Two of Japan's leading online securities firms say they will eliminate commissions for domestic stock trading in a bid to attract more customers.
SBI Securities will cut its commissions to zero from September 30th while Rakuten Securities will begin a commission-free service on October 1st.
The firms currently charge between about 40 cents and over 7 dollars per order, depending on the value of the transaction.
This comes ahead of the expansion of a preferential tax system for individual investors next January.
Both companies believe the upcoming measure will help them gain customers interested in building their assets for the future. But they will have to find other ways to remain profitable as they eliminate commissions.