| Aspect | PIS (NRE) | (Non-PIS) NRO |
Savings Account | NRE Savings account | NRO Savings account |
Purpose | Buy and sell equity shares on a repatriation basis. | Buy and sell financial securities and mutual funds on a non-repatriation basis. |
PIS Permission Letter | Required from RBI via partner bank | Not required |
Repatriability | Can be Repatriable | Non-Repatriable |
| Instruments | Exclusively for shares traded on Indian stock exchanges. | Shares, equity futures & options, currency, commodities, and mutual funds |
| Investment Restriction | Maximum foreign or NRI shareholding in a company by RBI is applicable. Maximum foreign or NRI shareholding in a company by RBI is applicable. | No such restrictions. |
Fund Transfer | Funds from the bank must be transferred to the PIS account for investing and then will be available in the trading account. This may take up to 1 working day. | You can directly transfer funds from an NRO account to a trading account using net banking. |
Mutual Fund Investment | Not available | Available |
Shares bought with resident status | Shares purchased as a resident Indian must be liquidated. A new demat account must be opened on a non-repatriation basis to purchase shares. | Shares purchased with Indian residential status can be transacted through a non-PIS account. |