Forced To Leave Zerodha Account, Techie Emails CEO Nithin Kamath, Gets Response In 10 Minutes

When a Bengaluru-based techie learned that his wife's new job required him to close his Zerodha account, he didn't expect much of a last-ditch email to the company's CEO.

To his surprise, Nithin Kamath responded within ten minutes.

Sachin Jha was forced to make this decision after his wife joined a global investment bank that classified Zerodha as an "untrusted broker" due to its lack of a physical banking presence. The directive instructed to "close all Zerodha accounts."

Reluctant to part ways with the platform he admired for its seamless user experience, Mr Jha sent what he called a "last-ditch email" to Mr Kamath, expecting no response. Instead, within ten minutes, Mr Kamath replied, setting off a series of actions from the Zerodha team.

They "immediately acknowledged the gap ("We're fixing this with banks"), asked for my workplace to partner directly with compliance and Shared their plan to bridge trust with institutions," Mr Jha wrote on LinkedIn.

Ultimately, Mr Jha still closed his account, but he left with a newfound respect for Zerodha's approach. "They won my trust for life," he admitted.

Zerodha's lack of a traditional banking license has been both an advantage and a limitation - driving innovation while also restricting its growth in certain areas.

On the one hand, operating without a banking license has allowed Zerodha to pioneer the discount broking model in India, leading to impressive financial growth. On the other hand, it has impeded the company's ambitions to diversify its financial services.

Co-founder Nikhil Kamath has been frustrated over unsuccessful attempts to secure such a license, saying, "We really want to be a bank, but despite all our efforts, we haven't been allowed to." This regulatory hurdle has prevented Zerodha from offering a broader range of financial products, such as banking, borrowing, and insurance services.

In the fiscal year 2024, the company reported a 62 per cent surge in profits to Rs 4,700 crore and a 21 per cent increase in revenue to Rs 8,320 crore.