Questrade

Questrade is one of Canada's best-known online brokerages, positioning itself as the country's low-cost leader in online investing. If your audience is Canadian and interested in DIY investing, retirement accounts, or low-fee managed portfolios, Questrade's affiliate program offers a straightforward cash-per-acquisition payout. This listing breaks down what's verifiable about the program so you can decide whether it fits your content.

About Questrade

Questrade markets itself as "Canada's Leading Online Trading Platform," offering $0 commission trading on stocks and ETFs, options for as low as $0/contract (US options), and no annual RRSP or TFSA account fees. It is described as Canada's largest independent online brokerage, per an Investor Economics Report (Spring 2024) cited on its own site.

The company operates several products: self-directed investing accounts (managed by the client), Questwealth Portfolios (pre-built, expert-managed portfolios with management fees starting at 0.25%, dropping to 0.20% after $100,000), Foreign Exchange CFDs, and a newer Custom Indexing feature. It supports registered account types including TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, cash, and margin accounts. Questrade, Inc. is a registered investment dealer and member of CIRO and CIPF.

Because it is a regulated Canadian financial institution focused on the Canadian demographic, Questrade's affiliate offers and eligibility skew heavily toward Canadian audiences.

How the Questrade affiliate program works

Questrade runs a Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) program. According to Questrade's affiliate overview page, you promote Questrade and share your affiliate link; when someone opens an account through your link, you earn cash and your audience member receives a bonus. Affiliates are paid once the referred customer meets account eligibility, and the customer's referral bonus only applies to the first account they open (though you can refer unlimited customers).

The customer-side offers listed on Questrade's page include: $50 cash back when a new self-directed account is opened and funded with at least $250 (excludes FX and CFD accounts), a $50 bonus on opening a Forex CFDs account, and $10,000 managed free for a year for new Questwealth Portfolios accounts.

On the affiliate-payout side, Questrade's own FAQ says affiliates are paid through a third-party partnership platform used to manage the program, and can connect a bank or PayPal account to withdraw funds and customize a payment schedule. A third-party directory (Post Affiliate Pro) reports more specific figures: a $70 fixed commission per referred customer, a 60-day cookie duration, monthly payout frequency via wire transfer, single-tier commissions, and no minimum payout. Treat those third-party numbers as indicative rather than official — Questrade's own pages do not confirm the exact $70 figure or 60-day cookie.

How to sign up

You apply through the Questrade affiliate overview page via the "Become an Affiliate" button. Questrade reviews applications against criteria such as social media presence, audience size, website activity, content type, and brand alignment — with particular attention to whether your content focuses on Canadian finance and how much of your audience is Canadian. Expect roughly 5–7 business days for an approval or rejection email.

Who should promote Questrade

This program is best suited to creators and publishers with a substantial Canadian audience in personal finance, investing, retirement planning, or FIRE content. Because the offers center on Canadian registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA) and Questrade's approval process explicitly weighs Canadian audience share, non-Canadian traffic will convert poorly and may not even be approved.

• Canadian personal-finance bloggers and YouTubers
• Investing newsletter operators targeting Canadians
• Comparison and review sites covering Canadian brokerages
• Financial educators whose audience is opening their first investing accounts

Pros and cons

Pros

• Recognizable, trusted brand — Canada's largest independent online brokerage.
• Flat cash payout per acquisition is easy to model and communicate.
• Customer-side incentives ($50 cash back, $10,000 managed free) help conversions.
• Reported no minimum payout and flexible bank/PayPal withdrawals.
• Multiple offers (self-directed, FX CFDs, Questwealth) to match audience intent.

Cons

• One-time CPA, not recurring — no ongoing revenue as clients keep investing.
• Heavily Canada-focused; limited value for international audiences despite "worldwide" acceptance claims elsewhere.
• Commission is only paid after the customer meets account eligibility (e.g., funding minimums), so conversions take effort.
• The specific $70/60-day terms come from a third party, not Questrade's own page — verify at application.
• Selective approval process based on audience and content quality.

Overall, Questrade is a solid fit if you produce Canadian investing content and want a clean, cash-per-signup arrangement. Just confirm the exact commission, cookie window, and payout terms with Questrade during onboarding, since the headline numbers here are partly sourced from a third-party directory.