OANDA Approval Time

OANDA is one of the world's most reputable forex brokers. But how long does it take to get your account approved? Read on to find out.

Want to use OANDA but you're in a rush? Great news, you won't have to wait long to get your OANDA account approved.

In this guide, you'll learn about OANDA's approval period, including a step-by-step guide on how to open an account.

How Long Does It Take for OANDA to Approve an Account?

OANDA takes 1 to 2 days to approve an account.

This starts from the moment you submit the registration form. Once your account has been approved, you can then start depositing funds so you can start trading.

Some Reasons for Account Disapproval

Here are the three common reasons why accounts don't get approved:

1. Age
   OANDA will automatically disapprove an account if you're under 18 years old. Only those of legal age are allowed to trade.

2. No Income
   If you don't have income, OANDA will also disapprove your account, as this would mean you don't have the necessary funds to invest or trade assets.

3. False Declaration
   Avoid lying in the registration form and trade experience survey. Also, make sure your documents support your statements on the registration form.

Is OANDA Safe?

Yes, OANDA is a safe and credible broker. It is regulated by multiple top-tier authorities.^[1] It is highly trustworthy.

This means, your money is in good hands with OANDA. It will not require you to pay anything when creating your account.

Also, you can easily close your account whenever you feel like you don't want to continue with the broker anymore.

How to Open an Account at OANDA?

Opening an OANDA account is easy. Just follow these steps:

Complete the registration form

OANDA will ask you to fill out a form to indicate your age, residence, salary range, and financial assets, among others. Questions about your financial background are a necessary step in risk assessment. This will ensure that you won't take trades you can't afford.

To open an account, you need to be 18 years old or above. You also need to be a legal resident of the country from which you are applying.

You also need to fill out a trading experience survey. This is a necessary step to ensure that you have basic trading knowledge.

Verify your Identity

You need to submit documentation that will verify your identity. A scanned copy (or just a picture) of your ID card will suffice. OANDA prefers a copy of your passport or national ID card.

You will have to scan or take a photo of the original document. Then submit it to OANDA's secure portal on its site.

OANDA does not accept black and white copies of your ID.^[2] So make sure to only submit a colored copy of the original.

Verify your Address

You also need to verify your current residential address. OANDA prefers to receive a copy of your bank statement (within the last three months) that has your name and address on it. This should be the bank account that you intend to use to fund your account at OANDA.

There are cases when OANDA asks for more than one document to verify your address.

Keep reading to know the other documents that you can submit as proof of your address and identity.

Wait for Account Approval

After you have submitted the registration form and the documents, you just need to wait for OANDA to approve your account. This can take one to three days.

Once approved, you can then start funding your account through various deposit methods, such as debit cards, wire transfers, and ACH bank transfers. Additional funding methods are available depending on your country of residence.

You can deposit any amount as OANDA has no minimum deposit requirement.^[3] Once your account is funded, you are now ready to place your first trade with OANDA.

Required Documents for Verification

Here are some documents that you can submit to verify your identity and address:

1. Identification documents
   
   • Passport
     
   • Identity card
     
   • Driver's license
   You will be asked to provide additional information if OANDA cannot confirm your identity based on the documents you submitted.

2. Residence certificates
   
   • Bank statements
     
   • Credit card statements
     
   • Utility bills: gas, electricity, water
     
   • Court documents or subpoenas
     
   • Wired telephone or internet invoices
     
   • Social Security card
     
   • Property management bill
   OANDA does not accept mobile phone bills as proof of address.

Trading Hours

OANDA follows the trading hours of the global financial markets.^[4]

The foreign exchange market is normally open from Sunday 5pm to Friday 5pm (EST). It starts with the opening of the Asian trading market and continues to the closing of the New York trading market.

When the market is closed on weekends, you can still delete or modify profit orders and market orders. But these orders will only take effect when the market opens.

Bottom Line

OANDA's approval time takes 1 to 2 days. During this time, OANDA verifies your identity, address, and financial background based on the documents you submitted.

Make sure the documents you submitted support your statements on the registration form. This way, OANDA can quickly verify your identity and you won't have to wait too long for your account approval.

References