Forex bonus glossary
Every term we use, in plain English — no jargon, no assumptions. New to this? Start here, then nothing on the site should trip you up.
- Cashback
- Money paid back to you for every lot you trade — usually real, withdrawable cash, and it recurs the more you trade.
- Deposit bonus
- Extra credit a broker adds on top of your deposit — a “100% bonus” doubles your balance on paper, behind a turnover requirement.
- KYC
- “Know Your Customer” — the identity check (ID, proof of address) a broker requires before you can trade or withdraw.
- Leverage
- Borrowed buying power that multiplies both gains and losses (e.g. 1:500 lets $100 control $50,000).
- No-deposit bonus
- A bonus you get without depositing — usually small, with strict limits on withdrawing it.
- Offshore entity
- A broker’s arm licensed in a light-touch jurisdiction (e.g. Belize, Seychelles). Bonuses are offered here, but with weaker regulatory protection.
- Pip
- The smallest standard price move in a currency pair. Spreads and profits are measured in pips.
- Profit cap
- A limit on how much profit you can keep or withdraw from a bonus.
- Raw account
- An account with very tight spreads but a fixed commission per lot instead of a wider spread — often cheaper for high-volume traders.
- Restricted market
- The local regulator restricts retail forex or bonuses. You can often still trade via an offshore broker — but with no local protection. It doesn’t always mean you can’t trade.
- Spread
- The small gap between a pair’s buy and sell price — effectively the broker’s fee on each trade.
- Standard lot
- A standard trade size: 1 lot = 100,000 units of the base currency. Turnover requirements are usually counted in lots.
- Tradable credit
- Bonus money you can trade with but can’t withdraw — you keep only the profits you make using it.
- Turnover
- The amount of trading volume (measured in lots) you must complete before a bonus unlocks into withdrawable money.
- Welcome bonus
- A sign-up or first-deposit bonus offered to new clients.
- Withdrawable
- Whether you can actually take the money out. “Profits only” means you keep the gains you make, not the bonus itself.