Zerodha's referral program is back

Indian discount broker Zerodha is reviving its customer referral program, offering a 10% share of brokerage generated by referred accounts, plus 300 reward points for each successful referral. The program takes effect from June 1, 2025.

The company first launched a similar initiative in 2010 and claims it was the first broker in India to share a portion of brokerage with clients who referred others. At its peak, referrals accounted for 50% of new account openings. The program was paused due to a regulatory mandate, but Zerodha says regulations have now caught up, allowing the firm to reinstate the incentive.

Zerodha noted that even without monetary rewards, roughly 30% of new accounts still came through word-of-mouth. The new program formalizes that organic growth with a financial incentive again.

Under the relaunched terms, referrers will earn 10% of the brokerage paid by the referred client. Additionally, 300 reward points are credited per successful referral, which can be redeemed in Zerodha's Console platform for subscriptions to third-party tools like Tijori, MProfit, and Quicko, or applied toward Account Maintenance Charges (AMC).

Payouts of the brokerage share can be withdrawn from Console once the referrer accrues at least ₹100, starting August 1, 2026. For any referral made before June 1, 2026, the 10% brokerage share will be paid from June 1, 2026 onward, but only if the referrer adds at least three new referrals within each subsequent 12-month period.

To encourage new account openings, Zerodha is also waiving the first year of AMC for anyone opening a fresh account from June 1. Clients transferring holdings from another broker will receive a refund of transfer charges up to ₹500.

The referral process works through the Kite app (via the 'Invite friends' option) or through an affiliate link generated on zerodha.com/refer. All tracking and payout details are available on the Console referrals page.