Checking a broker in the local register
What you learn in 3 minutesA reader once sent ₹50,000 to a broker that showed a registration number on its website. The number belonged to a different company. The money was never returned. This lesson shows where the local register is, what to type into it, and which answers mean the licence does not cover what you were offered.
Checking a registration number before sending ₹50,000
| Step | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Amount you plan to send | ₹50,000 | Your own figure, chosen before any check |
| Registration number shown on the broker page | INZ000123456 | Copied from the broker's own footer, not from a search result |
| Name returned by the register | A different company | The register matches the number to a legal name, not a brand |
| Status shown for that number | Cancelled | The register shows current status, not past status |
| Value of one pip on one standard lot of USD/INR | ₹10 | 100,000 x 0.0001, at a rate near 83.2500 |
| Rupee move on one standard lot if USD/INR moves 20 pips | ₹200 | 20 x ₹10; the same arithmetic applies to a loss |
The broker may round the exchange rate, charge a spread, or add a commission on top of the pip value. Those amounts vary between brokers, so ask for the full cost in writing before you send anything.
The mistake people make here
The common mistake is to trust the number printed on the broker's own page, or to trust a search result that looks official. Anyone can copy a real number onto a fake site. Instead, open the register yourself, type the number into the search box, and read three things: the legal name, the current status, and the activities the licence covers. If the name does not match the company you are paying, or the status is not current, or the activities do not include what you were offered, stop. Do not send money by UPI or bank transfer until all three match.Check yourself
You plan to send ₹30,000. The register shows the number belongs to a company with a cancelled licence. What is the correct next step, and how much of the ₹30,000 is at risk if you send it anyway?
Do not send. The licence is not current, so the register does not cover what you were offered. If you send anyway, the full ₹30,000 is at risk, because no current registration stands behind the firm.
USD/INR is near 83.2500. One standard lot moves 15 pips against you. What is the loss in rupees, and what does that show about position size?
One pip on one standard lot is ₹10, so 15 pips is 15 x ₹10 = ₹150. That is the loss on one standard lot for a 15-pip move. It shows that a small rate change can be a large rupee amount, so the number of lots must be chosen before the trade, not after.
In India
- Regulator
- SEBI
- Where the register is
- On the SEBI website, under the section for registered intermediaries
- What to type
- The registration number exactly as shown, with no spaces added or removed
- What to compare
- The legal name, the current status, and the permitted activities
- Payment methods
- UPI and bank transfer; send only to an account in the name shown in the register