Archives: Brokers

Is PBN Trade Scam or Legit Broker?

PBN Trade 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 PBN Trade. 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 PBN Trade?

PBN Trade is a trading name used by Capital Tech Ltd. Company located in an offshore zone in the Marshall Islands. The broker operates two domain addresses www.pbntrade.com; www.pbninvest.com while targeting internationally worldwide clients and promises the opportunity to trade in the safest way through segregated accounts and high execution performance. 

• However, our main concern is that the broker is an Offshore, the one we do not recommend trading with, as simply that kind of license does not provide the necessary tools to guarantee a safe trading environment.

• The pages and official sources of the international regulators' list alert are shared with the authority directly or by other countries' supervisory bodies or transmitted centrally. Those tools and the general purpose of the regulatory bodies operate in order to enable stability of the market offerings, protect clients from potential and numerous frauds, enable reliability rules to financial service entities, and more. As PBN Trade got no license to operate within the EU and other regulated jurisdictions, the broker was blacklisted and alerted by numerous EU authorities.

   “The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), may disclose to the general public by publication on the Internet, in the official gazette “Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung”, or in any other newspaper with nationwide circulation, that a particular natural PBN Trade is not entitled to carry out certain banking transactions that require a license.”

  FMA, Austria. October 2018.

PBN Trade Review Conclusion

We strongly advise against signing with PBN Trade. The safety of funds is always first in trading, for that reason we recommend choosing among the regulated brokers and those companies who are entitled to maintain their business legally. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

PBN Trade Update

Our research revealed that the PBN Trade website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Fxleader Scam or Legit Broker?

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

What is FXLeader?

FXLeader is a forex broker operated by Leadernet OU, based in Tallinn, Estonia. However, FXLeader is not regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. The terms and conditions of the company mention the service provider company FXLEADER LTD., based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

• It seems that the company actually operates from the offshore area. The offshore areas are quite beneficial for the brokers because of the low-cost licenses and minimum taxation. For traders, offshore zones are dangerous because of the little focus on customer protection. Moreover, UK's FCA has issued a warning against FXLEADER, which is one more reason to avoid this broker.
• That is why we advise dealing with brokers regulated by the UK's FCA or any other reputable regulator. For instance, The license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority requires EUR 125,000 of capital (aside from client deposits) for the STP license (Find out the best STP forex brokers). The regulator also protects customers when authorized financial services firms fail. Check the list of FCA-regulated brokers here. 

FXLeader Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers regulated by respected world authorities that 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 FP Markets, BDSwiss, or  FBS.

FXLeader Update

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

Is Arum Trade Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Arum Trade as it is an offshore entity. ARUM Trade LTD is a Vanuatu Investment Firm incorporated and registered under the laws of the Republic of Vanuatu. T

• The Vanuatu jurisdiction gained its popularity among the investors and business owners in the Forex industry looking to become a regulated broker, yet obtain its status through a simplified process and operate almost without supervision. The VFSC regulator does not require strict proof of the company background and does not check on the implementation of the secure fund management or operation guidelines. Also, it does not require regular reporting and never imposes fines in case of fraud operation. You can read more about Forex Trading: Why Avoid Brokers from Vanuatu in our article.

What is Arum Trade?

Arum Trade is an international investment company, providing access to a wide range of trading instruments: currency pairs, stock market indices, precious metals, share and cryptocurrency CFDs. The Company gains liquidity from the biggest liquidity providers, ensuring extra-high speed of transaction execution. The broker offers the MetaTrader5 platform (Find MetaTrader 5 brokers by the link).

• It is clear that Arum Trade has been targeting Mexico and Russian residents mostly since the two main languages supported by the website are Russian and Spanish. In addition, the broker provides three contact numbers in Russia, Mexico, and Cyprus. However, there is no information about broker’s offices or regulations in any of these countries. We can surely say Arum Trade is an unregulated broker that cannot be trusted. 

Overall Arum Trade Ranking 

Based on the revelations of our research there are multiple issues with Arum Trade regulation and reliability, thus we do not rank positively Arum Trade, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Arum Trade 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.

Arum Trade Alternative Brokers

Taking into consideration the Arum Trade safety issues we found during our research, we suggest much better Alternatives to Arum Trade with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• BlackBull Markets – Best for Copy Traders
• XM – Broeker with Low Minimum Deposit
• Interactive Brokers – Good for Stock Trading

Deposits & Withdrawals

Arum Trade offers a large variety of deposit methods: Electronic Payment Methods (Skrill, Neteller, AstroPay), Bank Wire Transfers (National Bank of Vanuatu and Local bank in Dubai), and Credit/ Debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). 

• Credit cards transfers will be credited only if a copy of the credit card is available as the Company may request it 
• Clients need to inform the company if the corresponding bank and/or other paying details have been changed, at least 3 working days before the withdrawal 

Arum Trade Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Arum Trade and other offshore brokers from Vanuatu. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FXTM and FP Markets.

• Overall ranking and experience for Arum Trade is Negative

Arum Trade Update

We discovered that the Arum Trade website is unavailable. It is unclear whether the broker changed its name, or is gone altogether. Since money safety goes first, we recommend avoiding any proposals from Arum Trade and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is UBCFX Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with UBCFX as it is an offshore unregulated broker. UBCFX is owned and operated by the United Ventures LTD, registered in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

• However, the fact is that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if none requirements to the company operation. That means, the broker is not regulated, not overseen and does not comply with strict international rules that provide protective measures to the traders. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CVC Markets, AAG Markets and more. Read more about St. Vincent and the Grenadines regulation by the link.

What is UBCFX?

UBCFX is a global online forex broker, which offers some of the tightest spreads in the market for forex trading, through its innovative and user-friendly trading platforms. The broker promises easy access to profits and trading itself through a diversified range of trading instruments and innovative software. It also offers its traders interactive courses for learning trading strategies, 24/5 customer support service and end-to-end execution with some of the world's premier banks/financial institutions.

• UBCFX is a trading name of the company incorporated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which is an offshore zone with no implemented regulation for Forex business. In regards to the company background, in order to establish a business in SVG, the company should just register firm with a very small capital and then to perform business in a way they see it right. That means that UBCFX delivers financial trading service with no supervision of international authority, there are no operational standards implemented or not regulated by the entity.

UBCFX in India

UBCFX allows Indian traders to open accounts and trade. However, UBCFX has no mention of complying with any Indian regulators on its website. It is also worth mentioning that Forex trading is actually prohibited in India. The broker is not regulated by any regulatory body in India, that’s why money safety may be the issue here.

UBCFX in the USA

The United States is one of the countries that is not accepted by UBCFX. As per the U.S law, brokers regulated by CFTC are the only brokers allowed for the USA traders. So, except for UBCFX, you are only permitted to trade with the U.S regulated platforms.

Deposits and Withdrawals

UBCFX offers a wide range of secure online payment options for deposits and withdrawals, making funding easy, fast, and secure. UBCFX covers all fees for Deposit. Traders can deposit with Credit/Debit Cards, NETeller, Skrill, DixiCard, Interac, Bpay and Wire Transfer. 

Apps

The MetaTrader 5 platform (Find out MetaTrader 5 brokers here) integrates a broad variety of assets and financial instruments. Its broad functionality allows for the implementation of multiple investment strategies at current market prices, supports pending orders with a present lifetime, and boasts compatibility with various analytical instruments such as Elliot tools, Fibonacci and Gann.

The MetaTrader 5 custom trading app condenses the core features of the desktop platform into a simple and user-friendly smartphone interface. Trade on the go in your iOS or Android device and access current price quotes, analyze data with customizable candlestick and line graphs with the tap of a finger.

Demo Account

UBCFX also offers a demo account.The Demo Account is provided to give traders a demonstration of the broker’s trading platform and to offer traders the opportunity to trade on simulated real trading conditions. This further allows the trader to gain more experience prior to trading with real funds and facing actual risk. Traders may test their trading strategies and become familiar with the trading platform at their own pace.

UBCFX Review Conclusion

Even though the trading offering might seem attractive, but an offshore status of the company does not guarantee the provision of services at the necessary level of client and funds protection. For that reason, we would advise choosing the broker more carefully and check on at the first step the broker's regulation status. The reputable firms that hold FCA, FINMA or other licenses are established in accordance to the international standards, protecting clients at every step and even compensating the trader in case if the things go wrong with the company. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers (Top 10 Forex Brokers in the World) such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

UBCFX Update

Our research revealed that the UBCFX website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is JAFX  Scam or Legit Broker?

JAFX is owned and operated by JAFX Ltd, The Financial Services Centre, Stoney Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent and The Grenadine. 

However, the fact is that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if none requirements for the company's operation. That means, the broker is not regulated, not overseen, and does not comply with strict international rules that provide protective measures to the traders. 

Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CVC Markets, AAG Markets, and more. Read more about St. Vincent and the Grenadines regulation by the link.

What is JAFX?

JAFX states that it is a fully transparent forex broker that is dedicated to providing its clients with tailor-made trading solutions. JAFX claims to be one of the first forex brokers that also offers 24/7 MT4 crypto-trading. JAFX offers 16 cryptos such as bitcoin, Ethereum, litecoin, dash, ripple, and more than 30 crypto-pairs. Overall, the broker's offering is quite interesting as the trading costs are low and the initial deposit is as low as $10. The max leverage is 1:500 (Find high-leverage brokers here).

• The website provides two contact phone numbers with the UK and Australian country codes. Even if the firm has offices in those countries, it is not regulated by FCA in the UK or ASIC in Australia (Read about ASIC Regulated MEXC Global) or any other regulatory agency. 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. 

JAFX in India

JAFX allows Indian traders to open accounts and trade. However, JAFX has no mention of complying with any Indian regulators on its website.  Any regulatory body in India does not regulate the broker, that’s why money safety may be the issue here.

JAFX in the USA

JAFX is not legal in the USA and is not available for American traders. As per U.S law, brokers regulated by CFTC are the only brokers allowed for USA traders. So, except for JAFX, you are only permitted to trade with the U.S-regulated platforms.

• Here is the full list of the countries, the broker does not accept: Ghana, Burma, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cuba, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Deposit & Withdrawal

The trading account has a minimum deposit (Also read information on Alpari Broker's Deposit & Withdrawals) of just $10. JAFX charges an inactivity fee of $10 for clients with a non-zero balance that has not traded in the past 30 days. Not many payment methods are available on the platform: credit/debit cards, wire transfers and Bitcoin.

Apps

JAFX offers a mobile trading platform where its clients can access all the needed trading tools. It can be found in the Apple Store for iOS or the Google Play Store for Android.

Demo Account

JAFX offers an Unlimited MT4 Demo Account with virtual $50 000 to their clients. There is no need to sign up for a trading account or even deposit to get a JAFX demo account.

• The Demo Account is provided to give traders a demonstration of the broker’s trading platform and to offer traders the opportunity to trade on simulated real trading conditions. This further allows the trader to gain more experience prior to trading with real funds and facing actual risk. Traders may test their trading strategies and become familiar with the trading platform at their own pace.

JAFX Review Conclusion

Overall, there are many questions in regard to the trust of the JAFX company services and the manner they do operate the online trading itself. We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities complying 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 FP Markets, FXGT Broker, and BlackBull Markets.

JAFX Update

We found that JAFX 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 CFXPoint Scam or Legit Broker?

CFXPoint has been suspected as a scam broker. This broker is blacklisted by a well-known regulatory authority and should be avoided. CFXPoint is owned by Marketier Holdings Limited which is an offshore company registered in the Marshall Islands.

• The Marshall Islands is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost is low and it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as MegaTradeFX, Finbitex, and more.

What is CFXPoint?

CFXPoint is a brand and trading name used by KLDC Technological Systems Ltd, a company incorporated and located in the Marshall Islands. The CFXPoint claims to be a DMA (Direct Market Access) and no dealing desk broker that provides an offering to trade 65 currency pairs and 33 CFD products through the most competitive spreads (Read about zero spread accounts) and advanced client support from the company. 

• The overall offering of the broker shows a competitive proposal designed for both institutional and retail clients, however, the company is located in a jurisdiction, which does not regulate Forex and investment firms. The CFXPoint is a “self-regulation” entity that creates standards of operation by itself and is not overseen by any other authority. Therefore, it is a high risk to trade, as the capital may be at risk due to the fact that no protection rules are implied, even though the company states so. We always advise trading only with Regulated Brokers, as the trading itself requires an attentive choice of the trustful company.
• Nevertheless, apart from the non-regulated operation of the broker, the industry authorities with the purpose to warn and educate the investors about the frauds and potentially highest risk involvements, regularly check on the financial service companies that target clients and apparently are not authorized to do so. Therefore, CFXPoint appeared and has been outlined by the Italian authority CONSOB, June 2018

“The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, in accordance with article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance, has ordered the following company to cease infringement consisting of the offer and performance of investment services and activities to the public, put in place by Cfx Point Ltd, through its website.”

CFXPoint 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 FP Markets and TMGM.

CFXPoint Update

Our research showed that the CFXPoint 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 Royaltd24 Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Royaltd24, as it is an offshore company. Royaltd24 is the Company, operated by RL Ltd., Marshall Islands.

• The Marshall Islands is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost being low, it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CobraCFD, GoldenSkyCapital, and more. As we already know, offshore registration usually doesn’t guarantee the safety of funds and clients’ protection, especially in the Marshall Islands, where the local authority doesn’t regulate forex businesses. 

What is Royaltd24?

Royaltd24 claims to have been founded in 2011 by a group of economists in the global financial markets. Royaltd24 offers its investors trading with Forex and CFDs and a leverage of up to 1: 200. The clients can trade with fixed and variable spreads (Also read about zero spread forex brokers here), which are among the lowest in the industry, starting from just 0.1 on ECN accounts (Find ECN Trading Platform for you) and 0.5 on Standard accounts.

• Moreover, Royaltd24 has been blacklisted by the Italian regulator CONSOB:

“CONSOB  availed itself of the powers deriving from the “growth decree” regarding the blackout of the sites (including RL Ltd (website www.royaltd24.net) of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the new power introduced by Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, regarding the blackout of the site through which the abusive bid is made.”

• The pages and official sources of the international regulators' list alert are shared with the authority directly or by other countries' supervisory bodies or transmitted centrally. Those tools and the general purpose of the regulatory bodies operate in order to enable stability of the market offerings, protect clients from potential and numerous frauds, enable reliability rules to financial service entities, and more. As Royaltd24 got no license to operate within the EU and other regulated jurisdictions, the broker was blacklisted and alerted by the EU authority.

Royaltd24 Review Conclusion

We strongly advise all investors and traders to avoid Royaltd24 and other brokers from the Marshall Islands. Very often offshore or unregulated brokers run investment spam, thus it is wiser to avoid them and choose a reliable broker. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and eToro.

Royaltd24 Update

Recently the Royaltd24 website remains inactive, meaning the broker has muted its trading offering and does not propose account openings. However, we still advise the traders to be alert and careful, in case they receive trading proposals. 

Is Circle Markets Scam or Legit Broker?

Circle Markets 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.

What is Circle Markets?

Circle Markets is a forex broker and trading service provider that offers over 140 instruments through a comprehensive cTrader platform and pure STP connectivity (Check out STP Trading) to execution.

• Appointing the facts about Circle Markets' offering important to mention that the broker states its head office in New Zealand, as well as its registration as a New Zealand Financial Services Provider. However, while looking closer it was revealed that the company is only registered in New Zealand, but not regulated.
• That means that the firm indeed has a registration number with a respected FSP, yet its register allows only to trade financial products or foreign exchange on behalf of other persons. Therefore, financial services, broking services, and the offering of trading and providing are not permitted or regulated. (Check the Circle Markets FSP registration by the link.)
• Another license of the Circle Markets company, which indeed allows the processing of the trading service to international clients is a Vanuatu license issued by VFCS. Since Vanuatu's registration is an offshore one, the company has very low establishment standards and is never checked in regard to its reliability of service delivery. As we always recommend not to engage or sign-up with non-regulated or offshore brokers, Circle Markets receives the same “recommendation”.
• Besides, the broker was inactive for a while, and then it is again available, yet the website of the broker seems not to offer its general services. It only provides Forex Compounding Calculator services. So, we recommend checking the availability of the broker's services before engaging with it. 

Overall Circle Markets Ranking 

We found multiple regulation and safety issues with Circle Markets, thus we do not rank positively Circle Markets, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Circle Markets 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.

Circle Markets Alternative Brokers

We revealed that Circle Markets has a lot of issues, especially in respect of its safety and customer care. Thus, here are much better Alternatives to Circle Markets with tight regulations and great trading conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good Instruments and CopyTrading
• Pepperstone – Low Spreads and Competitive Trading Conditions
• XM – Wide Range of Trading Opportunities

Circle Markets Review Conclusion

Besides the issue that the Circle Markets broker misleads about its regulatory status, you never know which sort of surprises may occur while trading with them. In this instance, fraudulent brokerages are at every corner and you should be extremely careful while choosing a trading provider, verify its information, and always keep in mind that regulated by trusted authorities brokers deliver much safer trading conditions along with protection. Besides, the broker seems to have ceased its general offerings, so we advise you to be careful.

Thus, traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FXTM, eToro (Read about eToro forex broker), and Alpari.

• Overall ranking and experience for Circle Markets is Negative

Circle Markets Update

Based on our research, the Circle Markets website was temporarily inactive. Now the website is active but it offers Forex Compounding Calculator services. Thus, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals.