Tickmill Review

Forex Trading Africa annually reviews forex brokers regarded as the best in the world who accept South African traders. We provide valuable information on the platforms, analysis, and tools as well as pricing for you to base your decision on when choosing the right broker for your trading needs.

To trade forex in South Africa, you need to open an account with a regulated broker. Forex is traded over-the-counter through a network of brokers and financial institutions as opposed to a centralized exchange. Forex is a risky instrument to trade. You can minimize the risk by trading through a regulated forex broker who you can trust.

Tickmill overview

Tickmill is a trusted global retail broker for forex and CFDs trading. It’s an excellent choice for new and intermediate traders because its product offering is relatively simple and its spreads and non-trading fees are seriously low. Tickmill also offers very competitively commission-based pricing for professionals through its Pro and VIP accounts.

Advanced traders may find Tickmill limited because stocks and EFTs are missing and only MT4 is available. However, it’s an excellent choice for any trader looking to trade the most popular currency pairs and CFDs on an intuitive trading platform with low forex and non-trading fees.

Founded in 2014, the Seychelles-based broker is a member of Tickmill Group. The Group operates in more than 200 countries across the UK, Europe, Asia and Africa. Tickmill is regulated by several top-tier authorities, including the FCA in the United Kingdom.

Tickmill accepts South African forex and CFDs traders and is regulated by the FSCA. The company has received multiple awards for excellent performance and has a strong reputation for being stable, regulation-compliant and safe to use.

Tickmill Fast Facts

Founded

2014

Founded by

Ingmar Mattus

Illimar Mattus

Nikolai Nikolajenko

Based in

Mahe, Seychelles

Regulation and license

FCA                       Financial Conduct Authority, United Kingdom

FSA                        Financial Services Authority, Seychelles

Labuan FSA         Financial Services Authority, Asia

CySEC                   Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Cyprus

FSCA                     Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa

BaFin                    Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, Germany

CONSOB              Companies and Exchange Commission, Italy

ACPR                    French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority, France

CNMV                  National Securities Market Commission, Spain

Does Tickmill accept forex traders in South Africa?

Yes

Products

Forex

Stock indices and oil

Precious metals

Bonds

Trading sessions

Sydney

Tokyo

London

New York

Tickmill is best forex broker for

Tickmill is recommended for forex and CFDs traders who are interested in trading multiple financial assets via the popular MetaTrader 4 platform or WebTrader.

Advanced forex traders may find Tickmill’s product range limited. Tickmill is a forex and CFDs broker and stocks and EFTs are missing.

Tickmill is perfectly suitable for beginner and intermediate traders looking for low forex and non-trading fees, and prefer the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.

Available base currencies

USD

EUR

GBP

Trading platform

MetaTrader 4

WebTrader

Trading execution model

NDD       No Dealing Desk

STP         Straight Through Processing (STP)

ECN       Electronic Communication Network

Web-based trading platform

Yes

Tickmill is a MetaTrader 4 broker and offers WebTrader.

Mobile trading app

Yes, available for Android and iOS

Minimum deposit

Minimum deposit US$25 (R380)* on Classic account

* Conversion rate at January 2020

 

Leverage

Maximum leverage of 500:1 on major forex pairs

Spreads

Pro account        Floating spreads from 0.0 pips

Classic account  Floating spreads from 1.6 pips

VIP account        Floating spreads from 0.0 pips

Commissions

Pro account        2 per side per 100,000 traded

Classic account  Zero commissions

VIP account        1 per side per 100,000 traded

Scalping and hedging

Allowed

 

Deposit methods

Bank transfer

Visa and Mastercard

NeTeller

Skrill

Union Pay

SticPay

FasaPay

WebMoney

Qiwi

NganLuong.vn

All deposits starting from 5 000 USD or equivalent processed in one transaction by bank wire transfer are included in Tickmill’s Zero Fees Policy. A maintenance fee may be charged for account inactivity.

Tickmill covers clients transaction fees up to 100 USD or equivalent.

Withdrawal methods

If you use a credit/debit card and another method (e.g. Skrill eWallet) to deposit, your withdrawal will first be processed back to your card and any remaining withdrawal amount will be sent back to the other method used.

Example:

If you deposited $100 by Skrill and $50 by credit/debit card and requested a withdrawal of $90, you will get $50 back to your card and $40 to your eWallet.

Tickmill processes payments in EUR, GBP, USD and PLN.

Tickmill does not charge you any transfer fees for deposits and withdrawals. However, intermediary banks or eWallets may charge a fee.

Internal transfers from an MT4 account to another MT4 account are instant when the base currencies of both accounts are the same. Internal transfers from an IB account to an MT4 account are processed automatically.

If the base currencies of the MT4 accounts are different, an internal transfers should be requested manually via email.

Client base

Approximately 485 000 registered clients (2020)

Trades executed

Over 385 million (2020)

Most recent awards

2020

• Best Commodities Broker : Rankia Markets Experience Expo
• Best Trading Experience : Forex Brokers Award 2020
• Most Reliable Broker : Online Personal Wealth Awards
• Best Forex Education Provider : Global Brands Magazine
• Best Trading Conditions : Shares Awards

2019

• Best Forex Execution Broker : CFI.co Awards
• Best Trading Platform Provider : FxDailyInfo.com Broker Awards
• Best CFD Broker Asia : International Business Magazine
• Best Forex CFD Provider : Online Personal Wealth Awards
• Best Forex Broker Asia : Forex Awards
• Most Transparent Broker : Forex Awards

Customer support

Multilingual 24-hour, Monday to Friday

Live phone support operates in several locations on a toll-free number

Live chat available on the Tickmill mobile app

 

Is Tickmill safe to use

Tickmill is a well-established and regulation-compliant broker which is considered to be stable, reliable and safe to use by global traders. The broker is regulated by several top-tier authorities including the FCA in the United Kingdom.

Tickmill is regulated by the FSCA and is regarded as one of the most reliable and safe brokers in South Africa for forex and CFDs traders.

MiFID

The Markets in Financial Directive (MiFID) allows Tickmill to operate as a regulated entity throughout the European Union. MiFID II allows investment firms to provide investment and ancillary services within the territory of another member state and/or a third country, provided that such services are covered by the investment firm’s authorisation.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

Tickmill UK Ltd is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). FSCS is an independent compensation fund of last resort for customers of authorised UK financial services firms, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The FSCS’s objective is to pay compensation up to the value of £85 000 per client if a firm is unable or likely to be unable to pay claims against it in the event the firm has stopped trading or has declared to be in default.

Investor Compensation Fund (ICF)

Tickmill Europe Ltd is a member of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). The fund’s objective is to secure the claims of covered clients against the ICF members through the payment of compensation for any claims arising from the failure of a member of the fund to meet its obligations.

 

Segregation of funds

All Tickmill client funds are held in segregated client bank accounts at regulated banks.

All retail client money is distributed across major banks and regularly assessed against Tickmill’s risk criteria.

Negative balance protection

Tickmill grants negative balance protection to all clients. The company may chose not to grant negative balance protection if the negative balance has been incurred as a result of fraudulent purposes or market abuse.

What does Tickmill offer its Clients

 

Leverage

Tickmill offers leverage up to 500:1 on the Classic, Pro and VIP accounts

Leverage refers to how much of a position a trader can control with funds allocated to it by the broker. A leverage of up to 500:1 means a Tickmill client can control a position of US$50 000 with only US$100 of his or her own funds.

Competitive spreads and fees

Classic account	Commission-free Floating spreads from 1.16 pips
Pro account	Commission is 2 per side per 100 000 traded Floating spreads from 0.0 pips
VIP account	Commission is 1 per side per 100 000 traded Floating spreads from 0.0 pips

Web-based and mobile trading

Tickmill offers clients the MetaTrader (MT4) trading platform and WebTrader.

The popular electronic trading platforms can be accessed via desktop or a mobile device.

WebTrader gives clients quick and easy access to the markets with no need for additional software, downloads or installations.

Social copy trading

Tickmill offers myFxbook AutoTrade for MT4.

Myfxbook Auto Trade is a free, automated online trading tool that enables traders to evaluate, analyse, share and compare their trading strategies and trading account performance. The Myfxbook tool links to your trading platform and automatically imports all past and active transactions from your trading account.

The minimum amount to start trading on the AutoTrade account is 1 000 $€£. Trading terms are the same as on the Pro except for a 0.6 pip markup per side (1.2 pips in total).

EA and manual trading are allowed on Myfxbook AutoTrade accounts.

Tickmill mobile app

Tickmill’s user-friendly mobile trading app is available in both iOS and Android.

Derivative trading instruments

Tickmill offers multiple derivative instruments for forex and CFDs trading

A derivative is a contract between two or more parties where the value of the underlying asset is agreed upon and settled when the contract is closed. Parties do not take ownership of the financial asset, they merely speculate on price changes.

Tickmill product portfolio

Forex	Access to 60 plus currency pairs Spreads from 0.0 pips Leverage up to 1:500
Stock indices and oil	Access to 14+ Indices Low spreads Leverage up to 100:1
Precious metals	Access to gold and silver crosses Spreads from 0.0 Leverage up to 500:1
Bonds	Access to German government bonds Spreads from 0.0 Leverage up to 100:1

Note: Cryptocurrencies cannot be traded through Tickmill.

Free demo account

Tickmill offers beginner forex traders a free Demo account that they can use to hone their trading skills before trading on a live account with real money. The Tickmill Demo account allows beginner traders to trade forex and CFDs in real-time, test tools and strategies and sharpen your trading skills in a completely risk-free environment as they trade with ‘fake’ money.

$30 Welcome Account

Tickmill’s $30 Welcome account lets new clients trade with free trading funds without making a deposit. The trading experience is extremely fast, you have access to Tickmill’s trading tools and resources and any profit you earn can be withdrawn from the account

MetaTrader trading platforms

Tickmill is a MetaTrader broker and MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is available for desktop, web trading, multi-terminal trading and trading on mobile devices. This includes Android, iPhone and iPad. MT4 is the most popular trading platform in the world and offered by the majority of retail brokers.

WebTrader

WebTrader is the same as the MT4 trading platform but is available directly in your browser. MT4 WebTrader opens in seconds and gives you direct access to the markets through a reliable and intuitive interface. The trading platform gives you one-click functionality to open and close positions, employ effective risk management and access an exceptional range of charts.

Autochartist

The Autochartist tool hides irrelevant market data and highlights those currency pairs, market data and technical indicators that indicate large market movements.

Autochartist is an important tool to identify relevant movements in the markets. It also provides automated notifications as soon as emerging and complete chart patterns such as “triangles, wedges, tops and bottoms“ are recognized.

Market analysis and trading tools

Tickmill offers clients a wide choice of market analysis and trading tools.

• Fundamental analysis
• Technical analysis
• Sentimental analysis
• Autochartist
• Myfxbook Copy Trading
• Economic Calendar
• Forex Calculators
• Tickmill VPS
• One-Click Trading
• Pelican Trading

 

Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Tickmill offers Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting that allows clients to upload and run MT4 Expert Advisors (EAs) and algo bots 24-hours a day without needed to keep a trading terminal running.

The benefits of trading using VPS hosting include minimising the chance of system downtime due to technology and connectivity failures. VPS is also used to create applications for backtesting trading strategies.

Bonuses

Tickmill offers an impressive range of promotional deals. These include:

• Gold Miner IB Contest for the chance to a 1 ounce gold bars or $10 000 in prizes
• Traders of the Month where you can trade your way to a $1 000 prize
• Tickmill NFP Machine for cash prizes
• $30 Welcome Account Bonus for new traders (part of Traders of the Month awards)

 

Education

Seminars

Ebooks

Video Tutorials

Infographics

Forex Glossary

Fundamental Analysis

Technical Analysis

Articles

Market Insights

Islamic account

Tickmill offers clients an Islamic trading account.

Key features of this account include straight-through processing and average spreads of 1.0-1.13 pips. The account does not pay or receive swaps for religious Muslim traders.

Tickmill account types

CLASSIC ACCOUNT
Minimum deposit	US$ 25
Minimum lot trading size	0.01
Available base currencies	USD, EUR, GBP
Leverage	Up to 500:1
Spreads	Floating from 1.6 pips
Commission	$0
Execution model	NDD
Execution type	Market execution
Average execution speed	0.20 seconds
Strategies allowed	All
Margin call/stop-out	100% / 30%
Swap-free Islamic Account	Yes

PRO ACCOUNT
Minimum deposit	US$ 100
Minimum lot trading size	0.01
Available base currencies	USD, EUR, GBP
Leverage	Up to 500:1
Spreads	Floating from 0.0 pips
Commission	2 per side for each 100,000 traded No commission on CFDs on Stock Indices, Oil and Bonds
Execution model	NDD
Execution type	Market execution
Average execution speed	0.20 seconds
Strategies allowed	All
Margin call/stop-out	100% / 30%
Swap-free Islamic Account	Yes

VIP ACCOUNT
Minimum deposit	US$ 50 000
Minimum lot trading size	0.01
Available base currencies	USD, EUR, GBP
Leverage	Up to 500:1
Spreads	Floating from 0.0 pips
Commission	1 per side for each 100 000 traded No commission on CFDs on Stock Indices, Oil and Bonds
Execution model	NDD
Execution type	Market execution
Average execution speed	0.20 seconds
Strategies allowed	All
Margin call/stop-out	100% / 30%
Swap-free Islamic Account	Yes

In Summary

Tickmill is a well-established, award-winning global broker for forex and CFDs trading. It’s regulated by FCA and the FSCA and is safe to use by South African traders. Tickmill offers a comprehensive range of trading tools, research and education material as well as the popular MetaTrader 4 platform.

Advanced traders may find that what Tickmill offers is somewhat limited. It’s an excellent broker for forex and CFDs trading but stocks and EFTs are missing. Tickmill only offers MT4 and MT5 is not yet available. The broker has one of the lowest standard commission rates in the industry on its Pro and VIP accounts so that’s an incentive for professionals to use Tickmill.

Otherwise, Tickmill is more ideally suited for beginner and intermediary traders looking to trade forex and CFDs on the retail market at the lowest cost through MT4. Tickmill offers a robust social copy trading platform and also offers a surprisingly impressive number of bonuses which includes a Welcome bonus. All this should satisfy the needs of traders who want a more simple and affordable option for forex and CFDs trading.

FOREX TRADING AFRICA DISCLAIMER

Trading foreign currencies on margin carries a high level of risk and it may not be suitable for all traders and investors. Forex is a highly leveraged financial instrument and these high risk stakes can result in you losing a substantial amount of money. Consider your appetite for risk before trading forex using real money on a live account.