The six partner types, in one minute
Every broker partner programme is a version of the same deal: you bring the broker clients, the broker pays you a share of what those clients generate. What changes is how close you sit to the client and how much responsibility you take on.
- Affiliate: you publish content or run ads with tracked links. You never talk to the client after the click.
- Introducing Broker (IB): you refer clients you usually know, often from a community or signals group, and stay in touch. Paid mostly per lot traded.
- Master IB and sub-IB: an IB who recruits other IBs under them. The master earns a slice of everything the network generates.
- Refer-a-friend: a client-to-client bonus, usually a fixed amount or trading credit, with no business account needed.
- White label: you run a branded trading front end on the broker's licence, platform and liquidity. You handle marketing and often first-line support.
- Authorised Person (India only): a SEBI-recognised sub-broker registered with an exchange through a stock broker, who can open accounts and service clients.
Affiliate: the lowest commitment
An affiliate signs up on the broker's partner portal, gets a tracking link or promo code and places it on a website, YouTube channel, newsletter or paid ad. When a visitor clicks, registers and meets the broker's qualifying conditions, the affiliate is paid. The two common pay-outs are CPA (one fixed amount per qualified client) and revenue share (a percentage of the spread and commission the client pays, for as long as they trade).
Affiliates suit publishers who can bring volume but do not want client contact. The trade-off is that you are usually blind to the client after the click, so you depend on the broker's dashboard to tell you what happened.
Introducing Broker: paid on what clients trade
An IB introduces clients personally and often keeps supporting them. The classic pay-out is a rebate per standard lot (100,000 units) the client trades, so the IB earns as long as the client is active. Many brokers also let IBs pass part of the rebate back to the client as a cashback, which is how most 'forex cashback' sites work.
IBs suit educators, signal providers and anyone with a trading community. Because you are closer to the client, regulators in several countries treat IB activity as a regulated service that needs its own licence or registration; the country guides below cover this.
Master IB and sub-IB: building a network
A master IB recruits other IBs (sub-IBs) and earns an override on their clients' trading, typically a smaller per-lot amount than the sub-IB's own rebate. Networks can run several levels deep. The upside is scale; the downside is that you are responsible for how your sub-IBs behave, and brokers will cut the whole tree if one branch breaks the rules.
Refer-a-friend: for clients, not businesses
Most brokers run a lightweight scheme where an existing client shares a code and both sides receive a fixed bonus or trading credit once the friend deposits and trades. These are capped, often to a handful of referrals a year, and the bonuses frequently come with trading volume conditions before they can be withdrawn. They are not a business model, but they are the easiest way to test a broker's referral flow.
White label: your brand, their licence
A white label partner gets a branded copy of the broker's platform (MT4, MT5, cTrader or a web app), a client portal and sometimes a CRM. The partner markets the brand and handles onboarding; the broker holds the licence, executes trades and keeps client money. Revenue is usually a mark-up on the spread plus a share of commission. Set-up fees and monthly minimums are common, and the partner usually needs its own company and, in many jurisdictions, its own regulatory approval to market financial products.
Authorised Person: India's regulated sub-broker
In India the old sub-broker category was folded into the Authorised Person (AP) framework. An AP is appointed by a SEBI-registered stock broker, registered with NSE or BSE, and may open accounts and service clients on the broker's behalf. Compensation is a share of brokerage, sometimes with a flat monthly amount. Plain referral links that pay per account are also offered by Indian brokers, but anyone giving advice or handling clients should be an AP, not a bare affiliate.