What Is a Forex IB? How Introducing Brokers Actually Get Paid

If you have a trading audience, a team or a list, you have probably been offered an "IB deal" at some point. A broker rep slides into your DMs, mentions rebates per lot, and suddenly you are reading terms like spread share, CPA and sub-IB without anyone explaining what they actually mean for you.

This guide explains it in plain English: what a forex introducing broker (IB) is, the four ways IBs get paid, who the model suits, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.

What is a forex IB?

An introducing broker is a person or business that refers clients to a forex or CFD broker and gets paid when those clients open accounts and trade. The IB does not hold client money, execute trades or give the client an account. The broker does all of that. The IB's job is the introduction, and in most setups some ongoing support.

In practice, IBs are usually one of these:

• Trading educators whose students need a broker to practise and trade on.

• Community owners running Telegram, Discord or WhatsApp groups.

• Finfluencers with YouTube, Instagram or TikTok audiences interested in markets.

• Network and team builders who introduce clients through a group of partners.

• Affiliate marketers and media buyers who send paid or SEO traffic.

You do not need to be a trader to be an IB. What you need is an audience that trusts you and a broker you are comfortable putting your name behind.

Why brokers pay IBs at all

Brokers earn money when clients trade, mainly through spreads (the gap between buy and sell prices), commissions per trade and, on some accounts, overnight financing. Acquiring those clients through ads is expensive and heavily restricted in finance. An IB who already has the trust of an audience is a cheaper, more reliable source of clients, so the broker shares part of the revenue those clients generate.

That is the whole model. Every IB payment structure is just a different way of splitting the value of a client between you and the broker.

The four ways IBs get paid

1. Rebates per lot

This is the classic IB model. The broker pays you a fixed amount every time a client you referred trades a standard lot (100,000 units of the base currency). Rates vary by broker, instrument and account type, and they are often quoted as dollars per lot or pips per lot.

Illustrative example: say your deal pays $5 per standard lot on major forex pairs. If 20 of your clients trade an average of 10 lots each in a month, that is 200 lots, or $1,000 for the month. The next month depends entirely on how much those clients trade again.

Rebates reward you for active, long-term traders. They pay little if your clients deposit, place a few trades and stop.

2. Revenue share (spread share)

Instead of a fixed rate per lot, you receive a percentage of the revenue the broker earns from your clients. The calculation is done by the broker and shown in your partner portal. Revenue share can be generous with engaged communities but is harder to forecast, because it moves with trading volumes and market conditions.

3. CPA (cost per acquisition)

With CPA, you are paid a one-off amount for each referred client who makes a qualifying first-time deposit (FTD), regardless of how much they trade afterwards. CPAs vary by country, because clients in some regions are worth far more to brokers than others. On the Affiwise commission plans, CPAs go up to $700 per qualified FTD depending on the broker and GEO.

CPA suits paid traffic and media buyers because you get paid quickly and can reinvest. The trade-off is that you do not share in a client's long-term value.

4. Hybrid

A hybrid deal pays a lower CPA upfront plus a revenue share or rebate afterwards. It gives you cash flow to keep acquiring clients and some upside if they stay active. Many established IBs end up on hybrids once they have data showing their clients' retention.

What makes a client "qualify"

This is where most new IBs get caught out. Brokers attach conditions to payments, and they are not always obvious from the headline rate. Common ones include:

• Minimum deposit: the client must fund at least a set amount for a CPA to trigger.

• Minimum volume: the client must trade a certain number of lots within a time window.

• Accepted countries: clients from regions the broker cannot accept, or does not pay CPA on, earn nothing.

• Minimum hold time: some rebate deals ignore trades closed within a few minutes, which matters a lot if your audience scalps.

• Fraud and duplicate checks: self-referrals, duplicate accounts and incentivised sign-ups are typically reversed.

Ask for every one of these in writing before you promote.

Is being an IB regulated?

It depends on where you and your clients are. In some countries, introducing clients to a broker is an activity that needs authorisation, or the broker must formally take responsibility for you. Promoting leveraged products like CFDs also comes with rules on risk warnings, fair and balanced claims and who you can market to. Regulated brokers will usually tell you what their partners can and cannot say. If they do not, treat that as a warning sign.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you are building a serious IB business, speak to a compliance professional in your jurisdiction.

Who the IB model suits

• Educators and community owners: your members need a broker anyway, so rebates or revenue share turn their activity into recurring income alongside your course or membership.

• Finfluencers: a hybrid or CPA deal pays you for the trust you have already built, without selling a product.

• Network builders: multi-tier structures let you earn on clients introduced by partners you bring in, as long as the payments come from real client activity rather than recruitment.

• Media buyers: CPA gives you fast, predictable payouts to fund the next campaign.

Going direct vs joining a network

You can sign directly with a broker or join an IB network like Affiwise that holds relationships with several regulated brokers. Going direct can work if you already have volume and leverage. A network can help when you are starting out or spread across countries, because it matches your traffic to the broker and GEO that pays best for it, handles tracking setup and pays out on a fixed schedule. Affiwise, for example, pays commissions weekly by bank transfer or crypto.

Questions to ask before you sign an IB deal

1. Which entity and regulator will my clients be onboarded under?

2. Which countries are accepted, and do rates differ by country?

3. What exactly qualifies a client: minimum deposit, volume, time window?

4. Are there minimum hold times or excluded instruments on rebates?

5. How and how often are commissions paid, and is there a minimum payout?

6. What can and can't I say when promoting you?

7. Can I see a sample partner report before I start?

The bottom line

A forex IB is paid for introducing clients to a broker, either per acquisition, per lot traded, as a share of revenue, or a mix. The right model depends on your audience: active, long-term traders favour rebates and revenue share, while paid traffic and new audiences usually favour CPA. Whatever you choose, read the qualification rules as carefully as the headline rate.

If you want help matching your audience to the right broker and commission model, apply to join the Affiwise network and an affiliate manager will review your traffic.

Risk warning: CFDs and forex are complex instruments that carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Commission examples in this article are illustrative only and are not a guarantee of earnings.