Forex No-deposit Bonuses: How Much Is “Free Lunch”?

December 19, 2021

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Anyone who’s ever taken interest in Forex has certainly seen promotions of the so-called “no deposit bonuses” (occasionally referred to as “welcome bonuses”). The premise is virtually irresistible: “Simply open an account and your first deposit will be on us!”.

As tempting as this offer sounds, many are still hesitant to take it. After all, whenever something seems too good to be true, it usually is, right?

Well, in this instance the answer isn’t quite straightforward. There are definitely benefits to Forex welcome bonuses, just as there are undeniable drawbacks. So let’s take a look at both sides of the argument and figure out if a no-deposit bonus is actually worth it and how other types of bonuses (i.e. those offered by Olymp Trade) line up to it.

No Deposit Bonus: How Does It Work?

The general terms are as follows: once a trader opens a new account with the Forex broker, they will receive a fixed amount of money for trading. In most cases the amount of money offered as a bonus is rather small, typically ranging from $5 to $100.

The trader doesn’t have to deposit any money whatsoever to take advantage of the offer, however the bonus does usually come with strings attached. To be able to withdraw the funds, one has to fulfill some strict conditions. The exact terms may vary from broker to broker, but generally speaking the trader has to execute a large number of trades, tallying up what’s called a “turnover”.

The required turnover amount is usually hundreds of times larger than the size of the bonus, making the task extremely challenging if not impossible. At least without supplementing with personal funds, which goes against the very idea of a “no-deposit bonus”, but plays right into the hands of deceptive brokers.

Benefits of the No Deposit Bonus

Let’s start with the obvious: a no deposit bonus (at least in theory) gives you a chance to experience trading without investing any of your hard-earned cash. There’s even some potential of making a real profit, which certainly feels more exciting than any profit made on a demo account with virtual currency.

Since no personal funds are involved, traders can walk away from the broker any time, if they decide they don’t like the platform or the terms of service. No harm, no foul. And if they do end up loving what the broker has to offer, the bonus will serve as a good introduction and an auxiliary to their first deposit.

Disadvantages of the No Deposit Bonus

First of all, it bears mentioning that no deposit bonuses are only offered to new clients. A trader does not have the luxury to choose if they want to take advantage of the extra funds right off the bat or down the road. “Take it or leave it” is all you get.

Secondly, the size of the bonus is usually quite small. This presents a problem in several ways. Firstly, the amount is hardly sufficient to make a meaningful impact on the trader’s earnings. Secondly, it does not allow for any sort of risk management strategy.

The golden rule of risk management most traders try to abide by is to never invest more than 2% of the total balance. But the minimum investment amount for most Forex brokers would pressure the trader to forego that rule.

Even if they were to make use of the 1:500 leverage, a $100 deposit would still only buy them about 5 trades, all of which would have to be high-risk. Alternatively, one could go all-in, but that sort of approach most likely would not get them far as it’s more akin to gambling than proper Forex trading.

And then there are brokers who do offer sizable no deposit bonuses, $500 and even larger in some cases. Are those legit? The rule of thumb is this: if the broker is licensed and regulated, then they will honor their side of the bargain, but you will have to jump through a bunch of hoops before you see the profit. If the broker is not regulated, it’s best to stay away.

Whichever way you slice it, it doesn’t seem like a no deposit bonus is worth it if your expectation for it is to get a well-rounded (or even profitable) trading experience.

Olymp Trade Bonuses: How Are They Different?

You won’t find a no deposit bonus promo on the Olymp Trade platform. We don’t offer those because the practice seems deceitful to us and serves no real benefit to the traders. So, what do we do instead?

Discounts

Traders who want to upgrade their status to Advanced or Expert can do so with a 50% discount on the qualifying deposit. What a fantastic way to kickstart trading on premium terms, don’t you think?

Bonus on Pay

When you deposit $500 (or an equivalent in your currency), you get 30% extra in your account. And when you deposit anywhere from $4,999 (or an equivalent), you can receive a 50% bonus. That’s a sizable amount of extra funds that will definitely have an impact on your trading.

Promo Codes

In addition to that, Olymp Trade regularly issues promo codes for bonuses on deposits of any size.

Unlike the no-deposit bonuses we discussed in this article, these offers can be activated any time you find yourself in need of extra funds. You can get 15, 30, 50 or even 100 percent extra even on an Olymp Trade minimum deposit.

Let’s take a look at an example of why this may be beneficial to you. When you make a $100 deposit with a 20% promo code, you actually get $120 in your account. Considering the minimum trade amount of $1 this means you can make 20 more trades for the same amount of money. Having the bonus funds at your disposal widens your range of your trading opportunities.

You can score a promo code from a variety of sources: as a special promo right on the online trading platform, as a gift to tournament participants, a reward on our Facebook group or (most reliably) — on the Olymp Trade blog. We post fresh promo codes for bonuses monthly, so you can always look one up, should you need a bonus to kickstart your trading.

How to activate an Olymp Trade promo code

You can activate a promo code to receive a bonus in 3 easy steps:

When on the Olymp Trade platform, click Deposit, and then, after choosing the deposit method, click on the Promo code option.
Enter any of the promo codes available to you and activate it.
Fill in the amount of money to want to deposit.

And that’s it! You’ve just got yourself a nice bonus to your trading account.

The Takeaway

Even though no deposit bonuses may seem like a great way to kick-off your Forex trading journey, they rarely live up to the high expectations. Between insufficient size, limited application and binding terms, this marketing tool serves brokers more than it does traders. Those looking to enhance their trading budget would certainly fare better with regular deposit bonuses.

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