Demat account
Also called: dematerialised account
An account that holds your shares and other securities in electronic form, maintained with a depository through a depository participant.
"Demat" is short for dematerialised: shares held as electronic records rather than paper certificates. A demat account works like a bank account for securities, showing what you own; shares are credited when you buy and debited when you sell.
In India demat accounts are maintained with one of two depositories, NSDL or CDSL, through a depository participant such as a broker or bank. Shares of listed companies are transferred in demat form.
Learn more in these lessons
- SEBI, brokers and demat accountsWhat are SEBI, brokers and demat accounts?
- Impersonation, phishing and account securityHow do fraudsters impersonate brokers and steal trading accounts?
Related terms
Spotted a mistake or something unclear? Report it by email. Here is how corrections work.