A demat account helps investors hold shares and securities in an electronic format. This kind of account is also called a dematerialised account. It also helps to keep proper track of all the investments an individual makes in shares, exchange-traded funds, bonds, and mutual funds in one place.

Importance of a demat account:-

• Digitally secure way of holding shares and securities.
• Eliminates theft, forgery, loss, and damage to the physical certificates.
• Quick transfer of shares.

What is Dematerialization (demat)?

Dematerialization is the process of converting the physical share certificates into electronic form, making it easy to maintain and access them from anywhere. An investor who wants to convert his physical shares into digital form needs to open a demat account with a depository participant (DP).

Benefits of a demat account:

• Eliminates the risk of paper-based share certificates: Before the advent of the demat account, shares existed as physical paper certificates. 
• Convenient share storage and transfer: This allows you to store any number of shares, so you can trade in volumes and monitor the details of all the shares you hold in a demat account.
• Easy access online: You can access your demat account anytime, anywhere, through your smartphone or laptop
• Nomination: A demat account also provides the nomination facility as per the process described by the depository. In case of the investor’s demise, the appointed nominee will receive the shareholding in the demat account.

How to open a demat account:

• Open the account opening form
• Enter your details like name, email id, phone number, address, etc., and your PAN number
• Add your bank details
• Upload the necessary KYC documents for address and identity proof
• Perform an in-person verification by recording a short clip of yourself
• E-sign the form through Aadhar linked mobile number
• After applying, you will receive a confirmation regarding your account opening along with your login credentials.

How to use a demat account?

Using a demat account is simple. Your demat account gets linked with your trading account, which in turn gets linked with your bank account. To begin trading, you need to transfer funds from your bank to the trading account.

Why is a demat account needed?

A demat account is needed to hold the securities (shares, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) in an electronic format. A demat account is a prerequisite for equity delivery trading in India. A demat account is also needed while applying for IPO (initial public offering) as the allotted shares get credited to the demat account.

OPENING DEMAT ACCOUNT LINK GIVEN BELOW:

https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/invest/demat/individual-demat-account