Zerodha has activated a beta feature on its Kite application that permits Indian retail clients to purchase American equities and exchange-traded funds. According to Inc42, the new module grants entry to roughly 2,000 US-listed firms and 1,000 ETFs. The system allows users to buy fractional shares, with minimum entry points set at one US dollar. This move places the discount broker in direct competition with other domestic firms aiming to capture growing retail interest in global markets.
Indian residents can enable this international segment within their current Kite setups without needing a separate demat account. Inc42 reported that customers move money from connected domestic bank accounts into a USD wallet via netbanking. The platform excludes UPI, debit, and credit cards for funding these specific wallets. Trading costs are set at 0.1% of the transaction value, with a floor of one cent and a ceiling of ten dollars per order. An 18% GST applies to this brokerage fee, as noted in the company's documentation.
Further expenses cover an IFSCA turnover charge of 0.005% on the trade amount, alongside US regulatory costs for sell orders. Currency conversion incurs a bank markup ranging from 0.5% to 1.2% above the RBI reference rate. The service accommodates delivery-based holdings and systematic investment plans in qualifying US names, though intraday and margin trading remain absent. Users cannot subscribe to US IPOs via this channel. The underlying assets are held by a US brokerage partner instead of an Indian demat account, utilizing BSE’s India INX Global Access infrastructure at GIFT City.
This rollout follows June approvals from the International Financial Services Centres Authority for several brokers. Inc42 noted that Groww debuted a comparable service in September, offering over 10,000 US stocks through a partnership with Alpaca Securities. Upstox also introduced US equity access in September, providing entry to more than 8,000 stocks and 2,000 ETFs. These developments reflect a broader industry shift toward diversifying offerings beyond domestic equities, driven by retail investor desire for global technology exposure and geographic diversification.