Paasa vs Vested for US stocks from India: IBKR access vs simplicity

Short answer: Paasa if you want IBKR's global universe, USD withdrawal, or options/futures access — and are comfortable with a more complex onboarding and higher minimum balance. Vested if you want a clean, mobile-first Indian retail experience with no minimums and simpler LRS mechanics.

How the platforms are structured

Vested uses DriveWealth (a US FINRA-registered broker-dealer) as its custodian. The Vested app provides an India-friendly layer: INR display, Indian-time support, and LRS remittance guidance. Two plans:

• Basic: Free. Brokerage 0.25% per trade (capped at $35). Withdrawal fee $5.
• Premium: ₹4,500/yr. Brokerage 0.15% per trade (capped at $35). 2 free withdrawals/yr.

Vested is limited to NYSE and NASDAQ listed securities. No options, no futures, no OTC, no international exchanges.

Paasa is an India-facing wrapper around Interactive Brokers (IBKR). You open a brokerage account backed by IBKR's infrastructure with access to 150+ global markets — NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, TSE, HKEX, options, futures, forex. Two plans:

• Access: 0.1% brokerage per trade. Withdrawal in INR or USD.
• Apex: 0% brokerage above the minimum portfolio/activity threshold (verify current threshold at paasa.com). Higher annual fee.

Paasa fee details (Oct 2026 — verify before investing)

Head-to-head comparison

Full financial year worked example: ₹20 lakh invested

Profile: Girish, salaried, ₹20 lakh/yr in US ETFs (VOO, QQQ) and 2–3 US stocks, no RSUs

At ₹20L/yr, the brokerage saving from Paasa vs Vested Premium is ~₹1,500. Check Paasa's plan fee to determine the net saving — if the Paasa plan fee is below ₹4,500/yr, Paasa saves money.

Where Paasa wins clearly: An investor putting ₹60 lakh/yr across NYSE, LSE UCITS ETFs (for estate tax planning), and US large-caps saves significantly vs Vested — both on brokerage and on access to UCITS, which Vested cannot provide at all.

Onboarding walkthrough

Vested:

1. Download Vested app → PAN, Aadhaar, bank details, W-8BEN
2. KYC + DriveWealth account opening: 1–3 business days
3. Fund via LRS SWIFT: A2 form, purpose code S0001; funds arrive in 3–5 business days
4. Total time to first buy: 4–8 business days

Paasa:

1. Create account at paasa.com → PAN, Aadhaar, bank details
2. Paasa opens an IBKR account on your behalf — IBKR's own KYC applies, which is more thorough than standard Indian retail apps (income proof, investment experience questionnaire)
3. KYC + IBKR account opening: 5–10 business days
4. Fund via LRS SWIFT: IBKR account receives the wire; same A2 form, purpose code S0001
5. Total time to first buy: 7–14 business days
6. For options/futures: IBKR requires additional approval; answer the experience questionnaire accurately

What happens when things go wrong

Paasa/IBKR account complexity: IBKR's compliance team may ask for additional documentation — proof of income, investment experience, source of funds. This is standard for a US broker-dealer with access to derivatives. Resolution can take 5–10 additional business days. Paasa's team can help navigate this, but you cannot shortcut the IBKR side.

SWIFT transfer documentation (both platforms): Both use LRS SWIFT — same risk of bank-level documentation holds. For large remittances above ₹15 lakh, prepare salary slips, ITR, and bank statements in advance.

USD withdrawal (Paasa advantage, but process matters): Paasa allows USD withdrawal. The inward remittance is a reverse LRS transaction — your bank receives USD and converts to INR (or holds in an RFC account if you have one). This is simpler for investors who want to repatriate at a rate of their choosing rather than the platform's conversion rate.

Schedule FA: Both platforms are LRS route. Schedule FA applies. Both use US custodians (DriveWealth for Vested, IBKR for Paasa) — both require peak-balance and year-end-balance disclosure in Schedule FA. Check whether each platform provides a Schedule FA export or if your CA must reconstruct it from statements.

Investor personas: who belongs on which platform

Girish — ₹20L/yr in US ETFs, no RSUs, wants simplicity Girish wants to set up a SIP-like US investment and not think about it. Vested's mobile-first, Indian-time-support experience is the right fit. The brokerage difference at his scale is ₹1,500/yr — not material enough to justify Paasa's higher complexity and onboarding time.

Meera — ₹60L/yr, wants UCITS ETFs for estate tax planning Meera's CA has told her to buy LSE-listed UCITS ETFs (like VUSA or CSPX) to sidestep the $60,000 US estate tax threshold. Vested cannot provide LSE access. Paasa (via IBKR) can. For Meera, Paasa is not optional — it is the only LRS-route platform that unlocks UCITS.

Arjun — wants to trade US options on tech stocks US options are not available on Vested. Paasa provides IBKR's full derivatives access. Arjun belongs on Paasa. (Note: under LRS rules, derivatives for speculative purposes are not permitted — this applies to short options and speculative puts. Long puts on existing stock positions for hedging are a different question — verify with your CA before trading options.)

Related reading

• Best US stock platform for Indian investors 2026
• IBKR vs Paasa for India
• US estate tax for Indian investors: the $60,000 trap
• How US stocks are taxed in India

Sources

Fee figures last checked October 2026. Verify before investing — fees change without notice.

1. Vested Finance fee schedule — vestedfinance.com/legal/fee-schedule (Oct 2026)
2. Paasa pricing — paasa.com (Oct 2026 — verify in-app)
3. Interactive Brokers India — interactivebrokers.co.in (reference)
4. RBI LRS guidelines — rbi.org.in (Oct 2026)
5. SIPC coverage ($500,000 per account) — sipc.org (Oct 2026)