category: Unregulated Brokers

Is Capitals Banks Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with Capitals Banks, because it is an unregulated brokers. In addition, the company has been suspected to be a fraud. While we checked the company there is no authorization or registration of the address, therefore the company seems to be highly suspicious and might operate its services from an absolutely different location.

What is Capitals Banks?

Capitals Banks is a Forex and CFD broker owned and operated by Finbdo Ltd. The company is located in London, UK, and claims to be registered in Companies House (the United Kingdom's registrar of companies and is an executive agency and trading fund). We didn't find this company in this register, which means they provide false information about the company.

• Moreover, in order to be able to offer financial services in the United Kingdom, the company needs to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the case of Capital Banks, it doesn't just lack the license from the FCA, it even has been blacklisted by this regulator and also by the Italian CONSOB.

Capitals Banks Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules and have a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and FBS.

Capitals Banks Update

Our research showed that the Capitals Banks website is unavailable to reach. Besides, there is no evidence of whether the broker operates or not. We recommend avoiding any offshore-based brokers due to their instability and lack of serious regulations.  

Is Wise Banc Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Wise Banc. Wise Banc is owned and operated by Orion Service EOOD and claims to be located in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• Despite its European location, the company is not licensed to provide its services in any of the European countries as well as in the countries where Wise Banc has branches. Also, Orion Service EOOD was previously banned by the FCA in the UK.

  This time the company got a warning from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI):

  "Wisebanc/Orion Service EOOD (Bulgaria) is not authorised by the Central Bank as an investment firm, or to provide investment advice."

What is Wise Banc?

Wise Banc is a Forex and CFD broker. The company is a registered brand of Orion Service EOOD. According to the details provided on the website, the company is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and has branches in Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.

Wise Banc Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Wise Banc and other unregulated brokers. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and FBS.

Wise Banc Update

Our research showed that Wise Banc is no longer active. The broker’s website is unavailable to reach. Besides, there is no evidence of whether the broker operates or not. We recommend avoiding any offshore-based brokers due to their instability and lack of serious regulations.  

Is HiWayFX Scam or Legit Broker?

HiWayFX is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade HiWayFX. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable.

• The reason is simple, the broker may promise the most ever competitive trading conditions or the trading environment, yet the trader has no guarantee from the official entities that oversee the Forex industry. Thus the engagement in trading with such a company means the trader will believe only in the broker’s words, and of course, it is a high risk. 

What is HiWayFX?

HiWayFX is a trading name of an international company, which establish its branches in an offshore known zone St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as a branch in the EU, as a Cyprus Investment Firm - Lucro Capital Ltd. The broker offers vast trading opportunities on over 60 currency pairs, indices, oil, precious metals and other instruments available through market-leading MetaTrader4.

• At the early stage of its operation, since 2014 and few years further, the HiWayFX broker operated with EU license and complied with a regulatory requirement as it was set by the CySEC. However, the owning company Lucro Capital Ltd and its subsidiaries officially announced its renunciation from the CySEC license since 2017, while the reasons remained unclear.

“Lucro Capital Ltd Company which renounced its CIF authorization and it remains under the supervision of the CySEC until it settles its obligations.”

CySEC, April 2017

• It seems that the company moves were caused by the numerous non-compliance issues that the broker couldn’t maintain, as well as a large number of the complaints received from the HiWayFX traders for its fraud operations. Further on, the broker Continues their services from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines branch while accepting clients with no documentation requirements. Moreover, the company launches a binary options trading system, which is known for its extreme height of risk, while trying to attract more clients.

HiWayFX Review Conclusion

All in all, the unclear and uncertain operation of the HiWayFX prompts to stay away from the broker. We advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities and comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as HotForex, and BlackBull Markets.

HiWayFX Update

We found the HiWayFX website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is S2trade Scam or Legit Broker?

S2trade is not safe to trade with. It is a brand used by GoldTech Media Services OÜ established in Estonia, a Tallinn brokerage company that delivers a selection of the accounts of various level traders along with the attractive trading conditions. However, there is a serious gap in the company offering since there is no registration or license from the respected authority which oversees the Forex business. We generally do not advise to trade with the unregulated brokers, as there are plenty of scams within the industry and traders should invest wisely while choosing the safest trading conditions.

What is S2trade?

S2Trade is a broker that offers FX and CFDs on commodities, stocks, indices, and currencies. The broker is located in Tallinn, Estonia.

• Reputable industry watchdogs constantly check and monitor various offerings and alert clients in order to secure investors' money from scams. Likewise, UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against S2trade since the company was detected in providing financial services without its legal right to do so.

“The GoldTech Media Services OU trading as S2Trade act without our authorization and some knowingly run investment scams”

FCA, UK. February 2018

• Therefore, S2trade reputation is doubtful, as well there are some amounts of negative reviews from the traders that faced typical fraud issues. Traders complain of the complications to withdraw funds or manipulation within the trading process so then it seems as if money loss is a trader’s fault, etc. Unfortunately, this is quite common among unregulated brokers as their main aim is just to attract the client.

S2Trade Review Conclusion

We strongly recommend trading only with authorized firms as the licensed companies run operations according to the set of standards and clients are covered by the Compensation Schemes. Our list of regulated brokers will assist to choose the best suitable company to trade with. We recommend traders sign in with well-regulated brokers such as FP Markets and XM. 

S2Trade Update

Our research showed that the S2trade Website is inactive. Since money safety in forex goes first we recommend avoiding any proposals from S2trade and staying alert. 

Is PBN Invest Scam or Legit Broker?

Capital Tech Ltd has been suspected as a scam broker. It operates under the brand name PBN Invest - a brokerage firm that provides online currencies and CFDs trading services. The company is registered in the Marshall Islands, an offshore zone, and does not hold any authorization or license to perform financial services. 

What is PBN Invest?

PBN Invest is a forex and CFD broker owned by Capital Tech Ltd, a company registered in the Marshall Islands. Also, PBN Trade is operated by Bulgaria-based Pbox Ltd. The company doesn't have a proper registration that would let it provide its financial services legally on the market.

• The confusing thing is the Austrian contact phone number that doesn't actually coincide with either offshore or Bulgarian locations. Moreover, Capital Tech Ltd. was mentioned in the warnings of some regulators (FCA in the UK, FSMA in Belgium) and this time PBN Invest/Capital Tech Ltd. has been blacklisted by Italian regulator CONSOB.
• As regulation is the most important factor for the safety of any investment, we strongly advice potential traders to invest only with properly licensed brokers. The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and Australian Securities and Investments Commission are well-respected financial watchdogs that do provide sufficient security on the market.

PBN Invest Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules and have a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and FBS.

PBN Invest Update

Our research showed that the PBN Invest website is unavailable to reach. Besides, there is no evidence of whether the broker operates or not. We recommend avoiding any offshore-based brokers due to their instability and lack of serious regulations.  

Is FxCentral Scam or Legit Broker?

FxCentral is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade FxCentral. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable.

• The reason is simple, the broker may promise the most ever competitive trading conditions or the trading environment, yet the trader has no guarantee from the official entities that oversee the Forex industry. Thus the engagement in trading with such a company means the trader will believe only in the broker’s words, and of course, it is a high risk.

What is FxCentral?

FxCentral was established in 2007 while attracting clients with a claim to offer Direct Market Access on a variety of trading instruments to retail and institutional clients through its offices in the United States and the Arab Emirates.

• However, being allegedly located in reputable locations the company does not hold or comply with any registrations or strictest authorization to perform financial services. This is a serious fault within the trading industry since the reliability and trust of the broker along with the clients' safety goes first. As the broker’s operation and services are not overseen by any authority, there is no guarantee how exactly service is provided, thus the risk of fraud is extremely high.
• In addition to this, the FxCentral reputation is covered by negative reviews about numerous issues during trading, or managing the positions and, of course, trying to withdraw funds.
• Also, it was a case that many traders received a message that the company is closing, therefore, all operations should cut-off which caused also further issues with withdrawals which are not received even yet. However, if you go to the official company website, you’ll find an alert about its active operation status and non-association with any other forex brokering company, from which the traders received the message, while the broker pretending to be a very legit firm with no spots on its reputation and sustainable trading environment.

Overall FxCentral Ranking 

Based on our revelations about the safety of FxCentral, we do not rank positively FxCentral, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• FxCentral Overall Ranking is 3 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

FxCentral Alternative Brokers

Due to our finds and issues with the safety of FxCentral, here are much better Alternatives to FxCentral with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good Instruments and CopyTrading
• Dukascopy – Excellent for Shares, Futures Trading
• BlackBull Markets – Good for High Leverage Trading

Deposit & Withdrawal

FxCentral offers different funding methods for deposits and withdrawals. However, the broker does not provide detailed information about the deposit and withdrawal processes.

• The maximum deposit size isn’t limited for all account types.

FxCentral Review Conclusion

We advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities and comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as HotForex, and BlackBull Markets.

• Overall ranking and experience for FxCentral is Negative

Is Capprofx Scam or Legit Broker?

CapproFX is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes. This results in a very high-risk trading opportunity, despite its alluring proposal.

What is CapproFX?

CapproFX is an Online trading provider, a broker with a registered office in the UK, London, and a maintained support office in Hong Kong. Being located in a world financial hub, the company, however, did not obtain any license from the local respected authorities, notwithstanding even the fact that the FCA license is mandatory for all UK-based financial service firms.

• The CapproFX claims its prime services for trading in Forex, Commodities, and CFDs while performing trading through liquidity providers and services of sophisticated trading solutions with competitive conditions. Moreover, it seems like the address in the UK is a virtual one, while the company office is located in India, according to their use of IP’s and other details.
• Overall, with its unregulated operation, CapproFX received also numerous negative reviews from the traders, which faced complications with withdrawals, misunderstanding about the closing of positions, as well as the removal of profits. Therefore, it is evident that the company delivers a tricky business while pretending to be a reliable broker.

Overall CapproFX Ranking 

Because of our revelations about the safety of CapproFX , we do not rank positively CapproFX, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• CapproFX Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

CapproFX Alternative Brokers

Due to our finds and issues with the safety of CapproFX, here are much better Alternatives to CapproFX with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• eToro – Good for CopyTrading and Cryptocurrency Trading
• Dukascopy – Excellent for Shares, Futures Trading
• BlackBull Markets – Good for High Leverage Trading

Deposit & Withdrawal

CapproFx offers fast and easy funding through Bank Wire, Netteller, and Bank Transfers. Its minimum deposit is $100. 

• CapproFX offers an efficient return policy. In case traders are not satisfied with the service level, they can request a return.

• If an account was funded via debit or credit card the funds can be refunded to the card. For this, traders need to contact CapproFX Customer Support. The request will be reviewed within 5 business days. 

CapproFX Review Conclusion

As a promising and highly competitive industry, Forex and Online trading requires high safety measures, especially for novice traders or those who would like to invest large amounts into trading. We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities and comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as HotForex, and BlackBull Markets.

• Overall ranking and experience for CapproFX is Negative

Is Forex Optimum Scam or Legit Broker?

We advise our readers, not to use Forex Optimum as it is an offshore entity. Forex Optimum is owned by Forex Optimum Group Limited, which is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadine. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup low cost, it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as Brokerz, TraderUR, and more. You can read our detailed article about the risk of trading with brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

What is Forex Optimum?

Forex Optimum is an international investment company that was established back in 2009, mainly operating in Russia, CIS, and the Asian region while totally covering 26 countries. Behind the brand stands a registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Forex Optimum Group Limited company, which is also one of the easiest locations in terms of investment firms procedures. It means, that the registration requirements are very liberal, as well as do not require any international license from the Forex industry watchdogs, therefore there is a high risk how exactly the company maintains its financial service providing.

• Generally, Forex Optimum delivers technological conditions to trade vast instruments through STP execution, while claiming its operation over 3 million clients from all over the world. The company offers attractive trading conditions, as well as bonuses that reward clients that are quite delightful. However, there were some complaints from the traders throughout the trading, while traders faced cuts of profits or issues with withdrawals, but overall the service seems to be not the worst case.

Forex Optimum Review Conclusion

Even though there are no official warnings to the clients from the international authorities that oversee the industry or serious cases of evidence about Forex Optimum operation, we do not generally recommend to invest with an offshore or unlicensed company. Since the trading itself involves risks, it is a much more significant risk to trade with a non-regulated company that operates not set to the strictest standards. It is much safer and smarter to choose among reputable FCA or other leading jurisdictions brokers that maintain necessary safety measures, our list of regulated brokers will assist in choosing the best-suited one.

Forex Optimum Update

We found the Forex Optimum website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is KontoFX Scam or Legit Broker?

KontoFX is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes. This results in a very high-risk trading opportunity, despite its alluring proposal.

What is KontoFX?

KontoFX is a Forex  and CFD broker, owned by NTMT Transformatic Markets OU based in Tallin, Estonia and operated by Northside Business Centres – a company based in Hungary. KontoFX doesn't provide much information about its location, there's only a contact phone number with a British country code, which means the company has been targeting UK residents without being authorized in the country. Moreover, the company has been blacklisted by UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

• Some of such entities run investment scams, and clients of such brokers don’t have any protection. Unlike FCA-licensed brokers, unregulated ones are not obliged to keep their clients’ money in segregated accounts. The license from UK’s Financial Conduct Authority requires EUR 125,000 of capital (aside from client deposits) for the STP license. The regulator also protects customers when authorized financial services firms fail.

KontoFX Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules and have a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and FBS.

KontoFX Update

Our research showed that KontoFX is no longer active. The broker’s website is unavailable to reach. Besides, there is no evidence of whether the broker operates or not. We recommend avoiding any offshore-based brokers due to their instability and lack of serious regulations.