Australian challenger bank Xinja is to launch a share trading account for customers to invest in US stocks.
Called Dabble, the new account will give Australian investors access to more than 3000 US shares and exchange traded funds via the Xinja app.
Xinja is charging a flat monthly subscription fee of $8 for unlimited trading, on top of a competitive one percent FX fee per trade. There are no brokerage fees.
This is in sharp contrast to traditional services for trading in US stocks by Aussie banks, where brokerage can be as high as $19.50 per trade, with significant FX fees on top.
Dabble also offers fractional share trading in top-performing stocks, enabling users to buy a portion of a share, investing as little as $1 in a company.
Xinja Bank founder and chief executive Eric Wilson says Dabble will give investors access to an alternative investment option in a period when interest rates, and an ability to earn a return on invested funds, remains very low.
"Many US-listed companies' shares trade at very high prices, which locks a lot of people out of the market," he says. "So while brand recognition for leading US companies is very high, few people invest directly. And entering the market hasn't been easy. We want to lower the cost and make it simpler to bring those opportunities to Australians."
Launched in May 2017, Xinja was the first independent Australian neobank with products in the market: bank accounts, its high interest savings account ‘Stash’ and now Dabble.