Multi-level IB commissions explained: per-lot, revenue share and CPA

Introducing brokers (IBs) and affiliates bring a large share of new clients to most retail brokerages. How you pay them shapes who they bring, and how much they trust you.

The three models

• Per lot. A fixed amount per lot traded by referred clients. Simple to explain and to audit. Rates usually differ by asset class: forex, metals, indices, energies and crypto each have their own economics.
• Revenue share. A percentage of what the referred clients generate. It aligns partner and broker over the long term, but needs a definition both sides can check: a share of the trading commission the clients paid is the cleanest, because every deal on the server carries it.
• CPA. A one-off payment per qualified client, usually tied to a first deposit and some trading activity. Good for affiliates who send volume quickly.

Multi-level trees

In a multi-level programme, partners recruit sub-partners. Each level's plan must fit inside its parent's: a sub-partner can't be paid more per lot than the partner above them earns. Enforce that when plans are set, not when commissions are paid, and let the parent earn the difference, so the broker pays the top rate however deep the tree.

Pending, then confirmed

Show commissions as pending as soon as a trade closes, so partners see their earnings in near real time. Confirm them only after the trading day has settled and been re-read from the server, so a correction never claws back money already paid.

Attribution that holds up

• Remember a referral for a window you publish (90 days is common), and count a visit once a day per browser.
• Where the law expects it, ask the visitor before remembering a referral.
• Keep the attribution history on the client, so a dispute is a lookup.

Paying out

Pay partners through the same approved balance operations as any other payment, on their own account. It keeps partner money inside the controls your finance team already trusts.