What Is an Introducing Broker (IB)? Who Actually Pays Your Rebate

An introducing broker (IB) is a partner that refers clients to a broker. The IB does not execute trades or hold client money — the broker does. In return for the referral, the broker pays the IB a share of the revenue the client generates.

How an IB is paid

IB agreements usually pay in one of these ways:

• Per lot — a fixed amount for each standard lot the referred clients trade.
• Spread share — a share of the spread on standard accounts, often quoted in pips.
• Commission share — a percentage of the commission on raw/ECN accounts.

Payments are tracked by the IB code (also called partner ID or referral ID) on each client account. When you sign up through an IB's link or enter its code, your account is tagged to that IB.

Where rebates fit in

A rebate provider is an IB that gives most of its IB commission back to the client. The broker pays the IB the same amount it would pay any partner, so:

• your spreads and commissions do not increase,
• the broker still executes your trades and holds your funds,
• the IB earns a small margin and you get the rest as cashback.

That is why we describe rebates as money that was already being spent on marketing — it simply comes back to the person generating the volume. See what is a forex rebate for the full flow.

What an IB should and should not do

Should:

• Explain which broker entity and regulator you are signing up with.
• Publish its rebate rates per account type.
• Pay on a clear schedule and explain clawbacks.

Should not:

• Ask for your trading password or log into your account.
• Take deposits or hold your trading funds.
• Promise profits or sell signals as part of a rebate.

Read 7 checks before you choose a rebate provider for a full checklist.

IB codes and existing accounts

An account normally belongs to one IB at a time. If you already have an account under another IB — or none — you can ask the broker to change it, or open a new account under a rebate IB. Our guide on getting rebates on an existing account walks through both.

Next steps

Browse cashback brokers, check the rebate on each account type, and open your account through our partner link to start earning on every lot.