Why am I not receiving interest on my cash balance?

There are several factors that determine whether you receive interest on your cash balance at Interactive Brokers (IBKR). Here's a comprehensive explanation of why you might not be receiving interest and how interest is calculated and paid:

1. Account Type and Cash Location:
   • Interest is paid on cash balances in securities accounts, but not on cash held in commodities or futures segments.
   • Clients have the option to enable the Excess Funds Sweep feature in your account settings. This will automatically move excess cash from the Futures and Commodities segments to the Securities segment where interest is paid.
2. Minimum Balance and Account Size:
   • There is a minimum threshold for earning interest. No interest is paid on the first $10,000 USD (or equivalent) of cash.
   • Accounts with a Net Asset Value (NAV) of $100,000 USD or more receive interest at the full eligible rate.
   • Accounts with NAV less than $100,000 USD receive interest at rates proportional to the account size.
3. Interest Calculation and Posting:
   • Interest accrues daily on the ending settled cash balance.
   • Interest is calculated based on a blended rate using tiers, which can be found on the IBKR Pricing and Interest Rates page.
   • Accrued interest for the month is posted to your account on the third business day of the following month.
4. Minimum Posting Threshold:
   • If the daily interest accrual is less than the minimum posting threshold (e.g., 1.00 USD for USD credit and debit interest), it won't be reported until the cumulative accrual amount exceeds this threshold.
5. Adjusted Cash Balance:
   • While your overall cash balance may be positive, the adjusted cash balance from which interest is calculated could be negative.
6. Short Sale Proceeds:
   • Cash derived from short sale proceeds below $100,000 USD does not earn interest.

To check if you're receiving interest:

• Review the "Interest" section of your Activity Statement:
  1. Log in to Client Portal
  2. Click the Performance & Reports menu followed by Statements.
  3. Select Default Statement Type as "Activity" and set your preferred Period and Language
  4. Select the Format and click View or Download.
• Check your cash balances:
  1. Login to Client Portal
  2. Click on Portfolio from the top menu, then Positions
  3. View your open positions and cash balances under Cash
  4. Click on the Details "+" icon in the upper right corner to see account details, including the account segment where your total cash is held.

For the most current information on interest rates, please refer to the IBKR Pricing and Interest Rates page.