How to open a Shoonya account

What you’ll need

Keep these handy before starting — saves backtracking mid-flow.

• PAN card.
• Aadhaar with the mobile number linked (for OTP-based e-KYC).
• Bank cancelled cheque or recent statement showing name, account number and IFSC.
• Passport-size photo (front-facing, clear background).
• Signature on a blank white sheet of paper.
• Income proof (salary slip, ITR, or 6-month bank statement) — needed only if you want to activate F&O.

Shoonya account opening — step by step

Fully online for resident Indians with Aadhaar. No branch visit, no paperwork courier.

1. 1
   Open shoonya.com and start the account-opening application.

   Enter your registered mobile and email — both will receive OTPs through the flow.
2. 2
   Verify PAN, fetch Aadhaar via OTP and confirm your address.

   Shoonya pulls your address from the UIDAI Aadhaar record — make sure the Aadhaar address is current.
3. 3
   Add bank details and upload the cancelled cheque or bank statement.

   Your name on the bank account must match the PAN exactly. Joint accounts and minor accounts have separate flows.
4. 4
   Record the in-person verification (IPV) video and upload your signature.

   A short selfie video proves you’re a real person. Good lighting and a steady camera prevent retries.
5. 5
   e-Sign the account-opening agreement using Aadhaar OTP.

   The e-sign is legally equivalent to a physical signature under the IT Act, 2000.
6. 6
   Wait 1–3 working days for Shoonya and the depository (CDSL or NSDL) to activate the account.

   You’ll receive client ID, user ID and login credentials via email when it’s ready. After that, log in and start trading.

Activating F&O on Shoonya

Equity delivery and intraday work the moment your account is live. Futures & options trading needs a separate activation step — SEBI requires brokers to verify that F&O applicants can absorb the leverage. Shoonya asks for one of the following as income proof: latest salary slip, latest ITR acknowledgement, latest Form 16, six months of bank statements, or a holding statement showing existing investments. Upload via the F&O activation flow in your Shoonya profile; activation typically completes in 1–2 working days.

Things to watch with Shoonya

Broker-specific catches worth knowing before you start — the details that trip people up on Shoonya specifically.

• Intraday, F&O, currency and commodity trades are not free: 0.03% or ₹5 per executed order (whichever is lower), and a flat ₹5 + GST per order on options
• DP charge ₹9 + GST per scrip when selling delivery holdings (₹8.75 + GST for women clients and mutual-fund transactions)
• Pledge and unpledge cost ₹20 per instruction
• Corporate, trust and LLP demat accounts pay ₹900 a year in AMC

After your Shoonya account is open

Once activated, the natural first steps:

• Log in at Shoonya login and set up biometric / PIN for the app.
• Review the Shoonya charges so you know what every trade costs end-to-end.
• Use the Shoonya brokerage calculator to compute the all-in cost on a sample trade.
• Transfer funds from your linked bank via UPI for the fastest settlement.