Recent updates to make investing easier for NRIs

Investing and trading in Indian markets as an NRI has traditionally involved more friction than it should have, extra bank dependencies, CP codes, physical paperwork, and higher costs compared to what resident investors face.

Over the course of 2025, some of these long-standing frictions were removed. Following regulatory changes from SEBI and operational changes on our end, investing and trading from abroad has become easier.

Here’s a look at recent updates:

SEBI removes the mandatory CP code requirement

Earlier, NRIs who wanted to trade futures and options had to go through a Custodial Participant (CP) setup. This added paperwork, costs, and delays.

In July 2025, SEBI removed the mandatory CP code requirement for NRIs, allowing them to trade futures and options directly without a custodian.

Equity intraday and BTST trades

NRIs using the Non-PIS route can now place equity intraday trades (buying and selling on the same day) and BTST trades (Buy Today, Sell Tomorrow). This is in addition to trading F&O and investing in equities and mutual funds—all through a single account and without any additional paperwork.

With this, NRI trading access comes much closer to that of resident Indian investors, offering greater flexibility for those who want to trade actively rather than only invest for the long term.

As per regulations, TDS is applicable on all trades for NRO Non-PIS accounts. We’ve explained this in detail in this support article.

Lower brokerage for NRI Non-PIS accounts

Alongside these changes, and as part of our ongoing effort to simplify NRI investing, we’ve reduced brokerage for NRI clients.

From September 2025, brokerage for all NRI Non-PIS accounts has been revised from ₹100 or 0.5% to ₹50 per executed order or 0.5%, whichever is lower. This applies to equity delivery, equity intraday, and F&O trades.

Pledging of securities is now available for Non-PIS accounts

NRIs using the Non-PIS route can now pledge eligible holdings, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and T-Bills to receive instant collateral margin for derivatives trading. Learn more about pledging.

Online NRI account opening

We’ve also simplified the NRI account opening process by making it online.

• If you’re in India, documents can be digitally signed using Aadhaar
• If you’re outside India, you can complete the process online, generate pre-filled forms, and courier them to us

You can start the process at: zerodha.com/open-account/nri/

ICICI Bank added as a PIS partner bank

ICICI Bank is now supported for opening and linking NRE–PIS accounts with Zerodha. This is in addition to existing partner banks: HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDFC First Bank, Yes Bank, and Axis Bank. We’re also working on adding support for more banks.

A PIS (Portfolio Investment Scheme) account is a bank-managed route that allows NRIs to buy and sell listed Indian equities. The partner bank obtains permission from the Reserve Bank of India and reports all trades executed under this scheme.

Under RBI rules, NRIs can invest in Indian equities through two routes:

PIS route

• Funded via NRE or NRO account
• Fully repatriable proceeds
• Requires a PIS account with a partner bank

Non-PIS route

• Funded via NRO account
• Repatriable up to $1 million per year
• Fewer restrictions and lower costs

At Zerodha, we support both routes. You can learn more about the difference between PIS and non-PIS here.

We’ve partnered with The Financialist, Quicko, and RupeeFlo to simplify key financial needs for our NRI clients. These partnerships help with asset planning, tax filing, overseas remittances, and document notarization, reducing paperwork, complexity, and turnaround time.