Brokerage firm Zerodha has announced to hike the fees to Rs 40 per order for certain intraday derivatives (F&O) trades from April 01. Currently, it has been charged Rs 20 per trade.
However, charges aren’t
being applied widely on all traders, but of those who are failing to comply with rules set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
It means if traders will be charged the existing Rs 20 per trade until and unless they comply with the norms and regulations.
As per regulations, traders must maintain at least 50% of their collateral in cash or cash equivalents for intraday positions. Zerodha has been covering the shortfall for traders who didn’t have enough cash collateral so far.
Traders who fail to maintain the 50% cash collateral will now be charged Rs 40 per order.
Sebi has been tightening the regulations in derivative segment for the past few years, in an attempt to dissuade large-scale speculations and massive inflow of retail investors.
SEBI has been strict about margin and collateral norms, restricting brokers from using their own funds to support client trades.
Brokerage companies are also witnessing a fall of traders due to restrictions and discouragement, hitting their revenues substantially.
Brokerage firms are also bracing for another hit that is expected to begin from April 01, 2026, when new rules for how banks can lend to brokers and other capital market intermediaries will come into effect.
Banks must extend credit to Capital Market Intermediaries only on a fully secured basis, meaning the exposure must be backed by 100% eligible collateral.
This move, as brokerages say, will reduce leverage and trading in F&O activities.
If banks provide funds to brokers to finance margin trading facilities for clients (under SEBI rules), the credit must be fully secured by high-quality collateral such as cash, cash equivalents and Government securities.
