A comparison of forex rebate programs compiled by downtownforex.com

1. Special Forex Report
Introducing Brokers
Forex rebate Programs
Forex rebate promotions have been around for a while in an effort for forex The Biggest Players:
introducing brokers to attract clients to open an account through them rather • B a c k Bay FX (BBFX)
than directly through the forex broker. Forex brokers are happy to share a
• C a s h b a c k Forex
portion of their spread commission to the introducing brokers as they’re
bringing in new clients that otherwise might not have opened a forex account. • P i p the Pip
The introducing broker then passes on a portion of their commission to you, • T r a d e r s c h o i c e F X
the client.
How rebates Work Common Clearing Firms:
Say you trade a single lot with a broker who has a 2.2 spread on the EUR/USD • F X C M
and your IB has a .5 pip rebate – • F X D D
• G a i n Capital
Without Rebates With Rebates • A l p a r i
• P F G Best
EUR/USD Spread 2.2 Pips = $22 2.2 Pips = $22 • I B F X
Commission Rebate $0 (.5 pips) = $5 Best rebate Found:
• US Clients: 7 pips per
Transaction Cost $22 / trade $17 / trade
trade at FXCM, and FX
Solutions through BBFX
If you trade forex you know beating the spread is a major factor in having a
profitable month and having a losing month. As you can see with even a .5 pip • N o n - U S Clients: 1.3
rebate you can save $5 per trade you make. If you place on average 50 stand- pips per trade at Instaf-
ard lot trades a month, that’s $250 you’ll be saving each month, or $3,000 a orex through Cashback
year! We opened a live FXCM account through each of the brokers to get a feel Forex.
for how each stacked up against each other.
The Brokers:
Back Bay FX (www.bbfx.com)
BBFX was founded in 2004 by veteran money managers and experienced FX
traders. They service clients ranging from financial institutions and hedge funds
to professional traders and individual investors. Regulated: NFA
r
• ebates:. BBFX offers competitive rebates from .3 pips up to .7 pips /
round turn trade.
• ther Services. For traders not taking advantage of the rebate pro-
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gram, BBFX offers a free VPS service - useful for those who trade with
EAs. BBFX is also offering for a limited time a free laptop for opening an
account through them and trading 100+ lots in the first 45 days.

2. Introducing Brokers
Forex rebate Programs
• rokers Partnered With. Over 15 different brokers: FXCM, FXCM UK,
B
FXDD, FXDD Malta, GAIN, GAIN UK, FX Solutions, FX Solutions UK,
Penson, Citi, ILQ, PFG Best, MIG, AVA FX, Alpari, Alpari UK
Cashback Forex (www.cashbackforex.com)
There is no real public information as to the background of the firm. An NFA
background search shows their owned by an Irish company, Excel Markets, Inc.
Regulated: NFA
r
• ebates: Cashback Forex offers competitive rebates from .3 pips up to 1.3
pips / round turn trade.
• ther Services. Cashback Forex offers several other value-add services
O
including depost bonuses at several partnered brokers. They also offer a free
iPad2 (against Apple’s TOS: http://bit.ly/kByxm9) but only if you trade over
200 lots in a month at a specific non-us broker. Good luck. While they will not
cover 100% the cost of a VPS, they will give you a 15% discount towards VPS if
you sign up through them.
• rokers Partnered With. 30 Different MT4 Brokers: Ava FX, FxPrimus,
B
DeltaStock, FxPro, FXCM UK, InstaForex, FINFX, Alpari UK, FXDD Malta,
Tadawul FX, GO Markets, Hot Forex, Fx Open, Varengold, Windsor Brokers,
FXCC, Pepperstone, Forexyard, AAAFX, IamFX, FXCBS, Dukascopy, 4XP, Lite
Forex, Gallant Capital Markets, Marketiva, Nord Markets, Baron FX.
Pip-the-Pip (www.pipthepip.com)
Pipt the Pip is an unregulated IB with little information regarding who owns and
runs the company. After some research it was discovered the company tried
selling its operations (http://bit.ly/mj4COW) publicly unsuccessful, however
it’s uncertain if a private deal was made. Since they do not work with FXCM we
opened an account with Marketiva. Interestingly, Pip-the-Pip is the only IB
reviewed who offers spread betting rebates for non-US clients.
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• ebates: Pip the Pip offers spreads from .25 pips up to .75 pips.
• ther Services. We couldn’t find any other offerings other than Rebates
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offered by Pip the Pip.
• rokers Partnered With. Pip-the-Pip works with 18 different forex brokers:
B
Broco, Dukascopy, Gallant FX, AvaFX, FXCompany, Marketiva, Traderview
Forex, NordFX, ForexYard, Delta Stock, Finexo, Tadawul FX, Forex4You, For more information
FXOpen, InstaForex, Fibo Group, GCI Financial, Smart Trade FX, XForex. about Downtown
Forex, visit
Traderschoice FX (www.traderscehoicefx.com) www.downtownforex.com
Doing business as TraderschoiceFX – Owned by NCMFX, inc. Again, no inform- or email us at
ation other than they are an introducing brokerage with “over 20 solid years of contact@downtownforex.com
professional trading experience”. Regulated: NFA
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• ebates: Tradershoice FX doesn’t publicly advertise their rebate amounts,
but with our FXCM account, we received .5 pip rebate.
• ther Services. Tradershoice FX offers free VPS for accounts opened
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through their IB, they also offer a free trading course.
• rokers Partnered With. Traderschoice FX only works with three brokers,
B
GAIN (Forex.com), FXCM, and FXDD
© 2011 Downtownforex.com

3. Introducing Brokers
Forex rebate Programs
Our Conclusion:
rebate Value:
Having a live FXCM account with each of the IBs allowed us to get a feel for
working with each IB, and if they truly lived up to claims they made on their
websites. We can happily report that each IB paid the rebates, in time and in
full. We received our payments via paypal and for the most part received
payment for the previous month during the middle of the following month.
BBFX paid us May 10th, 2011 for trading done in April, 2011. Cashback Forex
paid us the 16th, as well as pip-the-pip. Traderschoice FX paid us on the 20th,
although they said your first rebate payment could take longer than normal.
For the most part rebates varied between .3 and .7 pips with a couple ex-
ceptions, If you’re truly rebate hunting you can find rebates up to 1.3 pips, but
ONLY if you’re a non-US trader. Based on rebates we cannot recommend one
Introducing Broker over another.
Bonus Offers:
Bonus offers aren’t necessarily the most important part of a forex traders
experience but they certainly are an interesting promotional instrument. BBFX
is offering an unheard of free laptop for opening an account (with ANY partner
broker) and trading 99 lots over the course of 60 days. The only rivaling offer
is Cashback Forex’s free iPad2, however they have a steep lot requirement of
200 lots over the course of 30 days and you must open an account with a
non-us broker, 4xplace. Free VPS is becoming standard industry practice
these days so it should be surprising if you don’t see a free VPS offer some-
where with each of the IBs. Based on bonus offers, we recommend BBFX.
Customer Service:
Customer service is an important part of your IB experience. Your IB can help
in a number of ways, all you’ve got to do is pick up the phone or shoot them
an email. We had a great experience with BBFX. We had a delay in opening a
live account with FXCM - the next thing we know a representative from BBFX
was on the phone with their contact at FXCM and managed to expedite our
account. BBFX also looked into getting us an account deposit bonus with
FXCM which wasn’t even offered on their site. We were unfortunately dis-
For more information
qualified as we had other open live accounts with FXCM. BBFX truly went out
of their way for us. None of the other IBs were as prompt or as thorough in
about Downtown
anwering our questions via Email. And we never even received an answer to Forex, visit
our generic question from pip-the-pip. Based on customer service, we www.downtownforex.com
recommend BBFX . or email us at
contact@downtownforex.com
If you’re looking to open a live forex account, there is no reason
not to open an account through an introducing broker, and if
you’re looking for a reputable and trustworthy broker, we
recommend opening an account with any of the mentioned
Introducing Brokers above, especially with BBFX for outstanding
customer service, excellent bonuses, and average rebates.
© 2011 Downtownforex.com