Does Firstrade have a minimum deposit requirement?
Are you looking to open an account at Firstrade, but have only limited funds to invest? Wondering whether Firstrade requires a minimum deposit to start trading?
The good news is that Firstrade has no minimum deposit requirement, so you can easily start trading with as little money as you wish.
Together with my brokerage analyst colleagues, I have thoroughly tested the services of Firstrade by opening a real-money account. Here's what you need to know about depositing at Firstrade as of September 2024:
- The minimum deposit at Firstrade is $0 - a great feature.
- The only available base currency is USD.
- You can only deposit your funds via bank transfer but there's no deposit fee.
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Depositing money at Firstrade is an easy process.
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For detailed conditions, explore our comprehensive Firstrade review.
All you need to know about deposit requirements at Firstrade
Once you have decided to open an account at Firstrade and completed both the registration and verification process, you need to fund your account to be able to begin trading.
At Firstrade, 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 Firstrade and its rivals along other criteria, you can do so using our broker comparison tool.
So what if you made a deposit but decide later that you want to switch brokers and invest your money elsewhere? No worries - you can always opt out and withdraw your funds. All you need to keep in mind are applicable withdrawal fees and withdrawal times.
At Firstrade, there are no withdrawal fees and it usually takes 2 days to receive your funds; though sometimes withdrawal might take a bit longer, depending on the method you use.
What base currencies are available at Firstrade?
At Firstrade, the only available currency is USD. If possible, try to deposit money to your brokerage account in USD.
Why is that 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 the bank account or card you're using for depositing is denominated in a different currency than your brokerage account.
A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.
Deposit options at Firstrade: what's available and what does it cost?
At Firstrade, the only available option to deposit money to your account is via bank transfer.
| Broker | Bank transfer |
|---|---|
| Firstrade | |
| TradeStation | |
| Interactive Brokers |
Firstrade charges no deposit fees for bank transfers. This is great because the broker won't deduct anything from your deposits, and you only have to calculate with the costs charged by your bank or other third-party financial service you send the money with.
There is also a difference in typical transfer times for various deposit methods. Credit/debit card and e-wallet transfers are usually instant, but bank transfers may take 2-3 business days to arrive.
Imagine you're closely monitoring financial markets and spot a good trading opportunity you want to act upon right away. But what if there's not enough money in your broker account? In such cases, instant deposit methods like debit/credit card or electronic wallet transfers can come in handy. These can help you replenish your broker account immediately and react to market movements quickly and effectively. If this is important to you, consider opening an account with a broker that accepts instant deposit methods such as cards or e-wallets.
It's easy to deposit money to your Firstrade account
Making an initial deposit to your brokerage account can sound like a difficult task, but actually it's fairly easy. Just follow our step-by-step guide for depositing money and shortly you'll be ready to start trading:
- Log in to Firstrade's client area
- Look for the 'Deposit' or 'Funding' menu
- Choose your funding method
- Enter the amount to be deposited and other necessary details for the transaction
- Double-check if payment details are correct
- If all looks OK, click to submit your deposit request
If you get stuck during the process, you can always reach out to Firstrade's customer support. At Firstrade, customer support can be reached via phone and email. Alternatively, you can drop a message on our Forum.
Get to know Firstrade and its best alternatives
For comprehensive insights into trading conditions, costs and overall service quality at Firstrade, turn to BrokerChooser's Firstrade review for 2024. Our analysis is based on nearly 600 individual data points as well as first-hand experience. We analyze brokers by opening a live account and executing trades on their platforms using real money, which helps us understand and evaluate the full spectrum of their services.
If you want to explore the best alternatives for Firstrade in your country, head over to our Compare Broker tool, where you can compare brokers by filtering for various criteria including minimum deposits, fees, tradable products and more.
Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.
Further reading
Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.
