FXTM Review 2024

Rating 7/10

Max. Leverage

1:2000

for Forex

Minimum Deposit

R20

EUR/USD Spread

1.9 pips

Benchmark

Visit FXTM South Africa

FXTM is an online forex broker that offers the trading of currency pairs, and CFDs on metals, indices, precious metals, energies and some other instruments.

FXTM was founded in 2011 as a foreign exchange and CFDs broker. FXTM is authorized by the FSCA in South Africa and the parent company of FXTM brand (Exinity Group) is authorized by Tier-1 and Tier-2 Forex regulators, such as the FCA in the UK and CySEC in Cyprus.

They also accept local payment methods for deposit & withdrawals including bank transfer in ZAR in SA. But they don’t offer ZAR base currency trading accounts, and only USD, EUR base currency options are available for SA traders,

For this review of FXTM, we tracked their trading conditions, fees, deposit and withdrawal options, and available trading instruments. We’ve also covered the pros and cons of FXTM broker for SA traders.

FXTM is considered low risk for traders in South Africa because of their regulation by FSCA and other Top-Tier financial authorities.

The details of the regulations and licenses for FXTM can be found below.

1)Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa: The FXTM is regulated in South Africa as ‘ForexTime Ltd’ and licensed as a financial service provider. The FSP number of FXTM is 46614. FSCA is a Tier-2 regulator.

2) Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mauritius: FXTM is registered and regulated in Mauritius by the FSC in the Republic of Mauritius under the name Exinity Limited as an investment dealer. Although FXTM is regulated in South Africa by FSCA, Traders from South Africa are registered under this offshore regulation, it can be seen on the signup page.

Note that trading with the broker is at your own risk, as this foreign regulation may not protect South African traders in the event of a default.

3) Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom: FXTM brand is also authorized by Tier-1 regulator in the UK by the FCA under their registration as Exinity UK Limited to offer financial services. They serve UK clients through this registration.

4) Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC): FXTM is licensed by the Tier-2 regulator, CySEC, through their registration in Cyprus as Forextime Ltd as an investment firm offering investment services. They serve European clients through this license.

If you are based in South Africa, FXTM will register you under their FSC license in Mauritius though they are regulated locally by the FSCA. Mauritius is an offshore region so regulations are not strict. There is no compensation scheme under this regulation and negative balance protection is not guaranteed.

Here is a statement from FXTM’s website about this. It’s not standard practice for us to correct negative balances, but this may be done on a discretionary basis. If there’s credit on your trading account, it may be deducted to cover the negative balance.

“It’s not standard practice for us to correct negative balances, but this may be done on a discretionary basis. If there’s credit on your trading account, it may be deducted to cover the negative balance.”

FXTM offers both floating and fixed leverage for trading, depending on the type of account, currency pair, or instrument traded.

For FXTM floating leverage, the FXTM maximum leverage is 1:2,000 but the leverage will reduce as the notional value increases, that is, as the size of positions increases because it is variable leverage.

FXTM offers fixed leverage trading for Micro Accounts on some instruments. CFDs on stocks, commodities, and spot indices have fixed leverage on FXTM depending on trading instruments and account types.

With a leverage of 1:2,000, you can open a trade position worth 2,000 times the value of your savings. For example, if you deposit $100, you can place a trade of $200,000.

Note that trading leveraged products involves risk and you could lose all your money. It is best to avoid trading CFDs unless you understand it and have experience. It is important not to use all the leverage available when trading, as this increases your risk of capital loss.

There are 3 main FXTM trading accounts you can choose from, the Micro Account, the Advantage Account, and the Advantage Plus Account.

The Islamic Account is also available in all account types, and you can try the demo mode of all types of accounts.
Different FXTM account types determine the kinds of instruments you can trade, fees per trade, transaction size, deposit and withdrawal methods, and leverage.

To help you choose the right account type, here is an overview of the 3 three accounts types offered by FXTM below:

1) Micro Account: The FXTM Micro Account is designed for new traders who want to invest in the Forex market. Micro account holders are only allowed to place trades through the MT4 trading platform.

FXTM Micro Account users can trade Forex and CFDs (contracts for difference) on commodities, stock baskets, FX indices, and metals.

This account does not charge commission fees and spreads start from just 1.5 pips. Swap fees apply for overnight positions.

FXTM Micro Account has a minimum lot per trade requirement of 0.01. This account features fixed leverage, with maximum leverage of 1:1000, and offers instant execution of trades.

The Micro Account requires a minimum deposit of $10 to begin trading. This account has negative balance protection, which means that you will not lose more than the money deposited. If a trade position is unsuccessful and you suffer a loss, any negative balance that accrues on your account will be reset to zero.

2) Advantage Account: FXTM’s Advantage Account is for more experienced traders who can trade through the MT4 and advanced MT5 trading platforms.

FXTM Advantage Account holders can trade a wide variety of financial instruments. Those instruments include Forex, metals, indices, stocks, CFDs, stock baskets, stocks, and FX indices.

Spreads on this account start from 0.0 while commission charges start from $0.40 to $2 (per side), and is based on a floating commission structure that varies based on trade volume. Swap fees apply for overnight positions.

FXTM Advantage Account has a minimum lot per trade requirement of 0.01. This account features floating leverage, with maximum leverage of 1:2000, and offers market execution of trades.

The Advantage Account requires a minimum deposit of $200 to begin trading and also has negative balance protection.

3) Advantage Plus Account: The FXTM Advantage Plus Account is similar to the Advantage Account, the Major difference being that this account is commission-free. Advantage Plus Account-holders can trade through the popular MT4 and advanced MT5 platforms.

Tradeable instruments on this account are Forex, metals, indices, stocks, CFDs, stock baskets, stocks, and FX indices.

You trade on this account at spreads starting from 1.5 pips. There are no commission charges, but there are swap fees for overnight positions.

FXTM Advantage Plus Account has a minimum lot size of 0.01. It offers floating leverage, with maximum leverage of 1:2000, and market execution of trades.

To start trading on the Advantage Plus Account, you’ll need a minimum deposit of $200 and you have negative balance protection as well.

4) Islamic Account: FXTM Islamic Account offers zero swaps in line with the sharia law of no-riba, which means that you won’t pay any fees/interest for maintaining a position overnight. This option is designed for Muslim traders. Islamic Account holders cannot engage in the trading of exotic FX pairs.

After registration, you will need to contact the support team to enable your account as Islamic. You will be required to provide a document that proves you are a Muslim. You can use your birth certificate or any other document that shows you are a Muslim.

FXTM Base Account Currency

Currently, the base currencies available on FXTM are Euros – EUR, United States Dollar – USD, Great Britain Pounds – GBP, and Nigerian Naira – NGN.

When you create an account, you are required to select one of the four account currencies on FXTM, which means that all trading, fees, deposits/withdrawals, and profits/losses will be shown in this currency and converted accordingly.

FXTM currently does not have Rand Account but you can deposit money in Rand, and your funds will be converted to the currency of your trading account.

FXTM charges fees to traders based on the type of accounts they have. Details of the trading and non-trading fees on FXTM is shown below:

Trading fees

Spreads: FXTM uses a floating spreads system and its spreads on the Micro Account and Advantage Plus start from 1.5 pips, while its Advantage Account spreads start from 0.0 pips. Typical spreads for major pairs on FXTM are shown on the table below:

Commission fees: FXTM offers commission-free trading for Micro and Advantage Plus account holders, and charges commission on Advantage Accounts starting from $0.40 to $2 per lot side opened. The commission charge is based on a floating structure and reduces as your size of trade increases.

Swap fees: Whenever you keep a trade position open past the market’s closing time, the trade rolls over to the next trading day and you incur overnight funding costs or rollover fees, also called swap fees.

Swap-free trading is allowed on FXTM Islamic Account for 7 days, after which, account holders pay daily fees.

For example, if you enable the swap-free option and then open EURUSD trade, it will have no swap fees for the first 7 days. After 7 days, it attracts swap-free (Daily Fee), of about -$10.63 per lot.

If you close a trade and re-open it before the 7 days elapse, another 7 days start counting afresh, and you pay zero swap fees.

Non-trading fees

Deposit and Withdrawal fees: FXTM does not charge deposit fees for funding your account and does not charge withdrawal fees on most payment methods. Some withdrawal methods, like card withdrawals, attract a transaction fee of $3 per withdrawal.

You won’t pay for deposits using your South African bank account.

Account Inactivity charges: After six months with no trading activity on your account, you’ll be charged $5 monthly on any balance in your account.

However, if you have more than one account and at least one of those accounts is used to trade, then no fees will be charged. If your account balance is zero, no negative balance will accrue.

*Withdrawals via credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and Maestro) attracts a $3 fee. There are no charges if you use e-wallets except for Perfect Money which attracts 0.5% commission for withdrawals.

How to Open FXTM Account in South Africa

If you want to start trading on FXTM, you need to open an FXTM live account. You can open an FXTM account, by following the steps below:

Step 1: Visit FXTM’s website at www.forextime.com and click Open Account (or Open Micro Account) in the red button at the top right corner of the page on desktop or the middle of the page on mobile.

Step 2: Fill out the form that appears. You will need to provide your name, email address, phone number, and country, then create a password.

Once you do that, click on “SEND PIN” to receive a verification code via SMS or WhatsApp message to continue with the process. The PIN will also be sent to the email you provided.

Once you get the verification PIN, enter it, check the terms and agreement box and click on ‘Register now’ to continue.

Step 3: You will be taken to the client area/dashboard and required to choose an account type to proceed.

Scroll down below the account type you want and click on ‘Open Account’ to open either the Micro, Advantage or Advantage Plus Account.

You can also choose to open an FXTM demo account at this point by clicking on ‘Try demo’.

Step 4: After clicking ‘Open Account’, a form will appear for you to fill out to complete the Account Application process.

Your personal information will be required on this form, providing the information, check the box to show you have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions then click on Submit at the end of the form.

Step 5: After submitting your bio-data information, you will be required to choose your account currency, set a leverage limit and create a password for the trading account. You can choose either USD, EUR or GBP.

After creating a password, click on ‘Open account’ to proceed.

Step 6: After creating your account, you can make a deposit to your trading account and start trading.

Payment methods supported by FXTM for deposits and withdrawals are bank transfers, e-wallets and cards. Here is the summary of the deposits and withdrawal options on FXTM in South Africa.

FXTM Deposit Methods

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

FXTM Withdrawal Methods

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

What is FXTM Minimum deposit FXTM?

The minimum deposit on FXTM is $10 for Micro Accounts and $200 for Advantage and Advantage Plus Accounts.

While deposits via cards and Neteller require a minimum deposit of $5, local bank transfers require a minimum deposit of 20 ZAR, Skrill has no mandatory minimum deposit amount.

How do I Deposit Funds?

Follow the steps below to deposit funds into your FXTM Account:

Step 1: Log in to your FXTM account dashboard via the FXTM website or www.forextime.com/login.

Step 2: On your dashboard/client area, click on the ‘My Money’ tab on the left side menu and select ‘Deposit funds’.

Step 3: Select a payment method and click on the ‘Deposit’ button beside it.

Step 4: If you select African Local Solutions, you will need to select your Trading Account Number and the transfer currency.

You will be required to select a deposit amount, you can also enter a custom amount on the ‘OTHER’ circle.

Next, select Bank as Payment Method and SOUTH AFRICA (ZAR) under country.

You will then select any of the 6 South African Banks supported on the platform and enter your mobile number.

After supplying this information, click on ‘Confirm’, which will take you to a page where you will confirm your deposit details, then click ‘Submit’ and follow the prompts to complete the deposit.

What is FXTM Minimum withdrawal?

The minimum withdrawal amount on FXTM is $5 per transaction via cards and $1 via e-wallets which are processed within 24 hours or 1 business day. Withdrawals to South African bank accounts are not supported on FXTM.

How to Withdraw Funds from FXTM in South Africa?

Follow the steps below to withdraw money from your FXTM Account:

Step 1: Log in to your FXTM account dashboard via the FXTM website or hwww.forextime.com/login.

Step 2: Click on the ‘My Money’ tab on the left side menu and select ‘Withdraw funds’.

Step 3: Select a withdrawal method and click on the Withdraw button beside it.

Note that FXTM currently does not support withdrawals to South African bank accounts, but you can withdraw to cards and e-wallets like Skrill.

Also, note that you cannot withdraw via any method except you have made deposits via that method.

FXTM Trading Instruments

You can trade any of the following numbers of CFD instruments with FXTM.

Instrument	Availability	Number
Forex	Yes	58 currency pairs on FXTM (19 majors, 22 minors, 17 exotics)
Commodities/Energies	Yes	3 spot commodities on FXTM (Brent, Crude, Natural Gas)
Metals	Yes	5 pairs of Spot Metals on FXTM (Gold and Silver paired to USD, GBP, and EUR)
Indices	Yes	13 spot indices on FXTM (AUS200, UK100, GER40, and others)
Stocks	Yes	638 stocks on FXTM (US and Hong Kong stocks)
Stock CFDs	Yes	798 CFDs stocks on FXTM (CFDs US and European stocks)
Crypto CFDs	Yes	11 CFDs cryptocurrencies on FXTM (BTC, DOGECOIN, RIPPLE, and others)

FXTM Trading Platforms

FXTM supports the following trading platforms:

1. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5: You can trade with MT4 and MT5 on the FXTM platform, both applications are compatible with the web, desktop platforms (Windows and Mac), and Android and iOS mobile devices
2. FXTM Trader: FXTM offers a free mobile trading platform that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

FXTM South Africa Execution Policy

Before going into FXTM’s best execution factors. We’d like to mention that the company takes all reasonable steps to make sure traders get the best possible results. In case of slippage, FXTM will give a re-quote under instant execution. If the trade is not under instant execution, it will be executed at the next available price.

FXTM’s best execution factors include price, cost, speed, the likelihood of execution, the likelihood of settlement, etc. Let us break them down.

The price given for any given CFD is obtained from third-party external sources. The prices are calculated by reference to the price of the relevant underlying asset. These prices are updated within as much as technological limits allow. The external sources are also reviewed daily to ensure that the prices provided are competitive. If any order can not be executed at your declared price, because of volatility, it will be executed at the first available price.

Costs include commissions and financing fees (swaps). When you open a position on some CFDs, you are charged a commission which could be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total value of the trade. These fees are not included in FXTM’s quoted price. They are charged from your brokerage account.

FXTM South Africa Education and Research

Top Guides: FXTM has two trading guides namely: forex trading for beginners and CFD trading for beginners. Both guides are in text form so be ready to do a lot of reading. There are also images to illustrate the texts.

Forex trading for beginners begins with defining forex and the forex market. It has six chapters as displayed below

The basics of trading like currency pairs, time zones, technical analysis, spreads, and other concepts are covered in detail.

CFD Trading for beginners deals with how to open/close positions and how the contract works. FXTM also went a great deal to explain the brief history of CFD brokers and trading concepts like margin and leverage. Combined with these are the details of FXTM’s CFD trading accounts and fees so you can compare easily.

Trading Videos: FXTM has a series of trading videos under their knowledge hub, covering three topics.

The first is forex basics which cover concepts that a beginner must be familiar with in detail. The second topic is technical analysis and has 8 videos. Trends, range, charting, and discipline are the core concepts discussed here. The final topic is trading basics with 15 videos. Here, you will learn about margin, leverage, order types, risk management, etc.

These videos are a good alternative if you do not want to read the trading guides.

FXTM South Africa Customer Service

FXTM’s customer service is available to clients 24 hours a day, 5 days a week via the following channels:

1) Live chat support: The FXTM live chat can be accessed through their website, it is available 24/5 and they respond fast within the said period. When our team tested it, the wait time was less than 2 minutes and the answers provided were relevant.

When you first click on the live support button, you will have to option to chat on WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, or live chat.

If you choose the live chat option, the FXTM chatbot will request your name and email address, then it will first respond to you by showing some FAQs. To transfer to a live agent, simply type chat agent in the chat and a customer care representative will respond and answer your questions.

2) Email support: The email support of FXTM is available for 24 hours from Monday to Friday. When you send them an email, you get an auto-generated reply confirming they have received your enquiry and will respond soon.

When our team tested it, we got feedback within a few hours and the answer was relevant. The email address of FXTM is [email protected].

3) Phone support: FXTM also offers international phone support that is available 24/5. FXTM does not have local phone support in South Africa. The FXTM international number is +44 20 3734 1025.

FXTM Bonus

FXTM currently does not have any bonus offering for traders except the FXTM Referral Program that gives traders about $50 for referring your friend.

Referral Bonus: FXTM offers a $50 bonus under their Refer a Friend Program. Whenever you refer a friend to the platform and they signup and deposits the minimum required deposit within 7 days of clicking your unique referral link. The person you referred will also get a $50 referral bonus.

Do we Recommend FXTM South Africa?

Yes, we do recommend FXTM. FXTM is considered a low-risk forex broker for traders based in South Africa as per our review because they are licensed in South by the FSCA and by other Tier-1 and Tier-2 financial regulators. Although SA traders are registered under a different regulator.

FXTM also have low fees with Advantage account, they accept local bank transfers for deposits in ZAR, although they do not offer ZAR account currency. FXTM registration process is simple and the broker processes deposits/withdrawals relatively quickly.

The spreads with their Micro account are higher although the account is commission-free, beginner traders who choose this account will pay higher overall fees.

The broker offers negative balance protection so you do not loose more money than you invest.

Overall, we recommend that you check their website to see more about them and probably chat with support and ask any questions you have to help you decide.

FXTM South Africa FAQs