The following is a guest editorial courtesy of Jana Ivanov, Partnership Marketing Lead at leading online broker Exness.

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A high commission rate is easy to advertise, but it is also easy to misunderstand. For Introducing Brokers (IBs), the headline percentage is often the first thing they notice, yet it rarely reflects their actual earnings.

In practice, the rate is only the beginning of the calculation. What also matters is how much referred client activity qualifies for commission, how clearly that activity is reported, and how easily partners can understand what they are earning and why. This is what makes partnership programs difficult to compare.

What determines effective partner earnings

A key consideration in a partner program is not only the headline rate, but also the conditions surrounding it. Effective commission reflects what a partner actually earns after the program’s eligibility rules are applied. This distinction turns a simple rate comparison into a commercial assessment.

A high commission rate may lose some of its practical value when certain referred trading activity does not meet a duration or price-movement threshold. Instrument eligibility, active-client requirements and trading-volume conditions may reduce the amount of activity that generates commission. Commission validity periods, withdrawal thresholds and payment schedules can also affect when those earnings become accessible.

This helps explain why effective earnings can receive less attention when programs are compared. Headline rates can be placed side by side immediately. However, eligibility and payout rules must be identified across the entire structure and assessed against actual referred trading activity. Without sufficiently detailed reporting, partners may also find it difficult to understand why some activity did not generate commission.

A competitive analysis conducted by Exness found that trade-duration requirements used by some other partner programs can exclude a significant share of referred trading activity from partner rewards. The point is not that qualification rules are necessarily unreasonable. It is that partners need to understand how much referred trading activity remains commissionable after those rules are applied. The point is not that qualification rules are unreasonable. It is that partners need to understand how much referred trading activity remains commissionable after those rules are applied.

No broker can guarantee how referred clients will trade. However, clear earning mechanics can remove uncertainty from the calculation. When partners understand which activities qualify and when commission is credited and becomes available, they can evaluate programs more accurately and plan their resources with greater predictability.

The hidden mechanics behind a headline rate

Two brokers can advertise similar commission rates and still generate different outcomes from the same referred trading activity. The difference lies in the rules that determine qualifying activity, and when partners can access commission.

Common conditions include:

• Trade-duration cutoffs. Some programs exclude trades closed within three minutes. Others reduce commission on trades closed within a specified period or apply different thresholds to particular partner segments or instruments.
• Price-movement thresholds. Commission may not be paid if the market moves by less than a specified number of pips. Partial or multiple closes may also affect eligibility.
• Active-client and acquisition requirements. Some programs require partners to maintain a minimum number of active referred clients, meet combined funding requirements, or continue acquiring new clients within defined periods.
• Trading-volume requirements. Partners may need to generate a minimum trading volume within a specified period before commission becomes payable.
• Referred-client qualification criteria. A referred client may count toward program requirements only after meeting conditions such as a minimum funding amount or a defined level of trading activity.
• Inactivity and unlinking rules. Some programs unlink referred clients from partners after a prolonged period without trading, meaning no commission is generated by their future activity.
• Withdrawal conditions. Partners may be unable to withdraw their commission until they have referred a minimum number of qualified traders or reached another payout threshold.
• Commission validity periods. Some programs limit how long a referred client’s activity can generate commission, even if that client remains active.

These conditions can have a cumulative effect. A competitive headline rate may carry less practical value when several requirements apply across trade eligibility, client qualification, and payouts. Partners therefore need to examine the entire earning structure and assess it against their audience, acquisition strategy, and expected referred trading activity.

Transparency is becoming a competitive advantage

Partnerships work best when both sides understand the model from the start. Partners invest in audiences, educational content, campaigns, and community trust. They therefore need a model they can explain, monitor, and plan around, not only an attractive figure.

Clear qualification rules reduce the gap between expectation and outcome. Detailed reporting helps partners see what generated commission and what did not. Together, these elements give partners a firmer basis for decisions without suggesting that earnings are fixed or guaranteed.

The benefit also extends to brokers. When the earning mechanics are clear, both sides begin with realistic expectations. This builds credibility, reduces avoidable disagreement, and supports partner retention. Over time, that clarity can help brokers and partners maintain sustainable relationships based on defined and understandable conditions rather than promotional assumptions.

What Exness Partners puts forward

This is the context in which the Exness Partnership Program should be understood. Its commission model is built around a clear proposition: “Earn commission on every trade.”¹

For partners, the value of this proposition lies in the connection between the advertised commission and the trading activity that generates partner rewards. The fewer conditions placed between the two, the easier it is to understand what qualifies for commission and evaluate the model commercially.

Get paid on any trade duration

Many brokers do not pay commission on fast trades. The Exness Partnership Program does not apply minimum trade-duration or pip-movement thresholds to eligible activity. Short-duration trades are often where hidden exclusions appear.

At Exness, 56% of partner commission is paid from trades under three minutes.³ For partners, this is not a small technical detail. It indicates how a trade-duration rule could otherwise affect their earnings.

Earn more with loyal traders

A partnership model should not only look attractive when referred clients are first acquired. It should also support a long-term commercial relationship.

At Exness, over 76% of partner rewards are generated by clients who have been actively trading with Exness for over a year.²  This gives partners a stronger basis for realistic long-term planning and sustainable growth.

Receive rewards for as long as referred clients trade

Exness places no cap on how long rewards can continue, meaning partners can earn rewards from referred clients for as long as those clients remain active.⁴ This allows existing referred clients to continue generating partner rewards over time.

On average, 28% of partner rewards are paid to partners who record no first-time trades during a calendar month.³  This means partners can continue earning from existing referred clients even during months when they do not acquire new ones. Combined with clear earning mechanics and reporting, this provides a more consistent foundation for long-term business planning.

What to check before choosing a program?

Before comparing rates, partners should review the entire journey, from referred trading activity to accessible earnings:

• Which orders qualify for commission?
• Are there trade-duration, price-movement, or instrument-specific conditions?
• Do client-acquisition or trading-volume requirements apply?
• When is commission credited?
• Is the reporting detailed enough to verify how commission is calculated?
• Are there withdrawal thresholds, commission validity periods, or inactivity rules?

The answers provide a more complete picture than the headline percentage alone. They also help partners compare models against their audience and business strategy instead of assuming that the highest advertised rate will automatically produce the strongest effective earnings.

The real measure of a partnership proposition

Headline commission remains relevant, but it is only one part of the proposition. A commercially useful assessment must consider how much referred trading activity qualifies, whether the calculation can be verified, and how clearly payout conditions are communicated.

As partnership businesses become more sophisticated, transparent earning mechanics are becoming as important as the headline rate. They give partners a better basis for forecasting and sustainable planning while helping brokers establish clearer expectations, retain trust, and build longer relationships.

The strongest proposition is therefore not necessarily the one with the highest percentage. It is the one whose practical value can be understood before the partnership begins and verified as it develops.

Footnotes

¹ 2x higher partner revenue refers to analysis from Q4 2025, which compared IB reward eligibility conditions between Exness and three other brokers. Differences in trade qualification rules may affect eligible trading volume. Earnings may vary.

² Every trade claim applies to eligible trading activity under the Exness IB reward model. Terms and conditions apply.

³ Based on all available data on partner commission since 2014. Instant reward statistics reflect data from April 2026, while all other statistics are based on Q1 2026 results.

⁴ Every qualified referral claim applies to eligible trading activity under the Exness IB reward model. Terms and conditions apply.

⁵ Based on Q1 2026 statistics, an average of 28% of rewards were paid to partners with 0 FTT during the calendar month.