Payouts & Funding
Payout Buffer
An amount of profit that must stay in the funded account and cannot be withdrawn, acting as the firm's cushion. Also called a safety net or threshold.
In plain English
Many funded accounts hold back a fixed buffer, often equal to the drawdown or a set dollar amount, before or alongside every payout. Profits below the buffer are locked; only what you earn above it is withdrawable.
The buffer effectively raises your first-payout threshold: a $100 buffer with a $500 minimum payout means $600 of profit before anything moves. Some buffers persist for the account's life, others release after a milestone.
- An account holds drawdown plus $100 as a lifetime safety net.
- With a $2,000 drawdown, the first $2,100 of profit is locked and payout requests draw from profit above that line.