Questrade account opening
The account opening at Questrade is fully online and user-friendly.
This means that you can progress through the registration process easily in front of your device.
Check out this comparison table to compare the rating and duration of Questrade's account opening process to its main competitors:
| Questrade | Qtrade | RBC Direct Investing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Account opening time | 1 day | 1-3 days | 1-3 days |
An account with an online broker is pretty much like a regular bank account and opening one is at least partly an online process. At some brokers it's as quick as opening a new Gmail account, at other brokers it takes a couple of days until they do some background check on you. Instead of storing only money on it you will store your financial assets, e.g. shares or forex positions. Opening an account is always free of charge. To learn more about trading accounts, read our article on the topic.
There are a couple of other factors to consider when you are about to open an account at Questrade. Here are the main pros and cons when it comes to registering at Questrade:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • User-friendly | • Minimum deposit is higher than $500 |
| • Fast |
Questrade account opening
Countries where Questrade accounts can be opened
Opening an account at Questrade is available for a selected group of countries. Make sure that you are eligible before starting to register!
Check out this table to see whether Questrade is available for the residents of some of the major countries:
| Country | Availability |
|---|---|
| Australia | Yes |
| Canada | Yes |
| China | Yes |
| Germany | Yes |
| Hong Kong | Yes |
| India | Yes |
| Ireland | Yes |
| Japan | Yes |
| Malaysia | Yes |
| Netherlands | Yes |
| Singapore | Yes |
| South Africa | Yes |
| United Arab Emirates | Yes |
| United Kingdom | Yes |
| United States | No |
Questrade account opening
Questrade account opening requirements
To be able to open an account with an online broker, you are generally required to provide proof of identity and proof of residence. Ideally, this process is completely digital. The difficulty is that some brokers eventually require physical copies of the documents.
Questrade accepts the following documents for identification purposes:
Proof of identity: national ID / driver's licence plus social insurance number for Canadians / tax identifier number for internationals
Account opening at Questrade is fully digital, so you can go through the whole identification process on the company's web platform.
Once the registration and the account opening is done you will first need to transfer the minimum deposit to your brokerage account from your bank account to be able to start trading.
The minimum deposit at Questrade is $1,000.
Check the following comparison table to see how Questrade stacks up against similar brokers when it comes to minimum deposits:
| Questrade | Qtrade | RBC Direct Investing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $1,000 | $0 | $0 |
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Questrade account opening
Account types at Questrade
One of the important choices to make when you open a new account is the “type” of account to set up. Each of these has specific requirements and features. Most online brokers offer accounts varying based on your identity, the nature of the traded product, the available currencies, and the included features such as personal investment advice. Of course, each broker company will offer slightly different packages.
You can trade at Questrade in 2 base currencies. This is convenient because if your bank account's currency is the same as any of the base currencies, you won't have to pay the conversion fee.
But even if your account's currency is not offered by Questrade, to save on the conversion fees you can open a multi-currency bank account. Revolut or Transferwise both offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. The account opening only takes a few minutes on your phone. You can read more about brokerage fees in this article.
See the following table on how Questrade's base currency number compares to its main competitors
| Questrade | Qtrade | RBC Direct Investing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base currencies | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Questrade account opening
The steps of account opening
The specific process of opening an account at Questrade might vary slightly from the one detailed here, but generally the process involves the following steps:
1. Choose your account
Before you would disclose any of your personal information, make sure that you have chosen the right type of brokerage account for you. Choose this one on the registration page and then proceed to the next step.
2. Add personal info
The next step is to go through the basic information questionnaire. You will have to provide your name, birth date, address, nationality, employment and other info like this. The complexity of this step depends on the broker you chose. You will also have to answer some security questions to make sure you are legally able to trade and some questions on your trading experience.
3. Identify yourself
In this part of the process, the broker website will ask you to scan and upload your proof of identity. This can be a passport, and ID card, bank statement. The requirements vary broker by broker. Some online brokers will ask you to mail them physical copies of your documents. This can elongate the account opening process a lot.
4. Seal the deal
Once you've progressed through the basic registration and identification, you will have to review the provided information and sign a virtual contract based on the terms and conditions of the broker you chose.
5. Fund your account
Once your account is confirmed and opened, you can start trading. Transfer the minimum deposit, or if there is none, any amount of money to your broker account and let's roll! Your are now an investor!
For the specific instructions on account opening with Questrade visit their website or see our own review:
If you want to know more about the next steps, like investing and trading with different types of financial assets give a read to these articles:
