Margin in Moomoo — how you end up using it, how to check your debt, pay it off and turn it off

“Daus, why is my Total Cash negative? I’ve never borrowed anything.”

Messages like this come in almost every week. In nearly every case, the answer is the same: the account has used margin without the owner realising. This page explains what happened, how much it costs, and how to fix it, step by step.

What margin is

Margin is money you borrow from your broker to buy more shares than the cash you have. If you have RM1,000 but buy RM2,000 worth of shares, the other RM1,000 is a loan. That loan charges interest, and if the share price falls a lot, the broker can ask you to add money or sell your holdings.

For beginners, Daus recommends not using margin at all. Profits can get bigger, but so can losses, and you pay interest every day.

How you end up using it without realising

Under Moomoo Malaysia’s official terms, if you don’t have enough money when buying, margin is used by default. So this is what usually happens:

1. The order is bigger than your cash. For example, you deposit RM1,000 but buy 1 share of VOO, which costs about RM2,900. The app doesn’t stop you. The remaining RM1,900 becomes a loan.
2. An RSP runs when cash is short. The RSP purchase still goes through, and the shortfall is covered by margin.
3. Misreading the maximum quantity. The order screen has two numbers that look alike.

The screenshots above are from a Paper Trade account (play money), but the order screen in a real account is the same. Max Qty to Buy (Cash) is how many shares you can buy with cash only. Max Qty to Buy without the word “Cash” includes money you could borrow. If you tap the maximum option on the wrong row, you start borrowing straight away.

How much margin costs

The rate on Daus’s account (Accounts → All → Fee → My Fees → Margin Rate tab): MYR 6.8% a year. Officially, a loan to buy US stocks is also counted in ringgit, so this is the rate that applies.

Interest is calculated every day: loan amount × 6.8% ÷ 365, and paid every month.

Margin debt	Interest per day	Interest per month (30 days)
RM500	≈ RM0.09	≈ RM2.80
RM1,000	≈ RM0.19	≈ RM5.60
RM5,000	≈ RM0.93	≈ RM27.95

It looks small, but it runs every day as long as the debt is there, weekends included. And for anyone who wants to stay Shariah-compliant, this interest is riba. Read is it halal.

How to check whether you’re in debt

Open Accounts → Assets → Securities and look at three things:

• Negative Total Cash. For example, −1,185.00 MYR means a debt of about RM1,185.
• A red or negative USD line in the Currency/Cash breakdown.
• Market Value bigger than Net Assets.

The clearest way: open Margin Settings (steps below). Your account’s line shows Due, which is the outstanding amount the app displays. If it isn’t 0.00, pay it off first, because margin can’t be turned off while there’s an outstanding amount.

A full explanation of every number is in the read your account screen tutorial.

How to pay off margin debt

There are two ways. Pick based on your situation.

Way 1: Top up money (fastest). Deposit at least as much as the debt, plus a little extra. Under Moomoo’s official terms, money you deposit on day T counts as settled and is used straight away to pay off the debt first, and the part that’s been paid off stops charging interest from that day. Topping up doesn’t affect your new-user reward, because the reward is counted on net deposit.

Way 2: Sell some shares. Sell the holdings bought with that loan, enough to cover the debt plus a little extra for fees and price movements. For US stocks, sell using Shares (number of shares), not Amount. Work out the number of shares like this: the amount you want in USD ÷ the current price. Remember two things:

• Sale proceeds have to settle first before they can pay off the debt. Under the official terms, proceeds from a sale on day T settle on T+2 trading days, and before that they can’t pay off the debt. Interest keeps running during that time.
• The loan is in ringgit. If you sell US stocks and get USD, you may need to convert the extra USD to MYR (Accounts → Exchange) so the ringgit debt is cleared.

How to turn margin off, screen by screen

Only once the debt is 0.00 can margin be turned off. The app itself says: if your account (or any account sharing buying power) still has an outstanding amount, margin will not be turned off.

1

Me tab (or Discover → Me)

Open Settings

Scroll to the bottom of the Me page and tap Settings. In the Settings list, tap Accounts.

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1. 1Accounts

🔍 Tap the image to enlarge

2

Settings → Accounts

Positions tab → Margin Settings

At the top there are three tabs: Shortcuts, Account Display and Positions. In the Positions tab, the very first row is Margin Settings.

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1. 2Margin Settings

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3

Margin Settings

Check Due, then turn off the switch

Your account’s line shows Net Assets and Due. If Due isn’t 0.00, pay it off first using the ways above. If Due is 0.00, tap the switch on the right to turn margin off.

Daus’s advice: after you sell shares to pay off the debt, wait until the sale proceeds settle (T+2 working days), then turn it off. If the switch still won’t turn off and you have an order still open (for example an unfilled US order), cancel it first under Accounts → Orders, then try again. If it still won’t work, contact customer service.

In this screenshot, margin on Daus’s account is already turned off and Due is 0.00.

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1. aMargin switch and Due
2. bNote: can't turn off while money is owed

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What changes when margin is off

According to Moomoo’s official explanation, once margin is turned off, your account can only trade with cash. Margin-related features can no longer be used: margin financing, short selling, options, futures, applying for IPOs with margin, and Cash Plus holdings no longer count as buying power. For most beginners who just buy and hold stocks or ETFs, nothing is lost.

One more layer of safety: Margin Reminder

In Me → Settings → Trade, in the Order Alerts section, there’s a switch called Margin Reminder. Turn it on if you want the app to give margin-related reminders when you place an order. Daus hasn’t tested every situation where that reminder appears, so still check Max Qty to Buy (Cash) yourself before you tap Buy.

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1. Margin Reminder

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FAQ

If I don’t do anything, will the debt disappear by itself? No. It stays, and interest keeps running until you top up or sell.

What if the share price falls badly while I’m in debt? The broker can ask you to add money (a margin call) or sell your holdings to cover the debt. This is the main reason Daus doesn’t recommend margin for beginners.

Do futures and options need margin? Yes. In the app, an attempt to open a futures account will be rejected if margin isn’t active. Futures and options use leverage and are high risk; Daus himself doesn’t trade futures.

Will my 60-day reward be affected if I top up? No. Topping up adds to your net deposit. What affects it is withdrawing until your net deposit drops below RM1,000 before 60 days.

This content is educational sharing, not financial advice.