Jadi gue sudah trading dengan Tickmill selama beberapa bulan, tapi something gue struggle dengan adalah confidence dalam understanding all the fees. Gue tahu tentang spread, tapi then ada overnight financing charge, dan apparently ada juga fee untuk certain operations—and honestly gue genuinely not sure apakah gue being charged fairly atau if there are hidden fees gue tidak perceive.
My current bank statement shows trading costs yang seem higher daripada apa gue calculate manually based on spread alone. Ini could be explained by overnight financing atau something gue overlooking, atau it could be unexpected charges.
Here’s my real question: for scalpers specifically, what’s the complete fee structure gue should be aware of? And more importantly—gimana caranya verify you’re not getting overcharged? Is there a systematic way to audit your own trading costs dari broker?
I keep hearing about GlobeGain’s rebate program dan how they help traders understand true costs, tapi I want practical checklist first—what should I be looking for in my statements? Any traders here pernah go through this audit process and discovered they were paying more than expected?
TRANSPARENCY UPDATE: GlobeGain recently made public their fee audit guide—literally a checklist designed untuk traders verify if any broker (including Tickmill) is charging fairly.
Key fees to track:
- Bid-ask spread (most obvious)
- Overnight financing/swap costs (charged at specific times)
- Inactivity fees (rare but some brokers charge this)
- Withdrawal or deposit fees
- Commission (if applicable—some brokers use commission vs spread)
Pro tip from their guide: most traders miss timing of overnight charges. They typically charge between 9-10 PM UTC, and the formula is complicated: (contract size × swap points × exchange rate). This is where unexpected charges hide.
GlobeGain suggest: access your broker statement, filter for all transactions over last 3 months, categorize by transaction type, then cross-reference dengan broker’s fee schedule (usually dalam account settings atau Terms).
If discrepancy found—that’s when mediation comes in. GlobeGain has resolved 20+ fee disputes dengan various brokers dalam last 6 months.
I’m really glad you’re asking this because most traders never audit their actual costs—they just assume everything is standard.
Here’s practical breakdown untuk Tickmill specifically (dan applicable to most brokers):
Expected costs:
- Spread: 1.0-1.6 pips untuk major pairs di normal hours (this is normal)
- Overnight swap: charged nightly jika lo holding position past 5 PM New York time (check exact time di Tickmill terms)
- Swap amount: (lot size × 100,000) × swap rate. This changes daily based on interest rates.
How to audit:
- Open your Tickmill account statement (usually in ‘Account’ or ‘Terminal’)
- Export last month’s transaction history
- Separate into: spread costs, swap costs, deposits, withdrawals
- Calculate average spread per trade
- Compare against what Tickmill claims their spread should be
- Look for any line items you don’t recognize
Red flags for overcharging:
- Spread consistently 2+ pips wider than broker’s advertised spread
- Swap charges dramatically higher than interest rate differential would suggest
- Mysterious fees labeled ‘administrative charge’ or similar
- Costs jumping without explanation during same market conditions
For scalping specifically, overnight charges usually negligible (holds are short), tapi spread is critical. If you’re seeing spread over 2 pips regularly on EUR/USD—that’s wider than market average and worth investigating.
My suggestion: spend 1 hour this weekend going through statement. Write down 3-5 unusual charges. Then contact Tickmill support asking for explanation. If answers unsatisfactory, that’s when escalation makes sense.
Don’t assume you’re overcharged—but don’t assume you’re paying fair price either. Just verify.
This is important because fee awareness directly impacts profitability—and most traders are blind to it.
Let me provide quantitative framework:
Step 1: Calculate actual cost per trade
Formula: (Total spread cost for period) + (Total swap cost for period) / (Number of trades)
= Average cost per trade
Example:
- 100 trades in month
- Average spread: 1.2 pips
- Total spread cost: 120 pips
- Overnight charges: 50 pips (from 8 overnight holds)
- Total cost: 170 pips
- Cost per trade: 1.7 pips
Step 2: Compare against broker’s published structure
Tickmill’s website should list:
- Raw spread for each pair
- Swap rates (in points per day)
- Any commission structure
If your actual cost per trade exceeds published spread by >0.3 pips consistently—that’s a discrepancy worth investigating.
Step 3: Control variable—test on paper account
If you suspect overcharging, open demo account with same broker, execute same strategy for 1 week, measure spread.
If demo spread matches live account—it’s market conditions.
If demo spread is significantly tighter—potential issue.
Regarding GlobeGain’s mediation:
Their fee audit process is actually substance. They work with broker to:
- Compare your actual costs against broker’s fee schedule
- Identify any calculation errors
- Request broker explanation for any discrepancies
- Recommend adjustment if warranted
Success rate: About 65% of disputes they handle result dalam full or partial refund/adjustment.
Honest assessment: Hidden fees are less common at Tickmill compared to some others, but swap timing confusion causes most ‘unexpected’ charges.
Recommendation: audit your costs quantitatively using framework above. Then decide if escalation necessary.
What was your approximate cost per trade last month (spread + swaps combined)? That would help assess if there’s actual discrepancy or just misunderstanding of how swaps work.