Pros & cons of iForex

iForex Fact sheet

Finding a trustworthy broker is the main priority for most traders, and licenses play a crucial role in the Forex market, as they help ensure the integrity and security of financial transactions and protect the investors’ interests. iForex is authorized and regulated in two jurisdictions and therefore, can be trusted. The regulators are:

• British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)

Policies that iForex follows

iForex provides negative balance protection to its customers. CFD trading is a leveraged activity, meaning that traders borrow funds from their respective brokers to increase their purchasing power. As such, they can lose more money than what was originally in their accounts. To prevent this from happening, iForex uses a smart stop option and guarantees traders that even if their balance goes negative, the broker will revert the balance to zero. 

In addition, deposits made by the customers of iForex are kept in segregated trading accounts. This further increases the safety level, as even if the broker gets liquidated, traders will keep access to their own funds. 

iForex offers a wide range of asset classes for trading to its clients. The majority of assets are Contracts for Difference, CFDs for short. CFDs are perfect for short-term market speculationHowever, they are not a good option for investing long term.

There are various benefits that come with trading CFDs. Firstly, they are easily accessible. Most brokers offer CFDs on various instruments. Secondly, they can be shorted and benefit traders even in bear markets, as CFDs can be traded in both directions. Moreover, traders have access to leverage. 

Forex trading on iForex

There are 86 available currency pairs with this broker. Traders have access to major, minor, and exotic pairs. Fees and conditions vary depending on your state of residence. Spreads on iForex.eu start from 0.6 pips on EUR/USD. While for the clients of iForex.in, the spreads start from 1.1 pips. On the other hand, non-European customers have access to a greater amount of leverage - up to 400:1, while the maximum available leverage in Europe is 30:1 due to EU regulations. Trading fees are included in spreads, however, there is no spread-free account type available. This means that iForex is ideal for position and swing traders and not for day traders, as day traders generally prefer ECN (Electronic Communication Network) pricing and raw spreads.

Stock CFD trading on iForex

There are over 600 company stocks as CFDs available for trading with this broker. As already mentioned, traders can go long or short and use leverage on these assets. The maximum available leverage is 20:1. This means that you can increase your purchasing power for trading stocks as CFDs by 20 times. 

Crypto CFD trading on iForex

There are 42 crypto derivatives available for trading with iForex. In addition to all the benefits that come with CFD trading, when trading crypto as CFDs, traders can forget about cashout and storing difficulties. Profits from crypto CFD trading are added directly to your trading balance. The minimum spread for the most popular crypto CFD, bitcoin, is 68.43 pips.

Commodity CFD trading on iForex

Commodities are materials that turn into consumer goods. iForex offers access to 21 commodities as CFDs, including hard commodities, such as energies and precious metals, and soft commodities, such as agricultural products. Commodity prices are often influenced by global demand and supply.

Indices trading on iForex

Stock indexes, better known as indices, have a dual purpose. They measure the health and fitness of certain industries, in addition, they can be traded as CFDs. There are over 34 popular indices available for trading with iForex, such as:

• Germany 40 (that includes the top 40 German company stocks)
• US 30 (also known as the Dow Jones index, the index includes the top 30 US Stocks)
• Japan 225 (this index includes the top 225 Japanese stocks), etc.

The maximum available leverage at iForex for trading indexes is 200:1. 

Typically, Forex and CFD brokers offer various account types to meet the needs of different trader types. Unfortunately, there are only demo and live account types available with this broker. Let’s learn more about the live account.

Pros & cons of iForex account types

iForex Live Account

There are only live and demo accounts available at this broker. A demo account is very similar to the live one, with a major difference that trading on demo trading is done with virtual money. Demo accounts are for training purposes, and they also help traders build trading strategies and systems in a risk-free environment. 

The minimum initial investment required to open a live account with iForex is as little as 100 USD. The broker offers up to 400:1 leverage. However, it should be mentioned that high leverage comes with many dangers. High leverage can amplify losses and damage trading account balances rapidly. 

Traders can open live accounts in multiple currencies, including INR, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and CHF. It’s best to open an account in the currency that you use the most. This way, you will save a lot of money on conversions. 

Getting started on iForex – Main steps

The account opening process and registration are fully digital with this broker. We’ll guide you through this process step by step.

Step 1: Open an account

Firstly, you need to go to the broker’s main page and register as a trader. For the registration, you are required to provide personal information, go ahead and fill out the registration form.

Step 2: Time to verify your account

After you register as a trader, before funding your account, it’s best to first verify it. Verified accounts have full control over their personal cabinet and can freely withdraw funds from their account balance. For verification, you will need to upload proof of identity and proof of residence. For proof of identity, you can use digital photos or scanned versions of your driving license, passport, or government-issued ID card. As for the proof of residence, you can use bank statements or utility bills. These documents are required according to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines and regulations. 

Step 3: Make your deposit and start trading

Finally, you can make a deposit and start trading. The broker accepts multiple deposit methods, such as bank transfer, credit/debit card, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafe, and Yandex. It must be noted that while most options are instant, bank transfers generally take a couple of business days. As already mentioned, the available account currencies are INR, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and CHF. If you make a deposit in another currency, that is not the same as your account currency, your deposit will get converted into the account currency, which will charge you conversion fees.

Comparing iForex fees with other brokers

Trading fees at iForex are average compared to competitors. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees, and traders are not charged with inactivity fees. Trading fees are included in spreads and start from 1.1 pips. This means that in low-liquidity markets, spreads can get wider. Let’s compare the fee structure of iForex with some of the market leaders to get a better understanding.

iForex fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

*Inactivity fee was eliminated by IB in 2021, it used to be $20/m

iForex fees compared to CM Trading fees

iForex fees compared to plus500 fees

iForex fees compared to XM fees

iForex fees compared to AvaTrade fees

iForex fees compared to Capital.com fees

The broker offers FXnet and iForex mobile trading platforms. It should be mentioned that the FXnet is a web-based trading terminal, and you won’t be able to download and install it on your PC. It should also be mentioned that while web terminals are great to use, they certainly come with some drawbacks. Desktop trading software such as MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView are more reliable when it comes to execution speeds, and traders can use various algorithms for trade automation. Web trading terminals are more convenient on the other hand and do not require an installation process. 

iForex provides a tailor-made mobile trading platform. The platform displays live rates and enables traders to see charts in multiple time frames. The app has a built-in economic calendar and offers access to various indicators. The platform is user-friendly and highly intuitive to use. Overall, we can safely say that the mobile app of iForex is good.

Quality education is essential for successful trading. The broker offers 1 on 1 training and video tutorials. In addition, there’s only an economic calendar and market news available for the clients of iForex. 

Having professional and friendly customer service is another essential part of any customer-oriented company. iForex is a global broker and has offices around the world, and customer support is available in various languages. The customer service offices are located in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UAE. Existing and potential customers of the broker can send an email or make a phone call to the broker. However, it should be noted that there’s no live chat available, which is a huge downside. 

To sum everything up, iForex is a regulated broker that offers access to multiple asset classes. Traders registering from Europe will have different trading conditions, such as 30:1 maximum leverage, while clients outside the EU can enjoy up to 400:1 leverage. The broker offers average customer support and educational material. On the downside, only a web terminal and mobile platforms are available, and there are only live and demo account types.