Guide

What is an introducing broker (IB) in forex?

An introducing broker (IB) is a broker’s referral partner. It introduces traders to a brokerage under a tracking code, is paid by the broker for the accounts and volume it brings in, and — crucially — never holds your money, never executes your trades, and never sets your pricing. The broker does all three, and your account is with the broker, not the IB. What a good IB adds sits around the account rather than inside it: it knows what each broker is genuinely offering from week to week, it returns part of its broker-paid revenue to the trader as per-lot rebates, and it stays reachable when a withdrawal stalls or a platform will not connect. In a clean IB arrangement the trader’s costs are identical to signing up with the broker directly, because the IB is paid out of the broker’s existing margin — never out of a markup.

What does an introducing broker actually do?

The name describes the job: an introducing broker introduces. In practice a good IB does four things for a trader:

• Carries a code. When you open an account through an IB’s link or partner code, the broker tags your account to that IB. Everything else flows from that tag.
• Knows the offers. Brokers change promotions constantly. An IB that carries codes with several brokers can tell you what each one is genuinely running this week, and what the written terms say — legwork you would otherwise do alone across many tabs.
• Shares its revenue. Most serious IBs return part of what the broker pays them to the trader, usually as a per-lot rebate paid monthly.
• Stays reachable. When a withdrawal stalls or a platform will not connect, an IB with a real relationship with the broker can escalate on your behalf. This is the part a bare referral link never gives you.

What does an introducing broker never do?

The boundaries matter as much as the services, because most scams in this space work by pretending the boundaries do not exist. A legitimate introducing broker:

• Never holds your funds. Deposits go to the broker’s own cashier. Anyone asking you to send money to a person or a personal wallet is not an IB — they are a thief with a title.
• Never trades or manages your account. Account management is a separately regulated activity. An IB offering to trade for you has left the IB business and entered another one, usually without a licence.
• Never asks for your passwords, investor passwords or 2FA codes — there is no legitimate reason an introducer would need them.
• Never sets your spread. Pricing belongs to the broker. A clean IB arrangement leaves your costs identical to signing up direct.

Introducing broker vs. affiliate: what’s the difference?

Both get paid for referrals, and the words are often used loosely, but the relationships are different in ways that matter to you:

Neither model is inherently honest or dishonest — but the incentives differ. A CPA affiliate is paid the same whether you thrive or blow up in a week. An IB paid on ongoing volume needs you still trading next year, which aligns it a little better with your survival — though not perfectly, as the next section explains.

How are introducing brokers paid?

Brokers compensate IBs from the revenue introduced accounts generate — the spread and commission you pay when you trade. The common structures are a share of spread revenue per traded lot, a commission share, or occasionally a per-account fee. The key point: in a clean arrangement this comes out of the broker’s existing margin, not out of widened pricing to you. Always compare your account’s pricing to the broker’s standard public pricing; they should match exactly.

Because the IB is paid on volume, part of that payment can be recycled to you as a rebate — which is why trading under an IB code, with rebates, is usually strictly better than the same account opened bare. Our rebates page walks the arithmetic.

What is the IB conflict of interest?

Every IB — including us — earns more when you trade more, and is paid whether you win or lose. That is a real conflict, and it explains most of the bad behaviour in this industry: pushy “signal groups,” pressure to take maximum bonuses, and content that makes overtrading sound sophisticated. An IB that names this conflict unprompted, tells you when an offer is not worth taking, and never dresses trading frequency up as skill, is managing the conflict rather than exploiting it. An IB that hides it is answering the question for you.

Seven questions to ask any IB before you use their code

1. Is my pricing identical to going direct? The only acceptable answer is yes, verifiably.
2. How exactly are you paid? A straight answer, with mechanics, is a good sign in itself.
3. What rebate do I get, and when is it paid? Get the rate and schedule in writing before funding.
4. What happens if my account doesn’t link to your code? A serious IB tells you to stop and fix it before depositing.
5. Which of your brokers accepts my country, and which entity would I contract with? Protections differ by entity, not brand.
6. Will you tell me when an offer is not worth taking? Then watch whether they ever actually do.
7. Do you ever handle client money or trade accounts? Any answer other than “never” is your cue to leave.

Forexheights is an introducing broker desk built on exactly this model — codes with several brokers, weekly offer tracking, monthly rebates, and the conflict of interest stated on the front page. If you want to see how it works in practice, the Discord is free to read.