swap-free accounts and where the cost goes

[Shadow Trader]

Swap-free accounts are meant for traders who can't pay or receive interest. The cost still has to come from somewhere.

Some brokers replace swap with a flat admin fee. Others widen the spread, add a commission per lot, or start charging after a few days. The fee may be higher than the swap it replaced, depending on the pair and the direction held.

For a scalper closing everything within the hour, this rarely matters. The trouble is the odd trade that stays open overnight, which can pick up a fee larger than the whole profit on a 3-pip scalp.

It's a gripe, honestly. Marketing says "swap-free" in big letters and the schedule of fees sits three clicks away in small ones. Check whether the fee starts on day one or after a grace period, whether it applies to all pairs, and whether the spread differs from the standard account.

Some accounts drop the fee on pairs that would have earned positive swap, which complicates comparisons, so each pair deserves its own check.

Does your swap-free account charge a flat fee or a spread markup, and from which day does it start?

[FXS Prop Desk]

Does your swap-free account charge a flat fee or a spread markup, and from which day does it start?

The flat admin fee version can be surprisingly expensive on majors where swap would have been tiny. Comparing a week's typical holding pattern under both models, the regular swap account and the swap-free one, shows which costs less. For scalpers who rarely hold overnight, the question may not matter at all.