The painful beginning is over and you have finished reading all the basics of forex trading. You are sick and tired of the demo account, the nightmares where you speak only with forex terminology become more frequent and you are ready for the big jump – trading for real money. So how to trade with real money and how to make sure your funding is safe? More importantly, how do you receive the profit money you make?
Many forex beginners may be slightly confused about forex brokers withdrawal methods and brokerage deposit options. So let’s review the process of withdrawal once and for all.
Most forex brokers generally accept deposits by credit card, wire transfer and, in some cases, checks. However many forex traders don’t feel safe using their credit card online and giving in to the possibility of endangering their saving account! What has become rather popular now is depositing and withdrawing money from your forex broker with alternative online payment methods such as Neteller, Skrill, Paypal, e-bullion and others.
Most forex traders trust these online payment systems and prefer using them instead of credit card. That’s because money can be sent immediately and securely to and from your forex broker. All of these payment options used by forex brokers may actually protect your money better than it would protect during any other similar online financial transaction.
Each forex broker has different policies, terms and conditions. Many brokers allow you to withdraw your profits via the same payment method you used to deposit, but sometimes you won’t be able to withdraw until a certain amount of money is reached and/or the bonus requirements are met. Also, while most forex brokers do not charge any extra fees, it is common for some brokers to charge transaction fees when it comes to withdrawal.
Here is an example taken from Forex.com Broker withdrawal requirements:
If you funded your account with US Dollars: there is no fee for withdrawal requests via check. Withdrawal requests via wire transfer will incur a $25 fee for wires within the United States, and $40 fee for international wires (including Canada).
If you funded your account with a non-USD deposit: FOREX.com will convert your US dollar account balance back to the currency you initially deposited and wire your funds back to the originating bank account. A fee of US$40 will be assessed.
The minimum withdrawal amount is $100, or all your available account balance (whichever is lower). You can withdraw a maximum of $25,000 per transaction if you are funding by bank transfer, and $50,000 with debit card. Wire transfers have no restriction on transaction size.
Bank transfer withdrawals may be up to the amount of total deposits plus any excess funds. There is a $25,000 per transaction limit on bank transfers. Bank transfer may take up to 24 hours to process. No fee.
A withdrawal of funds will result in a reduction of funds available to be used for margin to maintain open positions. This may result in the liquidation of any or all of my open positions. It is your responsibility to ensure that the account holds enough margin to maintain open positions.
Most withdrawal processes are easy and fast, which requires filling in the online form. Some forex brokers, however, request filling the withdrawal form, printing it out, sign and sending it by fax or email. The waiting period varies from 24 hours to several weeks, depending on forex broker policies, which must be reviewed and fully comprehended.
I strongly suggest reading terms and conditions of your selected broker before you make a deposit. If you can’t find the details about withdrawal in terms and conditions, try reading Frequently Asked Questions on the broker’s website. And if that doesn’t help, contact your forex broker via email, online chat or phone and make sure to find the answers to these questions:
1. What are the available payment methods?
2. Are there transaction fees? If so, what are they?
3. What is the withdrawal process?
4. How long does it take to receive the money?
5. What is the minimum amount required to make a withdrawal?
6. How does bonus affect the withdrawal policy?
And always remember that troubles arise from misunderstanding. Make sure that you have a clear vision of what lies ahead before you make a plunge!
If you have an account with a legitimate broker, you can always withdraw the full amount of the balance of your account with only two exceptions:
- You may have to close all your open positions.
- If you have some matching or bonus amount that was given to you, you may not be able to withdraw that amount until you’ve performed a certain minimum number of trades.
No legitimate broker asks you to pay them money in order to withdraw. Any bonuses they pay to acquiring brokers or the like come from the commissions and spreads you’ve already paid and that are already reflected in your balance. Any withdrawal fees should be deducted from the amount you’re withdrawing and should not exceed the cost to actually transfer money.
CAUTION: Never, ever take a broker’s word for whether your trades have been profitable or not. Always independently record your trades as they are executed (or arrange to have your broker email them to you as they happen) and independently confirm that they are profitable or unprofitable and properly recorded by your broker. If you think you made a whole bunch of money just because your broker told you that you make profitable trades, then you are doing it ALL wrong.
Here is another example of withdrawal process from Octafx broker:
Important: by the law, you can only withdraw money after verifying your profile—this is required by law.
Log in to your Personal Area on our site.
Further actions depend on whether you want to withdraw money from your Wallet or your trading account.
From your Wallet
View the main menu by pressing the icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Then press Withdraw under your Wallet balance.
From your trading account
Select the account you want to withdraw money from on the main screen. Then press Withdraw.
You will see a full list of payment options available in your region. Pick the one that suits you best and press Next.
We usually process withdrawal requests for 1–3 hours, but it’s up to your payment system how long it will take the money to reach the destination.
Limits for withdrawals:
- Skrill, Perfect Money, Neteller—from 5 USD (5 EUR), without the maximum limit
- Bitcoin—from 0.00096 BTC, without the maximum limit
- Mastercard—from 50 USD (50 EUR) or the equivalent in other currency
- Visa—from 20 USD (20 EUR) or the equivalent in other currency
- Banks may apply their own limits
Then enter the details required for the selected payment method and press Request. Make sure you specify correct currency.
On the last step, you can double check that you’ve entered all details correctly. Check them thoroughly and confirm that everything is okay by pressing Submit again.
That done, wait for a notice from us—we’ll let you know that the money is sent to you via email and in a notification in your Personal Area.
