Tavex is the leading precious metals and currency exchange dealer in Northern Europe

The joint-stock company Tavid was established in April 1991 by Mr Alar Tamming. Originally, the main activity was video rentals in Tallinn Video Center and that is how the company got its name, Tavid. The company was actively looking for ways to increase revenues and the first foreign exchange transaction took place in October 1992.

The first foreign subsidiary of Tavid AS was founded in 1996 in Finland. It was named Tavex OY. The decision to start the company’s overseas expansion from Finland was based on the company’s business philosophy according to which money must be earned in rich countries and spent in poor countries, where costs were low. An express money remittance service between Finland and Estonia was set up, which was unique at the time.

In 2002 the company continued its expansion by entering Latvia under the name Tavex SIA. Although the local business culture was very different there – doing business in Estonia was much simpler and more transparent at the time – hard work brought success. So far, Tavex SIA has altogether five offices in Riga.

In 2004 Tavex started to sell investment gold. Initially, the goal was to help maintain the value of the assets of our owner, Mr Tamming. However, after Tavex had obtained a small stock of gold, many people appeared to be interested in investing their money in precious metals. Tavex started to offer everyone the opportunity to keep their money in investment gold, so that in the looming financial crisis there would be as few losers as possible. One kilogram of investment gold cost around EUR 10.865 at the time.

In 2005 our second subsidiary in Scandinavia – Tavex AB – started in Sweden. We began to offer currency exchange services and sell investment gold at competitive prices. Even though the beginning was quite complicated, thanks to excellent service, customer friendly pricing and commitment, we were able to prove ourselves on the Swedish market. We are now well known and appreciated in Sweden, so far with 5 offices.

Because of the uncertain economic situation and falling stock markets, many people were seeking refuge in investment gold. The Tavex Group experienced a surge in demand and sold a record 2,159 kg of investment gold in 2008.

In 2009 Tavex EOOD in Bulgaria was founded. As our mother country is very small, the company realised that in order to be successful it had to develop and expand more widely geographically. In the rapidly evolving business environment of Bulgaria, Tavex EOOD started off well and now has a total of seven offices in Sofia, Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv.

In 2010 Tavex continued its mission in the Scandinavian market and opened an office in Denmark. The business seemed promising right from the start and even though great results never followed, we were able to achieve a strong position. We are pleased to offer our services in Denmark and to introduce the advantages of investing in precious metals in this respected business environment.

Tavex AS was established in Norway. The first office to serve customers in Oslo opened in May 2014. The Tavex Group entered a new era in its history. According to the Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act, the Financial Supervision Authority issued Tavid AS with a payment institution licence that allows the company to provide money remittance services. The state’s new monitoring system gave Tavex a better chance to expand to new markets and provide customers with a broader range of services.

The Tavex Group sold a total of 3,137 kilograms of investment gold in 2013. The uncertain future of the world economy and monetary policy stimulated interest in alternative investment opportunities such as precious metals.

In 2014 the Tavex Group continued its expansion in Eastern Europe when a company named Tavex Sp. z o.o. was established in Poland. The first office was opened in Warsaw in 2015. A subsidiary company named TavexWise AS was founded and the Tavex Group continued to provide all its payment services under the TavexWise trademark. TavexWise requested a payment institution licence from the Financial Supervision Authority in place of Tavid AS according to the Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act.

The Tavex Group was actively looking for ways to expand its business outside Europe. Therefore, TavexWise began to offer money remittance services to the Philippines. It is vitally important for the company to keep up with the political developments of the modern world and to provide customers in the Tavex Group’s multicultural host countries with the services they need.