ICICI Direct review

What bonds can you buy on ICICI Direct?

ICICI Direct's FD & Bonds menu lists ICICI Home Finance FDs, ICICI Bank FDs, RBI Floating Rate Bonds, Sovereign Gold Bonds, Government Securities, Exchange Traded Bonds and 54EC Capital Gain Bonds, as read on 17th Oct 2026 (ICICI Direct FAQs).

That mix leans to government and tax linked products. Among the broker apps we review, only ICICI Direct and HDFC Sky list both 54EC bonds and RBI bonds, and only ICICI Direct gives terms for them on the page. For corporate bonds the menu points to exchange traded bonds; how its RFQ flow works today was not verified.

How do 54EC bonds work on ICICI Direct?

ICICI Direct sells 54EC bonds of REC, PFC, IRFC and HUDCO, rated AAA, at 5.25% a year with a 5 year lock-in (ICICI Direct bonds). The bonds come in multiples of ₹10,000, with a minimum of 2 bonds (₹20,000) and a maximum of 500 bonds (₹50 lakh). They cannot be transferred or redeemed early.

Interest is taxed at your slab rate and no TDS is deducted, per the same page. Rules, limits and the other places that sell these bonds are on our 54EC bonds page and in 54EC bonds: where to buy, limits and lock-in.

Can you buy RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds on ICICI Direct?

Yes. ICICI Direct lists RBI Floating Rate Bonds online, alongside agency bank branches such as Canara Bank (ICICI Direct bonds). The bonds pay 8.05% for 1st Jul to 31st Dec 2026, set at the NSC rate of 7.70% plus 0.35% (RBI).

They run 7 years, cannot be traded and are taxable with TDS. Full terms are on our RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds page.

What does ICICI Direct charge for bonds?

ICICI Direct does not publish a bond specific brokerage. Its bonds page says only that brokerage would not exceed the SEBI prescribed limit (ICICI Direct bonds).

Two other sources disagree. An older ICICI Direct corporate bond FAQ, undated and now unreachable, described deals as principal to principal with no charges, and allowed only purchases (older ICICI Direct FAQ). Third party sites such as Chittorgarh list about 0.25% brokerage on NCDs and bonds under ICICI plans; we have not confirmed this on an ICICI pricing page (Chittorgarh). Ask for the all in yield and the brokerage on the contract note before you place an order.

Is ICICI Direct a SEBI registered bond platform?

Yes, and one of the earliest. ICICI Securities Ltd (SEBI INZ000183631) became active on BSE's OBPP list on 15th Feb 2023 and enabled on NSE's on 21st Apr 2023 (BSE list; NSE list). We found no bond specific SEBI order or complaint against it in our research. See the full registry.