FXCM offers forex and CFD trading on Trading Station, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and TradingView. Accounts on the international website are with Stratos Global LLC, an offshore entity in St Vincent and the Grenadines that sits outside the group’s regulated companies.
Spreads from
1.3 pips
Commission
$0 (spread-only)
Min deposit
$50
Established
1999
Regulated by
FCA · ASIC · CySEC · FSCA (South Africa) · ISA (Israel) · St Vincent and the Grenadines (registered, no licence required)
Written byLaverlane Team·Updated27 Oct 2026
Researched with AI assistance and verified by our editors
Regulation
Stratos Markets Limited is listed on the FCA Register (217689). The register says the firm has applied to cancel its authorisation, and it notes disciplinary or regulatory action involving the firm.
Stratos Global LLC is not subject to regulatory oversight that governs other FXCM entities, which includes but is not limited to the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa.
Stratos Global LLC ("FXCM") is not intended to be used by residents of: the United States, Canada, European Union, Japan, Hong Kong, or Australia.
Key facts
FXCM offers forex and CFDs on its own platform, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView.
Client-facing entity
Stratos Global LLC
Regulators
FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA (South Africa), ISA (Israel), St Vincent and the Grenadines (registered, no licence required)
Restricted countries
US, CA, GB, AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE, HK, AU, IL, JP, IN
Negative-balance protection
no
Minimum deposit
$50
Max leverage (offshore entity)
1:1000
Max leverage (offshore entity)
1:400
Max leverage (offshore entity)
1:100 (FX) / 1:200 (CFDs)
Typical EUR/USD spread
1.3 pips
Platforms
Proprietary, MT4, TradingView
FXCM was founded in 1999. The broker offers forex, indices, commodities, shares and crypto CFDs, with a free demo account that comes with $20,000 in virtual funds.
The minimum deposit is 50 currency units for an individual account.
Best for
Pros & cons
Fund safety
Sending money to a provider that isn’t licensed in your country can leave you with fewer legal protections and make it harder to recover your funds if something goes wrong. Check whether a broker is authorised where you live before you deposit.
Stratos Global LLC is not a licensed entity, so no statutory compensation scheme covers its clients. The risk warning says you could lose more than your deposits.
The regulated Stratos entities in the UK, the EU, Australia, South Africa and Israel are separate companies, and their protections apply only to their own clients.
Account terms
Account terms include an inactivity fee and a general business terms document.
A dormancy fee of up to 50 units of the account currency, or the balance if lower, is charged each calendar year after 12 months without trading. Locked accounts can also be charged, and an account is closed after six months at a zero balance.
The Terms of Business, Execution Risks and Rate Card are published on the legal pages.
Costs
FXCM’s standard account has no commission, so your trading cost sits in the spread.
FXCM advertises zero-commission trading. The Trade Now page lists average spreads of 1.3 pips on EUR/USD and 1.8 pips on GBP/USD, based on prices from 17 May 2023.
Active Trader accounts get discounted spread costs based on volume traded.
| Instrument | Asset class | Typical spread | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | Forex CFD | 1.3 | pips |
| GBP/USD | Forex CFD | 1.8 | pips |
Spreads shown are typical, not guaranteed, and widen during volatile sessions or outside main market hours. Figures reflect the broker's standard retail account.
Markets
FXCM offers CFDs and forex across several asset classes.
Forex CFD
Index CFD
Commodity CFD
Metals, energies, softs
Single-Stock CFD
Crypto CFD
Available ✓
Real ownership: Stocks / ETFs
N/A for this broker, CFDs only
Markets include forex majors, minors and exotics, share CFDs, index CFDs, commodity CFDs and crypto CFDs, plus stock and forex baskets and treasuries.
These are CFD products, so you do not own the underlying asset.
Platforms
Trading runs on Trading Station, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView.
Trading Station is the proprietary platform for desktop, web, iOS and Android. MetaTrader 4 supports Expert Advisors and a free virtual private server (VPS), with 0.01 lot sizes.
TradingView live trading integration lets you trade from TradingView charts, and FIX, Java and ForexConnect APIs support automated strategies.
Execution
FXCM publishes execution statistics, so you can check how orders have filled before you open an account.
The execution transparency page reports 2025 slippage figures, with 30.83% of orders receiving positive slippage and 14.64% negative slippage. Average execution speed is reported as 17 milliseconds for CFD products.
FXCM publishes these figures, they cover past orders only, and your own execution may differ, especially in fast markets.
Leverage
New accounts default to leverage of up to 1:1000.
Your leverage drops as your equity grows: up to 1:1000 below $5,000, up to 1:400 from $5,000 to $50,000, and above $50,000 it’s up to 1:100 on forex or 1:200 on CFDs. The leverage for each instrument is set by FXCM and may be lower than the maximum.
Account types
FXCM offers a standard account and an Active Trader account, and both need a $50 minimum deposit.
| Account | Min deposit | Commission | Swap | Spread | Demo | Islamic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $50 | Spread-only | Swap-free | From 1.3 pips · Variable | Yes | Yes |
| Active Trader | $50 | $2.5 per side | Adding a mark-up to rollover | From 0.2 pips · Variable | Yes | Yes |
The standard account requires a minimum deposit of 50 currency units and charges no commission. Active Trader accounts offer discounted pricing, dedicated support, API trading and market depth on Trading Station.
Funding
Cards and bank wire are the most common withdrawal options.
Funding options include cards, bank wire, Skrill, NETELLER, Apple Pay, Google Pay and local bank transfers in some regions.
There is no fee for card withdrawals, and a $40 fee applies to bank wire withdrawals.
Support
FXCM support runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, by live chat, phone and email.
FXCM representatives are available by phone 24/5, and live chat support runs 24/5. Besides English, support covers Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Mandarin, Italian and Greek, with limited support for other languages.
The help centre covers accounts, deposits and withdrawals, trading and education.
Availability
The site is not directed at residents of several major markets.
The information on fxcm.com/markets is not directed at residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Hong Kong, Australia, Israel, Japan or India.
Check which entity you contract with during registration.
Verdict
FXCM offers a broad platform choice, with Trading Station, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView live trading, plus published execution statistics. The drawback is the structure for international clients: accounts on fxcm.com/markets are with Stratos Global LLC in St Vincent and the Grenadines, which states it needs no financial services licence. Add up to 1:1000 leverage, a $40 bank wire fee and an inactivity fee, and it suits experienced traders who accept offshore terms better than anyone who wants statutory protection.
FXCM may suit you if you want TradingView or MT4 trading, API access and published execution data, and you are comfortable with an offshore contracting entity. It is less suitable if you need a compensation scheme or prefer to withdraw small amounts by bank wire.
Experienced traders who use TradingView, MT4 or APIs and understand the risks of high leverage. Newer traders and anyone who needs regulator-backed protection should look at the regional entities or another broker.
FAQ
FXCM (Forex Capital Markets) is an online broker founded in 1999 that offers forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, shares and crypto. It is part of the Stratos Group, headquartered in London. Accounts on fxcm.com/markets are provided by Stratos Global LLC, registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Stratos Markets Limited is listed on the FCA Register (217689). The register says the firm has applied to cancel its authorisation, and it notes disciplinary or regulatory action involving the firm. Accounts on fxcm.com/markets are with Stratos Global LLC, which states it is not required to hold a financial services licence in St Vincent and the Grenadines, so the regulated protections do not apply to it.
You request withdrawals through the MyFXCM portal, with credit or debit card and bank wire as the most common options. There is no fee for card withdrawals, and a $40 fee applies to every bank wire withdrawal.
You’ll need 50 currency units ($50 on a US dollar account) to open an individual account, and the same minimum applies to card deposits. Wire deposits have no minimum. Corporate, trust and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) require 50,000 currency units.
New accounts default to leverage of up to 1:1000. Accounts funded above $5,000 move to up to 1:400, and accounts above $50,000 move to up to 1:100 on forex and 1:200 on CFDs. The exact leverage for each instrument is set by FXCM and can change.
Alternatives
Eightcap offers CFDs on 850+ markets through TradingView, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradeLocker, with a Raw account that starts from 0.0 pips. Clients outside the regulated regions contract with Eightcap Global Limited in The Bahamas, which carries no statutory compensation scheme.
Octa offers swap-free forex and CFD trading on OctaTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, with no trading commission and a $25 minimum deposit. Accounts on octabroker.com are with Versustrategy Inc, registered in Saint Lucia, and the legal documents page lists no financial regulator.
JustMarkets offers leverage of up to 1:3000, swap-free trading and MT4, MT5 and its own app, but international clients contract with an offshore Seychelles entity without a statutory compensation scheme.
ThinkMarkets offers ThinkTrader, TradingView, MT4 and MT5 with 4,000+ instruments and leverage of up to 1:500 on Standard and ThinkZero accounts. International clients contract with a Seychelles-licensed entity.
IronFX operates as a retail CFD broker providing high leverage up to 1:1000 on MetaTrader 4, but international clients contract through an offshore entity without statutory compensation protection.
CFI Financial offers MT5, TradingView and its own app with no minimum deposit and leverage of up to 1:500. International clients trade with CFI International Ltd, licensed in Mauritius.
EC Markets offers MT4, MT5 and its own app with a $10 minimum deposit on STD and ECN accounts and leverage of up to 1:1000. International clients trade with the Mauritius-licensed entity.
FBS offers accessible trading conditions with low entry deposits, but international clients contract with an offshore entity without statutory compensation protection.
General CFD risk warning
CFDs are complex leveraged products and carry a high risk of rapid losses. They do not give you ownership of the underlying asset. Depending on your jurisdiction, broker entity and client classification, protections such as leverage limits and negative-balance protection may differ or may not apply. Where negative-balance protection is not provided, losses may exceed the funds you deposit. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
Disclaimer
This page is provided for general information only. Nothing on this page constitutes investment, tax or trading advice, or a recommendation to open an account or trade with a particular broker. Laverlane does not provide personalised investment advice. We are not a broker or financial institution, we do not arrange or execute trades, and we do not hold client funds.
Broker availability, spreads, fees, leverage, products and legal protections, including compensation schemes and negative-balance protection, vary by the broker’s legal entity, your country of residence and your client classification, and may change over time. Where a broker is required to publish its retail CFD loss rate, that figure is shown on its review page. Spreads shown are typical figures as at our verification date; they are not guaranteed and may widen, particularly during volatile market conditions.
Laverlane Scores reflect the information available at our most recent review. They are editorial assessments, not guarantees of a broker’s financial strength, reliability or future performance. Where we report a regulator warning or enforcement notice, it reflects the official public information available at the time of our review.
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