Sebi plans trading on wireless devices

Paving the way for investors to transact in the stock markets over their mobile phones,market regulator Sebi has proposed that registered stock brokers who provide internet-based trading services would be eligible to provide securities trading on wireless devices. Sebi has said that any broker or member desiring to provide trading facility on wireless will be required to take approval from respective exchanges. “For a wireless network,there should be secure access,end-to-end encryption and security of communication from handheld device to server. Adequate measures should be taken for user identification,authentication and access control using means such as user id,passwords,smart cards,biometric devices or other reliable means to prevent misuse of facility by unauthorised persons,” the market watchdog said in a proposal open for public comments.

Laying out the roadmap for mobile transactions,Sebi has said that network security protocols and interface standards should be as per prevalent industry standards and sound audit trails should be available for all transactions conducted using wireless devices. Information made available on the hand held device should be timely and should not put the user at a disadvantage vis-à-vis other means of communication. “Order confirmation should be provided to the user on submitting the order and facilities for cancellation or modification should also be provided. Trade confirmation should be provided to the user,along with history of trades. In case failure of the network,alternative means of communication such as telephone or Internet should be available,” Sebi said.

Players in the securities trading arena have applauded the move by the regulator as executive director,ICICI Securities,Anup Bagchi said,“This is a path-breaking policy which will further the democratisation of access to the equity markets by riding on the telecom boom.”