Investors will soon be able to trade in equities on their mobile phones, with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) coming out with detailed guidelines for its members. Brokers will have to apply to the exchange for a systems audit before making the facility available to investors.
“To avail the facility of securities trading using wireless technology at the Bombay Stock Exchange, trading members need to submit an application, which will be followed by a system audit,” the exchange said in a circular. “Only on fulfilment of the requirements mentioned in the Sebi/BSE circulars, permission for commencing securities trading using wireless technology would be granted to the trading member,” it adds.
The BSE circular added that the exchange would provide a test environment for testing the mobile application and, in case of failure of the wireless network, brokers will have to provide alternative means of communication for placing orders. The broker members are also required to intimate clients about possible risks, responsibilities and liabilities associated with mobile trading facility.
Brokers will also have to submit the system audit certificate on a yearly basis, duly certified by a CISA-certified or equivalent system auditor to the exchange’s inspection department.
Most brokers ready
On August 27, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) gave its go-ahead for the launch of mobile trading. The regulator had specified that brokers who provided an Internet-based trading facility would be eligible to provide mobile trading facility as well.
Interestingly, most brokerages were already ready with mobile applications and were only waiting for detailed guidelines from the stock exchanges. The application would require some amount of tweaking to integrate the trading option.
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Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange has launched a similar pilot project — the mobile version of NOW, which is NSE’s in-house trading software that is provided to all its member brokers.
Market participants unanimously expect the facility to find enough takers, especially in the retail segment.