Closing is a request to the broker
There is no button in the trading panel that deletes an account. Closure is an instruction you give to your broker, in writing, and the broker carries it out once the account is clean: no open positions, no pending orders, nothing owed, and no money left in it.
The order matters. A closure request on an account that still has a live position or an unpaid financing charge will not be processed; it will simply sit with the support desk until the account is tidy. Work through the sequence below in order and the whole thing is usually routine.
Nothing about this is adversarial. A broker has no interest in holding an account open against your wishes, and asking to close does not require you to give a reason.
The closure procedure
Five steps. Do them in this order.
- 1
Close or let expire every open position
Flatten the account. Close each position from the positions list, or let anything with an expiry run to it. An account with live exposure cannot be closed, because the profit or loss on it is not yet known.
- 2
Cancel every pending order
A resting limit or stop order can still trigger and open a fresh position days after you thought you had finished. Go through the orders list and cancel all of them. See Order Types.
- 3
Settle anything owed
Check for a negative balance, unpaid swap or financing, or any commission not yet debited. If the account is in deficit the broker will ask you to bring it back to zero before it closes anything, and that obligation does not disappear because you asked to leave. See Fees and Charges.
- 4
Withdraw the remaining balance
Take out whatever is left, back to the method and the name it came in on. Do this before you request closure: withdrawing from an account that is already being closed is slower and more awkward. See Withdrawing Funds.
- 5
Send a written closure request
Email your account manager or the support desk from the address registered on the account, state the account number, and ask for it to be closed. Keep the reply. The broker confirms when the closure is done, and that confirmation is the record you want if a question comes up later.
Closing an account is not the same as going quiet
Simply stopping trading is not closure. An account you have not touched for months is inactive or dormant, and it still exists: the broker still holds it, your balance is still in it, and any fee schedule that applies to dormant accounts still applies to you.
Many brokers charge an inactivity fee after a defined period without trading activity, and it is typically deducted from whatever balance is sitting there. Left long enough, a small forgotten balance can be eroded by those charges. The amount, the qualifying period, and whether such a fee exists at all are set by the broker, not by the platform, and they are in the terms you signed.
So if you have finished, finish properly: take the money out and ask for the account to be closed. If you only want a break, tell your account manager, and ask what the dormancy rules on your account actually are before you walk away from it.
Common questions
Can I reopen a closed account?
No. Closure is final. What you can do is apply to the broker for a new account, which means going through registration and identity checks again from the beginning. See Opening an Account.
What happens to my documents and trade history?
The broker keeps them. It is required to retain client records, identity documents and transaction history for a period after the relationship ends, under its own AML and record-keeping obligations. Closing the account does not erase that file, and the broker cannot delete it on request while the retention period is running.
Do I have to give a reason?
No. You may be asked, and answering can be useful feedback, but the request does not depend on it.
What if the balance is negative?
It has to be settled. A deficit is a debt to the broker and it survives the closure request. Speak to the support desk about how to clear it.
Can I close one account and keep another?
Usually yes. If you hold several accounts with the same broker, say clearly in the request which account number you want closed and which you want left alone.
Does Jcom close the account?
No. Jcom Technologies supplies the software to the broker. It cannot open, close, freeze or restore an account, and it holds none of your money. Send the request to your broker.
Get the confirmation in writing
Keep the broker's written confirmation that the account is closed and the balance settled, together with your final statement and withdrawal receipt. It costs nothing to file, and it is the only thing that settles an argument about a stray fee or a residual balance months later.