How to Get Paid Your Copper Broker Commission

Most brokers do not lose their commission because someone steals it. They lose it because nobody wrote down, early and clearly, how much it was, who would pay it and when. This guide walks through the practical side of getting paid on a physical copper deal, from the first number you quote to the money arriving in your account.

Fix your number before you introduce anyone

Agree your commission before you share a single name. Once the buyer and seller are talking, your bargaining power drops fast.

In copper, commission is usually quoted per metric tonne. You can also quote a percentage, but a percentage creates arguments about the base. It could mean the LME price on the day of the offer, the discounted invoice price, or the final invoice after assay and weight adjustments. Copper prices move every day, so a percentage figure changes from lift to lift. A fixed amount per tonne does not.

A simple example. Say you are one of two brokers on the seller's side, and the deal is 1,000 MT of cathode a month for 12 months. If the whole seller-side chain is paid $10 per MT and you agree a 50/50 split, you earn $5 per MT, which is $5,000 per lift. Everyone can do that sum in their head. That is the point.

Also agree where the money comes from. In most deals the commission is built into the price. Seller-side intermediaries are paid by the seller and buyer-side intermediaries by the buyer, or the seller pays the whole chain out of a slightly higher price. Either works. What does not work is each side assuming the other is paying.

Keep the total sensible. Every dollar of commission is a dollar off the buyer's discount or the seller's margin. A long chain where everyone wants a big cut is a common reason a real deal dies before the SPA.

Put it on paper in the right order

The paperwork has an order, and each document does a different job.

1. NCNDA at introduction. This protects the names and contacts you bring. Sign it before you reveal the buyer or the seller.
2. Commission declared in writing. Put your figure and your position in the chain in the offer, the LOI or ICPO, or at least in an email the principal confirms. This creates a record from day one.
3. IMFPA after the SPA. The fee agreement should be signed once the SPA exists, because it needs to point to that contract: its number, date, product, quantity and payment terms. An IMFPA signed before there is an SPA has nothing to attach to, and a payer can later argue it does not apply to the contract that was actually signed.

For more detail on the two protection documents, see our guide to NCNDA and IMFPA.

Know who pays you, and when

Commission on physical copper is paid after the buyer pays for the goods. Not before. That means per lift, after each shipment is paid for, normally within a set number of banking days.

So if the buyer pays by LC, you are paid after the LC pays out to the seller. If the buyer pays by bank transfer against documents, you are paid after that transfer clears. On a 12-month contract you should expect 12 separate payments, not one lump sum.

The payment itself is a normal bank transfer (an MT103 on SWIFT) from the paying principal's account to yours. Ideally the payer sends money to each broker directly. Some sellers also give their bank an irrevocable payment instruction covering the commission, which is stronger again.

Be careful with a paymaster. This is where one person in the chain receives the whole commission and is supposed to split it. It can work with a party you know well. It also adds one more account that the money has to pass through, and one more person who can delay or disappear. If you accept a paymaster, make sure your own share, your bank details and the timing are written in the IMFPA, not just agreed by phone.

What to check in the IMFPA before you sign

Read the fee agreement as carefully as the SPA. Check these points:

• The SPA number and date are written in and match the real contract.
• Product, quantity per lift, total quantity and contract length are stated.
• Rollovers and extensions are covered, not only the first contract period.
• Your amount is stated per MT, in a named currency.
• It says which weight the commission is calculated on. Bill of lading weight and final weight at destination can differ, and on a big lift the difference is real money.
• The payment trigger is clear: for example, a fixed number of banking days after the seller receives each payment.
• The payer is named as a company, with its registration number, and signed by someone who has authority to sign for it.
• Your bank details are complete, and the account name matches your company or your own name.
• It says who pays the bank charges.
• There is a protection period if the same buyer and seller trade again without you, and it names the parties clearly.
• Governing law is stated.

If the paying side refuses to put their company name and a real signatory on the IMFPA, treat that as a warning. A principal that intends to pay has no problem being named.

Where brokers lose the money

These are the situations that come up again and again.

The deal moves to a new contract. The trial goes well, the buyer and seller sign a fresh SPA for a bigger volume, and your IMFPA only refers to the first one. Fix this with wording that covers extensions, renewals and any new contract between the same parties during the protection period.

The weight argument. The commission is "per MT" but nobody said which weight. The payer uses the lowest number. Write it down.

The trial order nobody mentioned. Many deals start with a trial lift. Agree in writing whether your commission applies to the trial and at what rate. If it is not written down, expect an argument.

The middle link goes quiet. You are paid through another broker who has been paid in full and stops answering. Direct payment from the principal avoids this.

Someone asks you to pay first. A "registration fee" or "commission release fee" to secure your payment is not part of any normal copper deal. That is an upfront fee scam. See upfront fee scams.

You introduced without an NCNDA. If you sent the seller's name to the buyer before anything was signed, you have very little to stand on later. Slow down at the start. It costs nothing.

A last practical point. Keep a simple file for each deal: the NCNDA, the email where your commission was confirmed, the SPA reference and the signed IMFPA. When a payment is late, a polite message with the exact clause and the lift date gets results far faster than an angry phone call.

How Copper Supply helps

Copper Supply helps you build the record that gets you paid. It is free to post a buying requirement or an offer at https://copper.supply/app/post, and every member passes an ID check before they can message anyone, so you know who you are introducing. Companies can be checked against their official registry before you name them in an IMFPA. Each deal room holds the NCNDA, LOI/ICPO, offers, SPA, IMFPA and signatures in one place, which gives you the paper trail described above. Brokers who bring a buyer and seller together are protected on the platform for 2 years. If a party sends you an SPA or bank letter that looks wrong, run it through the instant fraud check at https://copper.supply/check (the first check is free). Copper Supply never holds trade money and takes no commission, so your fee stays between you and the principals.