Investing in US Stocks via GIFT City

INDmoney Is a Principal GAP - Not an Introducing Broker

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  What INDmoney Does as a Global Access Provider (GAP)?

  A GAP is the IFSCA-licensed entity in GIFT City that holds direct relationships with regulated foreign clearing & custody institutions. INDmoney GAP, as a principal entity, is directly accountable to IFSCA for the whole experience. As a GAP, INDmoney:

  • Holds two licences from IFSCA, plus a GAP authorisation on top of it. (IFSCA/GAP/BD/2025-26/002). It supervises us, and we report client funds and holdings to it.
  • Maintains direct contractual relationships with regulated foreign custody brokers, which are also regulated by the SEC and FINRA.
  • INDmoney has direct control over trade execution, fund flows, and custody arrangements.
  • Is fully accountable to IFSCA for compliance, investor protection, and AML obligations.
  • Runs the entire investing infrastructure itself, onboarding, wallets, remittances, execution and settlement, without sharing your information with intermediaries.

  Your US stock holdings are recorded in books and ledgers maintained in GIFT City, routinely audited, and reported to the Indian regulator.
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  How an Introducing Broker (IB) Differs?

  An Introducing Broker is a distributor, the model INDmoney does NOT use. An IB is registered with IFSCA but holds no direct relationship with any foreign custody or clearing institution; it plugs into a GAP’s infrastructure and introduces clients to that GAP. Everything beyond client acquisition, execution, custody, compliance, and the foreign-broker relationships is handled by the GAP. An IB:

  • Has no direct relationship with foreign custody and clearing institutions/ brokers.
  • Has no control over how trades are executed or how client funds are held.
  • Is entirely dependent on its GAP partner for all execution and custody.
  • Shares user information with, and onboards users to, the GAP to enable investing.
  • Is essentially a distribution and referral entity.
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  Why INDmoney Being the Principal Matters to You?

  Both GAPs and IBs are inside GIFT City, and both are regulated, so this is about structure and accountability, not safety. Because INDmoney is the principal GAP, one entity is directly accountable for your whole experience and holds your relationship and your data. 

  With an Introducing Broker, you are handed over to a separate GAP that actually runs everything, and your information is shared with that intermediary. 

  With INDmoney, there is no middleman to a GAP, INDmoney is the GAP, which means clearer accountability, tighter control over cost and money movement, and your data staying in one place.

How INDmoney’s GIFT City Route Works End to End

INDmoney is a regulated principal Global Access Provider (GAP) & Broker Dealer  in GIFT City. That means INDmoney runs the entire route to US stocks - your KYC, identity check, your money movement, your trading, and the facilitation of custody of your shares - rather than your information being handled by other intermediaries.

• 1. What happens when I sign up?

  When you sign up for a US stocks account, INDmoney verifies you against India’s official identity systems, PAN and Aadhaar,  under INDmoney’s own regulatory credentials. No introducing broker or  intermediary performs  or holds your KYC, account information or credentials. Everything is in GIFT city. .

  Your verified information is then held only with INDmoney Global within GIFT City, under IFSCA regulation, and is not shared with any intermediary or middleman.

  Once your account is created, you become a directly recognised client of INDmoney Global, with your own unique INDmoney Global account identifier.

• 2. What happens when I add money?

  To invest, you add money from your Indian bank account under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), the standard, legal way for Indians to send money abroad to invest.

  INDmoney is integrated with multiple Indian banks, so we facilitate the rupee-to-dollar conversion and all the LRS paperwork (the Form A2 declaration) right inside the app. The money reaches your GIFT City US Stocks wallet, and it stays in GIFT City. 

  There, it sits in a regulated, segregated client bank account in GIFT city overseen by the IFSCA. This works exactly like the client account your Indian broker holds your money in when you buy Indian shares - the same principle, 

  Fast deposits, great exchange rates, zero fee

  Learn more about INDmoney Fast Remit

• 3. What happens when I trade?

  When you place a buy or sell order in the app, INDmoney Global sends that order to the US market for execution at the live market price, settling through the regulated clearing institutions that stand behind every US trade.

  None of your personal information travels with the order - at the point of execution, the market sees only the trade you placed. Your identity stays with INDmoney, inside GIFT City. This is similar to how an order is placed for you when you are trading in the Indian market.

  The moment your trade is done, it is recorded against your own INDmoney Global account, within GIFT City. What you bought or sold, the price, the date and time, your complete trade history, your books and records, is kept by INDmoney and reported to the IFSCA. You can see every transaction in the app, whenever you want.

• 4. Where are my shares actually kept?

  Your shares are held at the DTCC, the central depository for US shares, the equivalent of NSDL or CDSL in India.(Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, USA)

  You hold beneficial ownership of every share you buy. Your entitlement to each share is recorded against your name in our GIFT City books, audited and reported to the IFSCA. This beneficial-ownership information is shared only when required, with regulators or market institutions - that is, reporting to the IFSCA, the US IRS for tax benefits or establishing beneficial ownership at the DTCC for corporate actions such as dividends.

• 5. What happens when I withdraw my money?

  When you want your money back, it comes straight from the regulated GIFT City account to your Indian savings account, quickly, and at competitive exchange rates. The same short, direct route, in reverse.

• 6. What about dividends and corporate actions?

  You are entitled to the proceeds of every corporate action on the shares you hold. For example, when a US company you hold pays a dividend, it is credited straight into your US Stocks wallet.

  INDmoney is a licensed Qualified Intermediary (QI) with the US tax authority, the IRS. (Internal Revenue Service, USA). That means your dividends are taxed at the correct India-US treaty rate at source, and we handle the IRS reporting ourselves, no intermediary. You don’t file anything with the US, you aren’t taxed at the higher default rate, and your identity isn’t passed around the US tax chain, it stays with INDmoney as your Qualified Intermediary.

  Other corporate actions, like stock splits, mergers and bonus issues, are applied to your holdings automatically, with nothing for you to do. And your holdings, transaction history and tax-time statements are always there in the app whenever you need them.

• No hops, no multiple intermediaries

  The number of parties your money and data pass through depends entirely on how a platform is built. Here’s the difference between a principal GAP and the alternatives.

  INDmoney - principal GAP You   →   GIFT City wallet   →   Money stays in GIFT City   →   Direct US custody (DTCC) One accountable owner, start to finish. Withdrawals go straight back to your savings account, fast and low cost. Custody partners include DriveWealth, Alpaca and Apex.

  Introducing broker route You   →   Introducing broker (shares your data)   →   GAP partner (e.g. NSE IX / INX subsidiary - not an exchange)   →   Foreign broker (e.g. Viewtrade)   →   US custody broker (e.g. Apex, DTCC) Your data and your money pass through several separate parties before they ever reach custody.

  Direct US broker route You   →   Foreign broker (LRS each way, self-managed)   →   US custody (DTCC) All the documentation and compliance sits with you.

• Payments and settlement: run in-house, not outsourced

  Moving money is where many platforms quietly hand off. A lot of introducing brokers, and even some GAPs, outsource their deposits, withdrawals and settlement to a third-party payment service provider (PSP).

  INDmoney doesn’t. Our direct integrations with major banks in India and in GIFT City mean deposits, withdrawals and settlement are handled end-to-end by INDmoney, not a third party. Fewer handoffs on the rail your money actually travels on means faster movement, better control over exchange rates, and one clearly accountable owner if anything ever needs fixing.

• What “hops” cost you

  Every extra entity between you and your shares adds cost and time, reduces transparency, slows your money down, shares your personal information, and spreads accountability thin. And when something goes wrong, more handoffs mean less clarity about who is responsible for putting it right.

  A principal GAP keeps the chain short and the accountability in one place, with INDmoney.

  What this means for you From beginning to end - signing up, adding money, investing, holding your shares and taking your money out - your money, your investments and your personal information stay with INDmoney Global inside GIFT City, regulated by the IFSCA. Where we rely on an outside partner, such as a custodian that safely holds your shares, that partner handles only the shares themselves. Everything else stays with INDmoney.