Kakao Pay Securities is rolling out a fractional domestic stock trading service, starting with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and EcoPro. Investors can invest in domestic listed shares from 1,000 won without buying a full share.
Kakao Pay Securities said on the 10th it launched a fractional domestic stock trading service. The minimum trading unit is 0.0001 share. In the main board, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and in the KOSDAQ market, EcoPro were included first as tradable names. The list of tradable stocks will be expanded in stages.
Domestic stocks have generally traded in one-share units, but with this service, investors can buy as much as they want of higher-priced stocks by splitting shares. Kakao Pay Securities expanded to domestic stocks the fractional trading feature it first introduced for overseas stocks in 2022.
Buy orders can be placed by amount or quantity. Shares bought in fractions can be sold by quantity. Fractional orders are processed in batches by aggregating orders received until a set time, and transactions received after the order time moves to reserved orders.
There is no need to place separate orders for whole shares and fractional shares. Kakao Pay Securities applied a "mixed order" method that combines the two transactions. For example, to buy 2.5 shares of a specific stock, you can enter 2.5 shares at once without placing separate orders for 2 shares and 0.5 share. When fractional share holdings reach at least 1 share, they automatically convert to whole shares and can be traded like regular stocks.
Fractional domestic stock trading also applies to the existing "Stock Saving" and "Reward Order" services. Purchase fees through Stock Saving are waived for both whole and fractional shares through the end of this year.
A Kakao Pay Securities official said, "By supporting fractional trading for domestic stocks following overseas stocks, we sought to create an environment where people can start investing with small amounts," and added, "We will continue to expand the range of tradable stocks and improve user convenience."