Traders Union research: Forex bonuses encourage traders to trade more often

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Forex bonuses encourage traders

One in two traders has used a bonus

According to the study “Do Forex Bonuses Encourage Riskier Trading?”, nearly half of respondents had accepted a bonus from a broker at least once. Of these, 31% used such an offer once, while 18% did so several times.

Another 21% of traders had considered accepting a bonus but ultimately decided against it. The remaining 30% had never shown any interest in such offers.

According to Traders Union analysts, bonuses remain a common way to attract new clients. However, most participants do not view them as a permanent part of their trading strategy.

Traders become more active

Among bonus recipients, 44% said they increased their trading activity. Most began trading slightly more often, while 13% reported a significant increase in activity.

At the same time, 38% of respondents opened larger positions at least occasionally because of the additional funds in their accounts. Only 11% regularly increased the size of their trades.

Bonuses had a weaker effect on leverage use. Around 29% of traders said they increased their leverage, while most continued using the same settings.

This suggests that promotional offers are more likely to encourage additional trading than to directly push participants toward higher leverage.

Bonus money feels different

Around 46% of bonus recipients admitted that they viewed promotional funds differently from their own deposits. However, only 19% said they were willing to take greater risks with this money.

Another 27% perceived a difference between personal and bonus funds but maintained the same risk limits. The remaining participants either treated all capital equally or did not think about where the funds came from.

This behavior is consistent with the concept of mental accounting, which suggests that people treat money differently depending on its source. A bonus may be perceived as additional capital whose loss feels less painful.

The main risk lies in the conditions

Trader behavior is influenced more strongly by the requirements for using bonus funds and withdrawing profits than by the bonus money itself. Around 42% of respondents said trading-volume requirements caused them to make more trades than they had planned.

In addition, 35% of participants entered positions they would normally have avoided at least occasionally. At the same time, 42% said bonuses never affected their trade selection.

Traders Union analysts concluded that promotions do not cause all traders to abandon discipline completely. However, they can reinforce existing tendencies toward overtrading, larger positions, and unnecessary risk-taking.

Earlier, Traders Union published research showing that most traders fail prop firm challenges.

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