Choosing a platform
Do I need a new demat for every bond platform, and will it break BSDA?
Not always: Wint Wealth, Stable Bonds and Bondbazaar have you hold bonds in a demat they open, Grip and IndiaBonds run their own depository participant, while GoldenPi, Jiraaf, Altifi and BondScanner deliver to the demat you already have. Forum users report that a second demat can cost you Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) status, which at Zerodha means ₹300 a year plus GST in AMC instead of ₹0 on holdings up to ₹4 lakh.
Verified
It depends on the platform. Several bond platforms now run their own depository participant (DP) and open a fresh demat for you; others deliver bonds to any demat you already hold. Broker apps use the demat you already have with them.
| Platform | Where your bonds sit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wint Wealth | A demat with Wint's own NSDL DP (IN304633); users report it replaced Zerodha demat linking from Oct 2024 | Wint, TradingQnA |
| Stable Bonds | A CDSL demat opened and maintained by Stable Broking | Stable |
| Bondbazaar | A Bondbazaar CDSL demat; existing demats cannot be linked | Bondbazaar FAQ |
| Grip Invest | Optional Grip demat (NSDL DP IN304877) at onboarding; other demats supported for selling | Grip |
| IndiaBonds | Runs its own NSDL DP (IN305103); whether it is required was not verified | IndiaBonds |
| Aspero | Says your own CDSL demat, though its DP licence is NSDL | Aspero |
| GoldenPi | Your own demat | GoldenPi |
| Jiraaf | Your own demat at any DP, Zerodha and Groww named | Jiraaf |
| Altifi | Your own NSDL or CDSL demat | Altifi |
| BondScanner | Your own NSDL or CDSL demat | BondScanner |
All read 17th Oct 2026.
Will a second demat break BSDA?
Forum users say it can. A BSDA is a low cost demat for small holdings: at Zerodha it carries ₹0 AMC up to ₹4 lakh of holdings and ₹100 a year plus GST from ₹4 lakh to ₹10 lakh, against ₹300 a year plus GST for a regular account after the first free year (Zerodha charges). At HDFC Sky a BSDA has no AMC under ₹50,000 of holdings (HDFC Sky). On TradingQnA's thread about Wint's own demat (16,556 views), users asked whether the new account would disqualify them from BSDA, and one reply reported Paytm Money converting an account to a regular one for holding more than 1 demat (TradingQnA).
A demat that a platform describes as being just for bonds is still a demat. Replies in the same thread say it is an ordinary demat restricted to bonds and still counts towards the BSDA limit.
Why do platforms want their own demat?
Their exit features often depend on it. Wint's sell-back works only for bonds bought through Wint and held in its demat (Wint T&C). Grip's Sell Bonds Anytime supports other demats for sells (Grip). If selling back to the platform matters to you, check whether it needs the bond in that platform's demat.
Can I move bonds to my main demat later?
Yes, by an inter-depository or intra-depository transfer, which forum users describe step by step for REC bonds and SGBs (TradingQnA, TradingQnA). Your DP charges a fee per debit, and moving a bond out of a platform's demat can end its platform-only sell feature. Each demat also shows up in your NSDL or CDSL consolidated account statement, which is the simplest way to track bonds spread across apps (Groww pricing page advisory).
The best for keeping your existing demat page lists the platforms that deliver to a demat you already hold, alphabetically.