‘You’ve disrupted broking, please don’t come after us' says Jay Kotak to Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath

Jay Kotak Session GIM2025

At the Global Investors Meet 2025 in Bengaluru, Jay Kotak, co-head of Kotak 811, made a lighthearted remark about the growing influence of fintech firms, particularly Zerodha, in the financial services sector.

"You've already disrupted the broking business, please don't come after us," Kotak said on February 12 when asked about gaps in the financial sector and whether startups could build solutions around them.

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath responded, "We won't get a licence even if we wanted," pointing to the regulatory barriers fintech firms face in entering the banking space.

Zerodha was founded in 2010 by brothers Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath with the goal of making stock trading more accessible and affordable in India. The company disrupted the brokerage industry by introducing a low-cost, technology-driven model with zero brokerage on equity investments and flat fees for trades.

The firm claims to have managed to attract more than 1.6 crore users managing assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore without any advertising.

Zerodha was the top broking firm in terms of active users till October of 2023. Fintech startup Groww surpassed Zerodha to become India's leading brokerage. In FY24 Zerodha's net profit was up 89 percent to Rs 5,496 crore from Rs 2,908 crore last fiscal year. Revenue from operations rose by 37.16 percent to Rs 9,372 crore.

Over the years, Zerodha has expanded into financial education through Varsity and investment platforms like Coin for direct mutual fund investments. Despite its rapid growth, Zerodha has remained bootstrapped and profitable. In

Also Read: Major brokers see active investor addition fall dramatically in Jan, Zerodha sees decline for second straight month

Speaking about gaps in the existing financial system, Kotak said that Indian banks must significantly improve how they treat customers, as they lag behind new-age financial service companies in customer experience.

"I think from a banking system level we are not empathetic enough towards oir customers...We need to do much better in terms of how we treat our customers. In terms of telecalling, brand experience, quality of our mobile apps. We are light years behind where we need to be and where our competitive fintechs are right now," Kotak said at the Global Investors Meet, Invest Karnataka event 2025 in Bengaluru on February 12.

Kotak also acknowledged India's gap with the U.S. in financial services, citing capital—both human and financial—as the key differentiator. "We need to do a better job in attracting better talent. In comparison, we have a lot to catch up on," he added.

The panel discussion was titled 'Leading the Charge: Young Innovators Shaping India’s Future' and moderated by Zerodha's cofounder Nikhil Kamath. Other speakers include  Parth Jindal, MD; JSW Cement, Jay Kotak Cohead, Kotak811 and  Suzannah Muthoot, Executive Director, Muthoot Housing Finance Company.