The share of stock market trades executed through mobile phones has more than doubled in the last one year. Though they represent a small number in absolute terms, mobile-phone trades are fast becoming a preferred mode to transact for investors.
According to data from the BSE, the share of trades made through mobile phones has climbed to 2.12 per cent in June 2016, from 0.74 per cent in June 2015. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as well, the share has more than doubled and is currently pegged at 3.32 per cent of the monthly turnover.
Lowly startThe significance of the increase is evident from the fact that the share of mobile trading on the BSE was a lowly 0.03 per cent in June 2012 and only managed to rise to a paltry 0.39 per cent in June 2014. In absolute terms, mobile trades accounted for Rs.12,732 crore on the NSE in June. Interestingly, almost half a dozen stocks, including State Bank of India (SBI) and Reliance Industries, register trades worth more than Rs.100 crore a month through mobile phones.
While the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved trading through mobile phones way back in 2010, traction was hardly visible as investors preferred to trade through their dealers or relationship managers who could advise them on the transactions.
But the recent past has seen most leading brokerages develop trading apps for their clients and adding features regularly to bring them on par with a trading portal. Market participants said that increasing penetration of smartphones is acting as a catalyst in pushing mobile trading turnover.
Yagnesh Parikh, Chief Technology Officer, ICICI Securities, said that mobile applications are changing the way people or consumers choose to operate or perform various functions.
“Ease and comfort to use is what the consumer is looking for and given factors such as time-sensitivity of the market, apps are going to play a critical role in the trading business,” said Mr.Parikh.
Incidentally, trading apps of brokerages like ICICI Securities, Kotak Securities, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, IIFL and Angel Broking feature prominently in the Android Play Store and iOS App Store.
Leading domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services registers about Rs.8,000 crore worth of trades every month through its mobile platform and the share has grown significantly in the last one year. “Around 7-8 per cent of our daily turnover comes from mobile phones,” said Arun Chaudhry, Head – Online Business and Product Development, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “It was only around 2 per cent a year ago. The most important factor has been mobility as people are not in front of a computer throughout the day. So they need to trade on-the-go. And the apps now are one-stop solutions with features like research, advisory and trading options across asset class.
“On an average, we update our app once a month with new product features or interface enhancement,” Mr. Chaudhry said.
