India’s Top Retail Brokers Win Gift City Licences to Offer US Stock Trading
India’s Top Retail Brokers Win Gift City Licences to Offer US Stock Trading
Four of India’s largest retail brokerages — Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox — have secured regulatory licences from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to offer US equity investments to Indian retail investors, marking a significant expansion of cross-border investing infrastructure through Gujarat’s Gift City.
Two Licence Tracks, One Destination
The IFSCA has issued two categories of licences to the four brokers. Groww and Upstox have obtained the Global Access Provider (GAP) licence, while Zerodha and Angel One have been registered as broker-dealers.
The distinction is operationally significant. A GAP licence holder connects directly with a US broker for trade settlement, whereas broker-dealers route their settlement services through GAPs. Zerodha and Groww received approval on 2 June; Angel One followed on 12 June.
Joining an Established but Growing Field
Groww and Upstox join a cohort of fintechs — including Vested Finance and IndMoney — that already operate as GAPs in the Gift City framework. The new entrants, however, bring substantially larger retail user bases to the international equities market.
Indian investors can channel up to $250,000 annually into overseas assets under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), a regulatory ceiling that structures the entire cross-border retail investing ecosystem.
Surging Appetite for US Equities
The timing of these licence approvals coincides with a measurable spike in Indian retail interest in US markets. Trading in US stocks rose approximately 20% on 14 June, driven in part by global enthusiasm surrounding a potential SpaceX public listing.
RBI data underscores the broader trend: Indian investors deployed roughly $440 million in global equities in March alone, a 43% increase from $306 million recorded in the same month a year earlier.
Zerodha’s Long-Telegraphed Move
For Zerodha, the licence formalises a publicly stated ambition. Nithin Kamath, the company’s chief executive, announced in October last year that Zerodha was building US stock investing capabilities and had filed for the necessary regulatory approvals.
Gift City’s Expanding Fintech Footprint
The broker approvals are part of a wider regulatory momentum at Gift City. Payment firms are separately exploring the international financial centre as a base for cross-border wallet services, according to earlier reporting.
As more fintechs seek footholds in the jurisdiction, Gift City is consolidating its role as India’s primary regulatory gateway for cross-border capital flows — a structural shift with implications for how Indian retail investors access global financial markets.
