Depositing Canadian Dollars via Bill Payment
IB provides Canadian residents a variety of ways to deposit funds into their IB account including wire transfer, electronic funds transfer and Bill Payment. Canadian Bill Payment is a particular form of electronic funds transfer which allows for the transfer of funds into your IB account via an online payment service provided by your financial institution (usually through a checking account).
To initiate a Bill Payment you will first need to log into your online banking website, select Bill Payment and add Interactive Brokers Canada as a payee along with your IB account ID (typically begins with the letter 'U'). Depending upon your particular financial institution and whether IB is recognized as one of their program participants, your institution will likely indicate an expected delivery date of 1-2 business days for transfers.
Once IB has been set up as a payee, you may initiate transfers by selecting IB as a recipient and establishing the payment (deposit) amount and delivery date. Once complete, it's important that you log into your IB account and create a deposit notification. This ensures that the funds will be properly matched and credited to your account upon delivery and not held in suspense. To create a deposit notification, select the Funds Management and then Funds Transfers menu options from Account Management. Then select Deposit Funds from the Transaction drop-down list, Bill Payment from the Method drop-down list and Proceed with Transaction from the Instruction drop-down list. You'll then be prompted to enter the amount of your deposit and the sending institution.
A key benefit to using Bill Payment is that funds are credited to your account immediately upon arrival and are available for withdrawal 3 business days thereafter. This is in contrast to regular electronic funds transfers which are subject to a 4 business day hold prior to being credited to your account and have restrictions if withdrawn to an institution other than that from which the funds originated. Most Canadian financial institutions offer the ability to remit funds via Bill Payment to Interactive Brokers Canada.
How to Deposit Funds Via a Full ACATS/ATON Transfer
How to deposit funds to your Interactive Brokers account via a full ACATS/ATON Transfer
For information on how to initiate a partial ACATS/ATON transfer/ please click here
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For a detailed description of the Full ACATS/ATON process flow please click here
For a list of the most common causes for ACATS/ATON rejects, please click here
How to Deposit Funds Via a Check
How to deposit funds to your Interactive Brokers account via a Check
Withdrawal restrictions applicable to assets transferred via ACATS?
Assets transferred to IB via ACATS are subject to a hold period of 10 business days, the count of which begins the day after the transfer has settled and ends at midnight of the 10th business day thereafter. Note that assets are often credited to an account holder’s equity and made available for trade prior to transfer settlement. The date at which a given ACATS deposit is eligible for withdrawal may be determined through the View Transaction History function within Account Management.
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How to check the status of funding transactions.
Overview:
IB provides account holders with a tool that provides real-time updates and current status of all deposit and withdrawal transactions relating to both cash and positions which have taken place over the prior 45 calendar day period. This tool is made available through the secure Account Management application and may be accessed via the Funds Management and then View Transaction History menu options.
Upon entering the View Transaction History screen, information is organized and made viewable via the following five tabs:
- Cash Deposits – includes transaction detail (deposit type, amount and delivering institution) along with key processing dates (when notified, arrived, credited to equity and made available for withdrawal) and current status (e.g. pending, approved, canceled, completed, expired).
- Cash Withdrawals – includes transaction detail (withdrawal type, amount and receiving institution) along with key processing dates (when requested and sent) and current status.
- Position Transfers In – includes transaction detail (transfer type and delivering institution) along with key processing dates (when notified, arrived, credited to equity and made available for withdrawal) and current status.
- Position Transfers Out – includes transaction detail (withdrawal type and receiving institution) along with key processing dates (when notified and sent) and current status.
- Bank Instructions – in the event the transaction requires creation of an instruction for the purpose of providing IB with the necessary account specific information and authorization to act (i.e., if the deposit method dictates that IB pull funds directly from the client’s account or if the withdrawal method dictates that IB push funds directly to the client’s account) information regarding that instruction will be presented here. That information includes transaction detail (date created, function, method and institution) along with current status.
NOTE: Account holders may cancel transactions which are in a pending state by clicking on the red X located in the Action column which is provided within each of the above five screens. In addition, the amount of a wire transfer deposit notifications may be modified by first clicking on the Modify link also located in the Cash Deposits Action column. In order to complete the modification request, the account holder will need to enter the revised amount and/or currency and add the Customer Reference or Payment ID number as provided by the sending institution.
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How to Initiate ACH transfers
Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposits/withdrawals may be made to your IB account from and to your bank using one of two transfer methods. Under the first, referred to as ‘ACH Initiated At IB’, your transfer request will be automatically processed through a message sent to your bank by IB. Prior to using this method you will need to create a standing instruction through Funds Management which authorizes IB and your bank to electronically transfer funds between the two accounts and then verify a series of test transactions issued to your bank account several days later which serve to establish the link. Once established, this transfer method can be used for future deposit and withdrawal requests.
Under the second, referred to as ‘ACH Initiated At Bank’, you provide IB with a notification of the amount you wish to transfer via ACH and then you contact your bank and provide them with a print out of the notification form in order to initiate the transfer. Please note that your notification to IB under this method only serves to match your deposit to your account upon arrival and does not result in the transfer of funds. The transfer of funds will only be initiated once you provide your bank with the IB destination account details included on the notification form.
To use the 'ACH Initiated At IB' transfer method, you will need to first set up instructions through your IB account as follows:
1. Log into The IB Account Management application;
2. Select the Funds Management and then Funds Transfers menu options;
3. From the Transaction drop-down list select Deposit Funds or Withdraw Funds;
4. From the Method drop-down list select ACH Initiated at IB;
5. You will be then be provided with a drop-down list titled Source from which you will see a list of any existing instructions you've created along with an option to Add New Instruction. Note that this screen will also provide information regarding credit holds and withdrawal restrictions relevant to this type of transfer request.
6. Once you have selected Add New Instruction you will be directed to the instruction input screen where you will be asked to provide the information about your bank account (i.e., bank account number and ABA routing number) which is necessary to establish a link. All of this information may be obtained from viewing your check;
7. You will be asked to confirm your request via electronic signature and security token authentication which authorizes both IB and your bank to act upon any transfer requests you provide through IB;
8. Within 1-3 business days, two random credits (deposits) each less than one dollar and a corresponding debit (withdrawal) will be issued to your bank account.
9. You will need to monitor your bank account for these transactions as they will be needed to confirm this funding instruction. Note that these transactions may take place on different days.
10. Once you have these amounts, log back in Account Management and from the Pending Requests menu opti select the Confirm Amount link adjacent to your instruction enter the credit amounts.
11. Once you have entered the correct amounts, you may use the ACH instruction for deposit and withdrawal transfers.
Note that IB does not charge any fee for ACH deposits and accounts are afforded one free withdrawal request per month. Also note that ACH deposits are subject to a 4 business day credit hold after arrival prior to being credited to your account. In addition, if funds are withdrawn to a bank other than the originating bank, a 40-business-day withdrawal hold period will be applied.
Why does IB place a hold on the funds deposited via check when my bank has already debited the funds from my account?
Overview:
IB, like any bank customer, is subject to the hold periods that banks by regulation are allowed to place upon check deposits. While these regulations generally provide for full availability to be provided within 2 to 5 business days, banks in certain instances may not make the funds available until the 11th business day, and a key factor in determining the availability timeframe is whether the check is drawn upon an institution whose Federal Reserve check processing office is local relevant to IB’s bank (which is determined based upon the routing transit number or ABA bank code listed on the check). As it is not operationally feasible to distinguish and track the clearance of individual checks given a large and geographically diverse client base, IB has opted to use a uniform hold period of 7 business days for check deposits (with funds made available on the 8th business day). This timeframe had been selected based upon a review of historical data which suggests that the risk of non-payment of funds to be sufficiently minimal after that period.
To minimize any delays associated with the receipt and crediting of deposits, IB strongly recommends that clients deposit funds via wire transfer as this process introduces few of the credit risks or operational overhead typically associated with checks. In addition, funds deposited in this manner are immediately credited to your account upon arrival and are not subject to any processing fee by IB.
Does a deposit subject to a "Credit Hold” accrue credit interest during the hold period?
Overview:
The answer depends upon the method of deposit. In the case of deposits made via ACH, interest accrues from the date the deposit arrives through the four business day credit hold period after which it is credited to the account. In the case of check deposits other than Bank Checks, no interest is accrued during the credit hold period. Bank Checks and wire transfers are credited to the account effective upon receipt and are therefore not subject to any credit hold
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