Indian traders have always faced a few hurdles when it comes to trading and investing. Previously, issues such as high brokerage fees, a lack of transparency in the brokerage and other costs, and a lack of awareness regarding online trading platforms. There were also no universal slab for the clients, and a general hesitation on the part of the brokers to educate their clients about the nitty-gritty of trading and investing.
This all changed with the introduction of Zerodha, which is considered a pioneer discount broker in the Indian trading market. Started by former professional trader Nitin Kamath as a small company, the broker has grown in size to become one of the major brokers in India. The name Zerodha comes from the combination of two words: one from English ( Zero ) and 2nd from Sanskrit ( Rodha – Barrier. ) like Zero + Rodha = Zerodha ( Zero Barrier for trader and investor).
This article aims to present a Zerodha India review for interested traders and readers.
Zerodha- a small review
Zerodha has become India’s no.1 stockbroker and is the largest broker in the country which offers a flat fee discount. It allows clients to invest in equities, commodities, IPOs, direct mutual funds and even currencies. Zerodha provides its own trading software called Zerodha Kite, Zerodha coin and Varsity. Zerodha Kite is the web and mobile trading app while Zerodha coin is the mutual fund investment platform. It also offers separate thematic investment platforms, algo trading platforms and options trading platforms to name a few.
Zerodha is Headquartered in Bangalore. They have offices in more than 23 major cities such as Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Mumbai, Navi Mumbai ( Vashi ), Pune (Maharashtra), Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat (Gujarat), Delhi, NCR ( Delhi ), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Hubli (Karnataka), Salem (Tamil Nadu), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) and Kochi (Kerala). Clients can now open accounts online as well as in offline mode. Clients can visit any of these branches if they have trade-related queries.
Zerodha Kite
Zerodha Kite is probably the most used trading platform provided by Zerodha. It offers an intuitive web and mobile app that allows traders to stay connected even on the go. Some of the features of Zerodha Kite include:
- An HTML 5 base trading platform with streaming market data
- An Elegant UI and simple to use interface.
- A Universal Search menu.
- Easy to search trading symbol
- Browser Notification
- Customisable market watch and dashboard
- Multiple chart window
- More than 12 types of charts
- 100 + Technical indicator
- Shortcut key to use with a keyboard
- An in-built snap of fundamental data to give you a company overview
- Co – BO with limit entry
Is it legal? Is it Regulated?
Many people ask questions about the legality of Zerodha, more so because of the influx of a multitude of trading platforms, some of which are not legitimate. But when it comes to Zerodha, they have their legal compliance requirements covered. It comes under the regulation of SEBI(Securities and Exchange Board of India), CDSL(Central Depository Services (India) Limited), BSE(Bombay Stock Exchange), NSE(National Stock Exchange) & MCX(The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited). This means it complies with stringent regulations enforced by the above regulatory bodies and there are no records of any legal violations.
You can check out the websites of the regulatory bodies below:
Does It Accept Indian Clients?
Zerodha is one of the biggest online brokers and trading platforms in India and markets its services specifically to Indian citizens. Non-resident Indians can also open accounts and trade with Zerodha.
What Kind Of Broker Is It?
Zerodha is one of the most genuine and trusted brokers in India, known for its low-risk offerings. It is debt-free and unlike some other brokerage companies, it specialises in offering brokerage services only. This means that losses in its other ventures will not impact its brokerage services. S mentioned before, it is registered as a stockbroker with the SEBI and is also a member of NSE and BSE.
Zerodha Tradable Markets
Zerodha offers a whole list of tradable markets which any traders looking for diversification will appreciate. This includes trading in stocks, ETFs, foreign exchange, funds, bonds, options and futures.
- Forex trading in India Zerodha is possible in the form of futures. It just provides four currency pairs: EUR-INR, USD-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR.
- There are only 2 futures and 2 options markets available. Clients can trade options on MCX and NSE.
- Traders can access 145 Bonds.
- There are 39 mutual funds on offer.
- There are 2 stocks and 66 Exchange Traded Funds on offer.
Minimum deposit
Zerodha does not have any minimum deposit requirements for its accounts. There is also no deposit fee associated with minimum deposits.
Spreads and Costs
Zerodha is a zero Equity Delivery Brokerage. The charges for trading are as follows:
- Equity Intraday 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower.
- Equity Future 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower.
- Equity Options 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower (on Turnover).
- Commodity Future 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower.
- Currency Future and Option 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower
- Call N Trade Charges – Rs 20 Flat per Order.
- Contract hard copies cost Rs.20 with extra courier charges whereas digital contract notes are sent free of cost through email.
- DP charges are Rs. 8 per transaction.
Account Types
Zerodha offers two main types of accounts: Trading account and Demat account. It’s designed in such a way that clients can seamlessly switch between the two.
- The Demat account allows clients to invest in mutual fund units via a direct plan option and make investments in SIPs.
- The trading account allows clients to directly purchase stocks, futures, currencies, options and commodities.
- Non-resident Indians can also engage in delivery base trading by opening an NRI account and linking their Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee or Non-Resident Rupee account to their Demat account.
- Non-resident Indians can only access stocks and equity F&O. They cannot engage in intraday trading.
- Clients who want to trade in commodities can open a Zerodha commodity account, while those who want to trade bonds and t-bills can do so via the Zerodha coin account.
Deposit And Withdrawal Timing And Costs
The costs associated with deposits and withdrawals at Zerodha are much less in comparison to some of its peers. Its withdrawal process is also fast and doesn’t cause unnecessary hassles for its clients.
- Withdrawal requests for equities are usually processed around 20:30 local time on Wednesdays and are subsequently transferred to the client’s account within one day.
- Zerodha processes withdrawal requests on Saturday but not on Sunday. It instead processes it on Monday.
- Requests placed during a holiday will be processed on the next working day.
Zerodha doesn’t charge their clients any fees for withdrawing money from their accounts. Clients can withdraw their desired amount within their balance for free. It also does not charge any additional fee for deposits.
Other Salient Features
Zerodha also has several small features that help it stand out from its competition and ensure customer satisfaction is at its highest. Some of them are mentioned below:
- More than 1000 + customer support team staff ensure the fastest response in the client’s regional language.
- The co-located server allows fast broadcasting and streaming data with one of the fastest trade execution time.
- World-class technology server and support put Zerodha in Top of the list in Discount Broking.
Final Thoughts
Of all the different international and national brokers operating in the Indian market, Zerodha has to be one of the most regulated and easily accessible options. If you like what you’ve read, Visit Zerodha and sign up for their services. It is a reputed broker which takes care in providing clients with a memorable trading experience.