PhonePe forays into online stock broking as it expands its services

The platform will charge users an onboarding price of 199 rupees, while there will be no charge for trades of up to 400 rupees, the company said in a statement

Walmart-owned Indian payments firm PhonePe on Wednesday said it had launched a stock broking platform Share.Market that went live with stocks and exchange trading funds, as it expanded its range of financial services.

PhonePe, which already offers insurance policies and allows users to invest in mutual funds through its payments app, will look to capitalize on its approximately 400 million user base as it enters a crowded Indian online stock broking platforms space with notable competitors such as Zerodha, Groww, and traditional names like Angel One and IIFL Securities.

"In the last few years, we have seen an increase in the percentage of savings into equities in a big way. There is a vibrant growth in the active trading community which trades with different objectives," said Ujjwal Jain, CEO, Share.Market.

The platform will charge users an onboarding price of 199 rupees ($2.40), while there will be no charge for trades of up to 400 rupees, the company said in a statement.

($1 = 82.7841 Indian rupees)