As a broker in Australia, chances are that you have heard about IC Markets. IC Market is a brokerage firm specializing in online retail forex and CFDs. It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
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Although IC primarily focuses on CFDs, it still lists Forex, Indices Bonds and Commodities on its portfolio. The firm was founded in 2017 by Andre Budzinski, an entrepreneur. Two years later, it was licensed in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The company is also licensed in Cyprus – since October 2018. IC Markets is generally ideal for traders whose eye is on Forex. It has a client base of over 60,000 globally.
IC Market has an almost perfect ((9/10) rating on TrustPilot.
Trading Platforms & Features
IC Market does not have a proprietary trading platform. As such, it makes use of third-party trading platforms such as cTrader. Aside from the two-step verification that cTrader lacks, it is generally a great trading platform. The search function provided is good and the platform is user-definable.
cTrader supports over 20 different languages which include English, French, Korea, Polish and Japanese amongst others. Other trading platforms that IC Markets use are MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
The MetaTrader servers are located in New York – Equinix NY4 Data Centre. This explains why IC Markets has very low latency and fast trade execution (The company claims an average order execution of 36.5 milliseconds).
cTrader platform has fast execution of orders as well since its servers are located in London- LD5 IBX Equinix Data Centre. In addition, the platform packs other essential features such as the no restrictions on trading.
Web Trading Platform
The web platform is well-designed and easy to navigate through. At the moment, the web platform has a one-step login process. A two-step verification would be a nice inclusion.
| Company: | IC Markets |
| Type of Trading: | Forex, CFD |
| Regulation: | ASIC – Australian Financial Services Licence number AFSL 335692 |
| Contact – Phone | +1300 600 644 |
| Contact – Email | Click here |
The search function works just as one would expect. There are four order types available i.e. Market, Limit, Stop loss, Trailing stop loss.
IC Markets lacks complex order types such as ‘once cancels the other’. The web platform allows you to set up alerts but only those regarding price. You will be notified about these price alerts in the form of platform pop-ups.
You can also check your trading statistics and fees that you have paid while trading.
Mobile trading platform
Just like the web platform, cTrader’s trading platform for the mobile is well organized. It also lacks a two-step verification log in process. The platform is available on both the Android and iOS operating systems.
MetaTrader’s mobile app available for Android and iOS users has essential features like multiple trading orders support, over 30 technical indicators and extensive charts.
Desktop trading platform
For the desktop platform, you can use either cTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. It offers the same user-friendliness and customizability as the web version.
It also lacks the secure two-step login process.
Commissions & Fees
The low trading and non-trading fees are probably IC Market’s biggest upsides. There is no withdrawal, inactivity or account fee charged in IC Markets.
Trading fees are the charges you incur while trading such as commission and spreads. Non-trading fees are those incurred outside the trading bound such as inactivity fees.
The financing rates at IC Markets are just around those by other competitors in the field.
Note that trading costs including spreads, swaps, and commission are dependent on your account type and trading platform.
Account opening
The process of opening an account is simple and only takes a day for your new account to be approved. IC Markets allows customers from all countries with the exception of the USA, Canada, Israel, and Iran.
After opening an account, the minimum deposit is $200 which is fairly low considering other brokers have a minimum deposit high as $2,000.
IC Markets offers three different types of accounts. They are
- Standard
- True ECN with cTrader
- True ECN with MetaTrader.
The accounts are all available in three different ownerships: individual, joint and corporate.
The standard account has commission-free trading. ECN accounts, on the other hand, come with institutional grade spreads.
Islamic accounts (swap-free accounts) are also provided. It is important to note that with Islamic accounts, a flat commission rather than percentage-based financing rates are charged for leveraged positions.
IC Markets allows you to have different sub-accounts. You can set the sub-accounts to have different base currencies.
To create an account with IC Market, you are required to pass the Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financial Act. The process requires you to verify your identity.
You are additionally required to take a suitability test to determine your knowledge of Forex and CFDs. The pass mark is a score of 70% (7 puts of 10).
If you a beginner in CFDs and Forex Trading, you can start by opening a demo account to familiarize yourself. The process of opening a demo account is simple and fast.
Tradable Products
IC Markets boasts of a wide range of tradeable products and markets. This include 120 Stock products, 60 Forex products, 17 indices, 19 commodities, 5 Bonds. From these figures, you can already tell that IC Markets is mainly a Forex brokerage firm.
It is worth noting that IC Markets does not sell cryptos. The company, on their homepage, also strictly specifies that it does not provide digital currency exchange services.
The regulation of IC Markets in Australia makes it have higher maximum leverage levels for asset classes compared to the EU.
The option to change to the default leverage level of the products is a very nice touch and puts IC Market a step ahead. This is because not many other brokers offer this feature.
| PRODUCT | MIN | MAX |
| Forex | 1:1 | 500:1 |
| Stock Index CFDs | 1:1 | 200:1 |
| Soft Commodities CFDs | 1:1 | 100:1 |
| Stock CFDs | 1:1 | 20:1 |
| Commodity CFDs( with an exception of soft commodities) | 1:1 | 500:1 |
| Crypto | 1:1 | 5:1 |
| Bond CFDs | 1:1 | 200:1 |
Stock CFDs can only be accessed on the MT5 platform.
Deposit and withdrawal
When it comes to deposit and withdrawal, IC Markets has an edge over most of its competitors. It has instant deposit and very fast payout. There is no fee charged either for deposit or withdrawal.
Besides, there is a wide range of options when it comes to moving your money.
IC Markets does great at deposit and withdrawal. There are no fees for deposit and withdrawal. You can also use a lot of options for transferring money.
Account base currencies
IC Markets support over 10 different currencies including EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, CHF, NZD, JPY, SGD, CAD, and HKD.
Deposit
As mentioned before, deposits don’t attract any fees. There are a number of deposit methods supported although some may not allow other base currencies. BPay for instance only supports the AUD.
Bank transfers, e-Wallets, Credit/Debit cards are all supported.
Bank transfers can take a few hours to be processed, unlike credit/debit cards that are instant.
Note that the deposit method you choose to use has to bear your name.
| DEPOSIT METHOD | CHARGE | FUNDING TIME |
| Visa/ MasterCard | FREE | Instant |
| PayPal/Neteller/Skrill/FasaPay/ POLi | FREE | Instant |
| Credit/Debit card | FREE | Instant |
| Instant Bank Transfer by Rapid transfer | FREE | Instant |
| Broker to Broker transfer | FREE | 22 – 72 hours |
| BPay/Wire Transfer/Bank Transfer/TT | FREE | 12 – 48 hours |
| Thai/ Vietnamese Internet Banking/ | FREE | Instant |
| Bitcoin Wallet | FREE | 1 – 2 hours |
Withdrawal
There is no withdrawal fee charged if you choose to withdraw using credit/debit cards, domestic (Australian) bank transfers and e-wallets. International bank transfers are charged a small fee.
You can set your deposit and withdrawal option to be the same. The withdrawal method should also be under your name.
It is important to note that each withdrawal method has different processing times and supported currency options. PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller have instant withdrawal times while credit/debit cards can take up to 3 to 5 business days.
For credit/debits cards the accepted currencies are AUD, GBP, USD, JPY, EUR, NZD, SGD, and CAD. Accepted currencies in PayPal are AUD, USD, JPY, EUR, NZD, SGD, GBP, CAD, HKD, and CHF. Neteller accepts AUD, GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, SGD, and JPY.
Research
IC Markets provides you with a number of research tools although there is no fundamental data.
On the upside, you have quality interactive charts, news feed, and recommendations at your disposal. Although the research tools are easy to use, they are only available in English.
The trading recommendations (for the stock, bond, indices forex, and commodity) that you are provided with are based on technical analysis. The recommendations can be accessed from the ‘Trading Central’ panel.
The chartings are easy to edit and responsive. Should you want to keep a record for future reference, you can save them. There are more than 50 technical indicators. IC Markets allows you to use pattern recognition tools either at Autochartist or Featured Idea. Autochartist is a third party service provider.
You can also catch informative news feed on the IC Market website. An extension of the news feed to other platforms would be a great inclusion.
For traders that prefer API Trading, IC Markets supports cAlgo.
You can also stay atop of any developments in the market through the broker’s blog, the Information Hub for Serious Trader. Here you can find updates on Company News, Technical Analysis and Educational data.
IC Market’s homepage has an economic calendar to help traders strategize their trades. In addition, you can access the Forex Calculator page.
Customer service
In case you have an inquiry, you can get in touch with Customer Support at IC Market via telephone, email or live chat. Customer support is available on a 24/7 basis. The telephone and email options are fast and reliable. On the other hand, live chat needs a little improvement.
The email options one can use include
- Client Relations: [email protected]
- Support AU: [email protected]
- Support SC: [email protected]
- Accounts: [email protected]
For Phone the contact numbers are
- Australia: +1300 600 644
- United Kingdom: +44 800 014 8775
- Thailand: +661800012799
- Indonesia: +6278033212195
- Germany: +498007238442
- Spain: +34900838243
- Brazil: +558008783186
- Malaysia +601800819013
- South Africa: +27800172944
- Poland: +488001125138
- Cyprus: +35725123504
You can also reach IC Markets through the Post:
- Australia Head Office: International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, Level 6 309 Kent Street, Sydney NSW, 2000 AUSTRALIA
- Seychelles Head Office: IC Markets (SC), HIS Buildings, Providence, Mahe, Seychelles
IC Markets has accounts on various social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook.
Education
When it comes to educational tools, IC Market offers plenty. This includes tutorial and educational videos, educational texts and a demo account option for beginners. You can access these materials through the website.
They are comprehensive and well arranged. Topics such as risk management are covered in lengths. IC Market’s YouTube Page is ideal for beginners looking to learn more about trading. It has a number if MetaTrader and cTrader tutorials.
On the flip side, the educational videos can only be accessed on IC Markets Vimeo Channel.
Safety and Licensing
Is IC Market safe?
The primary criteria of determining if a broker is legit rests on the protection the broker offers should things go wrong and the history of the broker
IC Market’s operations in Australia are regulated by ASIC (335692). In Seychelles IC Markets is licensed by the Financial Services Authority (SD018) However, the broker lacks investor and negative balance protection which is a letdown considering most of the competitors in the industry offer the protection features.
IC Markets has been in operation for over a decade and it is hard to say anything less than it is solid.
Conclusion
IC Markets is a good choice of broker for Forex traders. Low fees, free deposit, and withdrawals, and simple and fast account opening are some of the luring features of IC Markets.
The lack of investor and negative balance protection can turn some traders away though. Both beginners and expert traders can find their taste in IC Markets. It is also ideal for automated traders too.
Each of the 3 accounts offered by IC Markets has its own drawbacks and unique upsides, therefore, you should take some time to consider before making a choice.
Account Types and Fee Structure
IC Markets provides three main account types tailored to different trading preferences: Standard, True ECN with cTrader, and True ECN with MetaTrader. Each account type features its own fee structure, with Standard accounts offering commission-free trading and ECN accounts providing institutional-grade spreads with commissions. Islamic, or swap-free, accounts are also available, with a flat commission replacing percentage-based financing for leveraged positions.
IC Markets maintains low trading and non-trading fees, which include commission and spread costs. Deposits and withdrawals are free for most methods, making IC Markets a cost-effective choice for forex and CFD traders.
