In a major step, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a ‘Verified’ label for stock trading apps listed on the Google Play Store.
The initiative, introduced in collaboration with Google, aims to help investors easily identify legitimate trading platforms operated by SEBI-registered entities, amid a surge in fraudulent apps mimicking real brokers.
SEBI highlighted that the rapid proliferation of fraudulent trading apps has emerged as a serious threat to retail investors. These fake platforms often impersonate legitimate brokers, misleading users into believing their investments are routed through regulated markets.
In many cases, unsuspecting investors are shown fake profits or dashboards, only to realise later that their funds were never invested in the securities market.
The newly introduced ‘Verified’ badge seeks to address this exact gap offering a simple visual cue on the Google Play Store that confirms whether an app is linked to a SEBI-registered intermediary.
Under this initiative, stock trading apps associated with SEBI-registered brokers will now carry a ‘Verified’ label directly on their Play Store listings. This is expected to significantly reduce the risk of users downloading fraudulent or impersonating apps.
SEBI also indicated that the feature will be expanded in the future to cover other regulated intermediaries, further widening its scope across the financial ecosystem.
Alongside the launch, SEBI reinforced its broader investor awareness message through its ‘CVV’ approach:
- Check: Verify bank account details using SEBI’s “SEBI Check” tool available on the Saa₹thi app
- Validate: Ensure UPI IDs include the word “Valid”
- Verify: Look for the ‘Verified’ label on trading apps
SEBI Chairman urged investors to follow the principle:
“Pehle Pechaan Kare, Fir Nivesh Kare!” (Identify first, then invest).
Chairman, SEBI,further mentioned that this collaboration between SEBI and Google represents a major breakthrough in the ongoing battle against bad actors in the investment space.
Google Play, MD, Mr. Aditya Swamy, mentioned that this is a unique public-private partnership towards the shared objective of investor protection and that Google would be keen to further collaborate for further such initiatives.MumbaiMarch25, 2026.
