My educated guess is that the standard basic questionnaire on options, stocks and futures threw them off and these people should not have an account in the first place until the read up on the basics. They probably thought just a username and password was all that's needed.
Your question doesn't make any sense. What do you mean 'how easy'? Don't you understand that 'how easy' will be different for different people? If they aren't very smart, it might take a long time. If they have no experience opening trading accounts, it might take longer. Your question is very badly framed. You have your answer. Why did you start another thread to ask the same question? You got your answer here.
The Canadian IB account PDF disclosure statements are over 30 pages for all 3 files, but you can copy/paste into a text file and use a tiny font to print out about 15 pages instead.
I've opened 3 accounts at IB. I have never mailed them more than 6 actual pages of normal font text. All they need are the signature pages, or the last few pages of each document.
Good to know...I don't think they make that clear on their site or I missed it. Maybe that could be one improvement, clearly state which pages are required to send in. Canadian accounts and US accounts might have different government requirements when it comes to disclosure statements, I know for Canadian accounts you have to send them a $1.00 check to satisfy some sort of regulation.
Yes, I got that direction verbally from one of the reps; I doubt there's anything about it on the site. The OP here is clearly one of those people who don't know how to talk to people like the guys manning the IB phones. I have said repeatedly that a hell of a lot can be accomplished if you take the right tone and approach with them.
Not only is signing up very easy and fast (30 minutish here too, I'm from Europe) but is a great example of how to handle such a complicated legal matter through the internet. Never seen such a well thought out and logical sequence of events (in a legal context ie.).
Actually MBT requires 3 pages to be signed. I just filled out an account form for MBT for a friend -- took less than 10 minutes. No idea where you got your 50 page info from.
10 points = most difficuly to open a new account. When I tried to open an account many many years ago, IB had a super ego and an attitude that they want to weed out new traders. They made potential new customers take several lengthy online quizzes as part of the process of opening a new account. The online tests consist of many multiple choice questions that you had to take based on the markets/instruments that you want to trade in your IB Account. After a couple of days of clicking through the quizzes and filling out the many application forms, I gave up for fear of developing carpel tunnel syndrome from clicking too much. This was before IB went Public and did not have to answer to Shareholders.