XM Partner Code PY8GQ unlocks a $30 No-Deposit Bonus, a 100% Deposit Bonus up to $10,500, and access to the 90% LOT rebate program when a new XM account is registered with the code attached. The mechanics matter more than the headline here, because the code has to be entered at one specific point in the signup flow and generally cannot be added afterwards. This walkthrough covers where the field appears, what the account should look like once the code has registered, and what the realistic options are when nothing seems to have applied.
Before You Start: Three Things Worth Checking
A redemption attempt goes far more smoothly when the groundwork is done first. Partner codes are captured during account creation, and account creation is also the moment identity details and residency are locked in. Sorting these out in advance avoids restarting the form.
Your country of residence. This determines which XM entity onboards you, and that entity determines bonus eligibility. XM operates through several regulated entities, including licences from the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia, the DFSA in the UAE and the FSC in Belize.
Your identity documents. Verification requires proof of ID and proof of address, and the $30 no-deposit credit is issued after registration and identity verification rather than at the moment you submit the form.
Your intended account type. Micro, Standard, Ultra Low and Shares accounts all qualify, but they differ in cost structure, and that choice is separate from the code.
One eligibility point deserves flagging before you begin rather than after. Clients registered under XM's CySEC entity — which covers most residents of the European Union — are generally not eligible for deposit bonuses. ESMA rules restrict promotional bonuses for retail CFD traders across the EU, and no partner code overrides a regulatory prohibition. If that describes you, the redemption steps below will still open an account, but the bonus components should be treated as unavailable.
The Redemption Sequence, Step by Step
The order here is not arbitrary. Each step depends on the previous one having completed, and the most common failure is skipping ahead to a deposit before the code and verification are confirmed.
Open the official XM registration page and begin a new real account application. Start from the broker's own site rather than a bookmarked internal page, so that the full form loads.
Locate the partner, referral or promo code field. It appears during signup, and this is the only reliable opportunity to attach the code.
Enter PY8GQ in that field exactly as written, with no spaces before or after and no lowercase substitutions.
Select your account type and base currency. Micro, Standard, Ultra Low and Shares are the qualifying types.
Submit the application and complete identity verification with proof of ID and proof of address.
Claim the $30 no-deposit bonus from the promotions area of the members portal once verification has cleared.
Deposit if you intend to use the matching bonus, then confirm the credit has appeared in the account before opening any position.
Where Exactly the Code Goes
Brokers label this field inconsistently. On any given form it may read "partner code", "referral code", "promo code" or something similar, and it is often placed near the bottom of the personal details section rather than at the top with the headline fields. It is almost always optional in the technical sense, meaning the form will submit happily without it — which is precisely why it is easy to miss.
Practical habits that reduce the chance of losing the code:
Read the full first page of the form before filling anything in, so you know whether the code field sits there or on a later step.
Copy the code once and paste it, rather than retyping it on each attempt, so a transposed character cannot creep in.
Check for trailing whitespace after pasting. Some forms treat a trailing space as part of the value and reject the code.
Avoid autofill overwriting the field. Browser autofill occasionally repopulates nearby inputs after you have typed.
If you have to abandon the form and start again, re-enter the code on the new attempt. It does not carry over.
What Confirmation Actually Looks Like
There are two separate confirmations to look for, and they arrive at different times. Conflating them is a common source of confusion.
Confirmation that the code attached
A partner code is a referral identifier. When it is accepted, it links your new account to a partner structure inside XM's system and unlocks the promotional package attached to that partner. In practice this usually shows up as the field being accepted without an error on submission, and then as the relevant promotions being visible in the members portal once your account exists. If the promotions area shows the package you expected, the link has been made.
Confirmation that a bonus has been credited
The $30 no-deposit credit is claimed from the promotions area after registration and identity verification, so its arrival is a distinct event from code entry. The deposit bonus is triggered by funding the account. In both cases the credit should be visible in the account balance or bonus field before you place a trade. Bonus credit increases usable margin rather than being withdrawable cash, so it may be presented separately from your own funds rather than merged into a single number.
Two details about the mechanics are worth internalising while you wait for credits to appear. The $30 principal itself is generally not withdrawable, though profits generated from it typically become withdrawable once trading volume conditions are satisfied. And the 100% rate on the deposit bonus usually applies to an initial tranche before stepping down to a lower matching rate on subsequent amounts, which is how the ceiling reaches $10,500 rather than requiring a $10,500 deposit at a flat 100%.
When the Code Does Not Apply
Work through the causes in order of likelihood before assuming the offer itself is the problem.
The account is under an entity that cannot receive bonuses
This is the first thing to rule out. If you were onboarded to the CySEC entity as an EU resident, deposit bonuses are generally not available regardless of what was entered at signup. No amount of support correspondence changes a regulatory restriction. Confirm eligibility during registration rather than after depositing, so that funds are not sitting in an account under an assumption that never held.
The code was never captured
If the field was skipped, mistyped, or cleared by a form reload, the account exists without the partner link. Applying a code after registration is generally not possible. The realistic options are limited, and the honest answer is that a fresh application is usually the only route — which requires care, since you should not be creating duplicate accounts casually. Contacting support before taking any action is the sensible first move.
Verification has not finished
The no-deposit credit follows identity verification. If documents are still under review, or one was rejected for legibility, the promotions area may simply not offer the claim yet. Check the document status in the portal before concluding anything has failed.
You are looking in the wrong place
Bonus credit that functions as margin does not always appear where cash appears. Check the promotions section of the members portal as well as the trading platform balance, and remember that MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 present account figures in their own way across desktop, web and mobile.
The Rebate Is the Part That Keeps Paying
Once redemption is complete, the component most likely to matter is the one with no claim button. The 90% LOT rebate programme returns a share of trading costs based on lots traded, paying out continuously rather than once. For active traders it is frequently worth more over a year than either bonus. Low-volume traders will see little from it.
That framing should also shape the account type you pick during step four. Spreads and commissions are recurring costs paid on every position for as long as the account is open, and over any meaningful period they dwarf the value of a signup bonus. A trader placing ten standard lots a month pays spread costs that accumulate into the hundreds or thousands annually depending on the instrument, against which a $30 credit is a rounding error. The Ultra Low account offers reduced spreads from around 0.6 pips with no separate commission, and its tighter costs will usually be worth more over a year than any bonus attached to a Standard account. The two decisions are independent, so treat the cost structure as the primary one.
A Short Post-Redemption Checklist
Run through this once before you place a first position, so that any gap is found while it is still cheap to fix.
Verification complete, with both ID and proof of address accepted.
The promotions area of the members portal shows the package you expected.
The $30 credit has been claimed and is visible in the account.
If you deposited, the matching credit has appeared and you have checked how it is displayed relative to your own funds.
Your account type matches how you actually intend to trade, not just which one had the shortest form.
You know which XM entity holds your account, because that governs eligibility more than any code does.
For eligible traders outside the EU, entering PY8GQ during signup costs nothing and adds a no-deposit credit plus rebate access to an account that was being opened anyway. The redemption itself is short — one field, one claim, one confirmation — but it is unforgiving about timing, and that is the whole reason to slow down at the registration screen instead of clicking through it.
Trading carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Evaluation fees are generally non-refundable unless the provider's terms state otherwise. Nothing here is financial advice.
Promotional terms, eligibility and values are set by the provider and can change at any time. Always confirm the current terms on the official site before signing up or completing a purchase.