6 Reasons Your Buy or Sell Order Failed in M+ Global
You tap Buy, confident in your pick, and seconds later the status reads "Failed". Or even more confusing - you cannot even sell your own shares. These are among the most frequent questions the Mahersaham support team receives: "Why does my sell transaction keep failing?", "I can't even buy 1 lot, why?", "My order was there earlier, now it's gone."
The good news: in almost every case we help with, the cause is not "the system is broken" - it is one of six identifiable reasons you can resolve yourself. This article lists all of them, ordered from most common, based on real client cases.
Quick Answer
A failed order in M+ Global is usually caused by one of six things: insufficient trading limit (including brokerage fees), a dormant CDS account from long inactivity, sale proceeds not yet settled (T+2), an order price outside the allowed range, a stuck older order, or an M+ system issue. Check each one in order below before contacting support.
Quick Reference Table
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buy order failed despite visible balance | Insufficient trading limit (amount + fees) | Check trading limit, not total cash |
| Even sell orders fail | Dormant account | Reactivate via Bursa Anywhere |
| Just sold shares, can't buy again | Funds not yet settled (T+2) | Wait for settlement or deposit fresh funds |
| Fails only at certain prices | Price outside allowed range | Adjust your order price |
| Old order vanished / new order blocked | Order stuck in the system | Cancel the old order first |
| Everything looks normal but still fails | M+ system issue | Contact the team for a backend check |
Cause 1: Insufficient Trading Limit (Including Brokerage Fees)
This is the most common cause. Two things many investors misunderstand:
First, the system draws from your trading limit, not total cash. To buy shares, the money must sit in the trading limit portion. A balance in total cash (for example, freshly settled sale proceeds) cannot be used directly for purchases - so you may "see money" yet the order still fails. The full explanation is in our article Why Does Your Available Trading Limit Decrease?
Second, the order amount must include brokerage fees. Say your trading limit is RM100 and you order RM99 worth of shares - the order fails because once brokerage and other charges are added, the total exceeds your limit. This is also why very small orders (say 1 lot of a 3-sen stock worth RM3) can fail - minimum fees make the true cost far higher than the share value. See the full breakdown in M+ Global Transaction Fees Explained.
A real example from a client case: trading limit RM700, total cash RM300. An order for 1 lot at RM3.95 per share (RM395) - successful, because RM395 + fees stayed under RM700. But the same client once failed with a much smaller order on another day - because at that moment part of the limit was already tied up by another order still in the queue. Your trading limit is a live number that changes whenever you have active orders.
Fix: Check your actual trading limit in the app before ordering, and make sure the order value plus estimated fees stays below it. If you need to add funds, follow our deposit guide - freshly deposited money goes straight into your trading limit and can be used immediately.
Cause 2: Dormant CDS Account - Even Selling Fails
This is the cause that surprises clients the most, because it blocks not just buying but selling your own shares. If you have not transacted for a long time, your CDS account turns inactive and eventually dormant. In one real case we handled, a client could not understand why his sell orders kept failing - it turned out his last trade was three years earlier and the account had long gone dormant.
The telltale sign: you can log in normally and your portfolio is visible, but every order (buy or sell) fails.
Fix: Reactivate the account through the Bursa Anywhere app - go to My Services, then Reactivate CDS Account. The full steps are in our guide Cara Aktifkan CDS Dengan Aplikasi Bursa Anywhere. Once reactivated, your orders work normally again. Note: for IPOs, your holdings are unaffected - but you still need to reactivate the account before you can sell them after listing.
Cause 3: Sale Proceeds Not Yet Settled (T+2)
After selling shares, the proceeds cannot be used immediately. Bursa Malaysia runs a T+2 settlement cycle: sell on Monday (T+0) and the money only settles on Wednesday (T+2). During that window, any new buy order relying on those funds fails because your trading limit has not been updated.
The same applies to withdrawals - you cannot withdraw sale proceeds before settlement completes.
Fix: Wait for the T+2 cycle to finish, or if you don't want to miss an opportunity, make a fresh deposit - deposited funds go straight into the trading limit without waiting for settlement. Also worth remembering: selling shares does not require trading limit, so if your account is normal, you can always sell even with a near-zero limit.
One related variation: selling back shares bought on the same day (intraday). The M+ system detects when the quantity sold does not match what was bought that day, and in some situations such intraday transactions require a review or special request before they go through. If you trade intraday frequently and your sell orders are rejected despite sufficient holdings, contact our team so we can check and arrange it with M+.
Cause 4: Order Price Outside the Allowed Range
Ever noticed an order queue successfully at one price but fail instantly at another? This usually relates to price controls at the Bursa level:
- Daily price limits (static price limit) - Bursa Malaysia sets a daily movement band for most counters (generally around 30% from the reference price). Orders outside this band are rejected automatically by the system. See Bursa Malaysia's trading mechanism for details.
- Tick size - each price range has a minimum price increment. The M+ Global app usually adjusts this automatically, but orders placed at an invalid tick will be rejected.
Fix: Adjust your order price into the allowed range. If you often place limit orders far from the market price, first understand the order types in M+ Global so your orders match your actual intent.
Cause 5: An Older Order Stuck in the System
A real case from our inbox: a client placed a buy order, the order then "disappeared" from view - and when he tried placing a new one, it failed. The cause: the original order was still stuck in the system, locking part of the trading limit even though it no longer appeared in the usual view.
Fix: Check today's order list (order book / order history) and cancel the old order first. Once cancelled, the trading limit is released and new orders go through. If the stuck order cannot be cancelled on your own, send a screenshot to our team for a check with M+.
Cause 6: M+ System Issues
If all five causes above check out - sufficient balance, active account, no stuck orders - the likely cause is a disruption on M+'s backend. That is beyond your control, but these steps speed up the resolution:
- Screenshot the error message (full screen, with the transaction time visible)
- Note when the order was placed and which counter was involved
- Send it to the Mahersaham team at t.me/mahersahamplatform together with your client code - we will check directly with M+
If your problem is not with orders but with getting into the app at all, that is a different issue - see Can't Login to M+ Global or M+ Global App Crash, Error or Hang.
"Failed" vs "Rejected" vs "Unmatched"
These three terms are often mixed up, but they mean different things - and knowing the difference tells you whether action is needed:
- Failed / Rejected - the order was refused by the system before reaching the market. This is what this article covers: there is a technical cause (limit, account, price) to resolve. No fees are charged.
- Unmatched / Expired - the order entered the queue successfully, but your price never met the market price before the session ended. Nothing is technically wrong - there was simply no buyer or seller at your price. The order lapses at end of day with no charges, and you can order again tomorrow.
- Matched - the order was successfully matched and the trade is done. Brokerage fees are only charged at this stage.
So if your status is "unmatched", nothing is broken - adjust the price and try again. If it is "failed" or "rejected", follow the checklist below.
Quick Checklist Before Contacting Support
Follow this order - most cases are solved by steps 1 to 3:
- Check your trading limit (not total cash) - enough for the order value + fees?
- Just sold shares? Wait for T+2 or make a fresh deposit
- Check the order book - any stuck older orders? Cancel them first
- Haven't traded in a long while? Check your account status and reactivate via Bursa Anywhere
- Try adjusting the order price into the current range
- Still failing? Screenshot the error + your client code, and send it to our team
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Does selling shares require trading limit?
No. Selling shares you own does not use your trading limit - you can sell even with the limit nearly empty. If even sell orders fail, the most likely causes are a dormant account or a stuck order.
Why did my tiny order under RM10 fail?
Every transaction carries brokerage and minimum charges. For very small orders, total fees can approach or exceed the share value itself, and if the combined total exceeds your trading limit, the order is rejected.
How long after selling can I use the money?
Per Bursa's T+2 cycle: sell on Monday, the money settles on Wednesday. Only then can it be used for new purchases or withdrawals. If you don't want to wait, a fresh deposit is usable immediately.
How do I know if my account is dormant?
The clearest sign: every order fails including sells, even though login and portfolio look normal. You can check your CDS account status in the Bursa Anywhere app, or send your client code to our team for a direct check.
Am I charged for a failed order?
No. Brokerage fees only apply to successfully matched trades. Failed or cancelled orders incur no charges.
My order queued but never matched all day - is that a fail too?
That is different. A queued order that never matched simply means your price never met the market price that day - it lapses at end of day with no charges. Failed means the system rejected the order before it even entered the queue.
I just deposited - can I buy straight away?
Yes. Approved deposits go straight into your trading limit and are usable immediately - unlike sale proceeds, which must wait for settlement.
Why could I buy an IPO but can't sell it after listing?
IPO applications do not go through the same account status checks as regular market orders. If your account is dormant, the IPO application may succeed, but you must reactivate the account before you can sell those holdings after listing.
Conclusion
A failed order in M+ Global almost always comes down to one of six causes: trading limit and fees, a dormant account, T+2 settlement, price out of range, a stuck order, or a system issue. Work through the checklist in order and most cases resolve without waiting for support.
Understanding your platform's quirks is part of the investing skillset - and it starts with the right account and foundations.
Don't have a CDS account yet? Open a CDS account with Mahersaham to trade on Bursa Malaysia as well as foreign stocks such as the US and Hong Kong markets.
Just starting out? Download our free stock market basics ebook to master the fundamentals before your first trade.