Robinhood Python enables traders to programmatically interact with their Robinhood trading accounts through API integration. If you’re interested in algorithmic trading with Robinhood Python, this comprehensive guide covers everything from API functionality to account requirements and stock trading Python implementation using resources from Python.org.
Understanding Robinhood Python API Integration
The Robinhood API is a means of remotely and programmatically interacting with Robinhood accounts via HTTP GET and POST requests. Through the API, you can do everything you can normally do from your account – place buys and sells orders, cancel orders, view order history, get historical data for a specific stock, etc. Robinhood itself is a mobile trading/investing app that was originally launched in 2013 to make investing easy for the general public, but since 2017 has expanded to offer web-based trading as well.
How the Robinhood API is useful?
- No Fees
- No Minimum Account
- Instant Deposit
- Interest on Uninvited Funds (New Cash Management Feature)
- Ability to Buy Fractions of Stocks
- Margin Trading
- Automatic Dividend Reinvestment
- SIPC protection up to $500,000 ($250,000 cash)
How do you make money? By lending money uninvited in investor accounts to banks and cutting fees from market makers who route orders on the other side, rewards (Gold) Reduced account membership fees and interest on borrowed money Margin trading on these accounts (5% AER).
Who can use the Robinhood API?
To use the Robinhood API you will definitely need an actual Robinhood account.
Currently, Robinhood is freely available to U.S residents only.
You must:
- Be 18 years or older
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- Have the legal U.S.
- Be a U.S. citizen /permanent resident /have a valid U.S. visa
You can use your Robinhood account pretty much anywhere in the world whilst traveling, except in the sanctioned jurisdictions, where you won’t be able to access your account, and attempted log-ins may lead to account restrictions.
What types of Robinhood accounts are there?
As we mentioned a little while ago, Robinhood offers three account types: Instant, Cash, and Gold.
Instant is the default account type you get when you open an account with Robinhood.
Upgrade to Gold for $5/month. This increases the limit for instant deposits and settlements from $1000 to $50,000, allows you to leverage trades at a 2:1 ratio, and gives you access to Level II market data (complete order book for purchases).
Alternatively, it can be "downgraded" to cash upon request. Instant deposits and settlements are lost, but day trading is not restricted to accounts with balances below $25,000.
There are many more things you need to understand before you try to dwell in Robinhood Python. Apart from its benefits, there are some negative aspects such as no demo or un-official AIP. For more trading options, explore TD Ameritrade trading and check out our tutorials or download IBridgePy to get started.