# Connect Alpaca | Amal Invest Help

Alpaca is the brokerage behind the Amal Invest app. Onboarding checks that Alpaca accepts your country, sends you to Alpaca to open the account, then links it back. Approval usually takes under a week.

Key Takeaways

*   Zero commissions, no minimum balance, available in 100+ countries
*   Cash and securities are SIPC insured up to $250k each
*   You open the account on Alpaca's site, then link it to Amal with one click
*   You can create funds while approval is pending, but cannot invest until it is active

## Step 1: Check eligibility

The welcome screen has one button, **Connect a broker account**. Press it, confirm your **Country of Residence**, and press **Am I eligible?**

![The Connect a broker account screen with the country picker and Am I eligible button](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/country-eligibility.png)

If Alpaca does not accept your country you see a **Not Eligible** dialog. In that case use [Amal x Trading 212](https://amalinvest.com/help/choose-a-broker) instead.

![The Not Eligible dialog](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/not-eligible.png)

## Step 2: Open the Alpaca account

Eligible users see the perks list and a **Connect to Alpaca** button.

![The You're eligible screen with the Connect to Alpaca button](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/eligible.png)

Pressing it opens Alpaca in a new tab and shows a **Keep this window open** reminder in Amal.

![The Keep this window open modal](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/alpaca-modal-keep-open.png)

Do not close the Amal tab while you fill in Alpaca's form.

On Alpaca's site, create the account with your details and identity document. This is Alpaca's own KYC process and Amal never sees the documents.

## Step 3: Link it back

Return to the Amal tab. The reminder has become **Welcome back** with a **Link my Alpaca account** button. Press it, approve the connection on Alpaca's page, and you are sent back to Amal with a **Connected!** message.

![The Welcome back modal with Link my Alpaca account](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/alpaca-modal-link.png)

## What the status screens mean

After linking, Amal shows one of these until the account is active:

*   **Alpaca approval pending.** Normal. Alpaca is reviewing your documents. You can press **Create my first fund** and set things up while you wait.
*   **You haven't completed onboarding.** Alpaca's form was not finished. Press **Complete Alpaca onboarding** to go back to it.
*   **Alpaca requires additional information.** Check your inbox for an email from [\[email protected\]](https://amalinvest.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9cefe9ececf3eee8dcfdf0ecfdfffdb2f1fdeef7f9e8ef) and reply with what they ask for.
*   **Your Alpaca account has been rejected.** Alpaca declined the application. Email us and we will look into it with them.

![The Alpaca approval pending screen](https://amalinvest.com/help-assets/approval-pending.png)

## Common problems

**The Alpaca tab closed before I linked.** Sign in to Amal again. Onboarding resumes at the linking step.

**I already have an Alpaca account.** You can link it. Press **Connect to Alpaca** and sign in to your existing account instead of creating one. Amal needs its own authorisation even for existing accounts.

**Approval has taken more than a week.** Email [\[email protected\]](https://amalinvest.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c7479706c5c7d717d7075726a796f68327f7371) with the email you used at Alpaca. We can check the status on our side.