Forex cashback and rebate programs
Per-lot rebates look small next to deposit matches, but they are often the only bonus you can reliably withdraw.
Updated
How rebates are paid
A rebate program pays you back a fixed amount per lot traded, or a share of the spread or commission. Payouts land daily, weekly or monthly, usually as withdrawable cash rather than locked credit.
That last part is the point. A rebate has no turnover requirement because it is the turnover: you earn it by trading, and once paid it is simply yours.
The spread giveth and taketh away
A rebate only helps if your trading costs stay put. Some brokers route rebate accounts to wider spreads or higher commissions, which hands back part of what the rebate pays.
Compare the all-in cost per lot, spread plus commission minus rebate, against a plain account at the same broker. If the rebate account costs more before the rebate, the program is marketing, not money.
Costs compound with trade frequency
The more often a strategy trades, the more its outcome is decided by transaction fees rather than by the signal. Grid systems, scalping and other high-frequency styles multiply a small per-trade cost into the biggest line item in the account: 200 trades a month at $7 all-in per lot pays $1,400 in costs before the strategy has earned anything.
Run that multiplication before judging any offer. Monthly trades times all-in cost per trade is what you pay; monthly trades times rebate per trade is what comes back. The higher the frequency, the more a modest per-lot rebate is worth and the less a one-off deposit bonus matters.
Rebate or deposit bonus?
A deposit match front-loads a big locked number; a rebate drips small unlocked ones. For an active trader the rebate often wins on realized value, because every dollar of it can actually be withdrawn.
Run your own numbers: your monthly lots times the per-lot rebate, versus the share of a deposit bonus you would realistically unlock at the same volume. For most retail volumes the rebate compares better than the headline suggests.
When cashback is the better deal
Choose cashback when you already trade steady volume, want withdrawable money over margin, or trade in a market where credit bonuses are banned. Rebate programs often survive in regulated markets where deposit bonuses cannot, which makes them the practical option in much of Europe and Australia.