Funds and Banking
To request an inbound, outbound or internal transfer of positions, use the Position Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management. Position transfers allow us to efficiently identify your incoming funds for proper credit to your account. Inbound Transfer Requests are instructions you provide to us to contact your bank or broker to move funds or assets. You do not need any further follow-up with your bank or broker to initiate the transfer.
| Position Transfers | |||
| Type | Description | Time to Arrive | Limitations |
| Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) | US Broker to Broker position transfer system. Please complete a Deposit
Notification on the Cash Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management, to have your cash and positions automatically moved from a third-party US broker to IB. For
details, click here. When you request an ACATS transaction, you have the option of creating a new Position Transfer Instruction or using an existing Position Transfer Instruction. |
From 4 to 8 business days depending on your third-party broker. | Only available for US stock/options/cash/mutual funds. You may not withdraw your transfer for 10 days after receipt. No options transfers during expiration week. Long and Short (Short Against the Box) of same position will be netted upon receipt through an ACAT |
| Free of Payment (FOP) | Delivery of long US stock positions from another US bank or broker that is a member of
the Depository Trust Company (DTC). Requests for FOPs are made to the third-party broker. However, you must notify IB of a third-party FOP on the Position Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management so that your transfer may be properly placed in your account. When you request an FOP transaction, you have the option of creating a new Position Transfer Instruction or using an existing Position Transfer Instruction. Please note FOP is not available for IRA accounts. |
Transfers are generally completed during the same business day as initiated, but this depends on your third-party broker. FOP notices are valid for 5 business days before expiring. Once the notice has expired IB will not accept the shares. | Only available for long US stock positions. You will not be able to withdraw any funds or transfer any assets to another broker for 10 business days after an account transfer is received. |
| US Futures Transfer | Print the transfer form the Position Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management and fax it to Interactive Brokers. Allow 5 to 7 business days from time of fax, under normal circumstances, for positions and funds to arrive. | From time of fax, 5 to 7 business days under normal circumstances. | Futures positions and cash will be transferred separately. An Interactive Brokers representative will call you to coordinate this. |
| Account Transfer on Notification (ATON) | ATON is the Canadian broker equivalent of ACATS. Please use the Position
Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management, to have your cash and positions moved from a third-party broker to IB. Only Canadian and US stocks and options may be transferred between Canadian Brokers. When you request an ATON transaction, you have the option of creating a new Position Transfer Instruction or using an existing Position Transfer Instruction. |
From 4 to 8 business days depending on your third-party broker. | Only available for Canadian and US stock, options and cash. You may not withdraw your transfer for 10 days after receipt. No options transfers during expiration week. |
| Asian Position Transfers | Asian stock warrants and EFTs may be transferred to IB on a manual basis for Hong
Kong, Australia or Japan. These requests are initiated via IB Message Center ticket requests. To initiate a request, login into Account Management, then click the Message Center icon, located in the upper left of the Account Management menu pane, and create a new inquiry ticket. Enter "Asian Asset Transfer Request" in the Summary field and indicate the country of origin/exchange in the Description field. You will receive a reply that indicates the specific details required from the counter-party to execute the transfer. Further actions (if necessary) will be posted on the same ticket. |
From 2 to 5 business days. | IB keeps all positions in the firm name ("street name"). We do not currently provide individual registration of holdings, for example Registered or Namenaktion shares. Inbound transfers of registered positions will be converted to 'street name'. |
| European Position Transfers | European stock warrants, options, and futures may be transferred to IB on a manual basis for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. For details and instructions on European transfers click here. | From 4 to 8 business days. | IB will not provide individual registration of holdings. IB keeps all positions in the firm name (street name) |
| Internal Position Transfers | ||
| Type | Description | Time to Arrive |
| Transfer positions between master and sub accounts | Non-disclosed brokers and STL account users with fund management access for the Master Account can transfer positions of any asset class between the master account and its sub accounts. Please complete a transfer request on the Position Transfers page in Account Management/Funds Management. | Requests submitted during regular trading hours will transfer immediately. Requests submitted outside of regular trading hours will be processed the next business day. |
| IRA Conversion to a Roth Account | Single IRA Users with a Traditional, Rollover or SEP IRA account can perform an IRA conversion to transfer all assets from their Traditional, Rollover or SEP IRA account to their Roth IRA account. Both accounts must have matching names and taxpayer identification numbers. Select IRA Conversion to Roth Account in Account Management/Funds Management. | Requests submitted during regular trading hours will transfer immediately. Requests submitted outside of regular trading hours will be processed the next business day. |
| IRA Recharacterization | Single IRA Users with a Roth IRA account can perform an IRA recharacterization to transfer all assets from their Roth IRA account to their Traditional, Rollover or SEP IRA account. Both accounts must have matching names and taxpayer identification numbers. Select IRA Recharacterization in Account Management/Funds Management. | Requests submitted during regular trading hours will transfer immediately. Requests submitted outside of regular trading hours will be processed the next business day. |
| Account Type Deposit Specifics | |
| Deposit Type | Description |
| IRA Accounts | Contributions may be made by wire, check,
or EFT. Please note that there is a limitation on yearly
IRA contributions as described in the Contributions Limits table. Transfers from another IRA plan may be made through ACATS. Use Direct Rollover for transfers from a 401k or retirement plan. In addition you may take possession of your funds from another plan and send a wire, check or EFT to IB, but a tax penalty may apply if the funds do not arrive within 60 days of the payout. When transferring from another IRA account, you may only deposit the cash or positions into an IB account that has the same IRA type. IB Direct Rollover accounts may receive funds from any type of IRA, 401k or retirement plan accounts. Once funds are transferred from a 401k or retirement plan account to an IB Direct Rollover account, they may not be transferred back to a 401k or retirement plan account. Please consult your tax advisor for guidance on IRA accounts. |
| Advisor Accounts | Advisor clients may complete a Deposit Instruction electronically
if they have a username and password. If they don't, the advisor can also make a deposit notification for the client
through Account Management. Advisors can request position transfers for their client accounts, but cannot create Position Transfer Instructions for them. |
| Institution Accounts | All deposits should be made to the master trading account, and then transferred to the sub account(s). |
| Fully Disclosed Broker Accounts | Clients should use Account Management to make deposits directly to their accounts. Brokers may also use Account Management to deposit funds to the master account. Brokers can neither request position transfers nor create Position Transfer Instructions for their client accounts. |
| Non-Disclosed Broker Accounts | All deposits should be made to the master trading account, and then transferred to the client accounts. |
| Omnibus Broker Accounts | All deposits should be made to the master account or the proprietary trading account. Transfers to the long/short accounts are automatically initiated by the clearing system as needed. |
- Credit Period is the number of days before funds are posted to the customer's account and are available for trading. Credit is posted after the close-of-business of the relevant day (e.g., 4 business days means credit is posted close-of-business on the 4th day). Interest will not be paid on deposits until the customer funds have been credited to the customer account.
- Interest is not paid during the hold period for checks. If this is a concern, we encourage customers to send wires or ACHs where interest is paid from the settlement date of the deposit.
- Please be aware that it is against Interactive Brokers policy to accept physical currency (cash) deposits. Please make all deposits to your IB account by wire transfer, check, direct bank transfer (ACH), or via one of the other methods described below. IB will charge a special handling fee of 1% of the deposit amount (minimum $50 fee) for any physical currency deposits. There is a seven-business-day withdrawal hold on these deposits.
- US T-Bills may be deposited as collateral, but we require a minimum of $1,000,000 in US T-Bills for a transfer. To initiate a US T-Bill transfer, contact Customer Service.
- Please know that IB does not accept physical stock certificates.
To view the latest status of any deposit, withdrawal, transfer or bank instruction request, visit the View Transaction History page in Account Management/Funds Management.
For recurring transfer of funds or securities, you may enter standing settlement instructions that can be used each time a transfer request is made. The following settlement instructions are available at IB and may be added, deleted or modified through Account Management.
Please see the Settlement Instruction Types or Account Type Settlement Instructions Specifics table below for more details.
| Settlement Instruction Types | |
| Delivery vs. Payment (DVP) and Receive vs. Payment (RVP) | DVP and RVP are instructions to deliver US stocks from one Depository Trust Account (DTC) to another in exchange for payment. DVP is from IB to another broker, RVP is from another broker to IB. Customers specify DVP instructions through Settlement Instructions in Account Management. Customers may enter multiple DVP/RVP instructions. You must enter an Expiry date, Agent ID, Firm ID, Account ID, and Agent Name. Instructions will be permanently stored in the IB registration system. |
| Clearing Member Trade Agreement (CMTA) | CMTA is the securities options and US single stock futures equivalent of DVP/RVP and are cleared through the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). Instructions are entered through Settlement Instructions within Account Management. |
| GUS | GUS settlement instructions are used to give up futures and futures options trades. Instructions are entered through Settlement Instructions within Account Management. |
| Account Type Settlement Instructions Specifics | |
| Advisor Accounts | Advisors and advisor clients may electronically enter settlement instructions for their own account only. Advisors may print a settlement instruction PDF which must be sent to their client for signature and mailed to IB for verification. |
| Institution Accounts | Settlement instructions may only be entered for the master account. |
| Fully Disclosed Broker Accounts | Brokers and broker clients may electronically enter settlement instructions for their own account only. |
| Non-Disclosed and Omnibus Broker Accounts | Settlement instructions may only be entered for the master account. |


