Best Short Selling Brokers Guide
Short Selling Brokers
Traders who can predict an upcoming decline in the prices of stocks can earn by first borrowing the stocks from the so-called short selling brokers, sell those with open short positions and thereafter rebuy it in future when the value comes down.
The important things that an individual should consider when selecting short selling brokers are the fees charged, the trading platform offered and what are the sharable stocks available to trade.
Traders who mainly benefit from such short-sell stocks include hedgers, gamblers and such investors who can speculate on the price.
If the price increases, hopefully it should not result in a trading loss. It is a universal truth that short selling brokers can either make or break a trader. This is the reason it is important to look for a low-fee broker whose tools, as well as customer service, are the best available.
Short Selling Brokers and Beginners
Short selling is not suited to beginners as the risk is higher here compared to just buying stocks. In the arrangement, the short selling brokers lend stocks to a trader who first sells it and buys the same back after a short period predicting the price may decline. If the prices fail to take a dip, the trader will make a loss.
Short Selling Disadvantage
Many believe short selling is not good and analysts warn traders to remain away from such strategies. It may lead to unlimited risk, far exceeding the potential gains.
Short Selling Duration
There is no fixed duration for short selling. Short selling brokers need to agree for the period to lend the stocks. However, interest is charged on the price of stocks borrowed.
Short Selling and Market Reaction
Short selling affects the market. It plays a good role in liquidity. If a trader believes a stock to be overvalued, he may sell to lower the value.
Short selling also benefits the stock market. It offers an opportunity to traders in creating high liquidity.
Short Selling Strategies
Traders need to be on their toes to sell when a stock is declining in value and again increasing at a moderate rate.
Sometimes it is seen a stock may switch between high and low consistently. Traders should sell when the price is high and again buy it back during the lower price.
Often it is seen a stock is declining in value throughout the day. Traders need to be at high alert under such price movement and sell before the lowest point is reached.
Short Selling Verdict
Short selling brokers play important roles for several experienced traders who can take the risk to earn a handsome profit within a short span of time. The risk is high but a proper prediction of the upcoming decline in price is required. Short selling is strictly not for beginners.
We've collected thousands of datapoints and written a guide to help you find the best Short Selling Brokers for you. We hope this guide helps you find a reputable broker that matches what you need. We list the what we think are the best short selling brokers below. You can go straight to the broker list here.
Reputable Short Selling Brokers Checklist
There are a number of important factors to consider when picking an online Short Selling trading brokerage.
- Check your Short Selling broker has a history of at least 2 years.
- Check your Short Selling broker has a reasonable sized customer support of at least 15.
- Does the Short Selling broker fall under regulation from a jurisdiction that can hold a broker responsible for its misgivings; or at best play an arbitration role in case of bigger disputes.
- Check your Short Selling broker has the ability to get deposits and withdrawals processed within 2 to 3 days. This is important when withdrawing funds.
- Does your Short Selling broker have an international presence in multiple countries. This includes local seminar presentations and training.
- Make sure your Short Selling broker can hire people from various locations in the world who can better communicate in your local language.
Our team have listed brokers that match your criteria for you below. All brokerage data has been summarised into a comparison table. Scroll down.
Our brokerage comparison table below allows you to compare the below features for brokers offering Short Selling Brokers.
We compare these features to make it easier for you to make a more informed choice.
- Minimum deposit to open an account.
- Available funding methods for the below Short Selling Brokers.
- What you are able to trade with each brokerage.
- Trading Platforms offered by these brokers.
- Spread type (if applicable) for each brokerage.
- Customer support levels offered.
- We show if each brokerage offers Micro, Standard, VIP and Islamic accounts.
Top 15 Short Selling Brokers of 2020 compared
Here are the top Short Selling Brokers.
Compare Short Selling Brokers min deposits, regulation, headquarters, benefits, funding methods and fees side by side.
All brokers below are short selling brokers. Learn more about what they offer below.
You can scroll left and right on the comparison table below to see more short selling brokers that accept short selling clients
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
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XTB
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FP Markets
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Pepperstone
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Plus500
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FXPrimus
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Roboforex
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EasyMarkets
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| Rating | ||||||||||
| Regulation | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Services Authority (FSA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), FCA number FRN 522157, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), CySEC Licence Number: 169/12, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) | Plus500UK Ltd authorized & regulated by the FCA (#509909), Plus500CY Ltd authorized & regulated by CySEC (#250/14), Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ACN 153301681), ASIC in Australia AFSL #417727, FMA in New Zealand, FSP #486026 and Authorised Financial Services Provider in South Africa FSP #47546 | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), The markets in financial instruments directive (MiFID) | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) |
| Min Deposit | 200 | 200 | 1 | No minimum deposit | 100 | 200 | 100 | 100 | 1 | 100 |
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| Used By | 12,000,000+ | 60,000+ | 14,000,000+ | 250,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 15,500+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 142,500+ |
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| Platforms | Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, Mirror Trader, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, Mac | Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, Mirror Trader, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, IRESS, Mac, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, Mac, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, Tablet & Mobile apps | Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, Mac, Mirror Trader, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, Mac, Web Trader, cTrader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps |
| Support |
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| Learn More |
Sign
Up with etoro |
Sign
Up with icmarkets |
Sign
Up with trading212 |
Sign
Up with xtb |
Sign
Up with fpmarkets |
Sign
Up with pepperstone |
Sign
Up with plus500 |
Sign
Up with fxprimus |
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Up with roboforex |
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Up with easymarkets |
| Risk Warning | 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money | 80.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | Losses can exceed deposits | Losses can exceed deposits | Your capital is at risk |
| Demo |
eToro Demo |
IC Markets Demo |
Trading 212 Demo |
XTB Demo |
FP Markets Demo |
Pepperstone Demo |
Plus500 Demo |
FXPrimus Demo |
Roboforex Demo |
easyMarkets Demo |
| Excluded Countries | US, IR, KP, BE, CA, JP, SY, TR, IL, HK | AF, GN, SL, BW, IR, SY, MM, IQ, TG, KH, LS, YE, CI , LR, ZW, CU, LY, TZ, CG, ML, BO, LR, NE, AO, GM, NG, AG, GH, KR, KG, GN, SN, NA | US | US, IN, PK, BD, NG , ID, BE | US, JP, NZ | BR, KR, IR, IQ, SY, JP, US | BE, US, CA, CN, ID, PH, TG, NG, DO, MA, ZW, PR, TZ, TN, UG, BW, AO | AF, CI, CU, IQ, IR, LY, MM, KR, SD, PR, US, AU, SY, DZ, JP, EC. | US, JP | US |
All Short selling brokers in more detail
You can compare Short Selling Brokers ratings, min deposits what the the broker offers, funding methods, platforms, spread types, customer support options, regulation and account types side by side.
We also have an indepth Top Short Selling Brokers for 2020 article further below. You can see it now by clicking here
We have listed top Short selling brokers below.
Short Selling Brokers Table of Contents
- Short Selling Brokers Explained
- 6 Factors to Consider when Choosing Short Selling Brokers
- Are Your Short Selling Brokers Trusted And Established?
- Are The Short Selling Brokers World Leading?
- What are the Short Selling Brokers Commissions and Fees?
- What are the Short Selling Brokers Funding and Withdrawl Methods?
- Find Short Selling Brokers with Round-the-clock support?
- Make sure the Short Selling Brokers Offer Comprehensive Trader resources?
- Why do Short Selling Brokers need to be regulated?
- Short Selling Brokers FAQ
- What are the best Short selling brokers?
- What is the best Short selling broker?
- Related Short Selling Brokers Reviews
- Related Short Selling Brokers Alternatives
- Related Short Selling Brokers Comparisons
Short Selling Brokers Explained
Trading the financial markets with Short Selling Brokers when conditions are volatile can be difficult, even for experienced traders.
Apart from the educational and other resources made available online, another important factor for traders to consider when looking for Short Selling Brokers is the platform that a Short Selling Brokers offer.
Choose Short Selling Brokers that's at the forefront of innovation and generally considered an industry-leader.
To gain access to the financial markets, you'll need Short Selling Brokers that you can rely on.
6 Factors to Consider when Choosing Short Selling Brokers
Follow these five rules for selecting a broker that's right for you:
Are Your Short Selling Brokers Trusted And Established?
Look for a broker that has a good track record/longevity in the market so that your strategy is your primary concern for navigating the markets. The top rated Short Selling broker is eToro. Established in 2006, and in operation for 12 years eToro have a head office in Cyprus, UK.
eToro is regulated. This means eToro are supervised by and is checked for conduct by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulatory bodies.
Another top rated broker is IC Markets.
IC Markets was established 2007, and in operation for 12 years IC Markets have a head office in Australia.
IC Markets is regulated. This means IC Markets are supervised by and is checked for conduct by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulatory bodies.
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
|
XTB
|
FP Markets
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Pepperstone
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| Year Established | 2006 | 2007 | 2006 | 2002 | 2005 | 2010 |
| Head Office | Cyprus, UK | Australia | UK | Poland | Australia | Australia |
| Regulation | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Services Authority (FSA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), FCA number FRN 522157, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), CySEC Licence Number: 169/12, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) |
| Used By | 12,000,000+ | 60,000+ | 14,000,000+ | 250,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Negative balance protection | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guaranteed Stop Loss | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Learn More | Visit eToro | Visit IC Markets | Visit Trading 212 | Visit XTB | Visit FP Markets | Visit Pepperstone |
| Risk Warning | 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money |
Are The Short Selling Brokers World Leading?
Choose a broker that's at the forefront of innovation and generally considered an industry-leader. eToro Segregates clients funds and offers over 100 instruments. eToro offers both an online trading platform as well as a mobile platform giving clients easy access to markets.
In addition, eToro supports many popular third-party trading platforms enabling access to a variety of markets worldwide that can be traded with the assistance of expert advisors or a customizable automatic trading strategy. eToro is a world-leader when it comes to innovation and they are always looking at ways to improve and to maintain their competitive advantage.
Another good choice when looking for Short Selling Brokers is IC Markets . IC Markets Segregates clients funds and offers over 232 instruments.
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
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XTB
|
FP Markets
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Pepperstone
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| Instruments Available | 100 | 232 | 3000 | 1,500 | 100 | 100 |
| Platforms | Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, Mirror Trader, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, Mac | Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, Mirror Trader, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, IRESS, Mac, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile apps | MT4, MT5, Mac, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, Tablet & Mobile apps |
| Excluded Countries | US, IR, KP, BE, CA, JP, SY, TR, IL, HK | US | US | US, AU, CA, JP, KR, KP, SG, MU, IL, TR, IN, PK, BA, ET, UG, CU, SY, BD, NG, ID, BE, LY, MO, KE, YE, VU, GY, CD, CG, AF, LA, MZ, IQ, IR | US, JP, NZ | BR, KR, IR, IQ, SY, JP,US |
| Forex pairs offered | 50 | 65 | 177 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Forex pairs offered | 50 | 65 | 177 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Major forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minor forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exotic forex pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrencies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commodities Offered | 0 | 19 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 16 |
| Metals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Energies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Agricultural | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Stocks Offered | 957 | 100 | 1731 | 1696 | 10000 | 60 |
| UK Shares | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| US Shares | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| German Shares | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Japanese Shares | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
What are the Short Selling Brokers Commissions and Fees?
Ensure that your broker is transparent with fees and those dues are competitive.
The best rated Short Selling broker eToro offers competitive offers for Stocks, Commodities, Forex, CFDs, Social Trading, Indices, Cryptocurrency. eToro minimum deposit is 200.
Another top rated Short Selling broker IC Markets offers Forex, CFDs, Spread Betting, Share dealing, Cryptocurrencies. IC Markets minimum deposit is 200.
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
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XTB
|
FP Markets
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Pepperstone
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| Min Deposit | 200 | 200 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 200 |
| Withdrawl Fees | Yes | No | No | varies | No | No |
| Inactivity Fees | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Deposit Fees | No | Varies | No | No | Yes | No |
| CFD Commission Fees | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What are the Short Selling Brokers Funding and Withdrawal Methods?
When dealing with Short Selling Brokers having convenient funding and withdrawl facilities makes the trading process and your trading experience smoother.
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
|
XTB
|
FP Markets
|
Pepperstone
|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Cards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Paypal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payoneer | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Neteller | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Find Short Selling Brokers with Round-the-clock support?
Customer service is very important when dealing with Short Selling Brokers.
When investing and dealing with brokers customer support can be a range of customer services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use the brokers services. It can include assistance in installation, training, troubleshooting, upgrading, and cancelation of a product or service.
Short Selling Brokers customer support can include Phone answering services, Live chat support and Email customer service support.
eToro support a wide range of languages including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian
IC Markets support a wide range of languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Afrikans, Danish, Dutch, German and more
eToro and IC Markets offer support where clients are able to call or contact the helpdesk via email or a chat service.
| Broker |
eToro
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IC Markets
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Trading212
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XTB
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FP Markets
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Pepperstone
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| Support |
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| Languages | English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian | English, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Afrikans, Danish, Dutch, German and more | English, Deutsch, Nederlands, Espanol, Francais, Italiano, Polski, Srpski, Norsk, Svenska, Cesky, РУССКИЙ, Romana, Turkce, العربية, 中文 | English, Spanish, Czech, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, and Turkish | English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Arabic, Russian, French, Italian, Greek, Philippines, Latvian, Polish,Indonesian, Thai, Malay, German, Vietnamese | English, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Arabic |
| Learn More | Visit eToro | Visit IC Markets | Visit Trading 212 | Visit XTB | Visit FP Markets | Visit Pepperstone |
| Risk Warning | 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | Losses can exceed deposits | CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money |
Make sure the Short Selling Brokers Offer Comprehensive Trader resources?
Make sure your broker offers free resources like analysis, education and risk-management tools. With a wealth of knowledge from top analysts, eToro and IC Markets work together to bring the latest news and insights to traders.
For most traders, the first – and sometimes only – concern is pursuing their 'edge'. While that is surely important, along with sound money management habits, to navigating the markets; that step alone does not represent the full preparation. As each trader dives into this important venture, it is important not to forget the most rudimentary yet crucial steps such as selecting the best broker to access the markets.
Why do Short Selling Brokers need to be regulated?
A regulated Short Selling broker lowers your risk.
Broker regulation protects consumers. Too little broker regulation can lead to poor services and possibly financial harm.
Short Selling brokers are regulated to stop fraud. The agent's working capital and clients funded account have to be separated. This amounts to fraud if client money is used to conduct the business. Regulation is required to make sure this does not happen.
Short Selling Brokers List
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, MT5, Mirror Trader, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, MacCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, Mirror Trader, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, MT5, IRESS, Mac, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, MT5, Mac, ZuluTrade, Web Trader, cTrader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, Mac, Mirror Trader, Web Trader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account
Funding methods
Bank transfer Credit Card PaypalPlatforms
MT4, MT5, Mac, Web Trader, cTrader, Tablet & Mobile appsCustomer support
Live chat Phone support Email supportAccount Types
Micro account Standard account Islamic account VIP account