Source: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/payment-for-order-flow

# Payment for order flow
URL: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/payment-for-order-flow
Last modified: 2026-10-17

Payment for order flow is a wholesaler paying a retail broker to send it customer orders, which it fills inside its own system at the national best price or better. It is legal, disclosed, and [the reason US commissions are zero](https://mochatrade.com/learn/us-market-structure/how-us-stock-prices-form). The wholesaler is often [the counterparty on the other side of your fill](https://mochatrade.com/learn/us-market-structure/who-moves-us-stocks).

## Related terms

- NASDAQ: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/nasdaq
- Opening auction: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/opening-auction
- Closing auction (official close): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/closing-auction
- Dark pool: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/dark-pool
- Index ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/index-etf
- Liquidity: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/liquidity