Table of Contents
What is IC Markets?
IC Markets is an Australian broker who deals in forex. It was established in 2007 and has several branches as well. IC Markets is regulated by the top tier financial authorities like, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Account Opening
IC Markets’ account opening process is user friendly and fully digital. IC Markets accepts customers from all over the world. Notable exceptions include the US, Canada, and Israel.
What is the minimum deposit at IC Market?
IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200.
Account Types
Types of account with their fees
| True ECN with cTrader | True ECN with MetaTrader | Standard | |
| Commission per lot | $6 | $7 | No Commission |
| Spread | Low spreads | High spreads | |
| Trading platform | cTrader | MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 | MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 |
| Available accounts by ownership | Individual, joint, corporate | Individual, joint, corporate | Corporate, joint, individual |
| Islamic account | Yes | Y | Yes |
How to open your account
The account opening process is easy and fully digital: online application takes roughly 10-15 minutes. On paper, you have to wait 1-3 days for account approval; however, ours was verified within a day.
IC Market account opening takes four steps:
- Register your email and password; confirm your email; then proceed to the Secure Client Area.
- Fill in your personal information and set the base currency of your account.
- Complete a trading expertise survey.
- Upload a copy of your passport/ID and a utility bill or some other proof of address.
If a problem occurs, you can get help via email or live chat. E.g. you can send them copies of your ID/passport, and they will upload it for you.
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Fees
IC Markets has no non trading fees, it doesn’t even charge inactivity or account fee.
IC Market fee snapshot
| Assets | Fee Terms |
| EURUSD | MetaTrader 4 Raw account pricing: $3.5 per lot plus spread cost. 0.1 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| GBPUSD | MetaTrader 4 Raw account pricing: $3.5 per lot plus spread cost. 0.4 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| S&P 500 CFD | The fees are built into the spread, 0.6 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Inactivity fee | No inactivity fee |
Forex Fees
IC Markets forex benchmark fees of a $20,000 held for one week
| EURUSD benchmark fee | $7.0 |
| GBPUSD benchmark fee | $5.4 |
| AUDUSD benchmark fee | $6.1 |
| EURCHF benchmark fee | $5.1 |
| EURGBP benchmark fee | $7.5 |
CFD fees
IC Markets CFD fees for a $2,000 long position held for one week
| S&P 500 index CFD fee | $1.7 |
| Europe 50 index CFD fee | $1.7 |
Deposit and Withdrawal
It provides various means for deposit and withdrawal of money. IC Market offers you 10 types of base currencies which are; AUD, USD, SGD, HKD, JPY, NZD, EUR, CHF, CAD and GBP.
IC Markets charges zero deposit fees. It provides bank transfer, credit/debit card and E-wallets as options for fund deposition.
IC Markets offers the same method for withdrawal as for deposition. It offers free of cost withdrawal from credit/debit cards. But charges withdrawal through some of the e-Wallets.
Bank transfer withdrawals are also free in the EU and Australia, but cost AU$20 for clients in other countries.
Trading Platform
IC Markets does not own any kind of platform. It supports a third party MetaTrader4 platform. MetaTrader platforms are highly customizable and are user friendly. It offers three third-party trading platforms:
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- cTrader
MetaTrader platforms are available in 41 different languages.
The mobile trading app and desktop platform is also provided by MetaTrader4 only. The mobile application is available for both IOS and Android.
The only difference between desktop and web platforms is that one lacks price alert facility and the other offers the same.
Products Offered
IC Markets allows you to trade in Forex and CFDs. This means that you can only trade in commodities, stock indices, share CFDs and cryptos. It lacks assets like real stock and ETFs.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
IC Markets Product Selection
| Currency pairs (#) | 61 |
| Stock index CFDs (#) | 25 |
| Stock CFDs (#) | 110 |
| Commodity CFDs (#) | 20 |
| Cryptos (#) | 10 |
| ETF CFDs (#) | 30 |
| Bond CFDs (#) | 9 |
Customer Support
IC Markets provides good customer service. You can connect with them via; phone, email or live chat. In live chat you do not have to wait for the operator to come to address your issue, they are easy to connect. The drawback here is that the customer support is not available on weekends. Which means no 24/7 support.
| Pros | Cons |
| Low forex fees | Limited product selection |
| Free deposit and withdrawal | No investor protection for non-EU clients |
| Low non-trading fees | High financing rate for CFDs |
| Several account base currencies | AUD 20 fee for international bank withdrawal |
| Quality news flow | Does not hold a banking license |
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Is IC Markets regulated?
Yes, it is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Is IC Markets Safe?
IC Markets secures funds for its clients under consumer protection scheme. Different protection amounts are allocated to different entities, as follows.
| Country of Clients | Protection Amount | Regulator | Legal Entity |
| EEA, excluding Belgium, Switzerland, Latvia | €20,000 | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | IC Markets (EU) Ltd |
| Australia | No protection | Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd |
| All other countries, except Australia | No protection | Seychelles Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) | IC Markets (SC) Ltd |
Bottom Line
IC Markets is a great CFD and Forex broker. It is regulated by top financial institutions which makes it safe to invest with.
Account opening process is fast, with no minimum deposit requirement. Customer service is good but lacks 24/7 support. Research tools are average. On the other hand it has a limited product portfolio but you can give it a try as it has no inactivity fee and also no minimum deposit for a standard account.
FAQ’s
What account types does IC Markets offer?
IC Markets offer two types of accounts, Standard account and our market leading, Raw Spread account.
Raw Spread Account: This account shows the Raw inter-bank spread received from our liquidity providers. There is a commission charge of $7 per standard lot round turn.
Standard Account: We do not charge a commission on Standard accounts but instead, there is a mark up applied to the spread of 1 pip above the raw Inter-bank rate received from our Liquidity providers.
What is the minimum amount needed to open a trading account?
IC Markets allows clients to open an account with as little as USD $200 or currency equivalent.
What are their trading conditions?
Their mission is to provide traders with the lowest spreads and fastest executions possible across over 285 Forex products including Forex, precious metals, stocks, futures and other commodities. They have invested heavily in technology and established strong relationships with some of the largest and most reliable pricing providers in the market.
Where is my money held?IC
Markets holds client money in segregated client trust accounts at Westpac Banking Corporation and National Australia Bank (NAB). Both AA rated Australian banks.
How long does it take for funds to appear in my live trading account?
When funding your account using online deposit methods such as credit cards, Paypal, Neteller and Skrill, your deposit will appear instantly in your trading account.
Wire transfers and Bpay within Australia normally take one to two business days. For international bank transfers, please allow up to three to five working days.
IC Markets review
Pros
- Low forex fees
- Low non-trading fees
Cons
- Limited product selection
- High financing rate for CFDs
