IC Markets Review 2024

Rating 7/10

Max. Leverage

1:500

for Forex

Minimum Deposit

$200

EUR/USD Spread

0.8 pips

Benchmark

Visit IC Markets

IC Markets is a CFD broker that accepts UK-based traders & offers trading services for currencies, commodities, bonds, digital currencies, indices and stocks.

IC Markets was established in 2007 and is regulated in Cyprus and other Top-Tier jurisdictions. Traders from the UK can open accounts with IC Markets. They are mainly popular for their Raw spread trading account.

In this review, we take a look at the trading fees (spreads, commissions & more), deposit and withdrawal options, account opening process, customer support and safety of IC Markets.

IC Markets is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, as such it is best to avoid them. However the broker is licensed by Tier-1 and Tier-2 financial regulators, so it is considered a moderate risk to trade with them.

Note: IC Markets are able to accept traders in the UK because their EU entity had a temporary licence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, IC Markets have applied to cancel this licence. This is according to the information on the FCA’s website as of November 2023.

Below are the major financial authorities by which IC Markets is regulated.

1) Financial Services Authority (FSA), Seychelles: IC Markets is incorporated in Seychelles as Raw Trading Ltd and is regulated by the FSA with license number SD018, authorized as a securities dealer in 2020.

They operate under the trading name IC Markets Global with a dedicated website www.icmarkets.com

Traders from the UK are registered under this offshore regulation. It is important to know that the broker is not regulated in the UK and their offshore regulation consumer protection may not cover UK traders. Trading with them is at your own risk.

2) Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC): IC Markets is registered in Australia as International Capital Markets Pty Ltd with ACN (Australian Company Number) 123-289-109 since 2007 and is regulated by ASIC.

3) Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC): IC Markets is also regulated in Europe by CySEC as IC Markets (EU) Ltd and authorized to offer investment service, license number 362/18 issued in 2018. The broker serves European clients through this license and a dedicated website, www.icmarkets.eu.

The maximum leverage on IC Markets is up to 1:500 which applies to major forex pairs and some commodities. Major indices, bonds, futures and cryptocurrencies on MetaTrader have a maximum of up to 1:200. Cryptocurrencies trade on cTrader have a maximum leverage of 1:5. Stocks trades have a maximum leverage of 1:20.

With a leverage of 1:500, you can open a trade position worth 500 times the value of your deposit. For example, if you deposit $100, you can place a trade worth a notional value of $50,000.

Note that some instruments have lower leverage limits than the stated maximum.

It is important to know that trading leveraged products involves risk and you can lose all your money. It is best to only trade if you understand it and do not use high leverage.

IC Markets offer two main types of trading accounts for clients: Raw Spread and Standard Accounts. The Raw Spread Account is available on cTrader and MetaTrader. If you are opening a Standard Account, only MetaTrader is available.

They also offer Islamic Accounts for Muslim traders that are swap-free and demo accounts to help beginners get familiar with the platform.

Below are details of the various account types currently available on IC Markets and their features:

1) Raw Spread Account (MetaTrader): The IC Markets Raw Spread Account (MetaTrader) is only available on the MetaTrader trading application and allows you to trade CFDs on Forex, indices, bonds, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and stocks. This account is suitable for EAs & Scalpers.

This account attracts a commission of up to $3.50 per standard lot traded, which amounts to $7.00 for a round turn. Spreads on this account start from 0.0 pips, and swap fees are applied for keeping a position open overnight.

This account requires a minimum deposit of $200 with a minimum trade lot size of 0.01, a maximum number of position orders of 200, and maximum leverage of 1:500.

This account offers negative balance protection, to ensure that you do not lose more money than you have deposited. If you suffer a loss from an unsuccessful trade position and lose all the money in your account, any negative balance that accrues will be reset to zero.

2) Raw Spread Account (cTrader): The IC Markets Raw Spread Account (cTrader) is only available on the cTrader platform and allows you to trade CFDs on Forex, indices, bonds, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and stocks. This account is suitable for Day Traders and Scalpers.

A commission of up to $3 per side lot traded is charged on this account, which amounts to up to $6 for a round turn. Spreads start from 0.0 pips, and swap fees are applied for keeping a position open overnight.

In order to trade on this account, you must have a minimum of $200 in your account with a minimum trade lot size of 0.01. The maximum number of open positions is 2,000 and the maximum leverage is also 1:500.

You also have negative balance protection with this account.

3) Standard Account: The IC Markets Standard Account is available exclusively on the MetaTrader platform and lets you trade CFDs on Forex, indices, bonds, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and stocks. The Standard Account is suitable for new or discretionary traders.

This account is spread only and charges no commission for opening or closing trade positions. Spreads start from 0.8 pips and usually have a markup because you pay no commissions. You also pay swap fees for keeping a position open overnight on the Standard Account.

You must have at least £200 in your account, with a trade lot size of 0.01, to trade on this account. The maximum number of open positions is 200 and the leverage limit is 1:500.

You also have negative balance protection with the Standard Account on IC Markets.

4) Islamic Account: The Islamic Account at IC Markets is a swap-free account for Muslim traders who want to adhere to the sharia law of no-riba.

This account is similar to the Raw Spread & Standard Accounts, with the same spreads, commission fees, leverage, and minimum deposit, except that it does not charge swap fees.

Note that you will pay a flat rate financing fee if you keep the trade position open for more than one night.

If you want an Islamic account, you will have to select the Islamic Account Option while creating your account.

IC Markets Base Account Currency

Base account currencies supported on IC Markets are AUD – Australian Dollar, USD – United States Dollar, EUR – Euro, GBP – British Pound (Sterling), CHF – Swiss Franc, NZD – New Zealand Dollar, JPY – Japanese Yen, SGD – Singapore Dollar, CAD – Canadian Dollar, and HKD – Hong Kong Dollar.

You can select any of these during account registration, but cannot change it once the account is opened.

IC Markets fees vary based on currencies traded, account type, and trading instruments. Find an overview of IC Markets fees here:

Trading fees

Spreads: IC Markets charges spread fees whenever you trade instruments, which is the difference between the bid and ask prices. The lowest spreads start at 0.0 pips for Raw Spread Account and 0.8 pips for the Standard Account. Here are the average spreads on IC Markets for Raw Spread & Standard Accounts:

Commission fees: IC Markets offers commission-free trading for Standard Accounts while Raw Spreads accounts incur commission fees for opening and closing trade positions. The Raw Spreads (MetaTrader) round-turn commission fee is $7 and Raw Spread (cTrader) is $6.

Swap fees: If you keep a trade position open overnight past the market’s closing time, the position rolls over into the next trading day and you pay a swap fee also referred to as rollover fee or overnight funding cost. This is applicable to all account types on IC Markets except Islamic Accounts.

The swap fees paid depends on the size of your trade, leverage used, spread, and whether your position is short (sell) or long (buy).

Typical swap fees for major pairs like EURUSD on MetaTrader are $-3.93 for long (buy) swaps and $2.45 for short (sell) swaps.

Islamic Accounts are swap-free and won’t pay any swap fees for holding a position overnight. However, if you hold the position open for more than one night, you will start to pay a flat financing fee based on the instruments you are trading.

Non-trading fees

Deposit and Withdrawal fees: IC Markets does not charge any fees for deposits and withdrawals on all payment methods for all account types.

Some international banking institutions may charge independent fees.

Account Inactivity charges: IC Markets does not charge inactive account fees, which means that you won’t be charged anything if you don’t log into your account or trade. Any funds in your account will be untouched.

How to Open IC Markets Account in UK?

To start trading on IC Markets, follow these steps to open an account.

Step 1: Visit the IC Markets website homepage at www.icmarkets.com and click on ‘Start Trading’ tab on the top right corner of the home page.

Step 2: Fill out your name, email, and phone number on the form that appears and click the ‘NEXT’ button.

Step 3: Select whether you are opening an individual, joint or corporate account, check the box beside Islamic Account, if you are a Muslim, then provide your date of birth and fill in your address. Check the referral box if you were referred and click on ‘NEXT’.

Step 4: Now, choose your preferred trading platform and the account type you want, and select a base account currency. Then click on ‘NEXT’ to proceed.

Step 5: You will be required to set a security question and the answer. After that, check the box to show you have read and agree with the terms and conditions, then click ‘SUBMIT’ to continue with the account registration.

Step 6: You will be redirected to the IC Markets Secure Client Area where you will be required to answer some questions to complete the registration and verify your account.

Answer the questions about your employment & income then click ‘NEXT’.

Answer the questions regarding your trading knowledge and experience then click ‘SUBMIT’.

Step 7: You will be required to upload your identity and address documents to verify your account.

You can choose to do this later and fund your account instead.

Payment methods supported by IC Markets for deposits and withdrawals are cards (debit or credits), e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, and others), and bank wire transfers.

Learn about the minimum amount and the time it takes to process deposits and withdrawals from IC Markets below:

IC Markets Deposit Methods

Here is a summary of payment methods accepted by IC Markets for deposits.

IC Markets Withdrawal Methods

Here is a summary of payment methods for withdrawals accepted on IC Markets.

What is the IC Markets minimum deposit?

The recommended minimum deposit on IC Markets UK is $200 for all payment methods and applies to all account types. You may make a deposit of less than 200 USD, but this may limit the types of trades you can execute and the volume you can trade.

How do I deposit money into IC market?

Step 1: Log in to your account Client Area through the IC Markets website or by visiting secure.icmarkets.com, type in your email as username, and enter the password that was sent to your email after registration, click ‘Login’.

Step 2: Once you are logged in, click on Deposit on the left side menu and select a payment method you would like to use for your deposit.

Step 3: Enter the amount you want to deposit and provide other information required then click ‘PROCEED’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the deposit.

What is the IC Markets minimum withdrawal?

The minimum withdrawal on IC Markets is $1 for cards and e-wallets while bank transfers require a minimum withdrawal amount of $50.

How to Withdraw Funds from IC Markets in UK?

You can follow these steps to withdraw your money from IC Markets UK.

Step 1: Log in to your IC Markets clients area (dashboard).

Step 2: Click on withdraw on the left side menu.

Step 3: Select a withdrawal method and the trading account you wish to withdraw from, enter the amount you want to withdraw, click on ‘SUBMIT’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete your funds’ withdrawal on IC Markets.

IC Markets Trading Instruments

Below are financial instruments that can be traded on IC Markets

Instrument	Availability	Number
Forex CFDs	Yes	61 currency pairs on IC Markets (6 majors, 21 minors and 34 exotics)
Commodities CFDs	Yes	24 spot commodities on IC Markets (Energy, Metals, Agriculture)
Indices CFDs	Yes	25 spot indices on IC Markets (AUS200, UK100, DE40, and others
Bonds CFDs	Yes	9 bonds on IC Markets (EURBOBL, EURBUND, UKGB, and others)
Stocks CFDs	Yes	2,100+ stocks on IC Markets (ASX, Nasdaq & NYSE and others)
Cryptocurrencies CFDs	Yes	21 cryptos on IC Markets (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and others)
Futures CFDs	Yes	4 Futures on IC Markets

IC Markets Trading Platforms

Trading platforms supported by IC Markets are:

1) MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5: The MT4 & MT5 trading applications are supported by IC Markets for trading and can be accessed via the web, desktop, and mobile devices (Android & iOS).

The MetaTrader is supported for The Raw Spread and Standard Account.

2) cTrader: IC Markets supports cTrader for trading using only the Raw Spread Account. The cTrader is available on the web, desktop (Windows & macOS) as well as Google Play Store and App Store.

The cTrader copy trading app is also supported on IC Markets.

IC Markets Execution Policy

IC Markets is not a market maker. They are the issuers of CFDs they offer and do not have a proprietary trading book. This means they do not determine the bid-ask prices of trading instruments. Since we have established this, the question is – what type of broker is IC Markets?

IC Market is an ECN broker. Their pricing model is ECN as well. This is made clearer with their Raw Spread Account. The average spreads on the account are raw and low. The prices they stream to traders are from IC Market’s liquidity providers with no price manipulations or requotes.

Furthermore, their execution model ensures fast execution speed. IC Markets achieve this by not hedging each of your positions with their hedge counterparties. In simple words, they do not open the opposite side of your trades with counterparties. Consequently, your trades are executed quickly.

IC Markets Education and Research

IC Markets have different education channels. We look at them in detail below:

1. Demo Account: IC Markets, like many forex brokers, have a demo account. It is free to open with zero risk. You will get an account with virtual funds that support all IC Markets account types, products, and platforms.

You can use the account to backtest your strategy, and get acquainted with the trading platforms, and the trading fees. In addition, IC Markets’ demo account does not expire so it is easy tracking your progress.

2. Video Tutorials: IC Markets’video tutorials are largely about trading platforms. We found 17 videos that cover all about how to use and log in on the trading platforms, how to place an order, upload a credit card, and much more.

3. IC Markets’ Blog: There are a lot of educational articles on the broker’s blog. The blog is well structured with a good user interface. At a glance, you can see the technical analysis section and fundamental analysis section.

Also, there is an ‘education section’ with topics like trading psychology, risk management, and how to develop a trading plan.

IC Markets UK Customer Service

IC Markets offers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online customer support to clients via the following channels.

1) Live chat support: The IC Markets live chat is available 24/7 for client enquiries and can be accessed on their website. The IC Markets chatbot will respond first and show you quick option answer to some questions when you start the live chat.

You can switch to a live agent by typing ‘chat with an agent’ in the chat, and the bot will show you options that will connect you to a live support agent.

When our team tested, the wait time for a live agent to connect was under 2 minutes and the answers provided were relevant. Although the live agent seemed to have delays of up to 3 minutes before answering some questions.
You will need to provide your email and name to start the chat.

2) Email support: IC Markets offers email support for clients, you can find the email on the contact us page of their website. You can fill in an enquiry to quickly send them a message or type a message in your email app and send it to the IC Markets email address at [email protected].

When our team tested their email support, we got a response in 10 minutes and the answer to our questions were correct. The email support is available from 10:00 PM on Sundays to 10:00 PM on Fridays (GMT).

3) Physical Office: IC Markets has no physical office in the UK, the headquarters of IC Markets is Level 4 50 Carrington Street, Sydney NSW, 2000 Australia.

4) Phone support: IC Markets offers international phone support for clients that is also available from 10:00 PM on Sundays to 10:00 PM on Fridays (GMT). The phone number is +248-467-1976.

Do we Recommend IC Markets UK?

While IC Markets is not regulated in the UK, they are licensed by ASIC, a Tier-1 financial regulator, and CySEC a Tier-2 financial regulator. Although other brokers are regulated in the UK with good trading conditions. It is best to avoid them because they are not regulated in the UK and the regulations in other countries will not cover the UK traders.

However, IC Markets have moderate spreads and swap fees, offers commission-free trading on some account, and charges zero dormant account fees. They also process deposits relatively faster than some brokers.

The customer support of IC Markets is good, they have 24/7 live chat and responsive email and phone support for 6 days (Sundays to Fridays).

The website of IC Markets is easy to navigate and has details about the account types, fees, trading conditions, and other information that clients might have. The FAQ section of their website is highly informative. You can visit their website to see if the conditions match your needs, you can also chat with their support to answer any questions you have.

Overall, we recommend that you sign up with a broker that is fully regulated by the FCA as that will ensure that you are well protected by the UK authority. Remember that trading CFDs involves risk and only experienced traders should engage in it.

Does IC Markets Accept UK Clients?

IC Markets (EU) license with the FCA has been cancelled. Due to this regulatory restriction, IC markets no longer accepts clients resident in the UK.

IC Markets UK FAQs