What Is a Dormant Account? Inactivity Fees

What is a dormant account?

A dormant account is an account with no activity for a period set by the provider. An inactivity fee is a charge some brokers and banks take from such an account for keeping it open.

In plain words, if you stop trading and leave money in the account, the provider may label it dormant and, if its terms say so, charge a fee or restrict it.

Formal definition

In a broker's client agreement or fee schedule, these terms usually have three parts:

Inactivity trigger: what counts as "no activity". This can mean no trades, no deposits or withdrawals, or no logins, depending on the wording.
Period: how long the account must stay inactive before it is classed as dormant.
Consequence: a recurring fee from the free balance, archiving of the account, a block on trading until reactivation, or a mix of these.

The exact wording matters, because providers define "activity" differently. A broker that charges no inactivity fee may still archive dormant accounts.

Worked example (hypothetical)

Ayesha opens a live account, trades for a while, closes all positions and leaves a small balance. She stops logging in.

Her broker's terms, invented for this example, say:

An account with no trades and no transfers for the stated period becomes dormant.
A fixed monthly fee is then charged from the free balance.
The fee stops once the balance is used up and never makes the balance negative.

When the period passes, her statement shows a balance operation labelled "inactivity fee" each month. Her balance falls with each charge. When the money runs out, the charges stop and the account may be archived. If she had made a single trade or transfer before the period ended, the counter would have reset under these terms.

Where you see the term

Account statement: listed as a balance operation, not a trade, with a comment such as "inactivity fee", "dormant fee" or "maintenance fee". See account statement.
MetaTrader history: in MT4 and MT5, balance operations appear in the History tab with the broker's comment.
Fee schedule and client agreement: the period, amount and trigger are set out here.
Banking news: banks also call unused accounts dormant and apply their own reactivation rules.

Edge cases

Open positions: an account holding positions may or may not count as active. Overnight positions still incur swap fees, which are a separate charge.
Several accounts: each account is often counted on its own, so an unused second account can go dormant while the main one stays active.
Account currency: the fee is charged in the account currency, so conversion affects what you lose in rupee terms.
Demo accounts: these may expire or be removed, but no real money is charged.
Offshore providers: per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse. A dispute over a dormant balance there has no local route to resolve it. See regulation and safety.

If you hold an Exness account, check its current conditions for inactive accounts in the Exness personal area or on the official site.

Leveraged CFD and forex trading can lose money fast. Fees on an unused balance are a separate cost on top of trading risk.

Frequent questions

What does dormant account mean?

It means an account the provider has marked as inactive because nothing happened in it for the period set in its terms.

Does every broker charge an inactivity fee?

No. Some charge one, some only archive or restrict dormant accounts, and some do neither. The fee schedule says which applies.

Can an inactivity fee make my balance negative?

That depends on the terms. Many providers stop charging when the free balance is used up, but check the wording.

How do I avoid a dormant status?

Read what the provider counts as activity. Then decide whether to keep the account active or withdraw the balance and close it.

Is an inactivity fee the same as a swap?

No. A swap is charged for holding a position overnight. An inactivity fee is charged for an account with no activity.

Dormant account and inactivity fees