99.5% of traders never receive a single payout from prop firms. Even after passing evaluations and getting funded, systematic denial tactics block withdrawals.
Breaking: 1,272 traders still waiting for payouts from The Funded Trader since March 2024 - over 8 months without payment.
This investigation exposes the denial tactics firms use (KYC traps, verification manipulation, arbitrary violations) and reveals which firms actually pay.
Investigation reveals only 0.3-0.5% of all traders ever receive payouts. Exposure of systematic denial tactics, the $10M problem firms don't talk about, and which firms actually honor withdrawals.
These aren't estimates - they're verified statistics from Finance Magnates and industry research.
This means 995-997 out of 1,000 traders never see a penny beyond their initial challenge fees.
Let's break down exactly how we arrive at the 0.3-0.5% actual payout rate:
Challenge Pass Rate: 5-10% (verified by The Funded Trader, FTMO data)
Payout Rate of Funded: 20% (per Finance Magnates, Vetted Prop Firms)
Final Calculation:
10% pass rate × 20% payout rate = 2% max
5% pass rate × 20% payout rate = 1% max
Average: 0.3-0.5% when accounting for denials
Industry statistics confirm: "Around 3% of all applicants get funded. Of those 3%, about 10–15% make a payout. That means 0.3% to 0.5% of all traders actually make money in the end."
The $4,000 Average Loss Reality:
Most traders lose an average of $4,000 in challenge fees and retries before giving up. Firms collect billions while paying out to less than 1% of participants.
According to Blue Guardian, 1,272 traders have been waiting for payouts from The Funded Trader since March 2024 - over 8 months with no payment.
The Queue Excuse: Firms claim "high volume" or "verification backlog" to delay payouts indefinitely while continuing to sell new challenges.
Most common reason. Firms reject documents for being "unclear" or "not matching exactly."
Even one open trade during payout request triggers automatic denial.
Firms retroactively find "violations" on profitable accounts.
Using VPN during KYC verification can trigger permanent account ban.
Subjective accusation that your profits were "lucky" not skilled.
KYC verification is weaponized to deny payouts through impossible standards and moving goalposts.
Firms auto-reject if you have even one position open during withdrawal request - a technicality most traders don't know.
Firms retroactively audit winning accounts to find technicalities that didn't matter during losing periods.
Endless verification loops, document rejections, and "suspicious activity" claims delay or deny payouts.
Screenshot all profits, balances, emails, terms before requesting payouts.
Submit all documents before you're profitable to avoid rushed rejections.
Zero open trades before withdrawal request - check multiple times.
Don't accumulate - money in your bank is the only money that's yours.
Check Trustpilot, Reddit, forums for payout complaints before buying.
Based on verified payout history and community feedback:
Final Advice:
Choose firms with proven payout track records over cheap challenge fees. A $300 challenge that actually pays is better than a $50 challenge that denies your $5,000 withdrawal.