how much of a 200 deposit actually arrives after fees?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 10:35 am
An illustration with made-up numbers. A trader in a country with a weaker local currency wants to deposit the equivalent of 200 in dollars.
Step one: the bank converts local currency into dollars at a rate that is typically wider than the mid-market one, perhaps 2 to 3 percent worse, depending on the bank. Step two: the payment provider may add a fee, say 1.5 percent. Step three: if the account is in another currency, the broker converts again.
On that picture, the account might be credited with something like 190 instead of 200. Withdrawal brings the same trip in reverse, so a full round trip can lose a decent chunk before a single trade is placed.
Methods differ in important ways. Bank transfers can be slow but are often cheaper at larger amounts. Cards are quick but may carry foreign transaction fees. E-wallets and crypto bring their own conversion spreads and network or exchange charges.
None of this means one method is best. Fixed fees hurt small amounts the most, and percentage fees hurt large ones, so the cheapest route at 100 may not be the cheapest at 2,000.
A useful habit is to track what left the bank and what the broker credited, then do the same on withdrawal.
Which method turned out cheapest on a full round trip, and which one looked free but wasn't?
Step one: the bank converts local currency into dollars at a rate that is typically wider than the mid-market one, perhaps 2 to 3 percent worse, depending on the bank. Step two: the payment provider may add a fee, say 1.5 percent. Step three: if the account is in another currency, the broker converts again.
On that picture, the account might be credited with something like 190 instead of 200. Withdrawal brings the same trip in reverse, so a full round trip can lose a decent chunk before a single trade is placed.
Methods differ in important ways. Bank transfers can be slow but are often cheaper at larger amounts. Cards are quick but may carry foreign transaction fees. E-wallets and crypto bring their own conversion spreads and network or exchange charges.
None of this means one method is best. Fixed fees hurt small amounts the most, and percentage fees hurt large ones, so the cheapest route at 100 may not be the cheapest at 2,000.
A useful habit is to track what left the bank and what the broker credited, then do the same on withdrawal.
Which method turned out cheapest on a full round trip, and which one looked free but wasn't?