To buy a gold ETF through Interactive Brokers (IBKR), link your Elevate Pay USD account with Plaid, deposit funds for free, then place an order for GLD, IAU or GLDM. Your earnings move from your USD account to your broker in USD, with no currency conversion.
New to gold ETFs? Start with Gold ETFs Explained: A Guide for Remote Workers and Freelancers, which covers what they are and the risks involved.
What you need before you start
An Elevate Pay account: Your USD account details (routing number and account number) are in the Elevate Pay app.
An IBKR account: Use an approved account with permission to trade the selected ETF. Our Pakistan account-opening guide covers the application. Set USD as the base currency for USD reporting; funding and buying a USD-listed ETF in USD avoids currency conversion for those transactions.
USD in your Elevate Pay balance: Keep enough for the deposit and the trading commission. Funding IBKR through this Plaid/ACH connection is free.
Step 1: Link Elevate Pay to IBKR and deposit funds
Link your Elevate Pay account through Plaid using our connection guide. Once linked, select it under Deposit Funds in IBKR, enter the USD amount and submit.
Plaid verifies the account without micro-deposits. Deposit clearance is separate. IBKR’s US ACH guide gives an initial credit period of four business days. Later deposits can receive immediate credit under its account rules. Transaction Status & History shows the deposit state. Place an order once the money appears in Available Funds.
Step 2: Choose which gold ETF to buy
GLD, IAU and GLDM hold physical gold and use the LBMA Gold Price PM benchmark. Their returns are close to gold’s price movement, but annual fees, tracking differences and trading spreads affect what you receive.
GLD | IAU | GLDM | |
|---|---|---|---|
Full name | SPDR Gold Shares | iShares Gold Trust | SPDR Gold MiniShares |
Yearly fee | |||
Yearly cost on $1,000 | About $4.00 | About $2.50 | About $1.00 |
Benchmark | |||
Best known for | Largest gold ETF by assets | Lower fee, still very large | Lowest fee of the three |
GLDM has the lowest yearly fee of these three at 0.10%. IAU charges 0.25%, and GLD charges 0.40%. Fractional trading lets you buy a dollar amount without paying for a whole share; each fractional order has a trading commission.
We use GLD in the steps below as the example. The process is the same for IAU and GLDM.
Step 3: Search for the gold ETF on IBKR
These steps use IBKR’s desktop Client Portal. Log in and complete two-factor authentication.
Use the Search Bar at the top right of the screen.
Type the ticker, for example GLD, IAU or GLDM.
Select the correct result. Check that the full name matches, such as SPDR Gold Shares, and that it is the US listing on NYSE Arca. Some tickers look similar, so confirm the name before continuing.
Step 4: Open the order ticket
Selecting the fund opens its quote page. Click Buy to open the Order Ticket.
Step 5: Choose your order type
The order ticket offers these two common order types:
Market Order (MKT): Buys at available market prices once executed. The price can differ from the last quote, particularly when prices move quickly.
Limit Order (LMT): Sets the maximum price per share you will pay. It can fill at your limit or lower, but a quote reaching the limit does not guarantee execution.
A limit order controls your maximum purchase price. It can remain unfilled and expire, so choose the order’s duration as well as the price.
Step 6: Enter the amount
By shares: Type the number of shares you want, for example 1 share of GLD.
By USD amount: If you enable fractional trading in your IBKR Trading Permissions, you can enter a dollar amount instead, from as little as $1.
Step 7: Preview and submit
Click Preview to review the order.
Check the total cost, estimated commission and remaining cash.
Click Submit Buy Order.
After submission, the order status shows whether it is filled, partially filled or still open. An open limit order remains active until execution, cancellation or expiry. Filled shares appear in your portfolio.
When you can trade from Bangladesh and Pakistan
Regular US equity-market hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, excluding market holidays and early closes. Bangladesh and Pakistan times are:
Period | Bangladesh (BST) | Pakistan (PKT) |
|---|---|---|
Until US clocks change on November 1, 2026 | 7:30 PM to 2:00 AM | 6:30 PM to 1:00 AM |
From November 2, 2026 | 8:30 PM to 3:00 AM | 7:30 PM to 2:00 AM |
The AM closing times are on the following calendar day. Outside-hours handling depends on the order’s session and duration settings; these hours describe the regular session.
What it costs
Cost | Amount | When you pay it |
|---|---|---|
IBKR Pro Fixed commission | USD 0.005 per whole share; USD 1 minimum per order, capped at 1% of trade value | Each buy and sell |
IBKR Pro Tiered commission | Low-volume rate: USD 0.0035 per whole share; USD 0.35 minimum, plus third-party fees | Each buy and sell, plus exchange and regulatory fees |
ETF yearly fee | Taken from the fund automatically, not billed to you |
IBKR Lite’s commission-free US stock and ETF plan is for eligible US residents. The Pro table above covers whole-share orders. Under IBKR’s US schedule, a fractional order costs the greater of 1% of trade value or $0.01. A tiny fractional purchase therefore uses that rule rather than the $0.35 tiered whole-share minimum. Preview shows the commission for your account and order.
Funding IBKR from Elevate Pay through Plaid/ACH is free. Neither Elevate Pay nor IBKR charges for this deposit.
IBKR allows two withdrawal requests per calendar month without a broker fee. The month is measured in New York time, and the allowance counts all withdrawal methods. Additional USD ACH withdrawals cost $1 each.
A $20 fractional GLDM purchase through IBKR has a $0.20 commission under the 1% rule. GLDM’s annual expense on a constant $20 holding is about $0.02. Those two costs add to $0.22, with no deposit fee for the funding route in this guide. The bid-ask spread and applicable taxes affect the total. Selling later has its own commission.
Selling and bringing money home
US-listed gold ETF sales settle on the next US business day, known as T+1. A Monday sale normally settles Tuesday when neither day is a market holiday. IBKR’s US ACH guide lists a five-business-day withdrawal hold when returning deposits to the originating bank and 44 business days for another bank. Once the settled cash is available for withdrawal, send it to your linked Elevate Pay account in your own name. From Elevate Pay, send money to your bank in Pakistan or Bangladesh for $1.50.
Price risk and estate tax
Gold can fall after you buy. Keep money for essential bills and taxes outside investments whose value can decline.
GLD, IAU and GLDM pay no regular dividend. Your return depends on price changes, less costs.
Non-resident investors also need to account for US estate tax. Our gold ETF explainer covers the $60,000 filing threshold and how domicile, treaties and asset structure affect it.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this guide use IBKR?
Our published Plaid guide documents the connection between Elevate Pay and IBKR. This article uses that funding route and IBKR’s order ticket, trading permissions and fee schedule.
When can I withdraw after selling?
US-listed ETF sales settle on the next US business day. Any remaining ACH deposit hold still applies. For example, a sale that settles Tuesday is not withdrawable that day if the funding hold lasts until Friday. IBKR separates Available for Withdrawal from funds available for trading.
How do I buy gold each month?
After each deposit becomes available, search for the ETF, enter the amount, preview the commission and place a new order. Each fractional purchase has its own commission.
Why is my deposit still pending?
An initial US ACH deposit has a four-business-day credit period under IBKR’s guide. Plaid account verification and deposit clearance are separate stages. Transaction Status & History shows the deposit state; buying requires available trading funds.
Before your first order
Match the ticker and full fund name, choose your order type and duration, and read the estimated commission in Preview. Submit only an amount you can leave invested through a decline.
How we checked this
We reviewed our published Plaid guide, IBKR’s US ACH rules, settlement guidance, base-currency explanation and US commission schedule, plus ETF issuer pages and IRS guidance on October 2, 2026. The workflow uses desktop Client Portal. No test deposit or ETF purchase was made.
Bloom Financial Technologies Inc, trading as Elevate Pay, is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Merchants Commercial Bank, Member FDIC.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. All investments involve risk, including the potential loss of principal.
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