The mechanical part of becoming an IB is genuinely easy and takes a couple of days. The part that decides whether it works takes longer, so I'll cover both.
What you need before you start
Not much, and less than people assume:
An audience that acts on what you say. Any size. What matters is whether people respond when you post — replies, questions, DMs. A group of 200 who talk back beats 20,000 who scroll past. If nobody engages, fix that first; a tracking link won't fix it for you.
Some genuine knowledge of trading. You don't need to be a profitable trader — plenty of excellent partners are educators and community builders rather than traders. But you need to understand what you're introducing people to, well enough to be honest about the risk.
Willingness to stay after the referral. The single strongest predictor of who does well. If you plan to post a link and disappear, this model will disappoint you.
What you don't need: a licence in most cases (see below), a company, capital, a website, or a big following.
The steps
1. Apply. The form takes about two minutes. Who you are, where your audience is, roughly how many people. No cost, no commitment.
2. A short call. We talk properly — what you've built, who follows you, what you want out of this. I'm working out whether I can genuinely help you, and you're working out whether I'm someone you want in your corner. Both directions matter. If it isn't a fit I'll say so, which saves us both time.
3. Your rate gets agreed. Rebates here go up to $12 per lot. Where you land depends on your audience, the market you're in and the volume you're likely to bring. This is a conversation, not a take-it-or-leave-it number — and it can be revisited as you grow. That's the point of dealing with a person.
4. Approval. Most partners are approved within 48 hours of the call.
5. Your tracking link. Every person who signs up through it is tagged to you permanently. Registrations, funded accounts and rebates update daily, so you can see what's working within the first week rather than waiting for a month-end statement.
6. You start. This is where the actual work begins.
Do you need a licence?
The honest answer: it depends on your country, and I'm not able to give you legal advice.
Broadly, referring people to a regulated broker without giving personalised investment advice or handling client money is treated differently from advising or managing funds. The line usually sits at exactly that point — the moment you start recommending specific trades to specific people or touching their money, you are likely in regulated territory.
I work with partners across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Thailand and Canada, and the picture differs in each. If you're in South Africa, the FSCA is your regulator and worth reading directly. Wherever you are: check your own jurisdiction, and get proper advice if there's any doubt. Don't take a partner programme's word for it — including mine.
The first ninety days
Where expectations usually go wrong, so here it is straight.
Month one is quiet. You'll refer some people. Some will sign up. Fewer will fund. Fewer still will trade actively. The number at the end of the month will probably look small enough to be discouraging. This is normal and it is not a signal to stop.
Month two is where you learn. With daily tracking you can now see which of your channels actually converts — that a WhatsApp voice note outperforms a polished post, or that one platform sends people who never fund. Do more of what works.
Month three is where the compound starts. Clients from month one are still trading. Month two's have joined them. Month three's are arriving. Rebate income stacks — that's the whole appeal — but stacking requires something to stack on, and that takes a quarter to build.
The partners who quit almost always quit in month two, judging a compounding model on its worst month.
What I'd tell you before you apply
Don't lead with the money. An audience can tell instantly when someone starts monetising them, and trust spends down fast.
Lead with what you were already doing — teaching, analysing, building a community — and let the partnership be the infrastructure underneath it. The people who do best here would still be showing up for their community if the rebate disappeared tomorrow. That's exactly why their communities stay.
No income is promised or implied — what you earn depends on your audience and their trading activity. Please read the risk disclosure. Ready? Apply here, or book a call if you'd rather talk first.