As an Introducing Broker, you bring clients to someone else's brokerage and earn commission. With a white label, you run a brokerage under your own brand, built on another company's technology and often its liquidity and licence arrangements. It is a much bigger step than it first looks.
What a white label actually is
A white label is a ready-made brokerage set-up that a provider lets you rebrand. Depending on the package, it can include a trading platform (often MetaTrader or cTrader), a client area, a CRM, payment connections and access to liquidity. You add your brand, your website and your clients.
What a white label does not give you automatically is permission to offer financial services. In most countries, offering leveraged trading to the public needs a licence, or a formal arrangement with a licensed firm. You must check this carefully, with a lawyer, before you launch.
Side by side
| Introducing Broker | White label | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand clients see | The broker's | Yours |
| Upfront cost | Little or none | Set-up fees, platform licences, legal, website and marketing |
| Monthly costs | Your own marketing | Platform and CRM fees, staff, compliance, payment providers, hosting |
| Licensing | Depends on country; often lighter | Usually your own licence, or a regulated partner arrangement |
| Client support and KYC | Done by the broker | Your responsibility |
| Client funds | Held by the broker | You must arrange safe, compliant handling |
| Income | Commission from the broker | Spread, commission and fees, minus all your costs |
| Control over pricing and products | None | Much more |
The hidden work of running a brokerage
- Compliance: KYC and anti-money-laundering checks, record keeping, reporting and complaints handling.
- Payments: payment providers are cautious with brokerages, and chargebacks and fraud are your problem.
- Support: clients will contact you about deposits, withdrawals and platform issues at all hours.
- Risk management: depending on how trades are executed, you may carry market risk on client positions.
- Reputation: if something goes wrong, the complaints carry your name, not the broker's.
When staying an IB makes more sense
- You want to focus on your audience, content and community.
- You don't want to handle client money, compliance or support.
- Your client base is still growing, or varies a lot from month to month.
- You want to be able to switch brokers if terms change.
Many IBs get more control by negotiating better terms instead: higher tiers, faster payouts, dedicated support or co-branded landing pages. Our IB agreement checklist covers what to negotiate.
When a white label might make sense
- You already have a large, stable and active client base.
- You have, or can hire, people for compliance, support and operations.
- You have taken legal advice on licensing in every country you will serve.
- You have enough capital to cover costs for a long period before revenue covers them.
Decision checklist
- Have I written a full cost estimate, including legal, compliance and staff?
- Do I know exactly which licence I need for each target country?
- Who holds client funds, and how are they protected?
- Who handles KYC, complaints and support?
- Could I get most of what I want by negotiating better IB terms instead?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to run a white label brokerage?
In most countries, offering leveraged trading to the public requires a licence or a formal arrangement with a licensed firm. The rules differ widely, so take legal advice before launching.
Is a white label more profitable than being an IB?
Not necessarily. You keep more of each trade's revenue, but you also carry all the costs and risks. Many white labels never cover their costs.
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