Apex Trader Funding, a prop trading firm that has allegedly been struggling with timely payouts to its clients in recent months, has introduced new solutions aimed at streamlining and accelerating the entire process.

However, voices have emerged suggesting that the prop firm has begun requiring significant effort from clients, potentially infringing on the privacy of their strategies and themselves.

Apex Aims to Speed Up Fund Payouts, but Clients Are Unsatisfied

In a video update released this week, Apex Trader Funding addresses the issue of delayed payouts. Darrell Martin, CEO and founder of the prop firm, states that new security and fraud detection systems are in their “final touches,” aiming to improve the existing process of realizing payments for profitable traders.

“We're working to get payment approvals processed within 48 hours or less when those requests come in. We aim to get those approved and out in just a few business days for those payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term to hit back to traders. We're working on speeding that up even more,” Martin commented in the YouTube video.

Company clients claim that shortly after the announcement about speeding up the payout process, they began receiving mass requests for video recordings of their transactions.

🚨 Apex mass requests video recordings hours after releasing video about speeding up payout approval process.

10s of millions in payouts impacted over the last 3 months.

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Apex Updates the Process

Vows to speed up the payout process and to improve detection of rule… pic.twitter.com/Rs94ytReEX

— FundTraders (@FundTraders) August 29, 2024

Such a model may not be appealing to clients. This is especially true given that the latest PipFarm survey showed that retail traders in prop trading firms are primarily looking for clear rules (79%) and fast payouts (75%). Low prices or high-profit share percentages proved to be significantly less important.

2 Days of Screen and Self-Recording

Comments under FundTraders' post on X (formerly Twitter) seem to confirm reports on a mass request for video recordings. A user named Brad Roads stated, “I just received a video proof request at 7 PM two days before when payout is supposed to happen. This video proof requires 'Two Trading Days' to be recorded. Bro, I don't have time for this.”

YouTube user comments suggested that Apex allegedly requires footage from a camera aimed at the trader in addition to recording transactions and monitor screens.

“They want me to outline my whole trading strat and record myself for 2 days with a webcam facing myself and monitors at the same time as well as recording my screen, they also want me to give them a written statement about everything. Bloody horror show!” commented a user named @muathmuath8450.

Traders are concerned on one hand that this may infringe on their privacy, and on the other, that it will expose their own investment strategies to the company, giving it full insight into the decision-making process.

Finance Magnates reached out to the company for comment on this matter but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

The Achilles' Heel of the Industry

Apex is not the only company in the prop trading industry allegedly struggling with timely payments to its traders. This is a common issue for many other prop firms, with The Funded Trader being one of the most recent examples. The company has been behind on payments for months, and according to the latest information, it has managed to process 30% of outstanding payments for traders and 55% for affiliates.

According to Michael Bernan, a guest author at Finance Magnates, prop firms have become victims of their own success.

“As soon as there are not enough new traders entering the system to cover the payouts of the winners, the firm becomes technically insolvent and unable to pay fees,” he commented.

He adds that the demand for cheap capital to trade with a high payout is insatiable. Companies try to defend their liquidity by blocking profit withdrawals, citing violations of trading rules that are often unclear, hidden, or created on the go.

“In essence, the business models of most businesses offering 80-90% profit share are unsustainable, and most will eventually go bankrupt, leaving clients with unpaid profit share. This part of the industry continues to become increasingly dodgy,” Bernan concludes.