Exclusive | GoldenPi gets first debt broker licence after new regulations

GoldenPi Technologies, a Bengaluru-based fintech company, said it became the first online bond platform provider to receive a debt broker licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) after new regulations were introduced in November last year.

“We got the licence on January 4 from SEBI,” Abhijit Roy, cofounder of GoldenPi, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.

According to the rules, no person or company can act as an online bond platform provider without a certificate of registration as a stockbroker under the SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations.

Roy said all online bond platforms looking to offer corporate bonds should have a licence that will place them under the watch of the market regulator.

“There is a new term – online bond platform provider (OBPP) – which is like a tag or tick mark which needs to be taken from any one of the exchanges or both,” Roy added. “Exchanges are still working on the OBPP guidelines. As soon as these guidelines come out, we will apply for it.”

Also read: Sebi introduces regulatory framework to facilitate online bond platform providers

According to the regulations, once bond platform providers register as stockbrokers in the debt segment of a stock exchange, they have to apply to the bourse to act as an OBPP.

There has been an increase in the number of online bond platforms offering debt securities to non-institutional investors over the past few years. Many of them are fintech companies or those backed by stockbrokers or SEBI-registered intermediaries. The number of registered users who have transacted through such entities has increased significantly.

Moneycontrol reported last month that two online bond platforms, Wint Wealth and Grip Invest, were set to apply for stockbroker licences in January. Yubi Invest, an online bond platform, applied for a licence on November 2, 2022.