In India, where gold is the investment medium of choice, low-cost stockbrokers reckon they can increase the paltry percentage of households investing in shares with apps that make it as easy to buy stocks on a smartphone as it is to buy gold on a high street.

India is one of the world’s biggest gold consumers as millions seeking to increase income have traditionally headed for the nearest jeweller. But gold’s reputation as a safe store of value has been tarnished by a 42 per cent drop in prices in the past four years and an equal rise in stocks.

Even so, less than 1.5 per cent of households put money directly into shares, compared with around 10 per cent in China and 20 per cent in the United States. Online brokers Zerodha and RKSV aim to narrow that gap by taking advantage of India being one of the world’s quickest-growing smartphone markets.

“Our goal is to turn the younger generation, who are connected to the internet for the first time on their smartphones, into investors,” said Nithin Kamath, co-founder and chief executive of Bengaluru-based Zerodha, India’s largest low-cost broker, which is currently testing a new app.

Full-service brokers, the more commonly used intermediary in India, offer apps that make up a sliver of trading volume. Cut-price brokers aim to raise the numbers by making apps more user-friendly and charging as little as 20 rupees ($0.3) per trade.