Analyzing FOREX.com Platform: Is It a Scam or Legitimate?

Forex trading is gaining popularity in Vietnam. Many aspire to wealth through forex trading, but the risks, especially from fraudulent Forex platforms, are often overlooked. Hence, thorough research into Forex brokers is crucial before investing. Today, we'll evaluate FOREX.com to equip you with essential insights about this brokerage.

Latest Review of Forex.Com Platform

I - Understanding FOREX.com

FOREX.com is a Forex and CFD platform established in 2001, providing access to over 200,000 traders worldwide to trade over 4,500 markets, including 90+ currency pairs, 220+ Stocks, Commodities, Equities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies. With over 20 years of experience, FOREX.com consistently offers the best experience for both novice and experienced traders, solidifying its position as one of the leading brokers globally.

FOREX.com is owned by StoneX Financial Ltd, with its parent company, StoneX Group Inc, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As of Q2 2020, StoneX has total assets of $10.9 billion and is ranked 100 on the Fortune 500 list for 2020. The company is regulated by various financial authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the US. FOREX.com welcomes traders globally, except for Singapore, New Zealand, Belarus, Iran, Yemen, and some countries on the OFAC list.

II - Advantages and Disadvantages of FOREX.com

The pros and cons section will give you an overview before diving into a detailed review of the FOREX.com platform.

1. Advantages of FOREX.com

- Regulated by leading authorities like FCA, CFTC...
- Offers various trading products: currencies, stocks, commodities, equities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
- Tight spreads, low commission fees, and fast trade execution.
- Provides robust trading tools.
- Offers daily market news and analysis.
- Many drawing tools and technical indicators available on the charting section of the platform.
- 24/5 customer support via phone, email, fax, or live chat.

2. Drawbacks of FOREX.com

- No negative balance protection.
- Does not support Vietnamese language.

III - Types of Accounts on FOREX.com

FOREX.com offers 3 main types of accounts, each providing different benefits depending on how you want to trade. A demo account is also available for traders who want to try out the FOREX.com platform.

- Demo Account: Designed for traders to familiarize themselves with FOREX.com's tools and trading platform. It allows traders to test forex trading strategies in a risk-free environment, with $10,000 virtual money available in the account. The Demo Account expires after 30 days.
- Standard Account: Designed for traders who want a relatively straightforward experience of traditional FX trading. The standard account provides access to integrated trading platforms, numerous advanced charting tools, and the FOREX.com mobile app. With this account, traders also benefit from a cash rebate system offering discounts of up to 15%.
- Commission Account: For experienced traders seeking tight spreads, as low as 0.2 pips with a commission fee of $5 per 100,000 USD traded.
- Direct Market Access Account: Designed for professional traders with large trading volumes, minimum $25,000. This account offers low spreads and requires higher trading volumes to take advantage of super-low commission fees, after discounts.

The account registration process on FOREX.com can be completed within 10-15 minutes, but your account must be verified to start depositing funds and trading. The FOREX.com verification process typically takes 1-3 business days. To get started, you choose one of the account types as mentioned above, then fill in personal information, upload identification documents, and await confirmation.

IV - Trading Fees on FOREX.com

When evaluating FOREX.com, Mytour observes that FOREX.com trading fees are incurred through the spread. It offers both fixed and variable spreads depending on the specific market being traded. The average spread on FOREX.com ranges from 1.9 pips to 0.84 pips. As informed in the account types section, the Standard Account incurs no commission fees, the Commission Account charges a commission fee of $5 per 100,000 USD traded, and the DMA Account has variable commissions based on trading volume.

FOREX.com offers different leverage levels depending on the type of account, trading platform, and tools you choose. The maximum leverage on FOREX.com is 1:50. Additionally, traders with no trading activity for over 12 months will incur a monthly inactivity fee of 15 USD.

V - Deposits and Withdrawals

FOREX.com provides several options for depositing and withdrawing funds from your account as follows:

Deposits can be made via:

- Visa or Mastercard: with a minimum transaction of 100 USD (or equivalent currency). Deposits made via Visa or Mastercard are free and processed instantly.
- Bank transfer: with no minimum transaction limit. Bank transfers may take up to 2 business days but are free of charge.

Withdrawals from your FOREX.com account can be done via:

- Bank transfer: with a limit of 25,000 USD (or equivalent currency) per transaction, free of charge.
- Credit/debit cards: with a limit of 25,000 USD (or equivalent currency) per transaction, free of charge.

VI - Trading Platforms Supported by FOREX.com

FOREX.com offers 2 lines of trading platforms: the exclusive FOREX.com trading platform and the MetaTrader 4/MetaTrader 5 trading platform. Both platforms are available for desktop, mobile devices, and web.

- The FOREX.com desktop trading platform is built to deliver top performance, flexibility, and speed. It's designed to meet the rigorous demands of traders with fully customizable layouts, trading options, one-click trading capabilities, professional analysis tools, integrated trading strategies, advanced charting features...
- With FOREX.com mobile trading platforms, you can easily manage your account and trade anytime, anywhere with access to powerful trading features, risk management options, advanced TradingView charts and real-time analysis, integrated fund management, and more from your iPhone or Android device.
- The FOREX.com web platform provides simplicity, speed, and reliability, with an intuitive design and full trading capabilities, advanced charts, smart trading ticket with advanced risk management options, default and customizable layouts, powerful charts with one-click trading capabilities, and integrated trading tools.
- MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is considered one of the most popular and user-friendly online trading platforms, making it suitable for new traders. Additionally, MT4 also provides a full range of advanced features to meet the needs of more experienced traders.
- MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the successor to the MT4 platform. The MT5 platform includes all the core features and functionalities that made MT4 famous, with even more advanced capabilities.

VII - Is FOREX.com Safe or a Scam?

FOREX.com is regulated by several Tier-1 regulatory bodies, allowing them to provide services across multiple markets. Being licensed by regulatory bodies, especially Tier-1 regulatory bodies, assures customers that the broker is complying with strict regulations to protect customers' funds and trades in the country with regulatory oversight.

Regulatory requirements mean that brokers have established procedures in the following core areas:

- Continuous business planning.
- Disaster recovery planning.
- Transaction data and security.
- Anti-money laundering (AML).
- Customer complaints.

Specifically, Forex.com is registered with multiple regulatory bodies worldwide such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA) in the United States, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Additionally, in terms of security, FOREX.com holds all customer deposits in a separate account from the company's funds before distributing them to various supervised banks worldwide and employs sophisticated encryption to safeguard both funds and trader data. Therefore, the assessment of FOREX.com as a reputable and secure broker can be made.

In addition, Pepperstone and OANDA are also among the Forex trading platforms that many investors are paying close attention to. If you're unsure about the safety of these platforms, you can refer to the reviews here.

Read more: Pepperstone review

• Read more: OANDA review