If you’re worried about any strange activities in your trading account, there’s good news! Soon, you’ll be able to protect your trading account just like you can with debit and credit cards.
The SEBI (Market regulator) has told brokerage companies to make a way for investors to stop or block their trading accounts if they want to. This option will be available from July 1.
Right now, you can already stop transactions in your demat account, but this new feature lets you do the same for your trading account.
Many people might not know about this, even if they have a demat account. When investors notice something suspicious in their account, most brokers don’t have a way to stop or block their account.
According to SEBI, brokers need to set up a system for freezing and blocking trading accounts by April 1, and the whole process should start by July 1.
Brokers will provide more details to customers about how to use this feature. SEBI also mentioned that brokers should create a plan for what to do after receiving information about blocking an account.
Each broker should explain this feature in detail to their customers, so it can be used when needed.
SEBI highlighted that sometimes investors see strange activity in their trading accounts,
and while there’s a way to block ATM and credit cards, the same should be possible for trading accounts.
SEBI also mentioned that after starting this on July 1, stock exchanges need to report back to the regulator about how well this feature is working by August 31.
In another announcement, SEBI said that stock exchanges need to work with stock brokers to keep an eye on investors’ funds.