“Full reserve banking” is searched every day by people who read about a bank in trouble and wondered where their own money actually is. The answer, for most traditional banks, is: mostly lent to someone else. Full reserve is the alternative, and it is the principle behind every iSwiss Pay account.
Fractional reserve, the traditional model
When you deposit money in a traditional bank, the bank keeps a fraction of it available and lends or invests the rest. Your balance is a claim on the bank, not money sitting in a vault. In normal times this is invisible. In a crisis, it is the reason withdrawals get limited.
Full reserve, the alternative
In a full-reserve model, the funds behind your balance are held in full: never lent, never invested. Your balance is not a bet on someone else's ability to repay. It is your money, available at all times.
How iSwiss Pay applies it
- Every balance, in dollars, sterling or euro, is held in full reserve.
- Client funds are held fully separate from company assets, ring-fenced.
- Your gold is physical metal, custodied by iSwiss Deposit S.A. in Switzerland, not a paper claim.
What it changes for you
You give up the interest a traditional bank might pay on a deposit, which is the price of lending your money out. In exchange, your balance is not exposed to the bank's loans and investments, and it is available when you need it, in full.
What it does not mean
Full reserve is about how your funds are held. It is not a promise about exchange rates, about the price of gold, or about the rules of the country you live in. Those remain yours to consider.