After the Bombay Stock Exchange, it's the MCX Stock Exchange that is now dangling carrots to attract more members for currency futures trading on its platform.

Promoted by the country's top commodity exchange, MCX SE has made it almost free for trading and clearing participants who choose to register with it before September 6, 2008.

The National Stock Exchange first launched trading in rupee futures on August 29. Both BSE and MCX SE, which were also granted an in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for the same, are likely to start trading by early September.

While BSE, in its bid to upstage NSE, has asked for 90 per cent less deposit from trading and clearing members who register with it before September 15, MCX SE has gone a step forward, seeking 'no deposits' from either clearing or trading participants under its special offer.

According to the scheme, the deposit of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for trading and up to Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) for clearing members would be waived for already-registered members of the MCX, BSE, Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association of India, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange and NSE, who choose to enroll before September 6.

This effectively means that all those participants who register with NSE and BSE in the currency trading segment can become free members of MCX SE.

Till now, more than 300 brokers and 11 banks have registered with NSE. MCX SE has also waived admission fees of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) plus 12.36 per cent service tax and processing fees of Rs 10,000 plus 12.36 per cent service tax for these members under this offer. The exchange will not charge any transaction fees till December 31, 2008.

The BSE had on August 28 slashed its deposit requirement by as much as 90 per cent compared to NSE's Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for those members who register before September 15.

MCX SE has been specially formed to offer a platform for exchange-traded currency futures. However, since the Forward Markets Commission regulates MCX and its members, transition to a different regulator is taking some time.

"Most MCX members are commodity brokers and it will take time for them to comply with a different regulator's requirements to offer currency futures," said a source.

MCX SE has already conducted seven road-shows, which were attended by over 1,000-plus representatives of commodity brokers, banks, exporters, importers, stockbrokers, foreign exchange brokers and firms.