CUSIP Number

A CUSIP (Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures) number is a unique nine-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to financial securities — including stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, and other financial instruments — primarily traded in the United States and Canada. Developed in 1968 by the American Bankers Association and maintained by the CUSIP Global Services (CGS) division of FactSet, the CUSIP system enables unambiguous identification of securities in trade processing, settlement, and record-keeping systems. The nine-character CUSIP code comprises: a six-character issuer identifier, a two-character issue identifier, and a single check digit. The global equivalent of CUSIP for Indian securities is the ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) — which follows the ISO 6166 standard and consists of a two-letter country code (IN for India) followed by ten alphanumeric characters. For Indian investors accessing US markets — through international ETFs, US-listed ADRs of Indian companies, or direct US stock investments via remittance under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) — understanding CUSIP numbers is useful for identifying and verifying specific US securities. Indian companies that have listed on US exchanges have both an ISIN (for their Indian-listed shares) and a CUSIP number (for their US-listed ADRs), serving as parallel identifiers in their respective markets.