Behind the Spread: Overnight Swaps Are the Broker's Favourite Scam

SUMMARY

• Overnight swaps are not financing fees — they’re structured leaks.

• Swap-free accounts are marketing spin. You still pay, just not in a line labelled "swap."

• Brokers manipulate swap rules weekly and most traders don’t realise.

• CFD trading is not investing. Hold overnight and you’re the mark.

What They Claim vs. What They Really Are

They Claim: Overnight swap fees are fair compensation for leveraged positions held past the market day. If you're religious or prefer it clean, swap-free accounts have you covered. Transparent. Honest. Regulatory.

What They Really Are: Overnight swaps are hidden profit pipelines. Brokers make them as complex and discretionary as they can. Swap-free? Just a different name for the same squeeze. Fees are baked into admin charges, widened spreads, and stealth commissions. The industry has been repackaging this lie for over a decade.

The Red Flags: Broker Tricks That Burn Traders

1. Swap-Free = Not Fee-Free Islamic or swap-free accounts don’t exempt you from charges. They just rename them:

• "Admin Fees"

• Hidden duration-based commissions

• Widened spreads dressed up as market pricing

Traders on Reddit, Trading212 and ForexFactory repeatedly show evidence where swap-free users are worse off than regular accounts (Reddit, ForexFactory).

2. Triple Swaps on Wednesdays Want to hold over the weekend? You’ll pay for three days of swap on Wednesday night. No alert. No clear disclosure. Just a spike in your cost base. This is broker-standard now, not an exception (Capex).

3. Broker-by-Broker Arbitrary Fees No central pricing for swaps means brokers charge whatever they want. One trader holding a $100k position noted a $45,000 fee difference between two platforms (Trading212).

4. Masked Margin Padders When swaps aren’t enough, spreads widen post-midnight, triggering stops or slippage. You get closed out, not because of price action, but because you trusted the wrong broker.

5. LPs in Bed with Brokers Brokers sourcing liquidity from in-house LPs or partners have every incentive to fatten swap margins. They pocket the difference while you pay the markup.

Snapshot: Cheat Sheet for Active Traders

• Current Price Trap: Overnight positioning in high-volatility pairs or commodities

• Key Levels to Watch: Rollover times, Wednesday night swaps, admin fee policies

• Opportunity Window: Intra-day spikes, news volatility, short-lived macro breaks

• Risk Factors: Broker manipulation, rollover leaks, commission swaps masked in spread

Why It Matters: For Traders, IBs, and Affiliates

Traders: If you’re holding overnight, understand you're paying to lose. That chart edge is eaten by swap. No wonder day traders outperform swingers in CFD land.

Affiliates: Don’t push the "swap-free" marketing line. Promote real transparency. Educate on tight-spread day trading. It leads to better conversions, lower churn, and smarter traders.

Introducing Brokers: This is gold for conversion copy. Expose the overnight scam in your funnel. Push intraday-focused brokers with live-feed LPs and no overnight gimmicks.

Real Cost Breakdown: Behind the Charges

Instrument	Broker A Standard Swap	Broker B Swap-Free Account	Hidden Fee Impact
EUR/USD	-$0.72/lot/day	"Admin Fee" $9.50/day	Wider spreads + Slippage
Gold CFD	-$1.20/lot/day	$12.00/day "Admin"	Reduced execution priority
NAS100	-$2.50/lot/day	$15.75/day fee	Slower fills + Requotes

Multiply that across 5 lots, over 7 days, and you’re leaking $300+ weekly. Across the year? Over $15k just to hold positions overnight.

Final Verdict: This Is Not Passive Income. It’s Broker Income.

The entire CFD system was never designed for long holds. It’s short-term, in-and-out, executional. Holding overnight hands the broker your edge.

Swap-free is a gimmick. It's a rebrand of the same fee, with less clarity and more markup.

If you’re still holding trades overnight in 2025, you’re funding the very system you’re trying to beat.

Call to Action

Don’t Miss Out — Act Now. Cut the swap bleed, trade with precision, and stay on the right side of the spread. Get broker guidance that respects your edge. https://www.forex368.com/contact

References

• Reddit: Swap-free costs worse than swaps

• ForexFactory: Broker without overnight/swap fees

• Trading212: $45k fee difference post

• Capex: Swap fee policy

• KCMTrade: Swap adjustment disclosures

• Investopedia: What is a CFD

• BusinessResearchInsights: CFD Broker Market

• ProRealCode: Avoiding overnight fees

• Trading212 FAQ: Islamic Account Disclosures

Disclosure

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own due diligence. Forex368.com is not responsible for losses incurred from any trading activity.

Author: Forex368.com