Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), India’s oldest exchange, has introduced mobile trading in India, potentially increasing the number of retail investors in the country.
Over 30 members of the exchange registered their participation in the program at its introduction Tuesday, BSE said in a statement. More are expected to start mobile operations in the next few days, BSE said.
Brokers in India already offer Internet-based trading.
Under the new service, orders submitted by clients on their mobile phones or other wireless devices will be sent through the brokers’ servers to the stock exchange, BSE said.
The move to mobile trading became possible after the financial regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said in August that brokers registered with SEBI to provide Internet-based trading will be eligible to also provide securities trading using wireless technology.
India had about 652 million mobile subscribers at the end of July, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. A number of mobile service providers are trying to offer new services to customers to make up for falling voice call rates.
Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest operator, plans to offer its customers the ability to purchase virtual currency that they can store on their mobile phones and use to shop at select outlets, according to reports.
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John’s e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com