TOP

Check 21 should have sped up the check collection process and yet IB continues to hold customer checks for 7 business days. Why?

Check 21 is a federal law, effective October 28, 2004, that will improve check processing by eliminating the requirement to physically transport checks between banks. Banks can agree to send each other check images electronically. The impact of this legislation will be gradual since only a few banks currently exchange check images electronically.

Check processing speed has improved because of system developments other than Check 21. However, the return check process does not seem to have improved yet. When the maker’s bank receives a check for payment it either provides payment or submits notification to the payee’s bank that it will not honor the check for payment because of non-sufficient funds, closed account etc. IB’s bank receives the notification of a returned check via the Federal Reserve and deducts the funds from IB’s bank account since it originally credited PTI ProDirect based on an estimated funds availability schedule (not when the check actually clears). IB then reverses the funds to its customer’s PTI ProDirect account. There is no set time frame for returned checks and IB has experienced returned checks up to seven business days.

Before IB implemented the seven-business day hold period, it experienced losses from returned checks. PTI ProDirect wishes to keep its commissions as low as possible and therefore it avoids preventable losses. We encourage our customers to send funds via bank check or wire if they wish for immediate availability of funds.

TOP

My bank debited my account for the Fedwire that I sent to IB and yet IB has not credit the funds to my account yet. Why?
IB's bank typically posts incoming wires to IB's bank account within a few minutes. There can be bank posting delays if there is a lot of fedwire activity for that day.

IB retrieves incoming wires to its bank accounts every 15 minutes during business hours and, if there is match to a deposit notification then our system automatically posts the funds to the customer's account. IB posting delays to customers' PTI ProDirect accounts can occur because:

• the customer didn't submit a deposit notification
• the sending bank improperly formatted the wire (and therefore customer identifiers do not appear on IB's bank reports)
• the sending bank misspelled the customer’s name or incorrectly input other customer identifiers so an automatic match to the deposit notification cannot occur

IB's bank didn’t display the customer identifiers on its bank reporting system (we then ask our bank for additional details on the incoming wire)
If IB can't identify who the customer is then IB will return the funds to the sending bank.

TOP

What are PTI ProDirect's commission rates?
PTI ProDirect fees for individual accounts are stated on our website. Click here to see them. Commissions and fees are calculated per contract or minimum per order (if the per contract charge does not exceed the minimum commission fee).

How much must I deposit to open an account?
The initial minimum account deposit is summarized on the Account Minimums page. Please be certain to differentiate between the initial minimum account deposit and the initial margin required per contract. The former is the minimum amount of money required to open a specific type of account. The latter is the amount of net liquidating value that must be in the account for each contract in the user's entire portfolio plus any contemplated trade in order for PTI ProDirect to accept such contemplated orders.

TOP