Zerodha users can now trade commodities using their existing equity account balance, without the need of maintaining a separate commodity account, Founder and CEO Nithin Kamath said. In a post on X, Kamath said this was a “legacy issue” that took the company a long time to address.
He also informed that with Zerodha Broking as primary membership, users can trade in both equity and commodity segments. The company has also started allowing customers to move to Zerodha Broking even if they were trading commodities.
Moreover, as part of this process, the company is also surrendering the Zerodha Commodities Pvt Ltd license on exchanges where it was not active, i.e., the NSE. The clients can trade NSE commodities using the same equity account.
What are the changes?
Earlier, equity accounts were opened under Zerodha Broking Ltd., while commodity accounts were managed under Zerodha Commodities Ltd. Thus, clients were required to deposit funds into each account separately. They could not use funds from their equity account to trade in commodities and vice versa.
However, with the introduction of a single ledger facility, Zerodha clients can trade equities and commodities seamlessly using funds in the equity segment under Zerodha Broking Ltd.
Here are steps on how to trade Commodities with your Equity Account:
Activating Commodity Segment:
If you have not opened a commodity account with Zerodha, you can activate the commodity segment, and a new commodity account will be opened under Zerodha Broking Ltd.
For clients with an existing commodity account, activating the commodity segment from the Console will deactivate their existing account, and a new commodity account will be opened under Zerodha Broking Ltd. They must ensure that all existing MCX positions are closed first.
Steps to activate Commodity segment:
- Open Kite app
- Tap on User ID and go to Profile
- Select Segments and then ‘Commodity’ and click on Continue
- Select Gross income, Trading experience and Commodity trade classification
- Upload income proof or select holdings statement
- Tap on the undertaking and select mobile or email for OTP
- Tap on Continue, enter the OTP and verify
Upon verification, the commodity segment will be activated within 72 hours.