Gone are the days when physical documents were issued to keep track of share trading. Shares and other financial securities are now stored in electronic form in dematerialised or Demat accounts.

If you ever opt for stock trading courses, the first thing you will be told about is a demat account. It is exactly like a bank account and reflects all of your assets in electronic form. However, to conduct securities transactions, you will require a trading account. The same institutions usually provide the facility of opening both trading and demat accounts.

You can open a demat account with an institution known as the depository participant (DP), which is oftentimes a stock broker as well. The DP is registered with SEBI and is allowed to trade in securities and conduct transactions on behalf of an investor. They open your demat account with Central Depository Services Ltd. (CDSL) or National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL), the only two institutions authorised to store financial assets in electronic form.

You can also open multiple demat accounts, either with the same depository participant or a different one.

Trading and demat account opening has become more convenient than ever. Reputable stock brokers like Angel One are also depository participants and provide the facility of demat account opening online. Before we look into how you can open a demat account online, let’s look at why you should open one in the first place.

Benefits of Opening a Demat Account

• Your securities and assets are safely stored and there is no threat of theft, forgery, or physical damage.
• You can buy and sell securities at your convenience from any place, anytime.
• The inconvenience of tedious paperwork is eliminated from the trading process.
• All your transactions are streamlined and consolidated in one place, making it easy to track your wealth.
• The need for one-to-one conversion is eliminated because all updates are provided via SMS or email.
• In case of mergers, bonus issues, buybacks, etc., updates are automatically made to your account.

How to open a demat account online?

As mentioned above, stock brokers like Angel One have simplified the process of demat account opening, and even provide the facility online. You can now open a demat account within minutes by following these simple steps.

1. Visit the website of your preferred DP and start the registration process.
2. Fill out your name, occupation, residence, mobile number, etc in the form
3. Enter the OTP you have received on your mobile and move on to the KYC process.
4. Enter bank account details, PAN Card details, and birth details. Provide proof of identity and proof of address using documents such as Aadhar card, passport, driver’s licence, Voter’s ID, etc.
5. Conduct the verification process of the documents provided.
6. Your demat account is now open! You will receive the confirmation and other details via SMS and email.

Any Indian resident who can provide relevant documents can now open a demat account online.