How to start an SIP on Coin

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A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) on Zerodha Coin is a standing instruction that automatically invests a fixed rupee amount into a chosen direct mutual fund scheme at a defined frequency – daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Units purchased through each SIP instalment are held in demat form in your CDSL demat account. This guide covers the complete SIP setup process on Coin, from scheme selection through mandate registration and first instalment verification.

Prerequisites

  • An active Zerodha trading and demat account with complete KYC.
  • A bank account linked to your Zerodha account with a sufficient balance on each SIP date.
  • UPI handle registered on your bank account (for UPI autopay mandate), or net banking access (for NACH mandate).
  • TOTP authenticator set up for Zerodha two-factor login.

What is an SIP: regulatory context

An SIP is a facility offered by mutual funds under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, allowing investors to invest fixed amounts periodically. SEBI does not separately regulate SIP mechanics, but AMC-level SIP terms (minimum amounts, frequencies, pause rules) are disclosed in each scheme’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

The NAV applicable to each SIP instalment is governed by the same cut-off time rules as lump-sum purchases: for equity and hybrid funds, the NAV of the business day on which the SIP debit is received in the AMC’s account before 3 PM IST.

SIP mandates on Coin use either:

  • UPI autopay (e-mandate): An NPCI-standardised recurring payment mandate linked to your UPI handle. Processing is near-instant. Limits per mandate are set by the NPCI and your bank.
  • NACH (National Automated Clearing House): A mandate registered through your bank, authorised physically or via net banking. NACH registration takes up to 30 days and is typically used for higher SIP amounts or when the investor prefers not to use UPI.

Step-by-step procedure

Step 1: Log in to Coin

Navigate to coin.zerodha.com or open the Coin mobile app. Enter your Zerodha client ID, password, and TOTP. The Coin dashboard displays your portfolio summary and a scheme search bar.

Step 2: Find the scheme

Enter the fund name, AMC, or category in the search bar. For example, searching “Nifty 50 index” or “mid cap” returns matching schemes sorted by relevance. Click the fund name to open its detail page.

On the detail page, note the scheme’s minimum SIP amount (shown as “Min SIP Amount”), the available SIP dates, and the scheme’s benchmark and category. Coin displays the direct plan’s expense ratio alongside the regular plan’s ratio for comparison.

Step 3: Select the SIP option

On the fund detail page, click the SIP button. This is distinct from the Invest (one-time/lump-sum) button. A SIP configuration drawer opens.

Step 4: Configure SIP parameters

The SIP configuration drawer presents the following fields:

SIP amount: Enter the rupee amount per instalment. This must meet or exceed the AMC’s stated minimum SIP amount for the scheme (commonly Rs 500 for equity funds; some schemes allow Rs 100).

Frequency: Monthly is the default and most common. Coin may also offer weekly or daily options for specific funds. Quarterly SIPs are available for some funds.

SIP date: Choose the date within the month on which the debit will occur (for monthly SIP). Most funds allow a selection of dates (e.g., 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th of the month). If the chosen date falls on a non-business day, the SIP is processed on the next business day.

End date / number of instalments: You may optionally specify a perpetual SIP (no end date, default), a specific end date, or a fixed number of instalments. A perpetual SIP continues until you explicitly pause or cancel it.

Step 5: Choose and register the payment mandate

UPI autopay: Select UPI autopay. Enter your UPI VPA (Virtual Payment Address). Coin sends a recurring e-mandate request to your UPI app. Open the UPI app, review the mandate details (payee name will show the AMC or BSE StAR MF), approve it, and enter your UPI PIN. The mandate is registered within minutes and the SIP is confirmed immediately.

NACH: Select NACH mandate. You will be presented with a mandate form pre-filled with your bank account details. Authorise via net banking or download the physical form, sign it, and upload a scan. NACH registration takes up to 30 days; your first SIP instalment will not debit until the mandate is active.

For a detailed walkthrough of UPI autopay specifically, see How to set up an SIP via UPI autopay on Coin.

Step 6: SIP confirmation

After mandate authorisation, Coin displays a confirmation screen showing:

  • Scheme name
  • SIP amount per instalment
  • Frequency and SIP date
  • Mandate type and reference number
  • First SIP date

Save or note the mandate reference number. The SIP also appears in the SIP section of Coin’s dashboard (under Portfolio > SIPs).

Step 7: Monitor first instalment and unit allotment

On the first SIP date, verify the following:

  1. Bank debit: The SIP amount is debited from your linked bank account.
  2. Order placed: Coin records the SIP order on the debit date. The applicable NAV is the cut-off-time NAV of that business day.
  3. Units credited: Mutual fund units are credited to your demat account within T+1 or T+2 business days, visible in Zerodha Console under Holdings.

If the first SIP instalment fails (insufficient balance, mandate not yet active), Coin typically retries once on the next business day. Continued failures may require the SIP to be cancelled and re-registered.

What can go wrong

UPI mandate limit exceeded: UPI autopay mandates have per-transaction and per-month limits set by NPCI and your bank. If your SIP amount exceeds the mandate limit, switch to NACH.

SIP date falls on a market holiday: The SIP is processed on the next business day. The NAV applied is the next business day’s NAV. This is by design and consistent with SEBI cut-off rules.

Bank account insufficient funds: The SIP instalment is skipped for that month. Most AMCs allow up to three consecutive failures before auto-cancelling the SIP.

NACH mandate not yet registered: If you begin a NACH-based SIP, the mandate may not be active by the first stated SIP date. In this case, the first instalment is skipped and the SIP starts from the second date. Consider placing a one-time lump-sum purchase to start immediately while awaiting NACH registration.

Wrong fund selected (regular vs. direct): All funds on Coin are direct plans. However, if you access the same fund through a distributor platform, you may end up in the regular plan at a higher TER. Verify “Direct” appears in the plan name on Coin before confirming.

Pausing or cancelling an SIP

A running SIP can be paused or cancelled at any time before the next instalment date. See How to pause or cancel an SIP on Coin for the step-by-step procedure. Pausing or cancelling an SIP does not redeem existing units; the units already purchased remain in your demat account.

Tax treatment

Each SIP instalment creates a separate purchase lot with its own date and NAV. Gains are calculated per lot using the first-in first-out (FIFO) method:

  • Equity-oriented funds: STCG at 20% (holding under 12 months); LTCG at 12.5% on gains above Rs 1.25 lakh (12 months or more), per Finance Act 2024.
  • Debt-oriented funds (purchased from 1 April 2023): Gains taxed at slab rates as short-term capital gains, per Finance Act 2023.

See capital gains tax in India for the full framework and ITR-2 for filing.

References

  1. SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, as amended.
  2. SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/IMD/DF2/CIR/P/2021/024 dated 4 March 2021 – SEBI Mutual Fund Master Circular (SIP provisions).
  3. NPCI UPI Recurring Mandate Framework guidelines.
  4. NACH Framework, National Payments Corporation of India.
  5. Finance Act 2023 – Debt mutual fund taxation amendment.
  6. Finance Act 2024 – LTCG and STCG rate revisions.
  7. Zerodha Coin support documentation (support.zerodha.com).

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WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

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