Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath on Tuesday (October 1) said that the firm will not be increasing its brokerage charges.

“Equity delivery will continue to be free at Zerodha. As of now, we are not making any changes to our brokerage,” Kamath wrote on social media platform X.

Equity delivery will continue to be free at @zerodhaonline. As of now, we are not making any changes to our brokerage.

From today, Oct 1, 2024,

For options: STT increases to 0.1% from 0.0625%, and transaction charge decreases to 0.035% from 0.0495%.

This results in the cost…

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) October 1, 2024

From October 1, 2024, changes in stock market regulations have come into effect, impacting options and futures trading.

For options, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has increased to 0.1% from 0.0625%. However, the transaction charge has decreased to 0.035% from 0.0495%.

This results in a net cost increase of 0.02303%, equivalent to ₹2,303 per crore of premium on the selling side on the NSE and ₹2,050 per crore on the BSE.

For futures trading, the STT has risen to 0.02% from 0.0125%, while the transaction charge has decreased to 0.00173% from 0.00183%.

This change results in a net increase of 0.00735%, or ₹735 per crore of futures turnover on the selling side.

Kamath also pointed out that the impact will be larger for futures traders since STT is charged on the entire contract value, unlike options where it is applied only to the premium.

Traders can use Zerodha’s brokerage calculator to assess the new charges.

In an earlier blog post, Kamath said Zerodha is “bracing for a big revenue hit” later this year, as several regulatory changes could affect the company’s financial performance.

The key factors include:

SEBI’s true-to-label circular: This regulation could lead to a 10% dip in revenue.

Changes to index derivatives: SEBI is working on new rules for index derivatives, which could cause a 30-50% drop in Zerodha’s earnings if implemented.

Increased STT: The rise in STT could significantly impact futures trading.

New demat account fee structures: The Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) thresholds now only allow Zerodha to charge full Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC) for customers holding ₹10 lakh or more in demat assets. This could reduce revenue after the recent removal of account opening fees.

Changes to referral programs: Recent exchange guidelines limit referral payouts, restricting Zerodha’s customer acquisition efforts by curtailing informal referrers.