Ashish Kashyap: Global Investing Shouldn’t Require Extra Paperwork

INDmoney Sets Out Its Safeguards as Global Investing Faces Scrutiny

The platform says its GIFT City infrastructure is designed to add layers of control while making overseas investing easier to access.

A custody chain built around multiple checks

Kashyap said each login requires account credentials and biometric verification on the investor’s registered device, while a third factor is required for every buy or sell. He said customer accounts are opened and held through the company in GIFT City, and personal data is not shared with foreign brokers.

The company says US shares are settled and held at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation through US clearing and custody firms that are members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Kashyap cited SIPC protection of up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 in cash. Cash, he said, is kept in a segregated client account at an international branch of an Indian bank in GIFT City, under the supervision of the International Financial Services Centres Authority.

These are the company’s descriptions of its arrangements, not a guarantee against every operational or investment risk. For investors, the relevant distinction is that a platform’s access controls, account structure and custody chain are separate safeguards; understanding how each works matters when money and securities cross borders.

The company wants to own more of the operating infrastructure

Kashyap described INDmoney as a licensed Global Access Provider in GIFT City, rather than a platform that simply introduces customers to a US brokerage partner. He said its setup includes broker-dealer and payment-service-provider capabilities, with the company operating its own payment rails and net-settling with US clearing and custody entities.

That structure, if it works as described, could give the platform greater control over parts of the customer journey, including how deposits are processed. Kashyap said funds may appear within minutes depending on the bank, although some transfers take 12–14 hours. More control can improve convenience, but it also makes the platform’s own processes and oversight central to the customer experience.

Lower fees do not remove the cost of currency conversion

The company has reduced brokerage to 0.10% per transaction, capped at $10, from 0.25% capped at $25. It says there are no account-opening or annual maintenance charges, no fixed remittance fee, and no brokerage on systematic investment plans in eligible stocks and exchange-traded funds. The same pricing applies to US stocks, global ETFs and UCITS ETFs.

Foreign-exchange markup remains set by the investor’s bank, typically 0.50% to 1.25%, according to Kashyap. He illustrated the cumulative effect of charges with a $1,000 investment in Alphabet in August 2023, sold in October 2026: an initial outlay of ₹83,102 and proceeds of ₹2,47,846 after charges and dividends, for a net gain of about 198%. He said brokerage and forex-related charges totalled ₹3,076. The company described this as an illustration using closing prices and reference rates, with GST illustrative; it should not be read as a forecast of future returns.

Tax support and new markets broaden the proposition

INDmoney says its free digital tax-filing service calculates capital gains, prepares Schedule FA for foreign-asset disclosure and reports foreign income, including adjustments for US withholding tax. Kashyap said the service covers global and Indian assets, salary and deductions. For investors, combining investment access with tax preparation may reduce administrative friction, though users still need to review the information they submit.

The platform is aimed at salaried Indian retail investors, with a stated minimum investment of $1. Kashyap said interest in UCITS ETFs has been encouraging, citing automatic dividend reinvestment in accumulating funds and potential to avoid US estate-tax exposure for non-US-domiciled funds. The company is also working to add markets and exchanges across Southeast Asia and Europe by December 2026. Those plans could widen its offering, but their value will depend on execution and on whether customers find the added choices usable.

Key Highlights

• INDmoney says logins use two checks, with a third required for trades.
• The company describes a GIFT City account structure and US custody through SIPC-member firms.
• Brokerage is 0.10% per trade, capped at $10; bank-set forex markup still applies.
• Its free tax service covers foreign-asset disclosure and related reporting, according to the company.
• The platform says investing can start at $1 and plans to add Southeast Asian and European markets by December 2026.

Investor Note: The interview outlines INDmoney’s approach, but investors should distinguish company statements from independently assessed protections. Before investing, review the custody and cash arrangements, applicable coverage limits, total currency-conversion costs and tax obligations, and remember that access to global markets does not assure investment returns.