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XTB or X-Trade Brokers is a leading Forex broker in Central and Eastern Europe providing online trading of over 1500 instruments including Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities and ETFs on two trading platforms - its own xStation and the popular MetaTrader 4. Has offices in more than 15 countries in Europe, South America and Asia.
Behind the XTB brand is XTB Limited, a UK subsidiary of XTB operated by the FCA. Its other subsidiaries are regulated by the Polish Financial Supervision Commission (KNF).
UK broker XTB must adhere to strict requirements and regulations.
For example, in order to obtain a license from a British financial controller, brokers need to provide proof of financial stability: they must have a minimum of 730,000 euros to legally conduct their business.
The FCA regulation also provides an additional guarantee for clients' funds as they are subject to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which has a maximum compensation of £ 50,000 per person in the event a broker becomes insolvent.
Moreover, in May 2016, XTB Dom Maklerski listed its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE: XTB). A year later, the appraised value of XTB fell below $ 200 million. This was due to the new rules of the Polish regulator, which set the maximum leverage to 1:25.
Trading conditions
The company has three accounts: Basic, Standard and Pro. The Basic account is suitable for beginners as well as for casual traders who prefer fixed spreads, while the Standard and Pro accounts provide variable spreads. Pro is designed for advanced traders, offering STP execution.
Traders can trade a wide range of assets, including 50 major, minor and exotic currency pairs, over 20 Asian, American and European stock indices, over 20 precious and base metals, energy and agricultural commodities, 200 American, English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish stocks; and a wide range of ETFs.
Minimum initial deposit
XTB requires $ 250 as an initial deposit to open a live account.
Average spreads and commissions
This broker offers both fixed and variable spreads. Fixed rates are available on a basic account and are 2.0 pips on EUR / USD, which is the industry average. As for the variable spreads, the ones listed on the Pro account are 0.3 pips in EUR / USD, but there is a fee of 2.5 GBP / 3.5 EUR / 4 USD / 1400 HUF per lot (with each side). No commission is charged on the main and standard accounts.
Maximum leverage
The maximum leverage depends on the instrument being traded:
Forex: up to 1: 200; indexes: up to 1: 133; goods: up to 1:66; stocks and ETFs: up to 1:10.
In general, a maximum leverage of 1: 200 is considered average for the market, however some traders may want to trade with a lot of leverage. In our rating you can find brokers that offer leverage up to 1: 1000.
Trading platforms
XTB clients are offered a choice of two trading platforms: their own xStation and MetaTrader 4, available in both desktop, web and mobile versions.
XStation is a user-friendly, fully customizable platform that comes with a calculator (instantly identifying a trader's potential profit or loss, allowing for more informed trading decisions). Traders will probably appreciate two more features of the platform: one-click trading and the ability to work directly with charts.
In addition, XTB offers the most widely used MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It allows users to fully automate their trades with Expert Advisors (EA). This is one of the reasons why most traders choose this terminal. Moreover, it offers a wide range of technical indicators, an extensive testing environment and a set of charts.
Bonuses, discounts, promotions
XTB offers many promotions to its clients:
A system of discounts is available for active traders, at the end of each month a special system automatically calculates the amount of cash back. Traders can earn up to 1.1% of their money balance every month, depending on the trading volume.
Invite a friend and you will have the opportunity to receive a bonus when your friend opens an account and meets the minimum trading requirements.
Support service
Traders can contact an XTB representative by telephone in London (UK) as well as local numbers in 11 other countries. Chat is available 24/5, email is also available.
XTB platforms regularly host training seminars on various topics of online trading. The broker does not offer a glossary or economic calendar.
Ways of payment
This broker provides its clients with the following payment methods: bank transfer, credit / debit cards (Mastercard, Maestro, Visa) and e-wallets (Paypal, Skrill, Neteller).
Pros:
regulated broker; competitive spreads; STP environment; bonuses.
Minuses:
low leverage.
XTB is a company whose task is to provide intermediary services to traders. Brokers / Crypto exchanges provide access to currency / cryptocurrency trading, first of all. Also, many of them, if we are talking about brokers, give the opportunity to make transactions with company shares, bonds, commodities, precious metals, indices, cryptocurrency and other assets. A private person can make transactions with all these instruments only on a trading platform, access to which is provided by a broker or a crypto exchange.
In addition, thanks to such companies, an individual can operate in the market with amounts significantly exceeding the amount of his own funds. This is called the provision of leverage. For example, having a deposit of 1,000 USD with a leverage of 1:400, a trader can make transactions for 400,000 USD.
As well, the broker / crypto exchange opens access to analytics, auxiliary tools, trading signals. Without all this, modern trading is impossible.
XTB profits from traders' trades, usually in two main ways
.
First – most common. Using spreads. This word refers to the difference between the best prices for buying and selling a certain asset at a particular moment. Moreover, in a transaction between a trader and a broker, the price is one, and between the broker and market users - another. The mediator takes the difference.
The second method is easier to understand. This is a fee for each operation performed. Most often it has a standard value, but can also be measured as a percentage.
Therefore, the company is interested in attracting as many clients as possible and that they conduct active trading.
How honest brokers / crypto exchanges should work and how they work, we found out. And now let's look at how scammers act, they are also called kitchens.
The most common way to cheat – is to twist quotes. Broker / crypto exchange gives the trader quotes that differ from the real market. There is a substitution of data in order to make operations unprofitable. The deposit is reduced, and then completely reset. At the same time, the trader thinks that his operations were made on the market, but in fact – just on the site of scammers.
Bonus – traps. They are generously distributed for anything: registration, account replenishment, etc. Only after that, in order for the client to withdraw his own money mixed with bonus money, it will be necessary to fulfill a number of actually impossible conditions. For example, to conduct trading operations in the amount of ten times more than the size of the deposit.
The User Agreement may also mask a clause that allows the broker / crypto exchange to dispose of the client's money. Inattention when reading such an agreement most often turns into a complete loss of the deposit.
One of the key points – it is the place of registration and regulation of the company's activities.
First let's talk about registration. As a rule, traders are more trusted by companies either from their own country or from an economically developed country, for example, a member of the European Union. Of course, compliance with UK law is reassuring, and compliance with the laws of an unknown island in the Indian Ocean does not mean anything to most at all.
On fact, most brokerage companies are registered offshore, and we are talking not only about small offices, but also about world leaders. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Marshall Islands, Mauritius are popular offshore zones among companies. Registering there, companies pay significantly less taxes than in the place of actual location, which is sometimes carefully hidden.
If a trader has claims against such a company, then it is likely that he will have to deal with it in accordance with the laws of the same conditional Belize. It is possible to be physically present there at court hearings. And this is extremely expensive and difficult.
No is it worth running like fire from just the word «offshore»? As an answer, we will cite the names of companies that are not related to brokerage, but with an impeccable reputation and also save on taxes with the help of offshore registration: Apple, Pfizer, Microsoft, General Electric, Intel.
And here we come to the second important point – this is the regulation of the broker / crypto exchange. First of all, it is carried out at the level of the state where the company is registered. Each country has its own regulatory body for brokering. So, in Russia it is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The trader can find permits on the websites of such authorities. But there are also supranational structures. For example, the International Financial Commission, which is an independent self-regulatory organization, specifies disputes between its members – brokers and their clients.
If there is no information on the broker's website / crypto exchange about the regulation of its activities or license, then it is almost certainly a scammer. Or on the site there is data on some license issued by him, but this information is not confirmed anywhere else. Most likely, these are also scammers.
When choosing a brokerage company, or crypto exchanges, study its history. Look at the links to its experts. If one of the leading TV channels in the economic news for 5 years in a row refers to the opinion of the analyst of the broker in question – this is good. If the broker / crypto exchange assures that it has been working for 15 years, but there is no information about it on the Internet at all – this is bad.
It is important to pay attention to reviews about the company. And read them not only on the website of the broker itself / crypto exchange. In the kitchen, they will certainly be only praiseworthy. It is better to view as many sites as possible.
Pay attention solely to the specifics in the offers on the websites of brokers / crypto exchanges. Honest companies openly write about interest, spread size, minimum deposit, etc. Scammers lure loud streamlined phrases about a rich tomorrow, a stable income, mislead with incomprehensible terms about multi-sites, superfunctions and so on.
Specify the company's connection with well-known brands, financial institutions, public organizations. For example, it can be sponsored. Large brokers / crypto exchanges sometimes hold social promotions. Scammers will definitely not do this.
Therefore, the process of choosing a broker / crypto exchange is complicated. But if you approach it carefully, it will allow you to enter the world of trading, which has made millions of people rich around the world
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Before any trade and choosing a broker You must always read reviews on this site and on other sites. Companies who are honest, have a rating of above 3.8. Also there is always the risk of loss when trading CFDs. Be careful and read the disclosure on the website of the company you chose. XTB received a score of 1 of 5 on our resource.