IC Markets is a leading, Australian-based forex and CFDs broker, offering access to a wide range of financial markets on the MT4, MT5 and cTrader platforms for retail and institutional clients. IC Markets is the preferred forex broker in Australia for day traders and scalpers due to their New York-based Equinix NY4 data centre, which processes over 500 000 trades per day. IC Markets supports AutoTrade for copy trading, operated by MyFXbook. IC Markets is licensed and regulated by four authorities and is a safe and reliable broker for forex traders in Africa.
Overall Rating
4.7/5
Rated #37 of
Recommended FX Brokers
Minimum Deposit
USD 200
Regulators
ASIC
MetaTrader 4
Yes
65
Islamic Account
Yes
Trading Fees
Low
24 Hours
Is IC Markets regulated?
Yes, IC Markets is licensed and regulated by four leading authorities: ASIC in Australia, CySEC in Cyprus, FSA(SC) in Seychelles, and the SCB in the Bahamas.
ASIC: Australian Securities and Investments Commission
International Capital Markets is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Financial Services. The ASIC is a self-governing commission of the Australian Government. ASIC is the national corporate regulator of the financial sector in Australia and mandated to standardise company and financial services and apply laws to safeguard traders, investors and banking customers in Australia.
IC Markets (EU) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The Commission is an autonomous regulatory authority in Cyprus responsible for monitoring and directing fair practice in the investment services market and convertible security transactions in the Republic of Cyprus and the mutual investment and asset management sector.
IC Markets operates under Raw Trading Ltd in Seychelles, which is licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Seychelles (FSA SC). The FSA(SC) is the autonomous regulatory body responsible for the non-bank financial services in the island country. Its role is to license, regulate, enforce regulatory and compliance requirements, and monitor and supervise business conduct in Seychelles’ non-bank financial services sector.
IC Markets Ltd is regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB). The Commission is responsible for regulating and overseeing investment funds, securities and the capital markets in the Bahamas. Its role is to protect investors, reduce systemic risk, and maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets in the island country.
Is IC Markets regulated in South Africa?
No, IC Markets is not regulated in South Africa by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
Is IC Markets legit?
Yes, IC Markets is a legitimate forex and CFDs broker and electronic trading platform. The forex broker was established in 2007 and is a well-established global entity. IC Markets can offer the best market rates by providing clients with Raw Pricing, and excellent trading conditions through the MetaTrader platforms. IC Markets is regulated by four leading authorities and is a safe and reliable broker for forex traders in Africa.
Overall Rating
4.7/5
Rated #37 of
Recommended FX Brokers
Minimum Deposit
USD 200
Regulators
ASIC
📱 Trading Desk
MetaTrader 4
₿ Crypto
Yes
📈 Total Pairs
65
Islamic Account
Yes
Trading Fees
Low
🕒 Account Activation Time
24 Hours
🏛️ Visit Broker
What type of broker is IC Markets?
IC Markets is a Non-Dealing Desk (NDD) broker and offers Electronic Communications Network (ECN) accounts. This type of broker sends traders’ orders directly to liquidity providers to be processed and fulfilled. Liquidity providers are mostly major banks.
Is IC Markets a good broker?
In terms of security, state-of-the-art trading platforms, research and education, IC Markets is rated highly as a trusted retail broker and is regarded as a safe and reliable broker for forex traders in Africa.
IC Markets security
IC Markets is regulatory compliant and regarded as safe to use by forex traders in Africa. IC Markets follows strict regulatory guidelines for trader and investor protection and has implemented industry protocol to secure their clients’ money and information.
Regulated broker
IC Markets is licensed and regulated by four top-tier authorities.
Segregated accounts
IC Markets keeps client funds in a separate account which a leading bank holds. The forex broker cannot access clients’ funds to pay for company expenses or liabilities. The funds are held in ring-fenced accounts separate from IC Markets’ financial accounts.
SSL-protected personal area
IC Markets uses highly secure technology to protect its clients’ data and financial transactions. SSL-secured Personal Area is protected with 128-bit encryption, making browsing safe and data inaccessible to any third parties.
Negative Balance Protection
IC Markets provides Negative Balance Protection for its clients. IC Markets will automatically top up the balance to 0, and clients don’t pay anything if market volatility prevents them from keeping a positive balance on their trading account.
Insurance Cover
IC Markets provides additional protection on your funds so you can continue trading if the broker experiences any problems. The IC Market insurance scheme will cover up to US$1 million per client.
Two-step authentication
IC Markets requires two-step authentication to enhance your trading platform’s security and protect your deposits and personal information from hackers using SMS and backup codes. IC Markets uses 3D secure technology when processing credit and debit cards. This technology makes all Visa transactions transparent and safe.
Know Your Customer (KYC) checks
IC Markets is required by law to collect and verify certain personal information and execute Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.
Audit
IC Markets undergoes an independent, external auditor to supplement its operational processes and ensure regulatory compliance.
IC Markets trading platforms
IC Markets is a MetaTrader broker and offers the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platforms. IC Markets also offers cTrader as an alternative trading platform for retail and institutional forex traders.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader is a pioneer electronic trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Software. Since 2002, MetaQuotes Software has released several software applications for trading, but the company hit the jackpot with MT4. MT4 is the most popular and widely-used electronic trading platform for retail foreign exchange (forex) speculative traders.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) was developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation and launched in June 2010. MT5 is not a new and improved version of MT4. It was created to broaden MetaTrader’s functionality from a single-market trading platform to a multi-market platform, offering traders an advanced trading platform and excellent tools to trade a broader range of financial instruments.
cTrader
cTrader is a comprehensive trading platform developed by an innovative fintech company, Spotware. The platform offers a full range of features for retail and institutional forex and CFDs trading. The IC Markets cTrader server is located in the LD5 IBX Equinix Data Centre in London. It is a platform for 600 buy-and-sell firms, exchanges, trading venues, market data and service providers.
IC Markets research and education
IC Markets publishes a broad scope of up-to-date market analytics and excellent educational material covering a wide range of subjects for beginner, intermediate and advanced forex traders.
Research
Market analysis blog, Forex Calculators, Economic Calendar, TeamViewer
Education
Getting Started course (10 lessons), Trading knowledge articles, video tutorials, WebTV, webinars and podcasts.
Overall Rating
4.7/5
Rated #37 of
Recommended FX Brokers
Minimum Deposit
USD 200
Regulators
ASIC
📱 Trading Desk
MetaTrader 4
₿ Crypto
Yes
📈 Total Pairs
65
Islamic Account
Yes
Trading Fees
Low
🕒 Account Activation Time
24 Hours
🏛️ Visit Broker
What products does IC Markets offer?
IC Markets is a multi-asset forex and CFDs broker. Clients use the MT4, MT5 or cTrader platforms to trade currency pairs and CFDs on commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, stocks and futures with ECN trading accounts.
| Forex | Over 61 currency pairs |
| Commodities | Spot and futures CFDs on over 22 commodities inc. energy, agriculture and metals sector |
| Indices | Over 20 indices inc. US100, S&P500, UK100 |
| Bonds | CFDs on the most popular and liquid fixed income securities from the United States, the UK, Europe and Japan |
| Cryptocurrencies | CFDs on Bitcoin CASH, Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum etc. |
| Stocks | CFDs on 25 indices inc. Australian S&P 200 Index, UK FTSE 100 Index, US E-mini S&P 500 and US DJIA Index |
| Futures | CFDs on 4 global futures inc. ICE Dollar Index and CBOE VIX Index |
Does IC Markets offer social/copy trading?
Yes, IC Markets offers AutoTrade for copy trading. This next-generation account for mirroring trades is owned and operated by Myfxbook.
Does IC Markets have Nasdaq?
Yes, IC Markets offers NASDAQ-100 (US100). US100 is traded as a CFD on the MT4, MT5 and cTrader platforms. The US100 assigns a capitalisation-weighted index containing 100 of the largest publicly traded non-financial businesses on the Nasdaq composite index. The US100 is one of the most significant large-cap growth indexes in the world.
How to trade forex with IC Markets
Traders and investors cannot directly access the global forex market. They must trade through a trading platform hosted by a regulated forex and CFDs broker.
To start trading the financial markets with IC Markets, you must register with the broker and follow the easy steps to verify your identity and set up a trading account. Deposit funds into your trading account when your account has been approved and start trading.
How to open an IC Markets trading account
- Open the official website for IC Markets
- Select OPEN A LIVE ACCOUNT
- Provide personal information to verify your identity
- IC Markets emails your trading account login details and password when your application form has been approved
- Start trading with IC Markets when your account has been verified and opened
What trading accounts does IC Markets offer?
IC Markets offers two live trading accounts: Standard account and Raw Spread account
Standard account
Raw Spread account
| Spreads | 0.0 pips, raw interbank spread from liquidity providers |
| Commission | $3.0 per USD 100k on cTrader
$3.5 per lot per side on MetaTrader |
| Minimum deposit | 200 USD or currency equivalent |
| Leverage | 500:1 (ASIC) or 30:1 (CySEC) for retail traders |
| Base currency | USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, CAD |
| Trading platform | cTrader and MetaTrader |
| Suitable for | Day traders and scalpers |
Does IC Markets offer a free demo account?
Yes, IC Markets offers a free demo account on the MetaTrader trading platforms.
Clients can register and sign up for a free demo account which is instantly available to start trading virtual (fake) money. You can trade forex in real-time under actual market conditions but with zero risks of losing real money. Once beginner traders learn how to trade on a free demo account, they are ready to open a live trading account.
Does IC Markets offer an Islamic account?
Yes, IC Markets offers an Islamic swap-free live account to clients of the Muslim faith under Shariah Law.
Deposits and withdrawals
How to deposit money into an IC Markets trading account
IC Markets offers over 15 flexible funding options in 10 different base currencies.
- Log in to your secure Client Area
- Select the trading account you want to fund
- Select Deposit tab and choose the payment system you would like to use
- Enter the amount you want to deposit
- Click Continue
- Fill in other information if required and click Confirm
Does IC Markets charge a deposit fee?
No, IC Markets does not charge a fee for deposits. You may incur payment fees levied by international banking institutions. IC Markets deducts this fee from your withdrawal amount.
How to withdraw money from an IC Markets account
- Log in to your secure Client Area
- Choose the account you want to withdraw funds from
- Click Request Withdrawal
- Enter the amount you would like to withdraw
- Fill in other information if required
- Click Request
- Check the withdrawal amount is correct
- Click Confirm to send your request to the financial department to be processed
How many days do IC Markets withdrawals take?
All withdrawals received before 12h00 midday AEST / AEDT are processed on the same business day.
What does IC Markets charge to withdrawal funds?
IC Markets does not charge its clients a fee for withdrawals. You may incur payment fees levied by international banking institutions. IC Markets deducts this fee from your withdrawal amount.
IC Markets commission and spreads
IC Markets commission and spreads depend on the type of account you choose.
IC Markets boasts some of the tightest spreads for forex and CFD trading. Spreads start from 0.0 pips on the Raw Spreads account. The average on EURUSD is 0.1 pips 24/5. IC Markets currently has the tightest average EURUSD spread globally.
| Standard | Spread markup from 0.6 pips above the raw interbank rate | No commission, markup on spreads |
| Raw Spread | 0.0 pips, raw interbank spread from liquidity providers | Commission of $7 per standard lot round turn |
What awards has IC Markets received?
IC Markets has won numerous awards since it was established.
- Best Forex MT5 Broker 2020, FxScouts, for its remarkable execution speeds and trading flexibility on the MT5 platform
- Best ECN Broker 2019, ADVFN International Financial Awards
Overall Rating
4.7/5
Rated #37 of
Recommended FX Brokers
Minimum Deposit
USD 200
Regulators
ASIC
📱 Trading Desk
MetaTrader 4
₿ Crypto
Yes
📈 Total Pairs
65
Islamic Account
Yes
Trading Fees
Low
🕒 Account Activation Time
24 Hours
🏛️ Visit Broker
FAQs: IC Markets
Does IC Markets have a Welcome Bonus?
No, IC does not currently advertise a Welcome Bonus?
Can I start trading with no money in my live IC Markets account?
No, IC Markets requires an initial deposit of 200 USD for the Standard and Raw Spread accounts. You can only trade with no minimum deposit on an IC Markets demo account.
What leverage does IC Markets offer?
IC Markets offers maximum leverage up to 500:1 on the MT4 and MT5 trading platform and 30:1 on the cTrader platform.
Does IC Markets have a mobile app for forex trading?
Yes, IC Markets offers mobile trading solutions for Android and iOS users.
Does IC Markets publish an Economic Calendar?
Yes, IC Markets publishes an Economic Calendar.
Where is IC Markets based?
IC Markets is based in Sydney, Australia.
Who is the CEO of IC Markets?
The founder and CEO of IC Markets is Andrew Budzinski.
Does IC Markets offer online support?
Yes, IC Markets offers multi-lingual online Customer Support, available 24/7 (Monday to Sunday) via Live Chat on their website. You can also contact IC Markets Customer Services via email or telephone.
Who can I speak to at IC Markets for help?
IC Markets provides dedicated 27/5 Customer Service supported by Live Chat, email or telephone.
Live Chat IC Markets
24/5 support +248 467 19 76
Email support@icmarkets.com
FOREX TRADING AFRICA DISCLAIMER
Forex and CFDs are complex instruments, and trading these instruments come with a high-risk warning. Trading forex and CFDs involves a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage and margin. You need to understand how forex trading works and decide whether you can afford to take the risk of losing money on trade orders that do not go your way.
Forex Trading Africa annually reviews brokers and financial instruments and provides information to help traders and investors make better decisions when trading on global markets. The information is published to help improve your knowledge and understanding of international multi-asset trading and market participants.
