Withdrawal timelines roundup for active scalpers

[LondonScalper]

Active scalpers often care more about withdrawals than about a tenth of a pip of spread. Here is my experience with withdrawal timelines, plus how I test them.

How I test: before funding any account properly, I deposit a small amount, trade a few lots, and withdraw part of it using the method I would actually use. I record the date I requested, the date the broker processed it and the date the money arrived.

Typical timelines in my experience, varying by broker and method:
- Card refunds: processed in one or two days by the broker, but can take several working days to appear.
- Bank transfer: one to five working days, longer for international transfers or on Fridays.
- E-wallets: often the fastest, sometimes same day, but not available for every entity.

Red flags: requests "pending review" for more than a few days with no explanation, unexpected fees, or being asked for documents that were already provided when the account was opened.

I repeat the small withdrawal test every few months, because processes change, especially after a broker changes ownership or entity.

Please add your own timelines, with the broker, entity, method and dates. Specific data is more useful than general impressions.

[Shadow Trader]

One rule that catches scalpers out is the return to source requirement. Most entities send money back to a card only up to the amount deposited by that card, and anything above it goes by bank transfer, so the test withdrawal should be larger than the card deposit to see both legs.

My last test went like this: request on Monday morning, marked processed on Tuesday afternoon, funds visible on Friday. The international transfer arrived with an intermediary bank fee taken off that nobody had mentioned, so I now record the amount received as well as the dates.

I would add a fourth date to your log, the day the broker first replied if anything was queried. That gap is where most of my delays have lived, not in the payment rails.

Another thing I have seen is a smooth small test followed by a slower review once the amount gets larger. I now do the test at two sizes, one small and one closer to what a normal monthly withdrawal would be.

Has anyone noticed a threshold where processing switches from automatic to manual review? Knowing that number would save a lot of nervous emails.

[Shadow Trader]

LondonScalper, one timing detail matters for scalpers in particular. On two of the brokers I have tested, the requested amount left free margin the moment I pressed submit, not when it was processed, so with positions open it quietly tightened my own margin level mid session.

I now request withdrawals only when flat, and never for more than leaves about 5 times my usual margin requirement in the account. It sounds fussy until a pending request and a news spike land on the same afternoon.

Cut off times are the other thing I would add to the log. A request at 16:00 server time on a Friday was treated as Monday business at one broker, so the one to five working days really started three calendar days later.

Currency conversion deserves its own column as well. My USD account paying into a GBP bank lost about 1.5% against the mid rate, which on a monthly withdrawal cost more than the spread gap between the two brokers I was comparing.

Has anyone had a request cancelled automatically because positions were open? I have heard of it happening but never seen the rule written down.