Upstox aims to boost stock market transactions with free Demat accounts

No brokerage while investing in the stock market with Upstox Quick, Hassle-free, and Paperless Demat Account Opening Process Upstox (also known as RKSV Securities), the new-age online discount-broking firm backed by Mr Ratan Tata, Kalaari Capital, and GVK Davix, is launching a Free Demat Fest from March 1st to March 7th, 2019. This fest will give first-time Indian investors an opportunity to create a Demat account and start investing in the share market, without paying any account opening charges. During the fest, users can visit Upstox.com and open a Free Demat Account within a few minutes by submitting their KYC documents, online. The process is completely paperless.

Upstox, a product first company, has been working towards making stock trading easy and affordable for all Indians. It has been the first in its category to make an otherwise tedious account opening process paperless and quick. This extended its reach to tech-savvy youngsters and tier 2 and 3 cities, where facilities were limited. Now with the 'Free Demat Fest' Upstox is removing the account opening fees: the last barricade that prevented aspiring share-market investors from entering the share market.

Talking about the objective behind organising the Free Demat Fest, Ravi Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Upstox says, "Even though the share market makes headlines every day, less than 2% of the Indian population participates in trading. In other countries, participation can be anywhere between 20-50%. Our larger objective is financial inclusion. So, we keep coming up with innovative solutions to make it possible. With paperless account opening facility, we tapped into India's growing Internet penetration and empowered Indians to open a Demat account without stepping out of their homes. Now, with the Free Demat Fest, we are stepping up our endeavours to increase investor participation and helping potential investors make the best of this little-explored investment opportunity. We will continue to come up with innovative solutions like this."

Giving insights about consumer behaviour Shrini Viswanath, Co-founder and CTO, Upstox, says that, "Costs and complexities involved in stock market participation have been some of the biggest deterrents for small investors. Statistics show that almost 30% of prospective clients do not end up investing in the stock market because they have to pay an upfront fee to open a demat account. Therefore, we are offering a Free Demat Account, so that users can take their first step into the stock market without any hesitation."

Upstox's 'zero brokerage' model, has been increasingly gaining popularity with retail investors as it facilitated mobile and online route of stock investing at almost zero cost. Even for seasoned intraday traders, Upstox charges a flat rate of Rs. 20 per trade, irrespective of the size of the order.

Upstox is one of the fastest growing discount brokers in India. It has witnessed a five-fold increase in its total client-base. Its pan-India client base increased from 25,000 to 1,60,000 between 2016 to present. Upstox's notional contribution to exchanges is around Rs. 20,000 crores.