How to Make Money in Forex Without Investment - Top 4 Options

Many people think that it is impossible to make money on Forex without investing capital. After all, a trader makes a profit in the foreign exchange market by dealing with currency. Whereas, to buy something, you have to pay for it, right? True enough, but there is no need to pay out of your own pocket.

Today, top brokers can attract traders with lucrative offers that allow you to make money on Forex without an investment. These are affiliate programs, non-deposit bonuses, and contests, including demo account contests.

How to make money on Forex without investing capital?

To understand how to try a hand on Forex without investing funds, let’s examine in detail the foreign exchange market. Forex is not an organization and it does not have its own website. It is a system of currency relations between banks all over the world. Banks conduct many thousands of currency conversions and other currency transactions every minute. That is, at any moment, there are distributions of thousands of currency pairs. The difference in the value of each pair is what determines the price quotes.

Currency exchange has flourished for centuries; even the Scriptures mention merchants (“the money changers”) in the markets who exchanged money from one country for money of another country. The modern-day Forex was founded in 1976 when all currencies were pegged to the dollar instead of gold reserves. See, for example, The History of Forex Trading: Where It All Began.

Anybody in the world can freely deal with and in currency. And if you, after analyzing the market, correctly speculate that today 100 yen goes for $1, and tomorrow it will go for $1.4, then today you can buy yen for dollars, and tomorrow sell them at a profit. Your profit comes from the difference between the two sums. So, the business of the Forex market is the actual trading itself. The only nuance is that you can’t work with banks directly as an individual, thus you need an intermediary — a licensed agent who can work directly with the banks on your behalf. These agents are the Forex brokers.

How much money is needed to start Forex trading?

We return to the question of whether it is possible to get a profit on Forex without investments. In contrast to just 10 years ago — when trading was not even a specialty in many countries, traders couldn’t start trading without capital. But today, the competition between brokers has changed and brokers have come up with attractive means of allowing traders to trade without making any investment of their own capital. This is truly a win-win situation.

By the way, many people believe that the USA is the world’s center of currency trading; but this is not true. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) conducts only 19% of currency transactions worldwide; whereas, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) controls more than 41% globally. But the British currency is traded 8 times less than the American dollar. The dollar participates in 87% of all worldwide currency trades, and the British pound sterling only in 11%.

It is not only possible to make money on Forex without first investing, in some cases it is necessary. It is vitally important for a novice trader to study the trading terminal, the dynamics of quotations, and the trading mechanism itself before investing his own money before earning profits. First, you need to find out how much you can reasonably earn on Forex, before investing real money.

There are demo and cent accounts for training and they should be used, but they will never replace the adrenaline rush of a real dollar account. Let’s face it: when you risk nothing or risk losing 10 cents, your strategies and tactical decisions will not be the same as if there is at least $10, $100, or $1000 at risk. Your mental focus is simply not the same.

And if someone, such as a broker, donates $10 to you to try your luck or strategy in the market, you should embrace the opportunity to try a real trading situation, or to test how well you understand the market mechanisms, or to decide whether you even like Forex trading or not.

Top 4 options to get profit on Forex without investments

Making money on Forex without investing money because a broker gave you cash to trade for free, is not the only way to make money without risking your personal assets. You can make money in the foreign exchange market in other ways too, such as using the bonus and other programs of brokers and winning competitions held by brokers, as well as by independent traders’ unions.

The obvious question is why would a broker give a trader “free” money at all? One reason is that it benefits the broker to interest you in trading, teach you how to trade, and teach you how to trade well (i.e., earn a profit), and finally, to maintain your loyalty to his brokerage business. In each of these ways, the broker stands a chance of increasing his own profits. It is another win-win situation. Also, realize that he gets a commission on your winnings; but no commissions if you lose. It is in his best interest to help you win. If you lose, the lost funds simply go into the total interbank cash flow and are distributed among all traders all over the world. Find out how much you can earn on Forex daily as a regular trader.

But there are some exceptions, such as fraudulent brokers, which primarily are Forex bucket-shops, and financial pyramids. Bucket-shop brokers, do not withdraw money to the interbank market, so 100% of your losses go directly to him since if you lose, your funds are simply confiscated by him. Pyramid schemes are even more deleterious. There, you are asked to make a deposit based merely on a promise of a considerable and guaranteed income in the future; but in fact, the fraudster simply keeps 100% of your money for itself.

Unfortunately, once becoming a victim of fraud or scammed by a dishonest broker who does not fulfill his obligations to traders, many people lose faith in the Forex market and become reluctant to believe that it is entirely possible and safe to earn income from the Forex market without making investments, as well as simultaneously earning money through regular trading — if you care to do so. There is no requirement that you actively trade at all. To be extra safe, you should cooperate only with reliable and trusted brokers that you can find in the list. We now turn your attention to programs that allow you to start earning with reputable brokers without investing your own money.

Forex affiliate programs

This method of making money on Forex without investments does not require direct trading. The affiliate program is about making money for bringing new clients to the broker. The specifics of the process may differ slightly from brokerage to brokerage, but the basic process is the same for all:

As simple as that, the broker gets a new client, and the broker thanks you with a cash reward. But the cash reward may not come immediately upon the mere registration and verification of the invited trader. In most cases, the newly-registered trader must actually make a deposit (and sometimes, conduct trades). For example, the new guy must register; be verified; download the broker’s terminal; and make the first deposit. The conditions are different among brokers, but you should understand that brokers are prodigious in protecting themselves from cheats and scammers. Also, you may get continued cash beyond the initial recruitment bonus, if the new guy becomes a prolific trader with many wins.

An affiliate program is normally not worth considering as the main source of income. But this is an effective way of making money on Forex without investments with a view toward passive “extra” income. An affiliate program is a good stable bonus for socially active people.

Traders Union affiliate program

Traders Union also offers its own affiliate program, which is considered by many to be the most profitable option for earning money in the Forex market without making investments. All you need to attract clients is to give them your referral link. You can bring clients to any broker on the list of Traders Union partners and there are dozens of top companies.

Keep in mind that it is more profitable to register with a broker through the Union's website than directly with the broker because the trader gets a refund of a part of the commission (spread) that the broker charges from his successful trades; 100% free legal support; and access to contests on demo accounts with real cash prizes are also provided.

Benefits of the Traders Union affiliate program:

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  You get 10% of the income of each trader attracted.

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  You get 5% of the income of each trader who was invited by the client you referred.

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  You have a personal account with detailed statistics, where all information about partners for the last 5 months is stored.

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  Profit is calculated not by the number of transactions, but by the volume of trades. Payments are made directly to your personal account automatically.

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  It does not matter which broker you work with, the mode of the transactions, or the period of time your partner trades.

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  Traders Union provides its own collection of attractive banners for integration into your recruiting efforts.

This last point is of prime importance. You can publish not just a referral link on forums or websites, but a high-quality professionally created banner, which significantly increases user interest and the conversion of forum or site visitors to partners.

To become a Traders Union partner:

• Register on the Union’s website.

  
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  Read the affiliate program rules.

• Get the referral link from your broker in your personal account (see the “Partner’s income” section).

  
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  Post the link and banner on your website or external sources.

• Make money!

  

Each Traders Union client who follows your banner or link will bring you money. However, you can post them anywhere – in signatures on forums and in emails, on personal sites, blogs, communities, and personal pages on social media. You have no restrictions on the placement of referral links and banners from the Traders Union side.

Free Forex money: Non-deposit bonuses

Non-deposit bonuses are the most popular way to trade Forex without investment. As the name suggests, to start trading, you do not need an initial deposit; that is, there is no need to deposit personal funds into your account. Choose a broker, register directly on its website (or with the Traders Union website, as it is more profitable) and as soon as you open your first account, you will get the non-deposit bonus immediately!

Note!
The non-deposit bonus does not work for demo accounts because only virtual money is used on demo accounts. Also, many brokers do not provide bonuses for cent accounts and some other types of accounts. The accounts where you can get a bonus will be indicated in its description.

Brokers have varying conditions for non-deposit bonuses. The receipt terms, size, account types available and many other parameters differ. But in general, all bonuses can be divided into several types.

A non-deposit bonus that does not require replenishment and which can be withdrawn later is the most profitable option. Brokers do not allow the withdrawal of bonus funds immediately, without successful deals, because in such a case many people would simply register, withdraw the bonus and leave. Bonuses shall be won back. There are also non-withdrawable bonuses and they are also profitable because they give you start-up capital without personal investment. Several options in the table are not fully no-deposit; you must make at least a minimum deposit ($1-10) to activate them. Please note that many brokers provide additional bonuses for large deposits.

The non-deposit bonus provides you with an excellent opportunity to try your hand without risking your money. But no matter how attractive Forex is with non-withdrawal investments, it is viable only for novice traders. Further, to become a professional trader and get significant profits, you shall work with larger amounts on a real account. This is necessary to open more deals and increase rates, to work with leverage (many brokers do not provide leverage for bonus funds).

Contests conducted by Forex brokers

Various contests are another option for making money on Forex without investment. The broker states the conditions of the contest and all traders who fulfill them have a chance to get real payments. For example: Earn the most in a week on a cent account; or the most deals made on a demo account in a single day, etc.

Contests types:

Contest on demo-accounts.

The trader's actions on his demo account are recorded and the trader does not risk anything. The bonus for winning the competition is paid with real money.

Contests on cent and dollar accounts.

Everything is the same as with the demo account contests except traders work with their real money deposit. There is almost no risk on the cent account and standard on dollar account for the foreign exchange market. Note that bonus payments for contests on real accounts are much higher.

Learn more about contests for demo accounts below but for now, let’s consider contests on real accounts. As a rule, the winning bonus is 3-10 times for first places. The lower the place – the lower the bonus. Conditions differ. Some contests are held in the form of tournaments and require entry fees (usually from $10). The advantage of tournament contests is that their prize fund is formed not only by the broker's funds but also by participants' contributions. The profit can be very significant.

All top brokers hold contests and many of them regularly, usually weekly or monthly. Daily contests are rare and are usually devoted to some significant event such as a stock or currency crash; or major world events (e.g., the Olympics, World Cup, global holidays). Swift reaction is very important for a trader to start fulfilling the conditions immediately after the contest starts and to keep up with his competitors. But usually, this is not a problem as brokers post contests on their home pages and give advanced notice.

The contests are a great way to make money on Forex without investment. That is, in some cases you make investments, but in the standard mode. You just trade as usual, but with the option to get an additional bonus at the end of the reporting period.

The only disadvantage is that they are inconsistent. That is, they are one-off payments during a certain period, perhaps once a week or month, Therefore, such contests cannot be considered as a steady income, but only as an occasional income source.

Traders’ contests on demo accounts

We have established that many brokers offer contests on demo accounts as an option to profit on Forex without investment. But members of the Traders Union often prefer to participate in our exclusive competitions held by our trading union. Why? There are two reasons. First, we conduct such contests monthly. Second, we have a significant prize pool of $200. No broker has such a great prize pool.

Moreover, very few brokers hold contests with real payments on demo accounts. And quite a few have introduced them on an ongoing basis (some operate on a tournament format with significant contributions from their trader colleagues, which discourages novice traders from participating). That is why Traders Union contests on demo accounts are so popular.

Benefits of participating in demo contests:

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  You gain practical experience with real trading instruments. Demo accounts differ from real ones only in that virtual currencies are traded on them. The currency pairs, quotes, and software are exactly the same.

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  All you need is to register and open an account with a broker to participate in the contest on a demo account. Thus, the contests allow you to test a specific broker, the instruments offered by him, and the trading platform.

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  Since trading on the demo is conducted with real inputs, real methods of fundamental and technical market analysis are applicable to demo accounts. Therefore, it is beneficial to participate in such contests to test strategies.

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  Demo contests are an opportunity to start trading on Forex without investments. The benefits, therefore, of entering a contest using a demo account is that you do not need a deposit for a demo account; you will get the prize money paid directly into your real account; and you can use them for real trading on the foreign exchange market.

Certainly, this method of making money on Forex without investments is good only for novice traders. Sure, a $45 first place win is a significant bonus, but it cannot serve as your primary earnings. Professionals make such an amount every 2-3 hours. However, the Traders Union contests provide an excellent opportunity to practice and earn on your first deposit!

Earnings on Forex without investments | Expert’s opinion

Making money on Forex without investments is possible! It happens every day. There are many ways: non-deposit bonuses, affiliate programs, and contests on real and demo accounts. Contests for demo and non-deposit bonuses are especially beneficial because they allow you to get an initial deposit to start real trading and to gain practical experience step by step.

Other types of bonuses and contests on real accounts also give good, albeit irregular, profits. That is, contests are held periodically, and the trader gets bonuses only for certain actions. Therefore, such methods cannot be considered as full-fledged earnings, and in any case, you should start trading on your own with an investment of more significant funds or invest in trust management as an option.

FAQs on earnings on Forex without investing funds

Is it possible to make money on Forex without investing funds?

Yes. Top brokers offer their clients and partners a wide range of options. The most profitable are affiliate programs, non-deposit bonuses, contests on real and demo accounts.

What does an affiliate program with a broker offer?

The broker pays you a reward for each client attracted. But it is more profitable to work on the Traders Union affiliate program: payments here are not one-off, but regular, and there are many other advantages.

What kinds of non-deposit bonuses are there?

Some bonuses are given for merely opening an account, others for replenishing it. Some of them could be withdrawn after several successful transactions, others cannot. Each broker offers its own conditions for such bonuses.

Why should I participate in Forex contests?

Contests on demo accounts provide you with an important experience and allow you to make money from your first real deposit. Contests on real accounts for professionals can be a good source of income.