Getting started with ActivTrades
Are you a new investor considering opening a brokerage account at ActivTrades but don't know how to do it? Are you wondering how long the process takes and how difficult it is?
Opening a brokerage account can seem daunting, but we'll show you it's often easier than you think. Account opening at ActivTrades is in fact a great experience that needs no prior knowledge.
Together with my brokerage analyst colleagues, I have thoroughly tested the services of ActivTrades by opening a real-money account. Here’s what you need to know about account opening if you want to start investing with ActivTrades:
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Account opening at ActivTrades is fully online and takes 1 day.
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You will need to prove your identity and residency with documents.
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Choose an account type that suits your needs.
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You can choose from multiple base currencies.
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The minimum deposit at ActivTrades is $0.
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Browse the best brokers for beginners for some great alternatives.
Before we start, let's check if ActivTrades is available in your country:
66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Account opening at ActivTrades vs other competitors
Account opening at ActivTrades is fully online, meaning you can do it from the comfort of your chair. In fact, you don't even need a chair: you can simply do it on the go on your mobile phone.
See how we rated the account opening experience and how long it takes to get started at ActivTrades compared with its main competitors:
Account opening score
|
5.0 stars | 5.0 stars | 5.0 stars |
---|---|---|---|
Account opening fully online
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Yes | Yes | Yes |
Time to open account
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1 day | 1 day | 1 day |
Opening an account is always free of charge, but the time it takes differs from broker to broker. At some brokers, it's as quick as signing up for a new Gmail account. At others, it might take a couple of days as they run a background check on your data. At ActivTrades, it usually takes 1 day to have your account up and running.
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66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Navigating the complexities of trading can be challenging. If you're a new investor, you'll need a broker with a user-friendly trading interface and robust educational materials. So where to find such brokers? Start with our toplist of brokers we rated as good for beginners.
How to get a verified trading account at ActivTrades?
First, you need to go to ActivTrades's website and fill a registration form to apply for an account. It takes the broker a bit of time to review and verify your application - usually 1 day - after which you can make your first deposit and start trading.
Opening a brokerage account is not unlike opening a bank account. As you go through the steps, you’ll find that it is a simple and familiar process. Once your brokerage account is set up, you’ll find that the experience is similar to what you get with a bank account that you use for savings and transactions. See, it’s just another way of managing your money!
The sign-up procedure is usually self-evident; just follow the instructions carefully. Here's what awaits you at ActivTrades:
The account opening process was fully digital, fast, and easy. The account was verified within a day.
The account opening process starts with selecting your country of residence and adding basic personal information, including your name, email address, and password.
Based on your country of residence, ActivTrades may offer to change the entity you would like to register at. This is significant because the entity affects your investor protection, and products and fees may also be different.
Then you have to go through a four-step registration process.
- Account holder information: personal details, tax residency, home address
- Trading experience: how long you have been trading CFDs, the number of trades, the average lot size per trade
- Financial and account information: employment status, income and savings, source of funds, trading preferences
- Trading account setup: choose your trading platform, base currency
Finally, you have to add some documents (ID or passport, bank statement or utility bill, etc) and a photo for client verification.
The following steps are typical toward the end of the application process or after verifying your identity:
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You'll have to fill out a trading experience survey. It might seem scary at first, but it is nothing to worry about. This is standard procedure, as brokers need to make sure that you have some basic financial knowledge and are aware of the risks of trading.
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Next, you'll have to choose an account type and a base currency.
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As a final step, you'll need to fund your account before you can start trading.
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66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Which ActivTrades account to choose?
Brokers usually provide multiple account types. When choosing an account, consider how experienced you are in trading, and pick an account that suits your needs. Some factors to take into account: your investment goals, risk tolerance, trading frequency, and any associated fees or account balance minimums.
If you're a beginner, we recommend selecting the most basic account offered by the broker, which is the standard account.
The above apply to retail accounts opened by private individuals. If you're looking to open a brokerage account for your company, see our overview of whether you can open a business investment account at ActivTrades and under what conditions.
Alternatively, find out more about ActivTrades's specific account types in our comprehensive ActivTrades review for 2024.
Which base currency should you choose?
At ActivTrades, you can choose from the following base currencies: EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, SEK. If possible, try to deposit money to your brokerage account in your account's base currency. Better yet, choose a base currency in the first place that you plan to most often use for depositing.
Why is all this important? If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account, you won't have to pay a conversion fee. Conversion fees apply if:
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You make a deposit in a different currency than the currency of your brokerage account.
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You trade assets denominated in a different currency than your brokerage account's base currency.
A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.
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66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Fund your account and start trading at ActivTrades
Once you have filled out the registration form, uploaded your documents, finished the trading survey and selected your account type and base currency, ActivTrades will verify your account shortly. After successful verification, you need to fund your account to be able to begin trading.
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Choose your funding method.
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Enter the amount to be deposited and other necessary details for the transaction.
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Double-check if payment details are correct.
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If all looks OK, click to submit your deposit request.
At ActivTrades, the minimum deposit is $0. This means that you can deposit as little money as you wish.
Brokers that don't require a minimum deposit do so to encourage people to try their services without requiring a large initial commitment. Many brokers no longer require a minimum deposit nowadays; so if you want to compare ActivTrades and its rivals along other criteria, you can do so using our broker comparison tool.
At ActivTrades, you have multiple funding methods to choose from when you want to deposit money to your account. Check these options in the following table; and choose the one that's most convenient for you.
Broker | Minimum deposit | Bank transfer |
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ActivTrades | $0 | |
Admirals (Admiral Markets) | $100 | |
FxPro | $100 |
After successfully funding your account, you're all set to start trading.
To explore ActivTrades’s top competitors, head over to our top list of the best brokers for beginners, whose low fees and user-friendly features benefit new investors like you.
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66-83% of retail CFD accounts lose money
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