Webull has become a popular discount broker that offers low fees and intuitive trading. However, when it comes to deposit times Webull may not be the fastest broker around. In fact, I did some testing to see how long deposits actually take. Here’s what I found:
Unfortunately, Webull deposits are not instant. However, Webull does grant instant buying power up to $1000 to new accounts and first deposits. ACH Transfers take 3-5 days while wire transfers are cleared in 1 or 2 days.
In this post, we’ll look at Webull’s entire deposit process. I’ll cover if Webull offers instant deposits at all, why Webull takes forever to process deposits, how long deposits actually take, and some tips I’ve found to speed up the deposit process.
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Does Webull have instant deposits?
First off, Webull does not offer instant deposits as other discount brokers do. Instead, it can take up to 5 days and sometimes even longer for your deposit to clear. However, Webull grants instant buying power to most accounts which lets you buy assets before your funds have fully cleared.
While having instant buying is a neat feature it does not equal an instant deposit. Here are some key differences to keep in mind when depositing into Webull:
- Amount Available: Simply put, you will likely not have your full deposit amount available for trading as instant buying power. Webull limits the instant buying power to $1000 and may even negate any amount depending on your account status.
- Asset Restrictions: When your deposits clear instantly you have access to every tradable asset immediately. However, with instant buying power, Webull has restricted access to some assets such as options trading.
- Withdrawal Processing: Fund are have been made available through instant buying power on Webull are not withdrawable! This means you will have to wait at least 5 days for your full deposit to settle before being able to withdraw any amount.
But since Webull offers these instant powers let’s look at how much buying power you will actually have while your deposit still clears!
How much instant buying power will I have?
The amount of instant buying power that will be available to you on Webull while your deposit clears depends on several which I have listed below. In general, a limit of $1,000 applies to all new accounts regardless of the following criteria.
- Deposit Amount: One relevant factor is your deposit. In principle, the more you deposit to Webull the higher your instant buying power will. If your in-flight deposit is less than $1,000 it is likely that you will have the same instant buying power as your deposit.
- Market Value of Positions: Webull has further stated publicly that the higher the current market value of your positions is, the higher your instant buying power will be. Thus, for high-value accounts, the $1,000 limit may not apply at all!
- Credit Scores: In addition to evaluating your account, Webull also takes your credit scores into consideration when deciding on whether and how high to grant instant buying power to you. Naturally, a better credit score equals a better chance for higher instant buying power.
While this instant buying power is nice to have you eventually will want to have your whole deposit settled so you can make use of trading all assets and have control over your funds. So, when will your deposit finally clear?
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How long do Webull deposits take?
In my experience, the time it takes for deposits to be credited in your Webull account mainly depends on two factors, namely, your bank, and the day of the week you make the deposit. Deposits from my Discover Bank account usually clear in 3 days while Capital One sometimes takes up to 5 days.
Also, I have noticed that sending out a transfer on a Monday morning will usually arrive at least one day earlier than transfers sent out on other weekdays. I’ve created a table here with the average time it takes from each bank I have tested:
| Bank | Days until deposit cleared |
| Discover | 3 |
| CapitalOne | 5 |
| Bank of America | 5 |
| Chase | 4 |
| Citibank | 4 |
| Revolut | 3 |
When depositing via ACH transfer the amount of time it takes for your deposit to arrive in your Webull account is not solely dependent on Webull. Sometimes the sending bank takes longer to process the transfer than the receiving one.
So, by sending deposits from a bank that is known for faster processing times, your deposit will also be available sooner on Webull. There are a few different transfer types available that offer various deposit speeds:
- ACH Transfers: Automated clearing house transfers are the most common bank transfers and are free of charge at most banks. According to Webull, these deposits are credited within 3-5 days.
- Domestic Wire Transfers: Domestic wire transfers usually arrive in one or two days but can incur costs of up to $40 per transfer. A steep price to pay for having access to your deposit one or two days earlier.
- International Wire Transfers: Foreign wire transfers from outside the U.S. are processed within 5 days as well, although in my experience they can take even longer if transferring from a non-EU country.
Why Webull takes forever to deposit
Sometimes Webull just seems to take forever to deposit funds to your account and in that case, they’re likely some issues with your deposit or your account. Webull may have temporarily restricted deposits because of suspicious account activity or the ACH transfer simply did not clear with the sending bank because there were not enough funds available in your account.
Conclusion
In summary, Webull does not offer instant deposits to any account. The only way to get access to your funds immediately is via their instant buying power feature. While this feature certainly has its limitations, it at least lets you get started trading with a portion of your deposited funds.
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