WazirX customers slam automatic enrolment into crypto exchange’s subscription service

Multiple customers of the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX expressed confusion and disapproval online after learning that they were automatically enrolled in the company’s WazirX ZERO subscription service that charges a base monthly fee for trades.

Some WazirX traders and investors who were used to paying individual charges for their trading activities took to X to complain about sudden automatic deductions that they had not consented to.

After resuming its operations in October, post the July 2024 multi-signature wallet hack and its restructuring exercise in Singapore, WazirX notified customers about a change in trading fee models.

WazirX described its WazirX ZERO programme as a “new trading model where users no longer have to pay fees on every order,” noting that they could trade unlimited volumes across more than 300 tokens for a fixed monthly charge of ₹99. This means that transaction fees per trade are removed completely, per the exchange.

In a press note on November 26 announcing the launch of WazirX ZERO, the exchange claimed that it aimed to overturn the more traditional fee model where users are charged for every buy and sell, since they “eat into capital and reduce long term returns”.

At the time, WazirX also confirmed that its WazirX ZERO would be the new model for trading and that it would become the default on the platform. WazirX ZERO went live for all users on December 1.

CEO Nischal Shetty on December 18 defended the strategy as the “right” one for most users of the WazirX platform.

“The default is WazirX Zero and that’s the right plan for most of the users since we’re a trading platform. But we have provided option and informed everyone who does not want Zero plan,” replied Shetty in response to an X user who demanded that WazirX ZERO should be an opt-in service.

He also invited the user to write to the support team to resolve any deduction-related issues.

Automatic enrolment to a paid service without the customer’s informed consent is classified as a dark pattern, or a deceptive user interface design that degrades the digital user’s experience.

As the crypto market in India is still largely unregulated, Indian investors often struggle to escalate their legal complaints or be heard by the relevant authorities.