Short answer
When people say they want cash for gold, what they usually want is fast, certain payment, and bank transfer delivers that better than physical notes. We pay for posted gold by Faster Payments, sent within one working hour of you accepting the written offer. GoldPaid pays by bank transfer only and never in cash, which keeps it outside the high value dealer regime entirely in any case. Free prepaid Royal Mail label, no shop visit, no minimum order.
Why payment is by bank transfer rather than physical cash
the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 bring a precious-metal dealer into the high value dealer regime only where it makes or receives cash payments at or above the threshold set by HMRC; a buyer that pays solely by bank transfer, as GoldPaid does, sits outside that regime, and the identity and record-keeping practice below is GoldPaid's own. Physical cash settlement above those thresholds is heavily restricted and routinely refused by reputable buyers because it conflicts with the regulatory paper trail.
Bank transfer satisfies the legal requirements automatically: the funds move under your name, the transaction is logged, and the bank statement on both sides provides a clean audit trail. There is no cash-handling risk, no need to physically collect the money, and no requirement to deposit large amounts of cash into your bank afterwards (which itself triggers AML reporting at the bank).
How fast bank transfer actually arrives
UK Faster Payments settle in seconds for most transfers, with 99% arriving within two hours and the legal maximum settlement window of one working day for outliers. In practice, when you accept a written offer at 11am on a Tuesday, the bank transfer is initiated within one working hour and typically reaches your account the same day.
The transfer is sent to the UK bank account you nominate in the acceptance reply. Sort code, account number, name on the account. Sole, joint and business accounts are all fine. The reference on the statement can be set to whatever you would like (we default to "GoldPaid" but anything neutral is fine, useful for shared bank accounts where you would rather not advertise the source).
What "cash for gold" usually means in marketing language vs reality
"Cash for gold" is a UK marketing phrase from the early 2000s gold-buying boom and it survives even though the actual payment route has moved fully to bank transfer. When a UK gold buyer today advertises "cash for gold", they mean fast payment for gold, not literal banknotes pushed across a counter. The phrase survives most visibly in town-level searches, where naming a city returns shop listings rather than an explanation of how payment actually works. The route is identical from any postcode: gold posted from a Bradford BD address is valued, offered and paid exactly as it is anywhere else in the UK.
Bank transfer beats banknotes on the points that actually matter. Faster Payments land in minutes and save you a counter visit. Nobody has to carry or count cash, so the handling risk disappears from both sides. And the audit trail is GoldPaid's own record-keeping practice rather than compliance with a supervision regime it is subject to, which heads off the source-of-funds question your own bank would otherwise ask about a large cash deposit.
Bank transfer on acceptance, in plain terms
The full timeline most parcels follow: parcel posted Day 1, parcel arrives Day 2, written offer issued Day 2 (same working day as arrival), acceptance reply from you within hours, bank transfer sent within one working hour of acceptance, funds in your account within hours of the transfer.
Day 2 from post to payment is routine. Day 3 happens when the offer is issued late on a Friday and acceptance reaches us on Monday morning; Faster Payments do operate at weekends, so an acceptance sent on a Saturday is paid without waiting for Monday. The longest typical case is Day 4: post Friday, arrive Monday, offer Monday, decide Tuesday, payment Tuesday.
How it works
- Ask first and send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with photos of your sell gold for cash uk for a quick indicative figure. Ask anything; there is no charge and no obligation.
- Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, usually within 30 minutes during working hours. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
- Post it when you are ready. Use any padded envelope. There is no deadline and no pressure.
- Receive a no-obligation valuation. Every item is weighed on calibrated scales and tested by XRF spectrometry. You get a written, itemised offer, usually on the working day your parcel arrives, showing purity, weight, the rate used and the figure.
- Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post.
How your parcel is protected
Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. Your items travel on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: fully tracked, needs a signature on delivery, arranged with that compensation cover per parcel. Worth more than that? Tell us before you post, and we will either arrange extra cover or suggest splitting the items across separate parcels. See postage and cover for the full picture.
Changing your mind is free
Declining costs you nothing. If the written offer does not suit you, say so, and your items come straight back by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail post at our expense. No fee, no questions, no chasing. See what happens if I decline the offer for the step by step.
Being paid
If you accept, payment follows by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, transferred directly to your bank account. It is the last step, and a simple one.
Why sellers choose GoldPaid
GoldPaid is a small, owner-run UK business built on one promise: show the working. Every item is XRF-assayed and weighed on calibrated scales. Every offer is itemised in writing. Postage is free and tracked both ways, and there is never a countdown or a hard sell. If something is worth more to a specialist than to us, we say so.
Common questions
How fast does bank transfer arrive?
We send payment by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance. Once sent, most UK Faster Payments transfers clear quickly, with a legal maximum settlement window of one working day for outliers.
Can I be paid into someone else's account?
No. The funds go to a UK account in the name of the seller (you) for AML reasons. Joint accounts in your name are fine.
What if I do not have a UK bank account?
A UK building society account is also fine. We pay to UK accounts only.
Can the bank reference be discreet?
Yes, tell us the reference you would like and we will set it on the transfer. Many people prefer something neutral on the bank statement.
What happens if I accept the offer but my bank rejects the transfer?
A failed transfer (wrong sort code, closed account etc) is returned to us automatically and we re-send to a corrected account on the same day.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Tell us where to send it. The label arrives by email, usually within about 30 minutes during working hours. Requesting one commits you to nothing: you get a written offer after the XRF assay, and if you decline, your items come back to you free.
Would you rather ask a question first, or send a photo? Message us on WhatsApp . It is the fastest way to get a sense of what something is worth before you post anything.