Montrеal Exchange has launched a “bring a client, get a rebate” style promotion, offering to reduce trading and clearing fees to zero on selected retail options trades.
The programme comes with a pricing condition: participating firms must charge retail clients no more than $1 per contract, including execution and clearing.
It is available to MX-approved firms, including exchange members, foreign approved participants and sponsored clients, and covers retail trading in equity, ETF and index options, but does not remove regulatory fees.
Retail Flow Must Be Segregated
The rebate is not applicable for any options volume a broker sends to Montrеal Exchange. The programme is built around retail flow, and participants have to show that the trades they submit under the scheme come from retail clients.
That makes the $1 fee cap more than a marketing point. The limit includes both execution and clearing, so a broker cannot advertise a $1 execution fee and then add a separate clearing charge while still treating the trade as eligible for the programme.
MX also requires eligible trades to route through a designated allocation account and be marked with the “Client” account type.
For brokers with institutional, professional and retail clients on the same infrastructure, that turns the rebate into an operational exercise. The firm must identify the right client segment, route the trades correctly and keep records that can support the claim if MX asks for evidence.
The programme is therefore most straightforward for order-execution-only brokers or firms with a dedicated retail division. Full-service brokers can still qualify, but the pricing cap and reporting requirements leave less room to recover additional expenses.
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Options Incentive Comes on Active Market
Montréal Exchange is applying the incentive to a market where retail brokers already have a defined product set to distribute. The programme covers equity, ETF and index options, rather than the exchange’s broader derivatives business.
ETF options are the clearest example. MX market records show that the segment reached a record annual volume of 46.4 million contracts in 2025, while open interest hit 25.6 million contracts on 1 September 2026. Equity options also have an established base, with annual volume reaching a record 44.3 million contracts in 2023.
That gives the programme a narrower target than overall exchange activity. MX is not subsidising every product traded on the venue; it is offering incentives on the options contracts most easily distributed through self-directed retail brokerage channels.
Potential beneficiaries include low-cost or digital-first brokers that already offer Canadian options trading, such as Questrade, Wealthsimple and Interactive Brokers Canada.
Several bank-owned online brokers also provide access to Canadian options, but their published standard commissions are above the programme’s $1-per-contract cap.
MX has not disclosed which firms, if any, have applied or been accepted. Applicants shall submit initial programme applications by 30 September 2026.
After that, MX will process applications semi-annually, with deadlines at the end of August and February. The first measurable test will be broker participation; the second will be whether eligible retail options volumes change in the exchange’s later monthly data.
