White Branding Email Settings

Email White Branding Configuration Details

Important!

If not completed, your clients will receive communications from the IBKR domain.

The changes listed below need to be made with your domain hosting provider. If you don't know who this is, contact your IT support.

Note: Steps to implement the changes outlined below vary by website hosting provider. It is best to review Support/Help content on your provider's website or contact your provider directly.

1. SPF

Include IBKR's Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record in your primary domain:

This will assist with the detection of forged emails which appear to originate from an IBKR source address by ensuring that the emails we send originate from a server allowed to send emails on your behalf. This requires that you include the record "spfext.ibkr.com". See the two examples below:

  • Example where no SPF record exists/empty and a new TXT record is required:
    v=spf1 include:spfext.ibkr.com -all
  • Example where a current SPF record exists and IBKR is appended at the end, just before the -all:
    v=spf1 ip4:###.###.###.### ip6:.... include: spf-..... include:spfext.ibkr.com –all

Notes:

  • A domain must not have more than one SPF record and should not exceed 10 lookups
  • Check your record: https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx
    • Enter domain
    • SPF Record Lookup

2. DMARC

Ensure that a Domain Message Authentication Reporting (DMARC) record exists:

This, along with the SPF record, will allow the email recipient's server to authenticate and deliver the email and protect your domain from unauthorized use. This requires that you create a DMARC record if one does not already exist. Implementation examples are as follows:

  • v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:myDmarcEmail1@abcbrokers.com; ruf=mailto:myDmarcEmail2@abcbrokers.com; pct=100;
    • Possible values of p={None, Quarantine, Reject}

Notes:

  • rua and ruf are optional. If not included, you will not receive reports on errors.
  • If rua and ruf are included, email should be preceded by 'mailto' not 'emailto'
  • myDmarcEmail1 and myDmarcEmail2 can be the same. Be sure to replace myDmarcEmail1 and myDmarcEmail2 with an email address that belongs to your domain. Do not enter myDmarcEmail verbatim.
  • Check your record: https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx
    • Enter domain
    • DMARC Lookup

3. DNS

Create a Canonical Name (CNAME) record in the Domain Name System (DNS) that points your DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) record to the IBKR Domain:

See example below for use with IBKR domain "ibext-selector1.dkim.ibkr.com":

  • ibkr-selector1._domainkey.abcbrokers.com
    • Should include CNAME having record column as: ibext-selector1.dkim.ibkr.com

Notes:

  • If record is not propagating, please update host to ibkr-selector1._domainkey instead of ibkr-selector1._domainkey.abcbrokers.com
  • Check your record: https://dnschecker.org/all-dns-records-of-domain.php?query
    • ibkr-selector1._domainkey.abcbrokers.com
    • abcbrokers.com will be replaced with your domain
    • Keep Google as DNS Server
    • Lookup DNS

4. BOUNCE EMAIL

Setup email forwarding from your bounce email address to an IBKR address:

As we are sending emails on your behalf, we cannot receive emails on your behalf (as we do not own the domain). As such, we are asking you to setup this forwarding logic to assist us with tracking emails that are not delivered.

This should be looked at as a simple receive email and forwarding email logic.

Expected workflow:

  • Setup a bounce email address
    • This is either an alias (of existing email mailbox) or new email mailbox
    • This needs to be provided to IBKR (sent to whitebranding@interactivebrokers.com)
  • IBKR SENDS EMAIL (meaning IBKR sends emails on your behalf (i.e. abcbrokers.com- this is the return email address you specified when configuring 'Emails' white branding)
  • Client's REMOTE DOMAIN (example yahoo) FAILS IT (i.e.test@yahoo.com)
  • BOUNCE email is sent to your domain (bounce email address- i.e. bounce@abcbrokers.com)
  • When bounce is received, you forward to IBKR address "XXXXXXXXXX" which is assigned to your region:
    • bounce@abcbrokers.com forwards to XXXXXXXXXX

    IBKR regional bounce email addresses:

    wb_bounce@ibkr.com (Americas)
    wb_bounce@ibkr.eu (Europe with the exception of UK)
    wb_bounce@interactivebrokers.co.uk (UK)
    wb_bounce@interactivebrokers.ru (Russia)
    wb_bounce@ibkr.com.hk (HK and other Asian countries)
    wb_bounce@ibkr.com.cn (China)
    wb_bounce@interactivebrokers.co.in (India)
    wb_bounce@interactivebrokers.co.jp (Japan)
    wb_bounce@interactivebrokers.com.au (Australia)

NOTE: abcbrokers.com is used for example purposes only! You should replace any instance of abcbrokers.com with your domain name.

Once completed, these changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate.
Please contact us at whitebranding@interactivebrokers.com when you have completed the steps above so that we may make the necessary configuration changes on our side. Please include your bounce email in the communication.

FAQs

As email spam / spoofing has increased, email servers are taking stricter measures to block or mark emails as spam that do not appear to be coming from a trusted source.

IBKR is upgrading email infrastructure to adhere to standards and is requiring clients who opted to white brand email communications to take the same measures to ensure emails are delivered in a safe manner and are not interpreted by the recipient server as spam.

Failure to implement these changes by the deadline will result in IBKR disabling white branded communications resulting in future communications being sent from an IBKR domain.

Please contact us at whitebranding@interactivebrokers.com.

This is not supported for the emails IBKR sends on your behalf.