Which broker is better for trading U.S. stocks? Which brokers facilitate easy deposits and withdrawa

I wonder which U.S. stock broker the friends in front of the screen are using? At the end of December 2022, brokers like Tiger, Futu, and Wahson that operate in China will no longer be allowed to provide services such as new registrations and deposits for mainland clients.

Currently, for friends in mainland China, I only recommend U.S. local brokers and the new wallet broker BiyaPay. Once registered, the first major issue is understanding how to deposit into these brokerage accounts.

So, today I will demonstrate how to deposit into a brokerage account, hoping to help everyone.

Best U.S. Local Broker Recommendations

The two U.S. local brokers I personally recommend, and I will briefly introduce their account opening process:

• Charles Schwab
• Interactive Brokers

First, let’s talk about why I choose Charles Schwab.

Charles Schwab is the largest broker in the U.S., a Nasdaq-listed company, and also a component of the S&P 500. Its current market value is $129 billion. As the big brother of brokers, Interactive Brokers currently has a market value of $32 billion, while Charles Schwab’s is four times that of Interactive Brokers.

That’s not even the most important part. The remarkable thing about Charles Schwab is that it manages assets worth $6 trillion. Managing such a huge amount of assets, I believe Charles Schwab definitely has its unique advantages.

Of course, asset size is one reason I choose Charles Schwab, but not the most important one. The most crucial reason is that Charles Schwab offers a richer range of investment tools beyond stocks.

Traditional brokers typically offer financial products like stocks, plus ETFs and options. But Charles Schwab goes beyond these, directly offering U.S. Treasury bonds—maturing in a few months, 5 years, or even 20 years—all available for direct purchase. It also allows direct purchases of corporate bonds from companies like Apple and Amazon. Spare cash can also be directly invested in the money market or other fixed income products.

Moreover, Charles Schwab provides a very detailed and comprehensive analysis and research platform.

We can access stock research reports on this platform, compare different financial assets, and help us more comprehensively and systematically understand our holdings and related investment opportunities.

Charles Schwab also offers professional Chinese customer service and a toll-free customer service number for mainland China, which can very effectively solve our personal issues.

How to register for a Charles Schwab account and experience comprehensive U.S. financial services?

1. To open an account at Charles Schwab, non-U.S. residents should choose to open an international account.
2. Click “Open an account,” where it will prompt you to prepare the necessary documents. Select your country and region, choose China, and then start applying.
3. Apply for the account type, usually a “personal account” is sufficient. If it’s a joint account, for example, if you and a family member want to co-own this account, then you can apply for a joint account.
4. It will then ask if you are a novice? Choose I am a novice. You must check all declarations, as you cannot open an account otherwise.
5. Then fill in personal information (use Pinyin for names), here you can select your identification type (Passport or Government ID). Create a username, password, security questions, fill in your address, phone number, employment information, etc., as prompted.
6. Account features, select according to your needs, securities trading is a must, also select margin trading, if you want to trade options, check it. The bottom Paperless Features, electronic account statements, documents sent to emails, check all.
7. Agree to all terms, download and print the Summary of Agreement, then sign at the end, writing the date (sign in black ink).
8. Upload the prepared proof documents: ID card or passport, proof of address, utility, communication bills, Summary of Agreement. Wait for review, about two business days.

Wait for review, about two business days. Once approved, you will receive an email about approval and depositing, and you can start using the account.

Now, let me talk about why I choose Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers is a globally renowned electronic trading broker, offering a broad range of financial product trading services worldwide, including stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, and more, serving institutional and retail clients.

Interactive Brokers is favored by a wide range of investors for its low transaction costs, advanced trading platform, and diverse financial product offerings. Customers in over 200 countries and regions can trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds, and more in 150 markets worldwide through one Interactive Brokers account. Fund your account in 27 currencies and trade assets priced in multiple currencies.

Interactive Brokers: Summary of Advantages

• Technologically excellent, very strong trading system, comprehensive trading functions
• Full global capital market coverage, one platform covers all
• Low cost, whether it’s margin financing or exchange rates
• Convenient deposits and withdrawals

The main disadvantage is that it can be challenging for beginners to The main disadvantage is that it can be challenging for beginners to use and does not quite match Chinese user habits.

Interactive Brokers Account Opening Guide

Interactive Brokers cannot be directly accessed in China currently, you need to resolve the IP issue on your own. Once the account is opened, the APP can be accessed directly during trading. You just need to overcome the challenges of opening an account.

1. After arriving at the Interactive Brokers official website, click the “Open Account” button to enter the account opening page.
2. According to your needs, select the type of account you want, usually a personal account (you can also choose a joint or IRA account), then click the “Start Application” button to continue to the next step.
3. Then fill in personal information, including basic information, personal information, identity verification, employment status, source of wealth, account information, security information.
4. Next, receive a verification code, verify your phone number, and fill in income-related information.
5. Next is “Read & Sign Agreement,” which lists the information you previously filled in for you to check for correctness. If everything is correct, continue by signing.
6. Then wait for review. After approval, you will receive all the information about your stock account via email, and then you can deposit and start trading U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, etc.

New Wallet Broker BiyaPay

BiyaPay, a new type of global multi-asset trading wallet broker based in Singapore, is notable for allowing users to deposit fiat or digital currency (e.g., USDT) and exchange them for one another, then withdraw various channels of fiat or digital currency, bridging the gap between fiat and digital currencies. It is also a professional tool for depositing and withdrawing funds for U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, allowing BiyaPay deposits of USDT to be exchanged for USD, HKD, and withdrawn to personal bank accounts, making deposits to major brokers fast, convenient, with no limit, same-day currency exchange, and same-day arrival, solving the pain point of difficult deposits for investors.

As a modern internet broker, BiyaPay leverages the internet’s strengths, maintaining a leading position in the global digital currency asset market. Through its self-developed mobile client—BiyaPay App, its services cover U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, ETFs, options, margin trading, and more, offering users “one account, one fund to play the global capital market,” making global investment easier, simpler, and safer.

Unique Advantages of BiyaPay:

• Low threshold, no need for offshore accounts

Just need an email to register, identity verification. After registration, there’s no need to apply for an overseas bank account separately, supporting BTC, USDT, and other digital currencies and USD, HKD for real-time exchange, and online real-time participation in U.S./Hong Kong stock trading, truly achieving “one account for investing in global quality stocks.”

• Professional deposit and withdrawal tool

Users can easily exchange USDT for USD, HKD, and deposit into major brokers, solving the pain point of difficult deposits for U.S. and Hong Kong stocks. It can also convert mainstream fiat currencies (like USD, HKD) into digital currencies, then perform chain withdrawals to exchanges and sell them to local bank accounts, realizing real-time withdrawals and solving the problem of investors bringing funds back to their countries.

• Significantly saves on fees

Experience more economical and efficient deposits and withdrawals, reducing the rate loss due to frequent operations, saving up to over 90% on fees.

• Unlimited, more freedom in asset allocation

For deposits and withdrawals to U.S. and Hong Kong stock accounts, there are no limits, low fees down to 0.5%, and the possibility for more investment methods such as foreign exchange futures, commodity futures, truly achieving free asset allocation.

After introducing my favorite three U.S. stock brokers, let me tell you how to make a deposit.

How do you operate it to make deposits to Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers?

How to Use BiyaPay to Deposit to Charles Schwab?

• Register a BiyaPay account

Register through the official website or download the App, fill in your personal email to complete registration

• Identity verification

Go to your personal center, complete identity verification

• Add recipient

In the personal center, click “Bank Account,” bind the debit card you obtained from opening a Charles Schwab account

• Recharge USDT

Recharge USDT from your other wallets to your BiyaPay account

• Remit

Choose remittance on the homepage, the recipient is your bound Charles Schwab debit card

• Withdrawal to account

Withdraw funds to your bound bank card, wait for Charles Schwab to receive the funds, if it’s a same-day withdrawal, it will be credited on a U.S. business day

How to Use BiyaPay to Deposit to Interactive Brokers?

• Register a BiyaPay account

Register through the official website or download the App, fill in your personal email to complete registration

• Identity verification

Go to your personal center, complete identity verification

• Add recipient

In the personal center, click “Bank Account,” bind an overseas bank account

• Recharge USDT

Recharge USDT from your other wallets to your BiyaPay account

• Remit

Choose remittance on the homepage, the recipient is your bound overseas bank account

• Wait for the funds to arrive

If it’s a same-day withdrawal, it will be credited on a U.S. business day;

• Bind the bank account to Interactive Brokers and deposit into the trading account

Bind your overseas bank account to your Interactive Brokers account and make a deposit. It is advisable that the bank account you bind in BiyaPay is the same as the one in Interactive Brokers, as this will make the deposit process more convenient.

In conclusion, if you are considering long-term investments, there are many factors to consider when choosing a broker. Here, I recommend Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, and BiyaPay, with BiyaPay scoring far higher than others in terms of deposits and withdrawals, functionality, convenience, and more. Of course, if your English is good, you can also directly use Charles Schwab.