Verified and Growing: How Goldback Builds a Trusted Merchant Network

Written by Phil Eborn, Campaign Manager

When I started at Goldback in April of 2025, I was given the responsibility of building the merchant network. In this article, I’ll share how I strengthened our merchant list and helped grow the network by over 1,000 businesses in just seven months.

Updating the Current Merchant List

I began by performing an in-depth review of our list of featured merchants. I surveyed a portion of the original businesses that signed up in 2019–2020 to verify if they were still active in the network. As you can see in the charts below, the majority of them still accept Goldbacks. You can also see how frequently they have transactions. 

After completing the survey, the businesses that no longer accept Goldbacks or have gone out of business were removed from the network completely. It’s important to us to keep an updated list as best we can, and we welcome any help we can get in keeping it current. For example, we recently received information about 5 businesses that no longer accept Goldback and updated the list accordingly.

If you are using our merchant map and you come across a business that no longer accepts Goldbacks, please let us know. However, also be aware that some employees at a business may not know they accept Goldbacks, even though the owner or manager still wants to accept them. This is a training issue and can occur when a business has had some employee turnover.

Growing a Trustworthy Merchant Network

When we receive a merchant application, we first verify that it’s a legitimate business. Not all businesses get approved, and we do catch people trying to earn a Limited Early Release Goldback or Silverback* by submitting false businesses. Just last week we had one individual submit over 5 businesses that did not get approved because we suspected a fraudulent application. 

We may also remove a merchant that does not honor the exchange rate posted on Goldback.com. It’s extremely uncommon for business owners to ignore the exchange rate. There have been exactly 2 reports of this happening. That said, official distributors of Goldbacks might not pay cash for Goldbacks at the exchange rate because—like every other form of money, including precious metals—there is a spread.

On the flip side, a lot of people or businesses sign up several legitimate businesses. Many of them have referred more than 40! They do it the right way, and they earn the Limited Early Release reward. I know these people personally and have visited many of the businesses that they have signed up.  It’s great to see it work the way it’s supposed to. Rest assured we will try our best to keep the bad apples out of the bushel! 

The GILD Network

This year, we launched our GILD Network. I have traveled to many states in support of building this program, and I check in on new merchants as I do. But I can’t do it alone! That’s why we created the GILD, and now, we have many people advocating for Goldbacks and help build our networks. The link below shows you how you can get involved, too!

Supporting New Merchants

Our network is growing faster than ever, and I have seen an increased demand for resources to help new merchants out. Once they have been approved, the new business will get a welcome packet.  It includes:

• Two “We Accept Goldbacks” stickers: one for the window and one for the counter. 
• An information sheet explaining what Goldbacks are and how they work. 
• A Limited Early Release Goldback.

We are always there to answer questions!

Record-breaking Merchant Growth

Since I started this April, we’ve grown the total scope of the program from 2,100 to 3,195. Last month alone we signed up 240 businesses! People can find these businesses by using the map on our website or by downloading the app.

Long story short, we have a robust and growing network of merchants. Is it perfect? No! But we work on it daily and are committed to making it a fair and honest place to do business. Every one of these businesses is using the posted exchange rate. I’ve called and talked to a good chunk of them myself during the onboarding process. We have great people joining and they’re excited! Right now, there is a lot of momentum because people are looking for shelter from the hollowing effect of inflation. 

*The Silver Dragon is no longer in stock due to record breaking merchant sign ups. Never fear, there is a new graded Silverback reward! It will be sent to all those who have signed up or made a business referral outside of an LER state.