Standard Chartered in Asia has launched an online trading platform for individual clients, providing access to 14 exchanges across 10 countries around the world, claiming it is the first and only bank that does not charge a minimum commission for this service.

The markets covered by the service are in the following countries: Singapore, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, Netherlands and the US. There is access to more than 10,000 securities.

StanChart said it rolled out the service following research among 500 individuals in Singapore showing that a flexible trading platform will be welcomed by current and potential investors.

As well as no minimum commission, StanChart said there are no custody fees or corporate action handling fees in the service.

Fees as a percentage of the total trade value for Priority Banking customers are 0.18 per cent for Singapore and 0.20 per cent for other markets. To illustrate how this works, in a trade on the NYSE totalling $10,000, a customer pays $20 in brokerage fees and for a smaller trade of $1,000, only $2 in brokerage fees.

In its research findings on investor behaviour, 60 per cent of the people StanChart surveyed expressed an interest in trading stocks, but only 45 per cent currently do so. It found that among stock traders who do participate in the market, 31 do so on a weekly basis, and 57 per cent transact monthly.

Amongst those who transact online, 61 per cent conduct banking transactions via the internet but only 22 per cent currently trade online.