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Most frequently asked questions
Here are the most common questions a trader would normally ask us or consider to ask before opening an account with us.
For more information on help resources related to IC Markets Global and the products we offer,
simply type your question below or visit our live chat service.
IC Markets Global 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.
Further information about the different types of trading accounts available can be found on our Account Overview page.
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.
Further information about the different types of trading accounts available can be found on our Account Overview page.
IC Markets Global has two MetaTrader account types, a Standard account and our market leading, The Raw Spread account. IC Markets Global does not charge a commission on Standard accounts but instead applies a spread mark up of 1 pip above the Raw inter-bank prices received from our liquidity providers. IC Markets Global Raw Spread account shows the raw inter-bank spread received from our liquidity providers. On this account we commission of $7 per standard lot round turn.
Below are commission rates for different base currency accounts:
| AUD | 9.00 round turn |
| USD | 7.00 round turn |
| EUR | 6.50 round turn |
| GBP | 5.50 round turn |
| SGD | 9.50 round turn |
| JPY | 1100.00 round turn |
| CHF | 6.60 round turn |
| NZD | 12.00 round turn |
| HKD | 54.25 round turn |
IC Markets Global allows clients to open an account with as little as USD $200 or currency equivalent.
Our 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. We have invested heavily in technology and established strong relationships with some of the largest and most reliable pricing providers in the market.
To find more about products offering click here: range of products.
We also strongly suggest to thoroughly read our Account Terms available for the attached costs, risks and your responsibilities before deciding to trade with us.
To find more about products offering click here: range of products.
We also strongly suggest to thoroughly read our Account Terms available for the attached costs, risks and your responsibilities before deciding to trade with us.
This is one of the most frequently asked questions. The difficult part in understanding ECN and STP meanings is that those have been interpreted differently by many people. There are three main business models used by Forex brokers which differ by the way the transactions are handled and orders are executed: ECN, STP and Market Makers.
ECN: ECN stands for 'Electronic Communication Network' which is simply a technical term that is used to describe how banks and liquidity providers connect to each other to form a bid and offer price. In the Forex industry, it can be used to identify providers who use this type of pricing mechanism in order to offer raw interbank pricing to retail traders. Under this model your broker will stream raw prices and your trades will be offset with another client, a liquidity provider or held internally by the broker. This usually results in faster trade execution. This is distinct from order execution that may result in an offsetting order placed with a liquidity provider.
STP: This term stands for 'Straight Through Processing' and is used when a Forex and CFD provider processes all trades at market prices obtained from a liquidity provider, this price is simply passed on by the broker. This is not dissimilar to the ECN pricing model in that the price is not altered and there is no dealing desk intervention when the trade is processed, hence it is known as STP.
IC Markets Global is the issuer of the products it provides. We consider ourselves to be a forex provider offering the ECN pricing model as we source our pricing from external unrelated liquidity providers , these prices are passed onto you with no dealing desk intervention. In order to provide you with better price certainty and to ensure fast execution speed we do not offset each and every position with our liquidity providers. We do this in order to provide you with a better overall trading experience.
ECN: ECN stands for 'Electronic Communication Network' which is simply a technical term that is used to describe how banks and liquidity providers connect to each other to form a bid and offer price. In the Forex industry, it can be used to identify providers who use this type of pricing mechanism in order to offer raw interbank pricing to retail traders. Under this model your broker will stream raw prices and your trades will be offset with another client, a liquidity provider or held internally by the broker. This usually results in faster trade execution. This is distinct from order execution that may result in an offsetting order placed with a liquidity provider.
STP: This term stands for 'Straight Through Processing' and is used when a Forex and CFD provider processes all trades at market prices obtained from a liquidity provider, this price is simply passed on by the broker. This is not dissimilar to the ECN pricing model in that the price is not altered and there is no dealing desk intervention when the trade is processed, hence it is known as STP.
IC Markets Global is the issuer of the products it provides. We consider ourselves to be a forex provider offering the ECN pricing model as we source our pricing from external unrelated liquidity providers , these prices are passed onto you with no dealing desk intervention. In order to provide you with better price certainty and to ensure fast execution speed we do not offset each and every position with our liquidity providers. We do this in order to provide you with a better overall trading experience.
Opening an account is simple. Click on the Open a Live Account link and complete your application form.
Once your on-line application form has been approved by our accounts team you will be emailed your trading account login details and password.
Once your on-line application form has been approved by our accounts team you will be emailed your trading account login details and password.
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Questions about IC Markets Global
IC Markets Global is one of the world's leading Forex CFD provider. The company was incorporated with the vision of providing fair and transparent Forex trading to active traders. IC Markets Global is dedicated to bringing solutions previously only available to professionals and large global investment banks to retail investors and traders around the world. For additional information about IC Markets Global, please visit the About Us page.
IC Markets Global is a privately owned company. IC Markets Global’ management team is comprised of individuals with over 20 years' experience in derivative products. IC Markets Global’ founders were instrumental in the success of one of the largest CFD provider.
IC Markets Global is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA).
IC Markets Global holds client money in segregated client trust accounts in Tier 1 banks.
IC Markets Global hold client money in segregated client trust accounts with a number of AAA rated Australian banks. We spread the client money across multiple banks to reduce the counterparty risk to any one bank.
We only collect personal information which is reasonably necessary to provide you with quality products or services, conduct identification checks to meet our legal regulatory obligations and combat fraud. We do not sell your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes. Our privacy policy outlines how we handle our customers’ personal information in detail.
Yes, we take the privacy of our customers extremely seriously and we have in place policies and procedures to safeguard the information we request. You can view our privacy policy which outlines how we handle your personal information.
Should your account security be compromised, we suggest you change your trading platform and Client Area passwords immediately. We recommend you store your passwords securely and not on a shared or public device. Should you become aware of a security breach, we recommend you change your passwords and contact us immediately to notify us of the incident.
Questions about Trading with IC Markets Global
IC Markets Global has two MetaTrader account types: Standard Account and our market-leading Raw Spread Account. IC Markets Global does not charge a commission on Standard Accounts; instead, we mark up the spread received from our liquidity providers. IC Markets Global’ Raw Spread Account shows the raw interbank spread received from our liquidity providers. On this account we charge a commission of $3.5 per standard lot round turn.
IC Markets Global allows clients to open a trading account with as little as USD $200 or currency equivalent.
IC Markets Global offers flexible leverage options ranging from 1:1 to 1:1000. You can change the leverage on your trading account via your Client Area.
IC Markets Global allows you to open multiple trading accounts. You can open an additional trading account via your Client Area.
The opening and closing times of IC Markets Global’ prices are:
Opening time: 00:01 MetaTrader 4 Server Time (Monday)
Closing time: 23:57 MetaTrader 4 Server Time (Friday)
Please note the trading times of certain instruments may vary; you should refer to the relevant product section on our website for specific information.
Opening time: 00:01 MetaTrader 4 Server Time (Monday)
Closing time: 23:57 MetaTrader 4 Server Time (Friday)
Please note the trading times of certain instruments may vary; you should refer to the relevant product section on our website for specific information.
IC Markets Global’ rollover occurs at 00:00 MetaTrader 4 Server Time.
To align the daily chart candles with New York close (5pm ET), IC Markets Global’ server time and charts are GMT+2 or GMT+3 when daylight saving is in effect. The table below outlines the dates on which the server time is changed to reflect daylight savings each year.
Daylight saving time begins at 2am on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2am on the first Sunday in November.
| Year | DST Commencement Date | DST Ending Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 10th March | 3rd November |
| 2020 | 8th March | 1st November |
| 2021 | 14th March | 7th November |
| 2022 | 13th March | 6th November |
The trading hours for gold (XAUUSD) are:
Opening time: 01:02 MetaTrader 4 Server Time
Closing time: 23:57 MetaTrader 4 Server Time
The trading hours for silver (XAGUSD) are:
Opening time: 01:00 MetaTrader 4 Server Time
Closing time: 23:59 (Friday 23:57) MetaTrader 4 Server Time
IC Markets Global offers extensive online education. In addition, we regularly conduct educational webinars on a variety of topics. Webinar dates and times are published on our blog.
IC Markets Global offers over 65 currency pairs, including cryptocurrencies.
IC Markets Global also offers CFDs in precious metals, commodities, indices, futures, shares and bonds.
IC Markets Global offers its customers several ways of depositing funds into their trading account. Common deposit methods include bank / wire transfer, Paypal, credit card, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, Bpay, FasaPay and Poli. Our funding page provides further information about each method that we offer.
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.
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.
You can submit a withdrawal request from within your Client Area. All withdrawals received before 12:00 midday AEST / AEDT will be processed on the same business day. Our full withdrawal policy can be found in the withdrawals page on our website.
Opening an account is simple. Click on the Open a Live Account link and complete the account application form.
Once your online application form has been approved by our accounts team you will be emailed your trading account and secure Client Area login details and password.
Once your online application form has been approved by our accounts team you will be emailed your trading account and secure Client Area login details and password.
Under the Anti -Money Laundering Act 2020 of Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, IC Markets Global is required to verify your identity before opening a trading account for you.
Identification must be provided in the form of photo ID and proof of address to enable us to verify your identity.
Photo ID
• Must be clear and visible
• Must be issued by a government agency
• Name, signature, expiry date and date of birth* must be clear
* Please note that IC Markets Global does not accept account applications from any persons under the age of 18
Proof of Address
• Must be no older than 3 months
• Must show the same name and address as your account application
Our anti-money laundering policy contains further information regarding our identification requirements.
Identification must be provided in the form of photo ID and proof of address to enable us to verify your identity.
Photo ID
• Must be clear and visible
• Must be issued by a government agency
• Name, signature, expiry date and date of birth* must be clear
* Please note that IC Markets Global does not accept account applications from any persons under the age of 18
Proof of Address
• Must be no older than 3 months
• Must show the same name and address as your account application
Our anti-money laundering policy contains further information regarding our identification requirements.
No, IC Markets Global does not pay interest on account balances in any currency.
No, IC Markets Global does not accept US clients. US CTFC regulation prevents US clients from trading with brokers outside the US.
Yes, we allow both hedging and scalping trading strategies. Our spreads and trading conditions are the preferred choice of many day traders and scalpers globally.
IC Markets Global is not able to open new positions over the phone. However, should you wish to close out positions, please call our support team on +61 (0)2 8014 4280 and we will accept instructions from you.
No, you will not be charged any account inactivity fees.
While demo accounts and live accounts provide similar trading experiences, the demo accounts are predominantly used for familiarizing yourself with the trading platform and educational purposes only. We do not guarantee that the performance of a demo account will be the same as that of a live account as our demo accounts are not connected to our live trading environment.
Forex brokers use three main business models which differ in the way the transactions are handled and orders are executed: ECN, STP and Market Makers.
ECN: ECN stands for 'Electronic Communication Network', which is simply a technical term that is used to describe how banks and liquidity providers connect to each other to form bid and offer prices. In the Forex industry, it can be used to identify providers who use this type of pricing mechanism in order to offer raw interbank pricing to retail traders. Under this model your broker will stream raw prices and your trades will be offset with another client or liquidity provider, or held internally by the broker. This usually results in faster trade execution. This is distinct from order execution, which may result in an offsetting order placed with a liquidity provider.
STP: This term stands for 'Straight Through Processing' and is used when a Forex and CFD provider process all trades at market prices obtained from a liquidity provider. This price is simply passed on by the broker. This is not dissimilar to the ECN pricing model in that the price is not altered and there is no dealing desk intervention when the trade is processed; hence, it is known as STP.
IC Markets Global is the issuer of the products it provides. We consider ourselves to be a Forex provider offering the ECN pricing model as we source our pricing from external unrelated liquidity providers. These prices are passed on to you with no dealing desk intervention. In order to provide you with better price certainty and to ensure fast execution speed, we do not hedge each and every position with our liquidity providers. We do this in order to provide you with a better overall trading experience.
ECN: ECN stands for 'Electronic Communication Network', which is simply a technical term that is used to describe how banks and liquidity providers connect to each other to form bid and offer prices. In the Forex industry, it can be used to identify providers who use this type of pricing mechanism in order to offer raw interbank pricing to retail traders. Under this model your broker will stream raw prices and your trades will be offset with another client or liquidity provider, or held internally by the broker. This usually results in faster trade execution. This is distinct from order execution, which may result in an offsetting order placed with a liquidity provider.
STP: This term stands for 'Straight Through Processing' and is used when a Forex and CFD provider process all trades at market prices obtained from a liquidity provider. This price is simply passed on by the broker. This is not dissimilar to the ECN pricing model in that the price is not altered and there is no dealing desk intervention when the trade is processed; hence, it is known as STP.
IC Markets Global is the issuer of the products it provides. We consider ourselves to be a Forex provider offering the ECN pricing model as we source our pricing from external unrelated liquidity providers. These prices are passed on to you with no dealing desk intervention. In order to provide you with better price certainty and to ensure fast execution speed, we do not hedge each and every position with our liquidity providers. We do this in order to provide you with a better overall trading experience.
When you trade with us, you are trading with IC Markets Global as principle, this is the case with all Forex and CFD providers globally.
We do not operate a proprietary trading book, we source our prices from external unrelated liquidity providers or directly, these prices are then passed onto you with no dealing desk intervention.
We do not operate a proprietary trading book, we source our prices from external unrelated liquidity providers or directly, these prices are then passed onto you with no dealing desk intervention.
IC Markets Global streams prices from its liquidity providers, who, in their turn, derive those prices from the market (or exchange) in the case of Stocks CFDs and from banks and non-bank liquidity providers in the case of Forex. The source of the underlying market price may vary for each product.
Although IC Markets Global’ prices come from its liquidity providers and IC Markets Global is not practically involved in the making of the price, simply streaming prices which it receives, the prices nonetheless become IC Markets Global’ prices when it provides them to its clients to trade on. This is the case for all derivative products which IC Markets Global offers to its clients.
Although IC Markets Global’ prices come from its liquidity providers and IC Markets Global is not practically involved in the making of the price, simply streaming prices which it receives, the prices nonetheless become IC Markets Global’ prices when it provides them to its clients to trade on. This is the case for all derivative products which IC Markets Global offers to its clients.
If you trade 100,000 (1.00)
Commission is $3.50 for opening, and $3.50 for closing; $7.00 for the full round-turn
If you trade 10,000 (0.10)
Commission is $0.35 for opening, and $0.35 for closing; $0.70 for the full round-turn
If you trade 1,000 (0.01)
Commission is $0.035 for opening, and $0.035 for closing; $0.070 for the full round-turn
On MT4 all commission charge for a position is applied at the opening of the trade.
On MT5 commission is charged per side (opening/closing).
*On MT5 the commission column is not rounded up to 3 decimal places but to 2 decimal places only. Thus, commission on a micro lot size $0.035 per side is rounded to $0.04
IC Markets Global is the issuer of the products it provides. We consider ourselves to be a CFD provider offering the ECN pricing model as we do not operate a proprietary trading book and source our pricing from external unrelated liquidity providers. These prices are then passed on to you with no dealing desk intervention. In order to provide you with better price certainty and to ensure fast execution speed, we do not offset each and every single position with our liquidity providers.
When you trade with us you are trading on prices streamed from our liquidity providers. IC Markets Global does not have a dealing desk that creates its own prices.
The prices we offer are streamed various liquidity providers.
IC Markets Global’ Securities Dealer (SD) Licence allows us to make markets, as is the case for all CFD and Forex providers globally. We are not a broker to you but a product issuer. Simply put, we act as a principal to your trades and are the sole counterparty that allows you to access prices streamed from our liquidity providers that supply IC Markets Global with the pricing.
Technically, when you buy a product at IC Markets Global, we are selling that product to you. It may not be possible for you to buy that product on an exchange or from a bank directly.
Typically, market makers are considered to be Forex and CFD providers who operate a dealing desk in order to create their own prices. These prices can be based on their own proprietary trading positions or overall risk exposure and may not reflect the prices in the underlying market.
Technically, when you buy a product at IC Markets Global, we are selling that product to you. It may not be possible for you to buy that product on an exchange or from a bank directly.
Typically, market makers are considered to be Forex and CFD providers who operate a dealing desk in order to create their own prices. These prices can be based on their own proprietary trading positions or overall risk exposure and may not reflect the prices in the underlying market.
All conflicts of interest can be found in our Terms & Conditions
On our Raw Spread Account, the average spread on gold is 1 pip. Detailed information can be found on our spreads page.
On our Raw Spread Account, the average spread is 0.1 pip. Detailed information can be found on our spreads page.
All trades are filled based on the prices we stream on our trading platforms. We adopt a market execution model whereby stop loss and take profits orders are triggered based on their pre-set conditions and executed at the price available at that time. We do not offer guaranteed stop loss orders.
Information regarding our swap rates can be found on our website. They can also be found from within the MetaTrader 4 platform: simply go to Market Watch, right-click on an instrument and select ‘Specifications’. A new window will then open and the swap rates will be displayed.
Yes, we do offer oil as a spot and future commodity CFD product. More information can be found on our commodities product page.
Triple swap rates are charged on Wednesday. The reason for this is that spot Forex contracts have a two-day settlement period. For example, a spot Forex contract that occurred on Monday settles on Wednesday, a trade that occurred on Tuesday settles on Thursday, a trade that occurred on Wednesday settles on Friday, but a trade that occurred on Thursday settles on the following Monday. In this example, the trade that occurred on Thursday rolled through the weekend because the banks are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Triple rollover interest is applied to positions held open at 5pm New York time on Wednesday as this time marks the beginning of the new 24-hour trading day (Thursday).
You should note that swap rates can be negative or positive, depending on the currency pair traded and the prevailing interest rates at that time.
You should note that swap rates can be negative or positive, depending on the currency pair traded and the prevailing interest rates at that time.
IC Markets Global offers over 150 Stocks CFDs. The full list can be found on our Stocks CFD product page.
A dividend adjustment is applied to a share or index CFD position in the event of a dividend payment occurring in the underlying share or share constituent of an index. The ex-dividend date is the day a stock starts trading without its dividend payment. In the case of an index, an adjustment will be made that is equal to the number of points by which the index price must be adjusted downwards to take account of those shares in the index which go ex-dividend at the close of the cash market. The ex-dividend figure estimated by Bloomberg, rounded to the tick size we use for that index, is used to determine what adjustment to apply. In the case of long positions, the dividend adjustment is in the form a trading account credit. In the case of short positions, the dividend adjustment is in the form of a trading account debit.
The most common reason is that incorrect prices have been referred to. You must refer to the bid prices to check whether the requested take profit price level on a buy trade has been reached or not. However, in the case of a sell trade, you must refer to the ask prices. It is also important to note that a standard account has one pip mark-up on the raw spreads. This spread mark-up does not appear in bid prices recorded on the chart by default.
IC Markets Global’ margin stop out level on all trading platforms is 50%, which means that if your account's margin level drops to or below 50% of the margin required, the system will start closing your open positions automatically.
Trading carries risks, from time-to-time market volatility can send your account into a negative balance. The latest changes will mean that you are protected from having your account go into the negative and will quickly return to a zero balance. Please note that this provision is offered by IC Markets Global for both retail and professional clients.
IC Markets Global uses a market execution model. A market execution model means that all trades and pending orders are filled at the prices we stream on the platform at the time an order is placed.
IC Markets Global does not offer instant execution.
Our average trade execution speed is around 35 milliseconds on currency pairs. Our trade servers are in the Equinix NY4 data centres in New York. We have cross connects in place with our liquidity providers to ensure faster trading execution speeds.
IC Markets Global does not charge any additional fees or commission for CFD indices trading.
You can unsubscribe from the emails that we send you by simply logging into your secure Client Area and selecting Account Details under the ‘Profile’ section. From here, you can check or uncheck the ‘Newsletters and Special Offers’ option and click on the ‘Update Information’ button to submit the changes.
You can subscribe to our daily market forecasts by visiting your secure Client Area. Select Daily Market Forecasts under the ‘Trading Tools’ section. You may choose to subscribe to daily market forecasts from either Autochartist or Trading Central, or both.
We do not offer a FIX API connection into MetaTrader 4 or 5. You can, however, connect to our cTrader platform via FIX API. More information regarding this can be found at cTrader help centre.
IC Markets Global offers a variety of partnership programs including, but not limited to, Introducing Brokers, Money Managers, Affiliates, etc. Detailed information can be found at the partnerships section on our website.
A demo trading account contains virtual money and is absolutely risk-free. Demo accounts are designed as an educational tool to familiarize customers with our trading platforms without losing real money.
To add funds to your demo trading account, go to Account Summary under the ‘Accounts’ section of your secure Client Area. Scroll down the page to go to your ‘Demo Accounts’ section. You can add virtual money to your demo account by clicking on the ‘Add Funds’ options marked with a green dollar ($) icon available at the end of the account row.
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a personal trading advice that may impact your trading decisions. Trading Derivatives may not be suitable for all investors, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.
Questions about the Forex market
Forex, or the 'Foreign Exchange Market', is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately US$3 trillion. Forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The price of currencies is floating and dependent on supply and demand. Foreign exchange is always traded in pairs, for example EUR/USD or AUD/USD.
Making money trading Forex involves buying lower and selling higher or selling higher and buying back lower. Using leverage means that you are able to deposit a smaller amount of money to achieve the same buying power as you would have if you bought and sold the currencies outright.
In this example, Mary deposits $5,000 into her Forex trading account and nominates the leverage on her account to be 1:100. As a result of leverage, Mary’s buying power on her $5,000 deposit becomes $500,000. Mary decides to buy 0.1 lots of the AUD/USD par at a price of 0.99802. Three days later, the price of the AUD/USD is 1.04069 and Mary decides to close her position. Mary’s profit is calculated as (1.04069 – 0.99802) 426 pips. As Mary opened a position of 0.1 lots, she made a profit of $426, or $1 per pip.
Of course, should the AUD/USD have moved against Mary below the opening price of her trade to a level of 0.97802, Mary would have incurred a loss on the trade of (0.99802 – 0.95542) 426 pips. As Mary’s position size was 0.1 lots, she would have incurred a loss of $426 or $1 per pip.
It is important to be aware that when trading Forex you can also incur losses which can be greater than your initial deposit.
In this example, Mary deposits $5,000 into her Forex trading account and nominates the leverage on her account to be 1:100. As a result of leverage, Mary’s buying power on her $5,000 deposit becomes $500,000. Mary decides to buy 0.1 lots of the AUD/USD par at a price of 0.99802. Three days later, the price of the AUD/USD is 1.04069 and Mary decides to close her position. Mary’s profit is calculated as (1.04069 – 0.99802) 426 pips. As Mary opened a position of 0.1 lots, she made a profit of $426, or $1 per pip.
Of course, should the AUD/USD have moved against Mary below the opening price of her trade to a level of 0.97802, Mary would have incurred a loss on the trade of (0.99802 – 0.95542) 426 pips. As Mary’s position size was 0.1 lots, she would have incurred a loss of $426 or $1 per pip.
It is important to be aware that when trading Forex you can also incur losses which can be greater than your initial deposit.
Forex is said to be one of the fairest and most transparent markets on earth. This is mainly because of the large number of market participants and sheer size and number of transactions. No one single country or bank can completely control the direction of a currency.
Forex is not exchange traded, unlike the stock and futures markets. Forex is traded on an over-the-counter (OTC) basis with no central exchange between banks, governments, hedge funds and private investors. The Forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, it opens in New Zealand and closes in New York.
The main participants in the Forex market are central banks, commercial banks and investment banks, however, in recent years - since the advent of the internet - accessibility to the Forex market has increased, which has resulted in an increase in the number of non-bank participants. Nowadays, participants also include large multinational corporations, money managers, registered dealers, money brokers and private investors.
The Forex market is a 24-hour market. Forex trading commences in Wellington, New Zealand and moves around the globe as business days begin in each financial centre. The major global financial centres where most Forex trading takes place are Tokyo, London and New York. The Forex market opens on Sunday at 10:00pm (GMT) and closes on Friday at 10:00pm (GMT).
The most popular liquid currency pairs are those from countries with politically stable governments and well-respected central banks. The most popular currency pairs are those that are paired with the US dollar, these are nicknamed the ‘majors’ and account for around 85% of transactions. The most commonly traded pairs are the EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF and USD/CAD.
A variety of fundamental and technical aspects can cause an exchange rate to move. The most notable influences include interest rates, inflation and political stability. Sometimes, governments will buy or sell a currency in an effort to influence its value with a view to having a broader effect on the country’s economy. This is known as ‘central bank intervention’ and can have a significant impact on the value of a currency. Given the size and diversity of participants, no one single factor can influence the Forex market for any significant length of time.
Forex traders can use a variety of risk management strategies. The most common form of risk management is the use of stop loss and limit orders. Stop loss orders can be set within the MetaTrader 4 platform and are often used to force the closure of a position at a predetermined price in order to limit any potential loss. Limit orders work in much the same way as stop loss orders; however, they allow a restriction to be placed on the maximum price paid.
Forex traders use a variety of trading strategies based on technical and fundamental analysis. Nowadays, technical trading is becoming increasingly popular and traders are using a variety of technical indicators, such as trend lines, support and resistance levels, and numerous other methods, to identify short-to-medium term trading opportunities. Some traders choose to use fundamental analysis, which revolves around interpreting economic information including news, government reports and sometimes even rumour. Often, however, it is elements outside of technical and fundamental analysis that have the most dramatic effect on currency prices. This includes events such as central bank intervention, interest rate changes, political change or even war.
No, trading Forex has never been cheaper or more accessible. Traders can now trade on institutional grade pricing with a deposit of as little as $200 and leverage of up to 500:1. It is, however, important to remember that although trading on leverage can maximise profits, it can also amplify losses.
Understanding MetaTrader 4 problems
If you cannot see all the instruments in the Market Watch window, simply right-click your mouse in the Market Watch area and select ‘show all’.
‘Trade Context is Busy’ is a common MetaTrader 4 error. It occurs because MetaTrader 4 cannot process multiple requests at the same time. To fix this error, simply close and open your MetaTrader 4 trading platform again. Please read our MetaTrader 4 error code guide which outlines common MetaTrader 4 error messages.
The chart time on MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms reflects server time, which cannot be changed. For cTrader platform, however, you may set the time as per your local time zone.
Current swap rates can be found on our swap rates page. Swap rates can also be found within the MetaTrader 4 platform: simply go to Market Watch, right-click on an instrument and select ‘Specifications’. A new window will then open and the swap rates will be displayed.
If you hold open a position over Wednesday night, the amount added or subtracted to your account as a result of the swap rate charged is three times the usual amount. Triple swap rates are charged in the rollover period on Wednesday night to account for the settlement of trades over the weekend, during which no swap rates are charged due to the market being closed.
Demo accounts will expire after 30 days of inactivity. If the demo account is still active, check that you are using the correct account number, password and server, which can be found in the email you receive when you first open the account. Alternatively, you may check your platform credentials from your secure Client Area.
The ‘invalid account’ error occurs when your username or password is incorrect. This can also occur if you have selected the wrong server address. Please check your account details and try again.
In order for expert advisor (EA) to function on MetaTrader 4, you must click on the ‘Expert Advisors' button in your Trade terminal.
Understanding the trading platforms
In order for you to log in to your MT4/5 trading account, you will need your account number and password. These details were sent to you when you first opened your account.
Once you have your account number and password, simply install the MT4/5 platform on your PC and select 'File' then 'Log in to Trade Account'. A login box will then appear in which you will be able to enter your account number, password and select the relevant server.
When typing your password, you should ensure that it is entered correctly. If you are copying and pasting, make sure not to copy any extra spaces over.
You should also ensure that you select the server name mentioned in the email containing your login details. If you cannot see the server in the drop-down list, simply type it manually as live(server number).icmarkets.com and select ‘Login’.
You will see your connection status update in the bottom right-hand corner of the platform. If the connections status shows ‘invalid account’, make sure your password was entered correctly. If it shows ‘no connection’, double-check that the server address was entered correctly.
Once you have your account number and password, simply install the MT4/5 platform on your PC and select 'File' then 'Log in to Trade Account'. A login box will then appear in which you will be able to enter your account number, password and select the relevant server.
When typing your password, you should ensure that it is entered correctly. If you are copying and pasting, make sure not to copy any extra spaces over.
You should also ensure that you select the server name mentioned in the email containing your login details. If you cannot see the server in the drop-down list, simply type it manually as live(server number).icmarkets.com and select ‘Login’.
You will see your connection status update in the bottom right-hand corner of the platform. If the connections status shows ‘invalid account’, make sure your password was entered correctly. If it shows ‘no connection’, double-check that the server address was entered correctly.
Each cTrader user has their own unique cTID, which is a set of login details used to access the trading platform. All cTrader trading accounts are linked to just one cTID. Your cTrader ID will be automatically created for you once your cTrader account is approved. You will receive an email with the subject heading ‘Welcome to cTrader ID’. You must open the email and select ‘Confirm cTrader ID’.
Once your cTrader ID is confirmed, you can sign in to the cTrader platform using your email address and the password in your welcome email. You will then see that your IC Markets Global trading account automatically appears.
If you open an additional cTrader account, it will be automatically linked to your cTID and you will see it the next time you log in to the platform.
Once your cTrader ID is confirmed, you can sign in to the cTrader platform using your email address and the password in your welcome email. You will then see that your IC Markets Global trading account automatically appears.
If you open an additional cTrader account, it will be automatically linked to your cTID and you will see it the next time you log in to the platform.
You must first download the MT4/5 mobile application from the apple or android stores. Once this is downloaded and opened, follow the steps below:
1. Go to ‘Settings’
2. Click on 'Manage Accounts' or 'Settings'
3. Then click on the small plus sign or select 'New Account'
4. Then select 'Log in to an existing account'
5. Search for the broker name
6. Select the server your account was set up on
7. Enter your login credentials and password
8. Click on 'Sign In'
1. Go to ‘Settings’
2. Click on 'Manage Accounts' or 'Settings'
3. Then click on the small plus sign or select 'New Account'
4. Then select 'Log in to an existing account'
5. Search for the broker name
6. Select the server your account was set up on
7. Enter your login credentials and password
8. Click on 'Sign In'
You will see this error message if you try to connect to an incorrect server. You should log in to your mobile app and select the correct server from the list.
No, you cannot directly install an EA script or indicator on the mobile version of MT4 or MT5.
An EA can be installed on your trading platform by following the steps below.
Firstly, download and save the EA executable file. Identify whether the file is archived or in its normal format. To perform this check, right-click on the file and select ‘Properties’. At the top, it will say if it is a MetaQuotes Language 4 file. If it is not, it is most likely an archive. If the file is archived or zipped, make sure to unzip the file.
Now, open your MT4 platform. At the menu bar, click ‘File’ and navigate to ‘Open Data Folder’. Double click the ‘MQL4’ folder and open the ‘Experts’ folder. Now go back to where you have downloaded your EA and drag it into the open ‘Experts’ folder.
Once done, close all windows. Restart MetaTrader 4 platform and the EA should appear in your ‘Navigator’ panel.
Firstly, download and save the EA executable file. Identify whether the file is archived or in its normal format. To perform this check, right-click on the file and select ‘Properties’. At the top, it will say if it is a MetaQuotes Language 4 file. If it is not, it is most likely an archive. If the file is archived or zipped, make sure to unzip the file.
Now, open your MT4 platform. At the menu bar, click ‘File’ and navigate to ‘Open Data Folder’. Double click the ‘MQL4’ folder and open the ‘Experts’ folder. Now go back to where you have downloaded your EA and drag it into the open ‘Experts’ folder.
Once done, close all windows. Restart MetaTrader 4 platform and the EA should appear in your ‘Navigator’ panel.
As you are trading leveraged CFD products, you will be able to open positions that are larger than your account balance. This means that a smaller move in your favour will result in a larger profit and a smaller move against you will result in a large loss. If the price of the CFD you are trading gaps or moves against you quickly, it is possible that you could lose more than your account balance.
Although we will attempt to close your position when the margin level falls to 50% of the required margin (stop out level), we cannot guarantee that your account will not enter into a negative balance. You will be in margin call when the margin level drops to 100% of the required margin; at this point, you will see the position change colour in your trading platform. This is an indication to take appropriate measures by either reducing the exposure or adding additional funds to the trading account. If the margin level drops a further 50%, the platform will automatically start closing out positions.
Although we will attempt to close your position when the margin level falls to 50% of the required margin (stop out level), we cannot guarantee that your account will not enter into a negative balance. You will be in margin call when the margin level drops to 100% of the required margin; at this point, you will see the position change colour in your trading platform. This is an indication to take appropriate measures by either reducing the exposure or adding additional funds to the trading account. If the margin level drops a further 50%, the platform will automatically start closing out positions.
If your account balance becomes negative, we recommend you contact our support team so we can discuss the options available to you.
All three trading platforms are popular amongst Forex brokers. MT4 was built by Metaquotes, has been around for the longest and remains the most popular amongst traders while cTrader is relatively new in comparison and has several features that do not exist on other platforms. MT5 is a newer version of MT4 but is yet to become popular. Each of the trading platforms we offer is different and we recommend that you try demos of all of them to see which one best suits your trading style. The user interface, advanced take profit and stop loss systems, detachable charts, varying chart time frames, live sentiment and depth of market displayed by default are among the key differences. There is also a vast range of custom indicators and EA readily available for MT4.
A trading account is connected to a trading platform. For example, it is not possible to view your MT4 trading account on cTrader. For each trading platform that you use, you will need to create a new trading account specifically for that platform. You can easily create new trading accounts from your Client Area.
The time displayed on the trading platform cannot be changed. To align the daily chart candles with New York close (5 pm ET), IC Markets Global’ server time and charts are GMT + 2 or GMT + 3 when daylight saving is in effect.
To improve the time it takes for orders to be executed, you can try hosting your trading platform on a virtual private server (VPS). VPS can significantly improve order execution times as they are usually located in the data centre, which has fast and reliable internet connectivity.
If minimum trading volumes are met, we are able to sponsor the cost of a VPS up to USD $35 per month. You can email our support team or contact us on live chat if you feel that you will meet our criteria.
An account is considered to be hyperactive when the number of server requests exceeds 5,000 messages per day. We are notified of accounts placing large numbers of requests by our server administrators as they slow down the server's performance.
Server requests usually come about as a result of an EA being left active. This results in the creation of server messages such as:
Please check your account and make changes to your EA to reduce the number of server messages.
Server requests usually come about as a result of an EA being left active. This results in the creation of server messages such as:
- “open order”
- “close order”
- “pending order”
- “no money”
Please check your account and make changes to your EA to reduce the number of server messages.
An investor password is a read-only password that you may use to build and analyse your account's portfolio. Getting an investor password is easy. Simply open the MT4 / MT5 platform.
Go to ‘Tools Options, Server’, and select ‘Change’. Enter your current (master) password, tick ‘Change Investor’ (read-only) password and enter your desired password.
Go to ‘Tools Options, Server’, and select ‘Change’. Enter your current (master) password, tick ‘Change Investor’ (read-only) password and enter your desired password.
To locate your MetaTrader 4 log files, open your MetaTrader 4 terminal. Go to the ‘File’ menu and open the ‘Data’ folder. A new window will open with the 'Logs' subfolder. Within this folder, you will be able to find all the log files, and you may refer to the specific date.
As the platform is installed locally on your computer, we cannot influence how slowly or fast it works. There might be several reasons, such as:
- too many indicators being installed and used on charts,
- too many charts opened at the same time,
- any extra software, such as EA,
- small RAM on your PC
- or a large influx of data received at your platform
We suggest you install a separate platform and run it without any EA and indicators to see if it fixes the problem. You may also contact our support team, who will be able to troubleshoot the problem for you.
A free margin is the amount of funds you have available in your trading account that can be used to open more positions or cover losses of open positions. If your trades are making a profit, you will see your free margin increase.
In currency trading, ‘gapping’ typically occurs when the currency reopens for trading after a weekend/rollover. Gaps are usually caused by low liquidity in the market. It is possible to retrieve the missing data by refreshing the chart if the gap has occurred because the chart has not updated correctly.
The 'market is closed' error message means you are trying to trade outside of the product's trading session. To check the trade hours of a product, please right-click on the product in the Market Watch window and select ‘Specifications’, which will open a new window with the trading hours of the selected product.
Different instruments have different trading hours attached to them. For detailed information on the trading hours for different products, you may refer to our Trading Hours page.
We do not currently offer 24/7 crypto trading. Please refer to the Trading Hours page for information on the trading hours.
Stocks are available exclusively on the IC Markets Global' MetaTrader 5 platform. To have them added to your account, please email us at enquires@icmarkets.com. Your MT5 trading account must be funded for the request to be successful.
You receive your MT4 password when you first open your trading account. For security reasons, we recommend that you change the password when you first access your account. You may also lose or forget your password and need to reset it.
To change the password on the platform, select the ‘Tools - Options - Server’ tab and then the ‘Change’ button.
Enter your current password and make sure ‘Change Master Password’ is checked.
Enter your new password, ensuring it is a minimum of five characters long and is a combination of upper- and lowercase letters and digits. Confirm the password in the second box and select ‘OK’. The change was successful if no error messages appear.
If you have forgotten or lost your password, you can reset it via your Secure Client Area. Sign in and select ‘Change Trading Account Password’. Enter and confirm your new password and select ‘Save’. You will also receive an email confirming the change was successful.
To change the password on the platform, select the ‘Tools - Options - Server’ tab and then the ‘Change’ button.
Enter your current password and make sure ‘Change Master Password’ is checked.
Enter your new password, ensuring it is a minimum of five characters long and is a combination of upper- and lowercase letters and digits. Confirm the password in the second box and select ‘OK’. The change was successful if no error messages appear.
If you have forgotten or lost your password, you can reset it via your Secure Client Area. Sign in and select ‘Change Trading Account Password’. Enter and confirm your new password and select ‘Save’. You will also receive an email confirming the change was successful.
The visual mode option does not appear in the Strategy Tester window by default. To make the option visible on screen, drag to expand the Tester window and you will be able to view the option.
You can reset the password of your cTrader ID by following the steps outlined under cTrader Reset ID page.
You can find full information on the cTrader platform and its features on Spotware's official website: cTrader Help Center.
Choosing the right trading platform is a critical part of your trading. There is no right or wrong platform. However, choosing the most suitable one entirely depends on the features you are seeking, as well as your individual experience of the platform. It is recommended that you test the features of all the available platforms and decide which suits you the best.
cTrader is a moderately new retail trading platform as compared to the MetaQuotes' MT4 platform. A few of the key differences include the user interface, advanced take profit, advanced stop-loss, detachable charts, variable chart time frames, live sentiments and depth of market. The ability to choose preferences while displaying volume as units or lot sizes, as well as onscreen calculations, are also included in cTrader.
Having said that, MT4 is a much older platform and it has a great deal of support, with features available online and through the MetaQuotes forum. There is also a vast range of custom indicators and EA that are readily available for MT4.
Having said that, MT4 is a much older platform and it has a great deal of support, with features available online and through the MetaQuotes forum. There is also a vast range of custom indicators and EA that are readily available for MT4.
If you have forgotten or lost your password, you can reset it via your Secure Client area. Sign in and select 'Change Trading Account Password'. Enter and confirm your new password and select ‘Save’. You will receive an email confirming the change was successful.
The ‘invalid account’ error means you are using an incorrect username or password. This can also occur if you have selected the wrong server address. Please check your account login details and try entering them manually without any spaces.
If you receive the ‘no connection’ error message while trying to log in, simply type liveXX.icmarkets.com for the live or demoXX.icmarkets.com for the demo server accounts, where the XX represents the live or demo server number.
For example, use live15.icmarkets.com for an ICMarkets-Live15 account. This information is also available under the login credentials email and the platform credentials in your Secure Client Area.
For example, use live15.icmarkets.com for an ICMarkets-Live15 account. This information is also available under the login credentials email and the platform credentials in your Secure Client Area.
Depending on the technology you are using, it is quite normal to experience some freezing or delays on your platform during news or other volatile periods, simply because of the influx of data reaching your terminal. To minimize the risk of freezing, it is advisable to use the fastest possible internet connection with the highest possible hardware specifications. Hosting your platform on a VPS instead of your local hard drive would also minimize such occurrences.
To enable notifications on the platform, you can use the inbuilt 'Notifications' feature from the MT4 platform by navigating to the 'Options' window. You may also use the Alarm Manager offered by IC Markets Global as one of its advanced trading tools.
For the inbuilt feature, go to the 'Tools' menu, and click on 'Options'. Now switch to the 'Notifications' tab and update the settings as required.
For the inbuilt feature, go to the 'Tools' menu, and click on 'Options'. Now switch to the 'Notifications' tab and update the settings as required.
You can change your password for security reasons or reset it if you forget it. To change the password, open the MT4 platform and navigate to the 'Tools' menu. Under the ‘Tools’ menu, click on 'Options' (or click CTRL+O). Move to the 'Server' tab and click on the 'Change' button.
Enter your current password and choose the 'Change Master Password' option. You may now set your desired new password and click on the 'OK' button to save your new password.
Enter your current password and choose the 'Change Master Password' option. You may now set your desired new password and click on the 'OK' button to save your new password.
Platform freezing is common if there is an increased influx in the amount of data reaching your terminal. Make sure you are on a dedicated high-speed network connection.
Platform freezing is common if there is an influx in the amount of data reaching your terminal. Make sure you are on a 4G data or strong WiFi, with a high internet speed.
Questions about Trading Forex CFDs Online
In Forex, ‘spread’ is the difference between the bid and the ask price.
IC Markets Global has two MetaTrader account types, a Standard Account and our market leader, the Raw Spread Account. IC Markets Global does not charge a commission on Standard Accounts; instead, it marks up the spread by 1 pip above the pricing rate received from our pricing providers. The IC Markets Global Raw Spread Account shows the raw interbank spread received from our pricing providers. On this account, we charge commission of $3.5 per standard lot round turn.
IC Markets Global supports the trading of micro lots. A micro lot in MetaTrader 4 is represented as 0.01, which is equivalent to 1000 units of the base currency.
Trading over the internet on the world’s most popular trading platform, MetaTrader 4, is easy.
Once you have downloaded and installed the trading platform, simply log in and double click on an instrument in the Market Watch screen. In the Order window that appears next, enter your desired trading volume and then click on ‘buy market’ or ‘sell market’. A market execution order will then be processed.
The MetaTrader 4 platform will automatically fill your order providing there are sufficient funds in your trading account. Your open position will appear in the trading terminal and the profit / loss and margin will be calculated in real time according to price movement.
Once you have downloaded and installed the trading platform, simply log in and double click on an instrument in the Market Watch screen. In the Order window that appears next, enter your desired trading volume and then click on ‘buy market’ or ‘sell market’. A market execution order will then be processed.
The MetaTrader 4 platform will automatically fill your order providing there are sufficient funds in your trading account. Your open position will appear in the trading terminal and the profit / loss and margin will be calculated in real time according to price movement.
‘Margin’ is the amount of money required in your account in order to open a position. Margin is calculated based on the current price of the base currency against USD, the size (volume) of the position and the leverage applied to your trading account. If you do not have sufficient free equity available, you will be unable to open a position on the trading platform. The free margin amount shown in the trading platform is the amount you have available to use should you wish to open additional positions.
Margin is calculated using the following formula:
Margin required = (current market price x volume) / Account leverage
In practice, this would be calculated as follows:
If you open a position of 0.1 (10000) in EUR/USD at the current market price of 1.35645 and your account has a leverage of 1:400, you would calculate the margin required as follows:
(1.35645 x 10000) / 400 = $33.91
In this example, the margin on this position would be $33.91; therefore, in order to open a position of this size you would require at least $33.91 in free margin in your trading account.
Margin is calculated using the following formula:
Margin required = (current market price x volume) / Account leverage
In practice, this would be calculated as follows:
If you open a position of 0.1 (10000) in EUR/USD at the current market price of 1.35645 and your account has a leverage of 1:400, you would calculate the margin required as follows:
(1.35645 x 10000) / 400 = $33.91
In this example, the margin on this position would be $33.91; therefore, in order to open a position of this size you would require at least $33.91 in free margin in your trading account.
MetaTrader 4 allows pending orders to be set. Pending orders are stored on the trade server and are executed when the conditions set are met.
MetaTrader 4 allows trailing stop orders to be set from within the Trade terminal.
If you have no free margin, your positions will be stopped out. Under certain circumstances, your account balance can also become negative should the losses on the positions stopped out exceed your account balance.
IC Markets Global’ margin call level is 100%. This means that you will receive a margin call when your equity is 100% of the margin required on your open positions. Equity is calculated as (Balance + Open Profit/Loss).
IC Markets Global’ margin stop out level is 50%. This means that if your free margin falls below 50%, then your positions will be automatically closed. MetaTrader 4 will automatically close them in order of the largest losing position to the smallest.
The margin stop out level is calculated using the following formula.
Margin level = equity / used margin x 100%
= margin level %
Worked example
The margin on a $10,000 USD (equity) trading account with 1 standard lot open position on USD/JPY and 100 times leverage would be calculated as follows:
= 10,000 / 1,000 x 100%
= 1000% margin level
If the position moves against you and your equity fell to $5,000, the calculation would be:
= 5,000 / 1,000 x 100%
= 500% margin level
If the position moved against you even further and the equity fell to $499, the position would be stopped out as the margin level would have fallen below 100%.
= 499 / 1,000 x 100%
= 49.9% margin level
The margin stop out level is calculated using the following formula.
Margin level = equity / used margin x 100%
= margin level %
Worked example
The margin on a $10,000 USD (equity) trading account with 1 standard lot open position on USD/JPY and 100 times leverage would be calculated as follows:
= 10,000 / 1,000 x 100%
= 1000% margin level
If the position moves against you and your equity fell to $5,000, the calculation would be:
= 5,000 / 1,000 x 100%
= 500% margin level
If the position moved against you even further and the equity fell to $499, the position would be stopped out as the margin level would have fallen below 100%.
= 499 / 1,000 x 100%
= 49.9% margin level
The Smart Stop Out logic in cTrader has been designed to provide maximum protection to traders’ accounts. This logic will replace cTrader’s Fair Stop Out logic because it provides significant benefits for users by using a much more advanced algorithm.
If margin level falls below Smart Stop Out level, then positions will start being partially closed until margin level reaches above the Smart Stop Out. The logic of Smart Stop Out will only close what is absolutely necessary from the largest position in order to safely restore margin level and protect the position itself, the position entry point and the trading account for as long as possible.
For more information, see cTrader Smart Stop Out page.
If margin level falls below Smart Stop Out level, then positions will start being partially closed until margin level reaches above the Smart Stop Out. The logic of Smart Stop Out will only close what is absolutely necessary from the largest position in order to safely restore margin level and protect the position itself, the position entry point and the trading account for as long as possible.
For more information, see cTrader Smart Stop Out page.
The Deal Confirmation window displays a summary of the order that you have placed, including the order number, quantity (volume) and price the order was filled at. The date and time the order was placed is displayed in the Trade window.
You can generate account statements from within the trading terminal by selecting the ‘History’ tab. Right-clicking within the History area will open a new tab. From here, you will be able to select the time period of the statement that you wish to generate. Right-clicking again will provide you with the option to save the report to disk or in HTML format for viewing in a web browser.
MetaTrader 4 has a real-time position-keeping feature where you are able to see your account balance, equity, margin and free margin in real time in addition to the profit or loss on any open positions. This information can be found within the ‘Trade’ tab inside the Terminal section of the platform. Your account history can be found under the ‘History’ tab in the same area.
If you are a new client, please click open a new demo account. If you are an existing client of IC Markets Global, you can open an additional demo account from within your Client Area.
Demo accounts will only expire after 30 days of inactivity.
A ‘long’ position is much the same as entering into a BUY transaction, conversely a ‘short’ position is much the same as entering into a SELL transaction.
By way of example if you BUY 1 standard lot or 100,000 units of EUR against USD you are entering into a ‘long’ position. If on the other hand you sell 1 standard lot of 100,000 units of AUD against USD you are entering into a ‘short’ position.
By way of example if you BUY 1 standard lot or 100,000 units of EUR against USD you are entering into a ‘long’ position. If on the other hand you sell 1 standard lot of 100,000 units of AUD against USD you are entering into a ‘short’ position.
There are no limits to the number of trades that you must place each month.
There is a limit of 200 orders, open or pending, on your account at any one time. Once you reach 200 orders, you will not be able to place any more trades.
IC Markets Global does not offer any deposit bonuses.
Both our MetaTrader 4 and cTrader platforms are set to automatically close your positions when your margin requirement reaches 100% (stop out level). This process is automated and is not a guarantee that your account will not enter into a negative equity situation. We recommend that you always maintain a balance in your account over and above your required margin. If the stop level is reached, a market order is triggered to close your open positions at the next available price in the market.
Events such as markets gapping over the weekend or on major holidays, where liquidity is thin, can increase the chance of your positions being stopped out and a negative equity situation occurring. We advise that you use stop loss orders to limit your risk and monitor the margin level in your account regularly. You will be responsible for any negative balance in your trading account.
Events such as markets gapping over the weekend or on major holidays, where liquidity is thin, can increase the chance of your positions being stopped out and a negative equity situation occurring. We advise that you use stop loss orders to limit your risk and monitor the margin level in your account regularly. You will be responsible for any negative balance in your trading account.
You can keep your positions open for an indefinite period of time as long as there is no expiry attached to the product contract.
Yes, you may log in to multiple accounts on one platform using the MT4 Multi Terminal. You may also install several instances of the MT4 platform for each login.
Yes, it is possible to log in to your MetaTrader 4 account with the same username and password at the same time on different computers.
Yes, you are able to use the MetaTrader 4 trading platform on an Apple Mac; however, you must install parallel operating systems.
The following link provides some useful information regarding this: Running MetaTrader 4 (MT4) on Mac OS X.
The following link provides some useful information regarding this: Running MetaTrader 4 (MT4) on Mac OS X.
Slippage is an inherent part of financial markets. Whether you are trading Stocks, Futures, Commodities or Forex, you will be subject to slippage. When you place a market order, you are requesting your order is filled at the current market prices; however, if the market has moved between the time you place your order and the time it has been filled, your order may be filled at a different price. Slippage can increase when markets become volatile, such as over new releases. You should keep this in mind when trading outside of normal market conditions.
Stop loss orders, when triggered, enter the market as market orders; therefore, there is no guarantee that your order will be filled at the price you placed your stop loss.
Stop loss orders, when triggered, enter the market as market orders; therefore, there is no guarantee that your order will be filled at the price you placed your stop loss.
The charts on MetaTrader 4 reflect the 'Bid' price only; the 'Ask' price is not shown on the charts. You can, however, draw an 'Ask' line on the charts by clicking on the chart and selecting 'show ask line'. This will result in an estimation of the 'Ask' price, which is based entirely on the spread. You should bear this in mind when conducting any historical analysis using the charts available in MetaTrader 4.
IC Markets Global’ MT4 and cTrader trade servers are located in the NY4 and LD5 IBX Equinix Data Centres in New York and London, providing clients with the fastest possible execution speeds. Equinix data centres are known globally for their secure and reliable infrastructure.
The latency from your computer to IC Markets Global’ trade servers can be tested by conducting a ping test.
The instructions below explain how a ping test can be conducted:
Step 1: On your computer, go to the ‘Start’ menu and type 'CMD' in the 'search programs and files' field.
Step 2: Type in the word 'ping' followed by a blank space and the IP address of the server you wish to ping.
Step 3: The bottom line on the resulting output will show in milliseconds the minimum, maximum and average time it took to send and receive data between your computer and the server.
The instructions below explain how a ping test can be conducted:
Step 1: On your computer, go to the ‘Start’ menu and type 'CMD' in the 'search programs and files' field.
Step 2: Type in the word 'ping' followed by a blank space and the IP address of the server you wish to ping.
Step 3: The bottom line on the resulting output will show in milliseconds the minimum, maximum and average time it took to send and receive data between your computer and the server.
Market orders are submitted at the current market price; however, these may not necessarily execute at the price requested. The trader executes these orders with a volume and price offered by the CFD provider and they will be filled at the best available bid/ask for the size (volume) the trader is trading. Market orders generally allow for the faster execution of orders without any requotes.
The trader may execute using a pending order if they expect the market to go up or down but do not wish to enter until a certain price level is reached; the order will not be filled if price does not reach this level.
A pending order is broken up into six types:
A pending order is broken up into six types:
- Buy Limit
- Sell Limit
- Buy Stop
- Sell Stop
- Buy Stop Limit
- Sell Stop Limit
It is an instruction from an investor to buy a certain amount of an asset. A buy order opens at the asking price and closes at the bid price.
It is an instruction from an investor to sell a certain amount of an asset. A sell order opens at the bid price and closes at the ask price.
When a trader wishes to buy (or go long) below the current market price, a buy limit order is placed, which gets executed when the market dips and touches the requested price, that is, if the ask price on the platform drops to a level equal to or lower than the specified buy limit price.
When a trader wishes to sell (or go short) above the current market price, a sell limit order is placed, which is executed if the bid price on the platform rises to a level that is equal to or higher than the specified sell limit price.
When a trader wishes to buy (or go long) above the current market price, a buy stop order is placed, which is executed as soon as the ask price is found equal to or higher than the specified ‘stop’ price.
When a trader wishes to sell (or go short) below the current market price, a sell stop order comes in place, which is executed as soon as the bid price is found equal to or lower than the specified ‘stop’ price.
The stop limit order is a type of order that is executed at a specified or a better price after a given stop level is reached. As soon as the stop price is reached, the stop limit order becomes a limit order to buy or sell at the limit price or the next best available price.
A trailing stop is a type of stop loss order attached to a trade that moves as the price fluctuates. It is designed to lock in profits or limit losses as a trade moves favourably by a certain amount of pips, as set by the investor. It is important to note that trailing stops only move if the price moves favourably. Once it moves to lock in a profit or reduce a loss, it does not move back the other way.
IC Markets Global' Meta Trader 4, Meta Trader 5 and cTrader platforms handle hedged positions differently. On the MT4/MT5 platform, if the account is perfectly hedged and does not require any margin, the positions will remain open. However, in the case of the cTrader platform, the margin is required for the direction carrying the higher volume and margin requirements, irrespective of whether the overall position of the account is perfectly hedged.
Please note that different hedge margin level and settings may be applied to different products and platforms. The option to hedge a position while in negative Free Margin may not be available across our full product offering. We suggest you make yourself fully aware of the product specifications of the instruments you are trading or intend to trade. We recommend establishing a demo account to familiarise yourself with the Hedging Mechanics and associated risks.
For further clarification, please contact our support team.
Please note that different hedge margin level and settings may be applied to different products and platforms. The option to hedge a position while in negative Free Margin may not be available across our full product offering. We suggest you make yourself fully aware of the product specifications of the instruments you are trading or intend to trade. We recommend establishing a demo account to familiarise yourself with the Hedging Mechanics and associated risks.
For further clarification, please contact our support team.
You are liable to pay a margin before the CFD product is issued, and you may be required to pay more margin before a trade is closed.
IC Markets Global’ Futures CFDs are set to expire on the day the contract expires on the underlying market. When a Futures CFD contract expires, all the open positions are closed at the Futures settlement price as reported by the Futures exchange.
This process usually takes place on the day following the expiry. Open positions are not rolled to the next month, so any clients wishing to hold long-term positions must reopen the trade on the next available contract.
This process usually takes place on the day following the expiry. Open positions are not rolled to the next month, so any clients wishing to hold long-term positions must reopen the trade on the next available contract.
IC Markets Global does not directly offer any signal services. We have, however, partnered with Myfxbook to offer Autotrade. Autotrade allows you to copy strategies offered by signal providers on Myfxbook directly into your IC Markets Global trading account.
Alternatively, you may directly subscribe to the signals from the MT4 platform.
Alternatively, you may directly subscribe to the signals from the MT4 platform.
Account Application
Account verification usually takes a few minutes but can take a couple of hours in some cases. If you have not heard back from our accounts team regarding the current status of your account application via email, we suggest you visit our live chat support or email us at accounts@icmarkets.com.
Yes, you can. As part of our Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements you are required to provide us with your identification. To ensure that your account application is approved, please submit the documents as outlined below in addition to providing 100 points of ID for each director.
Company Information
1. Copy of your company’s constitution or articles or incorporation
2. Certificate of Incorporation
3. Details of directors and shareholders
4. Company proof of address (utility bill or bank statement no older than 3 months)
All proof of residence documents must be no older than 90 days.
Company Information
1. Copy of your company’s constitution or articles or incorporation
2. Certificate of Incorporation
3. Details of directors and shareholders
4. Company proof of address (utility bill or bank statement no older than 3 months)
All proof of residence documents must be no older than 90 days.
If you are not able to provide at least 100 points of ID, your account application will not be accepted.
A document will not be approved if it does not meet the AML requirements outlined on our website. Should a document not be accepted by our compliance department, we will send you an email outlining why your document was not accepted.
You can provide an additional form of primary ID.
Whilst we welcome clients from all over the globe, governmental restrictions along with our company policies prohibit us from opening accounts from restricted and/or OFAC sanctioned countries.
Yes, we do accept joint account applications. Should you wish to open a joint account, you will need to open two individual accounts then send us a request enquiries@icmarkets.com to join them. If you already have an individual account, you can submit a request for us to join this account with the second person's account.
Please note that both parties need to agree in order to proceed with the joint application.
Please note that both parties need to agree in order to proceed with the joint application.
To update your residential address details, please contact us using your registered email at enquiries@icmarkets.com including your latest residential proof of address stating your name and new address. The address document must be no older than 90 days.
Should you wish to update the details of your account, such as account name, phone number or email address, please send us an email at enquiries@icmarkets.com. We will also require you to resubmit 100 points of ID so that we can verify that it is you requesting the changes.
Documents must be uploaded via your Secure Client Area
Client Area
Your can log onto your Client Area from our webpage or from the login link sent to you at the time your account was opened. If you have forgotten your password you can easily reset it.
You trading account details can be found under the account details from inside your Client Area, you can also find this information in the email we sent you when you opened your trading account.
Yes, you can transfer funds between your trading accounts from inside your Client Area.
You can withdraw funds from your trading account by submitting a withdrawal request from your Client Area. There are a number of withdrawal methods available; however, the methods available depend on the deposit method that you used to initially fund your account.
In general, the rules applied are:
Deposit using debit/credit card - Withdrawals processed back by Visa/Mastercard Direct or bank wire
Deposit using Safecharge 3D-Secure card - Withdrawals processed back to card via SafeCharge
Deposit using 3D-Secure Verified by Visa / MasterCard Securecode - Withdrawals processed back to Visa/Mastercard Direct or bank wire
Deposit using FasaPay/bank transfer/broker to broker/Bitcoin - Withdrawals processed by bankwire (20 AUD bank fee)
Deposit using Neteller - Withdrawals processed by Neteller (free of charge)
Deposit using Skrill - Withdrawals processed by Skrill (free of charge)
Deposit using Paypal - Withdrawals processed by Paypal (free of charge)
The rules above are subject to change from time to time.
In general, the rules applied are:
Deposit using debit/credit card - Withdrawals processed back by Visa/Mastercard Direct or bank wire
Deposit using Safecharge 3D-Secure card - Withdrawals processed back to card via SafeCharge
Deposit using 3D-Secure Verified by Visa / MasterCard Securecode - Withdrawals processed back to Visa/Mastercard Direct or bank wire
Deposit using FasaPay/bank transfer/broker to broker/Bitcoin - Withdrawals processed by bankwire (20 AUD bank fee)
Deposit using Neteller - Withdrawals processed by Neteller (free of charge)
Deposit using Skrill - Withdrawals processed by Skrill (free of charge)
Deposit using Paypal - Withdrawals processed by Paypal (free of charge)
The rules above are subject to change from time to time.
The time it takes for a deposit to reach a trading account depends on the deposit method used. Typically, credit/debit card and Paypal deposits are instant. A list of all deposit methods and their respective processing times can be found on our website and on the deposit page of your Client Area.
Typically, if a withdrawal request is received before 01:00 GMT (12:00 AEST) it will be processed on the day of receipt. If your withdrawal request is received after this time, it will be processed on the following business day. Once we have processed your withdrawal request, you should allow at least 3 business days for the funds to reach you. This will vary depending on the withdrawal method used. Usually, withdrawals processed using Paypal or credit card are much faster than wire transfer. You can find additional information regarding available withdrawal methods from the withdrawal page in your Client Area as well as on our website.
We offer a number of withdrawal options, all of which are approved by our accounts department. Once approved, a number of these methods are instant. You can find a detailed list of withdrawal methods and timings here.
No, we only process withdrawals during business days.
Yes, it is possible for a withdrawal request to be declined. Should your withdrawal request be declined, we will send you an email explaining why it was declined and what to do next. If you have any questions, simply respond to the email or contact us on live chat 24/7.
Typically, a failed deposit occurs as a result of insufficient funds in the depositing source (e.g. credit card, Paypal, etc), an incompatible card (e.g. American Express), restrictions applied by your financial banking institution or the incorrect card details being used. Should a deposit fail after all of the above have been checked, we recommend you contact the financial institution you are attempting to transfer funds from.
We archive inactive trading accounts after a certain time period. Please note that archived accounts cannot be re-activated. A simple solution, if your account has been archived, is to create an additional trading account from your secure Client Area. If you have funds in that specific account/s, please contact our support team and we will be happy to assist you.
This message is displayed when your username or password is not correct. A quick solution is to simply reset your password. You will then be sent a temporary password to the email address you provided in the registration process.
You can view deposits and withdrawals to and from your trading accounts by going to the transaction history page in your Client Area.
You can easily change the password of your trading account from the Client Area by selecting the change trading account password page.
If you forget the password used to log in to your Client Area, you can simply reset it. A temporary password will then be sent to the email address you provided in the registration process.
You can request a change to the leverage applied to your account from your Client Area. You simply select the account number and new leverage, then submit your request.
No, there are no fees for transferring funds between your trading accounts. If you are transferring to a trading account in a different currency, you should be aware of the currency conversion rate, which you will need to agree to proceed with the transfer.
You cannot permanently remove a trading account from your Client Area. You can, however, hide a trading account by simply clicking on the arrow near the account number in the account summary page. This will remove your account from the page and place it in the hidden accounts section.
If you deposit into your trading account using a credit card, we are required to first verify the card if you do not have 3D secure setup. For us to be able to verify the card, you will need to first upload the card to your Client Area. Any card that you upload must be valid (not expired) and must be in the same holder name as the name on your trading account.
After you upload a copy of the card, we will approve it as quickly as possible for you. We can accept either a scanned copy or a clear photograph. Once the card is approved by our compliance team, you can make instant deposits at any time.
After you upload a copy of the card, we will approve it as quickly as possible for you. We can accept either a scanned copy or a clear photograph. Once the card is approved by our compliance team, you can make instant deposits at any time.
The time it takes for you to receive withdrawals depends on the withdrawal method used. You can check the average times on our withdrawal page.
You can download the trading platforms we offer from the downloads page in your Client Area.
TradingView FAQs
Opening a TradingView account is simple! Visit TradingView to open a free or subscription-based account today.
You can only trade on TradingView with our cTrader Raw Account.
You can transfer funds from your Secure Client Area to your TradingView account. You can find more information on funding and withdrawals here.
Yes, you can! You can trade with a Demo account while your live application is pending.
You can open a Demo TradingView account in your Secure Client Area or on TradingView. Once you have logged into TradingView, you can connect using the Trading Panel, just as you would with your live account.
Currently, only one account type is available. We are continuously improving our services to ensure that you have access to all available options.
If you are an existing cTrader user, you can access your positions and continue trading as usual. The integration with TradingView will not affect your pre-existing cTrader account.
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