Interactive Brokers serves more than two million clients around the world, and when you join us – like them – you’ll be able to trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, and more, from a single unified platform, at our low and transparent costs, as well as have access to the global markets with the use of our innovative platforms, tools, and services, including our award-winning Trader Workstation (TWS).
Through this guide, we’ll help you find those resources best suited for your trading and investing needs – whether you’re an individual making an occasional investment, a professional and frequent trader, or an institutional investor – we’re here to help steer you in the right direction.
Open an Account
To become a client at Interactive Brokers, you’ll first need to open an account, fund it, and, once it’s approved, you can then begin to actively deposit and withdraw your funds. In this lesson, we’ll show you how to find the information you need to get started with these steps, as well as provide you with some tips that might help speed up your application review process.
Our website offers a wealth of details about the specific account types that are available to you. To determine which one is right for you will ultimately depend on whether you are applying as an individual or as an institution.
The Open Account menu on our website offers a guide to choosing the appropriate account, with easy-to-read tables that break down and describe our various selections, including individual, joint, trust, and IRA accounts, professional and non-professional advisor accounts, family offices, small businesses, hedge funds, mutual funds, money managers, and much more.
To further help you prepare for the application process, you can also select ‘What You Need’ from the Open Account menu, and when you’re ready, simply start the application. By the way, if you’ve already started on an application, you can complete it by choosing the ‘Finish an Application’ option in the same menu.
It’s quite simple to request opening an account with us. All you need to do to get started is:
- Create a username and password,
- Confirm your email address, and
- Complete the application.
You can find certain, general requirements on our website for individual and institutional applicants, including contact information, as well as bank account details, among other items specific to the type of account being requested. You can even select a different language to apply in, if needed. Additional support is also available through our Help services.
Once all documentation has been submitted and accepted, please allow us time to complete our due diligence checks and application review.
And, as mentioned earlier, there are steps you can take to accelerate, or prioritize, the application review process. For example, you may fund your application prior to approval, and If for any reason your account is not approved, the funds will promptly be returned. Please note, however, that while an ACAT (Automated Customer Account Transfer) can be entered as an initial funding method, the request will not begin processing until application approval is granted.
To further help ensure your application status is on track, you can log in, and once there, you can verify that all the necessary documentation has been submitted. You can also check the email you provided us for any correspondence from our Compliance team, which might be a request for additional documentation and / or clarification of existing information. This might help mitigate any undue delays during the review process.
Funding Your Account – Making Deposits & Withdrawals
To learn how to fund, and make subsequent deposits, to your account, refer to the ‘Fund Your Account’ option in the Support section of our website. Since our clients reside in diverse geographic locations globally, we offer a long list of ways to fund accounts across a host of different countries, as well as in several different currencies.
Select to Deposit Funds into your account, and input your region or country of residence, along with the currency type you’re using. For example, if you reside in the United States, you can elect to deposit funds via a direct, electronic transfer from your bank, or mail a check, among other methods. You can use U.S. dollars, or another currency, like Hong Kong dollars, or euros. But if you reside in say, Singapore, you’ll see different selections for methods to deposit funds, as well as available currencies.
We also offer several methods to withdraw funds, including ACH transfers for U.S.-based accounts, Canadian EFT transfers, among several others. Check out our online guides on entering withdrawals, limits, and withdrawing funds to a third party, along with a host of other related information.
Now that you’re more familiar and better prepared for the simple process of applying for an account, funding it, and ways in which you can deposit and withdraw funds, we’ll next take you on a brief tour of our website, where we’ll highlight some of the places you can go to get up-and-running quickly with our platforms, tools, and services.
LEARN MORE
Guide to Choosing the Right Account
What You Need for the Application
Not very helpful
Thank you, I understand correctly that I need to open another account in the Central European office and then I need to write to you to transfer funds from account to account, what will be the commission for such a transaction, thank you very much!
Hello, thank you for reaching out. There is no fee to transfer funds or positions internally between IBKR accounts. We hope this helps!
Hi, I deposited amount in my account which was subject to approval at that time. Later on my application for opening an account got rejected. However I received an email from interactive broker that they have received the deposit. Now I want to get back my funds. However I haven’t received it yet in my personal bank account. Could you please suggest course of action that I need to follow.
Hello Muhammad, thank you for reaching out. For this account specific issue, we recommend contacting Client Services by phone, live chat, or web ticket: http://spr.ly/IBKR_ClientServicesCampus
hola.. cuanto tengo que tener en la cuenta para empezar a operar? atenta.
Hola, gracias por preguntar. Por favor revise esta sección de preguntas frecuentes para obtener información detallada sobre el depósito mínimo requerido según el tipo de cuenta y entidad: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=32659392
Si es aprobado, tiene 270 días calendario para financiar la solicitud de cuenta Individual o IRA aprobada. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=28226126
Además, no hay tarifas por inactividad. Sin embargo, si alguna tarifa, retiro, transferencia o movimiento adverso del mercado reduce el saldo de la cuenta en vivo a USD 0, la cuenta puede cerrarse automáticamente. Si aún está interesado en una cuenta de IBKR, visite http://spr.ly/OpenAccountfromIBKRCampus
Why do I see the base currency as GBP when I deposited money in CHF? I don’t have the option to switch the base currency to CHF under “settings”, which is the advice I found online. Thank you for your help.
Hello, thank you for reaching out. If you deposited CHF into your account but your base currency is set to GBP, you will see your CHF balance converted and displayed in GBP. To change the base currency to CHF, you need to go to Client Portal, select the User menu (head and shoulders icon) in the top right corner, then Settings, then under Account Settings find the Account Reporting section and click on Base Currency to change it to CHF. Once changed, your CHF balance will display in CHF rather than being converted to GBP. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=28227469
Please reach back out with any additional questions. We hope this helps!
Could you tell me the exchange rate used when purchasing stocks? For example, if I use the Japanese yen for US stocks. Will there be a spread or will the spot exchange be used?
Hello Kevin, thank you for your question. Currency conversion uses market orders and commissions for spot currency trades are calculated off the trade value in terms of the second currency of the pair and then converted and charged to the base currency of the account: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=111454768. You may also be interested in reviewing this video on attaching an FX order which can be done in Client Portal or IBKR Mobile: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/orders/currency-conversion.php?cid=4232d5fc-eed0-4e77-a477-b90e2c35c274 We hope this helps!
Do you have video’s or DVD’s a person can purchase to get far better knowledge of entering the Stock Market as a new beginner? Also, is there a certain amount of funds required to open an account? Thank you for responding.
Hello, thank you for reaching out. We recommend that anyone who wants to learn more about trading and our platforms visit IBKR Campus. It has many free resources such as video lessons and scheduled webinars: https://www.ibkrcampusdev.wpengine.com/campus/traders-academy/beginner-trading/
This could be a great resource for you!
Hello, I applied for an open account last weekend and got it funded on Monday, 15th July. Unfortunately, my application has been rejected with no clear cut description of what isn’t okay. Also, my application for withdrawal is pending for days now and I am not allowed to access anything on the account even messages ain’t accessible. Please, is this how interactive brokers works?
Hello, thank you for reaching out. If your application was not accepted, and you feel your circumstances have changed, you can apply again for an IBKR account. We cannot disclose the reasoning behind the application decision; thank you for understanding.
http://spr.ly/OpenAccountfromIBKRCampus
Please contact Client Services to request the return of your funds:
http://spr.ly/IBKR_ClientServicesCampus
Please reach back out with any more questions. We are here to help!
Greetings today, I have tried to verify my account several times, but it is always rejected An email was sent stating that the account verification was not approved and the reason was not mentioned How can I find out why the account verification was rejected to avoid the problem
Hello Kenan. If your application was not accepted, and you feel your circumstances have changed, you can apply again for an IBKR account. We cannot disclose the reasoning behind the application decision; thank you for understanding.
http://spr.ly/OpenAccountfromIBKRCampus
Hello, I’m a Canadian citizen wanted to trade US stocks, but can fund only CAD currency, in this case, what should be the base currency to be selected while account opening. If I mistakenly selected another currency while account opening, will it be possible to change it, what is the process & procedure in case of I need to change.
Hello, I am interested to open an IBKR account. I have a question on depositing funds. Although I am residing in Malaysia, I intend to utilise my funds in Singapore to fund my IBKR account. In that case, should I specify my region as Malaysia or Singapore, for the purpose of depositing funds?
Hello Vincent, thank you for reaching out. The IBKR entity through which an account is carried is generally based upon the account holder’s country of legal residency or, in the case of an entity, its country of formation.
It is possible to fund your account as a Malaysian resident using Singapore Dollars (SGD). In the future, you can use this tool on our website to review available funding methods, ETAs, and any associated fees based on your residency and the currency you wish to deposit: https://spr.ly/FundAccountcampus
If you are interested in applying, please visit: http://spr.ly/OpenAccountfromIBKRCampus
We hope this helps!
Thanks for the quick response. At the website https://spr.ly/FundAccountcampus, I should therefore specify “Region of residence” as Malaysia, since that is my country of legal residence, am I right?
However, I may not necessarily be depositing funds in SGD, but possibly in another currency eg USD or GBP, out of my bank account in Singapore. So it seems that the method only depends on the currency being deposited, and not the country where the funds are coming from, is that right?
Hello again Vincent. Yes, you should specify your country of legal residence. The tool will show you the funding methods available based on your country of legal residence and the currency you would like to deposit. It is possible to deposit SGD, USD, and GBP, as a Malaysian resident. Please reach back out with any additional questions. We are here to help!
For a joint account (Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship or Tenants in Common), do cash withdrawals to account holders’ joint or respective individual bank accounts need SINGLE or BOTH account holders’ approvals?
Hello Vincent, thank you for asking. No, a withdrawal in a joint account does not require both account holders’ approval. We hope this answers your question!
We are a small business incorporated in Canada, all owners are Canadian citizens. We have a trading account with HSBC (which has now turned into RBC) and are able to trade and fund in CAD, USD and HKD. If we were to transfer our account to IBKR Canada, can we link to our CAD, USD and HKD bank accounts for funding? What about interoperating with fin-tech accounts like Loop Financial, Wise and AirWallex? Thanks in advance.
Hello, thank you for reaching out. IBKR Canada accounts can hold multiple currencies including CAD, USD and HKD. You can deposit and withdraw funds in these currencies from your Canadian bank accounts. Please use this tool on our website to review available funding methods and ETAs based on your residency and the currency you wish to deposit: https://spr.ly/FundAccountcampus
We hope this helps!
quiero transferir fondos desde México y los bancos de México no dejan dar de alta la cuenta generada por interactive brokers
Hola, gracias por contactarnos. Utilice esta herramienta en nuestro sitio web para revisar los métodos de financiación disponibles, las fechas de llegada estimadas (ETA) y las tarifas asociadas según su residencia y la moneda en la que desee depositar: https://spr.ly/FundAccountcampus Además, esta sección de preguntas frecuentes puede resultar útil: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=455094250 ¡Esperamos que esto le resulte útil!
What if I live in a different country from where my funding bank account is? What country should I put?
Hello, thank you for reaching out. Are you in the process of opening an account, or creating a bank instruction? If you are in the process of submitting an application, please enter your country of legal residence.
If you are creating a bank instruction, you should enter the country where the bank account is located when creating the bank instruction in IBKR in order for funds transfers to process correctly.
Please reach back out with any additional questions. We are here to help!
I’m a U.S. citizen currently living in Colombia. Can I get an account under $25000 and margin trade?
Hello, we appreciate your interest in IBKR! If you are interested in applying for an account, please use this link: http://spr.ly/OpenAccountfromIBKRCampus
There is a minimum required deposit of 2,000 USD (or equivalent) for Margin accounts. There is no minimum required deposit to open a Cash Account at Interactive Brokers for most entities. Please view this FAQ for more information on which entities require a different minimum deposit than otherwise stated: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=32659392
Please reach back out with any additional questions. We are here to help!