2116 authorized the Texas Bullion Depository in 2015. Lone Star Tangible Assets built the facility, hired the staff, and has operated it since 2018 — at zero cost to Texas taxpayers. Texas generates fee revenue, attracts industry, and serves 1,700+ account holders with $400+ million in deposits without having spent a dollar of public money on the facility.
States that have received negative fiscal notes on TGS bills — including Tennessee and West Virginia in 2026 — received those notes because the bills were analyzed under the assumption that the state would build and operate the depository itself. The private-sector partnership language in the bill prevents that cost. When legislators understand the distinction, the fiscal objection disappears.
|
Common misunderstanding TGS would cost the state money to implement — building a gold vault, buying gold, staffing a depository, and managing the operational risks of a state-run precious metals program. |
|
The reality The state does not build the vault, buy the gold, or operate the depository. Texas Government Code Chapter 2116 authorized a state-supervised depository that was built and is operated by a private company at zero taxpayer cost. The state Treasurer provides oversight and regulatory authority. The private operator builds, staffs, and runs the facility under contract. Citizens pay storage and transaction fees that generate revenue the state can share. The fiscal notes that have killed TGS bills in Tennessee and West Virginia assumed a state-run depository — the private-sector partnership model eliminates that assumption and the cost that comes with it. |
|
Citations — required for publication Texas Bullion Depository — $400M+ deposits, 1,700+ accounts, zero taxpayer cost | texasbulliondepository.gov Texas Government Code Chapter 2116 | statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.2116.htm Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Fiscal Notes 2025 | comptroller.texas.gov GlintPay — commercial proof and overseas storage model | glintpay.com Arkansas HB 1918 — signed April 17, 2025 | arkleg.state.ar.us Florida HB 999 — signed May 27, 2025 | flsenate.gov |
|
Related questions — with direct 2-sentence answers Does TGS create jobs in a state? Yes — directly and indirectly. A state-authorized depository employs vault security personnel, account managers, IT staff, and compliance specialists. The fintech companies and payment processors that follow the depository bring software engineers, product managers, and financial technology specialists. The Texas Bullion Depository employs dozens of direct staff and has attracted related industry employment in the Austin metro area. → What is the Texas Bullion Depository and why does it matter? — /blog/what-is-the-texas-bullion-depository/ What prevents other states from competing away a TGS state's advantage? Multiple states can have TGS infrastructure simultaneously — and more states signing TGS legislation strengthens the national movement rather than creating zero-sum competition. Each state's depository serves its citizens and attracts industry specific to that state. States that act earlier build stronger industry relationships and more established citizen account bases that are difficult for later-entering states to replicate quickly. → What should a model TGS bill include? — /blog/what-should-a-model-tgs-bill-include/ Can a small state economically benefit from TGS? Yes — the public/private partnership model means the economic benefit scales with citizen adoption, not with state population. A small state with strong sound money advocacy and an active citizen base can attract national and regional depository operators, fintech companies, and precious metals businesses that serve clients across state lines. The depository's economic benefits do not require a large state population — they require enacted legislation and an active citizen base. → How would TGS work in Texas? — /blog/how-would-tgs-work-in-texas/ How does TGS compare to other state economic development initiatives? Most state economic development initiatives require direct state investment — tax incentives, infrastructure spending, or grant programs. TGS generates net revenue rather than net cost. It attracts private investment and creates jobs through regulatory authorization rather than financial subsidy. In that sense, TGS is economically superior to most conventional economic development tools: it costs the state nothing and generates fee revenue from the first account holder. → Does Transactional Gold and Silver turn the state into a bank? — /blog/does-transactional-gold-turn-state-into-bank/ What happens to the state's economic benefits if gold prices fall? State fee revenue is based primarily on storage fees (flat per-account) and transaction volume — both of which are relatively stable regardless of gold prices. Transaction fees decline if fewer transactions occur, but the depository's operating model does not depend on gold being at any specific price level. The Texas Bullion Depository has continued growing through periods of gold price volatility. → What are the risks of Transactional Gold and Silver? — /blog/what-are-the-risks-of-transactional-gold-and-silver/ |
|
Contact your state representative about introducing a TGS bill transactionalgold.com/contact/ |