There is no counterparty risk with direct ownership since the gold bullion is the legal property of the investor. If, in the extreme event, the provider should go out of business this does not impact your ownership of, or your access to the gold bullion.
By having direct ownership of physical coins and bars you can sell your bullion back to any number of international bullion dealers. This reduces your dependence on one single provider and also means that you are not dependent on an online digital bullion platform where the gold has to be sold back within that platform.