Girvi means pledging gold or silver with a jeweller or pawn broker for a loan. Here is how a girvi loan works step by step, how shops charge interest, and what to check before you keep your jewellery.
If you grew up in a small town in India, you have probably heard someone say "zewar girvi rakh diya". It is one of the oldest forms of credit in the country, and it is still how lakhs of families raise money quickly for a wedding, a crop, a hospital bill or a shop's stock.
This guide explains girvi in plain words: what it means, how a girvi loan works at the counter, how interest is charged, and what both the customer and the jeweller should keep on record.
Girvi meaning
Girvi (also written girwi) means pledging something valuable with a lender as security for a loan. In practice it is almost always gold or silver jewellery. The lender keeps the jewellery safe, gives you money against it, and returns it when you pay back the loan and the interest.
In English, the closest words are pledge or pawn. A shop that does this regularly is called a pawn broker, a girvi wala, or simply the local jeweller who also lends.
How a girvi loan works, step by step
Here is what happens at a typical jewellery shop:
- Checking the jewellery. The jeweller weighs each piece and checks purity, either by touchstone, acid test or a karat meter. Stones, lac and wax are deducted to get the net weight.
- Deciding the value. Net weight × purity × the day's gold rate gives the value of the gold.
- Deciding the loan. The shop lends a part of that value, not all of it. This is the loan-to-value (LTV). If gold prices fall, the gap protects the lender.
- Agreeing the interest. Rate per month and how part months are counted are agreed now. This matters more than people think (see below).
- The girvi receipt. You get a receipt or ticket with your name, the items, weights, loan amount, date and rate. Keep it safe. It is your proof.
- Repayment. You can pay interest every month, pay part of the loan, or pay everything at once and take the jewellery back.
A simple example
Suppose you pledge a chain with a net weight of 20 g of 22K gold. Say the shop's rate for 22K that day is ₹11,000 per gram (use the actual rate on the day you go).
- Value of gold: 20 × 11,000 = ₹2,20,000
- At 70% LTV, the loan offered: about ₹1,54,000
You may ask for less, and many people do, because a smaller loan means less interest.
How girvi interest is charged
Girvi interest is usually quoted per month, for example 1.5% or 2% per month. On ₹1,00,000 at 2% per month, interest is ₹2,000 for every month.
The tricky part is the extra days. Different shops count them differently:
| Method | How the extra days are counted | 3 months 10 days on ₹1,00,000 at 2% |
|---|---|---|
| Full month | Any part month counts as a full month | 4 months = ₹8,000 |
| 15-day slab | Up to 15 days = half month, more = full month | 3.5 months = ₹7,000 |
| Daily | Exact days | about ₹6,670 |
Some shops also charge a minimum (for example, one month's interest even if you return in a week), and some add unpaid interest to the loan after 11 or 12 months, which is compound interest. Neither is wrong. What matters is that it is agreed at the start and written on the receipt.
You can try these methods yourself on our free girvi interest calculator.
Girvi vs. bank gold loan
| Local girvi | Bank / NBFC gold loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Often 10–15 minutes | Usually same day, sometimes longer |
| Paperwork | Basic ID and photo | KYC, forms, sometimes more |
| Interest | Monthly rate set by the shop | Yearly rate, fixed by the lender |
| Flexibility | Very flexible on part payments | Fixed schemes |
| Small amounts | Common | Many have a minimum |
People choose girvi with a jeweller they know because it is quick, nearby and flexible. Banks are often cheaper on interest for large amounts. Compare both if you have time.
What happens if the loan is not repaid
A good lender does not want your jewellery; they want their money back. So the usual path is reminders first, then a longer wait, and only after a notice is the jewellery sold to recover the loan and interest. Most states have a money-lenders or pawn brokers law that sets the licence, the receipt and the notice before an auction. If you are a customer, ask about this before you pledge. If you are a jeweller, keep proof of every reminder and notice.
For jewellers: keep the record clean
The biggest problems in girvi rarely come from the gold. They come from the register: a wrong date, an interest rule nobody wrote down, a part payment that was not entered, or a locker number that changed. Customers trust the shop that can show the full history of their girvi in a minute.
That is why many shops now keep girvi on girvi software instead of a paper register. Interest is calculated from the rule saved on each ticket, reminders go out on time, and the owner can see the whole book on a phone.
In short: girvi is a pledge loan on jewellery. Know the weight, the loan amount, the monthly rate and how extra days are counted, and keep the receipt. For lenders, a clean record is what keeps customers coming back.
