What is a First-Time Deposit (FTD)?

A first-time deposit (FTD) is a new user’s first real-money top-up with an advertiser: a casino or sportsbook player funds an account, or a broker / exchange customer makes a first deposit. In CPA, FTD is a distinct conversion event, usually priced above signup. A bare search for “FTD” often means the FTDI chip driver; this page is the offer metric, not hardware.

The topic is an offer KPI in affiliate marketing, not a bank “first savings deposit” and not a bookkeeping deposit. The main setting is gambling (iGaming) and adjacent finance/crypto offers that pay on a funded account, not on an SOI registration.

Place in the funnel

Typical chain: click on an affiliate link → registration (account, sometimes without documents) → KYC / age gate → FTD. Signup produces a cheap “CR,” but the advertiser earns from the deposit and later play. Networks and buyers therefore split signup CR from FTD CR (deposits / registrations, or FTD / clicks).

The funnel continues: repeat deposits, wagers, NGR. FTD is entry into the paying cohort, not an LTV score. On revshare, commission follows revenue after FTD; FTD itself may carry no flat fee.

Payout models around FTD

CPA on FTD — a fixed payout for the first deposit (often with a minimum amount).
Hybrid — CPA on FTD plus a share of NGR. The iGaming default.
Revshare only — no flat FTD fee; the partner earns if the player loses more than they win (minus bonuses), per offer rules.

In crypto and at some brokers the same event is called first deposit / first funded account: the balance was funded, not merely opened. Credit-style finance usually has no FTD: the KPI is an approved lead, not a deposit.

Qualified FTD and floors

Advertisers rarely pay on any first transfer. The offer typically sets:

a minimum amount (baseline / qualified FTD — often $10–20, higher on expensive GEOs);
payout only after KYC, not on a pending payment;
a ban on bonus-only / promo-only top-ups where the rules say so;
player uniqueness: one FTD per device / document / payment method.

A raw ftd postback and a paid FTD diverge the same way a raw lead diverges from an approved lead. Watch approval rate and delayed rejects: bonus hunting, multi-accounting, VPN from a blocked GEO.

How buyers measure it

Working KPIs: cost per FTD (spend ÷ paid FTD), click→FTD CR, reg→FTD CR, time to FTD, EPC on the FTD payout. On hybrid, forecast the CPA leg (fast cash) separately from revshare (monthly reconcile, often with a hold). Network offer EPC is an average across partners; your FTD EPC lives in the tracker by sub ID.

Postback names vary: ftd, dep, sale, purchase. Mixing them with signup (reg, lead) is a common “the ad account optimizes, the balance does not” failure: the pixel trained on signup, the network pays on FTD.

Fraud and compliance

Duplicate players, incent “sign up and deposit $1,” brand bidding on the casino name, under-18 traffic — typical reasons to reject FTDs and ban the source. Age gating and responsible-gambling notices are required in creatives on many GEOs. An FTD from a country outside the offer’s licence is unpaid even if the payment cleared.

Do not confuse FTD with a hold: hold is a payout pause after a conversion already recorded; FTD is the event itself. Do not confuse it with CPA as a model: CPA may pay on a lead, an install, or an FTD — the offer names the event.