Based in Cyprus, easyMarkets is an online broker, which offers trading of Forex and contracts for difference (CFDs) on a wide range of asset classes, including shares, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies. The broker promises low spreads, reliable customer support, as well as convenient proprietary platform beside the industry-standard MetaTrader 4.
The firm was established in 2001 and started as a Forex broker under the name easy-forex. It expanded its market coverage, gradually adding more assets and trading instruments to its portfolio. By December 2016, it completed the transition to easyMarkets, a rebranding process that reflected its wider offering – along with various currency pairs, the broker started offering CFDs on commodities, vanilla options, indices, and metals.
In fact, easyMarkets now offers its clients plenty of ways to trade, including CFDs, options, forwards, and the new and innovative trading product easyTrade.
Regulation
Although easyMarkets is not publicly traded, it is considered a safe and reliable FX and CFD broker. It is regulated by several reputable financial regulators and complies with all European and major international rules regarding the financial services sector. Over the years, it has won more than 30 international rewards for its services, including Best Forex Broker 2019 in Forex Expo Dubai and Most Innovative Broker at the World Finance Markets Awards.
The website, easyMarkets, is the trading name of Easy Forex Trading Limited, which is based and registered in Limassol, Cyprus. The company is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). easyMarkets is also licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and fully authorized to offer financial services in Australia.
Complaints may be taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the UK. If the broker fails, clients may receive up to €20,000 under the Investor Compensation Fund in Cyprus. Certain clients in the UK may also be compensated up to €85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Trading Instruments
When the broker started in 2001, its main focus was offering Forex trading to professional and retail investors. In fact, easyMarkets was among the fist brokers to provide online Forex trading and credit card payments. However, it added more markets, hundreds of financial instruments, as well as various ways to trade them.Forex
One of the largest, most active and most liquid markets in the world is the currency market, most commonly known as the foreign exchange or Forex (FX). Trading foreign currencies is particularly popular among retail investors because of the rapid movements in the market, the large variety of pairs that can be traded, and the relative simplicity of Forex instruments compared to other markets.
Clients of easyMarkets can trade Forex at any time of the day or night since the market is open nonstop, except for the weekends when only crypto currency trading is available. All major currency pairs can be traded here, including EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CAD, and USD/JPY. Other popular Forex pairs include the world’s most powerful currencies, including the U.S. dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), the British pound (GBP), the Japanese yen (JPY), and the Swiss franc, of course (CHF).
There are also plenty of the so-called exotic pairs that can be traded – they include currencies such as CNH, ZAR, SEK, NOK, and many more. Traders can choose from various Forex spot markets or forwards and one of the most popular ways to trade is CFDs. The broker offers fixed spreads on FX pairs, which depend on the pair and the trading platform preferred by the investor. Starting from 0.9 pips for trading EUR/USD on MT4, the spreads are a bit higher than what is offered by competitors.
Due to the high volatility of this market, the prices change very quickly – to secure an order at the current rate, easyMarkets clients can take advantage of the Freeze Rate button. When they click it, the current rate is locked for several seconds, allowing investors to open a close a deal – the broker will try to execute the order at that specific rate, although there are certain limitations. Another interesting feature is the dealCancellation, which is available on select trades. With it, investors can cancel a losing trade for a small fee.
Shares
The online broker also offers its customers contracts for difference (CFDs) on company shares. This interesting investment product allows traders to profit from the price fluctuations of the shares without owning the underlying asset – the company stock in this case. CFD are derivatives that are traded with leveraged positions and margin trading, as it is referred to when speaking of the stock market, increases the risk for the investor.
However, easyMarkets has introduced several tools that would protect investors from the risks resulting from leverage. These tools are available exclusively for stocks CFDs and include guaranteed stop-loss and take profit features. In addition, the easyMarkets platform promises no slippage, which means that every trade would be executed at the exact price it was traded despite periods of high volatility.
Of course, investors who open Buy positions with share CFDs also receive dividends – clients with short positions would be debited the dividend amount. The stock CFDs spreads start from 0.02 pips on the web and mobile platforms. The maximum leverage for this trading instrument is 1:5.
Cryptocurrencies
Crypto trade has become incredibly popular in the past few years with the rise of cryptocurrencies. It all started with the incredible success of Bitcoin, the first decentralized virtual currency in the world. However, easyMarkets does not offer trading Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as buying or selling the actual virtual currencies. Instead, clients can trade CFDs on several cryptocurrencies. Therefore, investors do not need to use exchange accounts or digital wallets.
Along with Bitcoin (BTC), easyMarkets clients can trade CFDs on Ethereum (ETH)– both are based on blockchain ledger technology and their prices are driven mostly by supply and demand. The same applies to Ripple (XRP), which launched in 2012, and in 2018, it became the second-largest coin by market capitalization after Bitcoin. The spreads here are fixed – quite high at US$40 for Bitcoin, $2.50 for Ethereum, and $0.04 for Ripple. The maximum leverage allowed for crypto trade is 1:2.
Commodities and Metals
Investors who decide to open an easyMarkets account can also buy and sell CFDs on a wide range of commodities. Just like with CFDs on stocks, trading CFDs on commodities does not require investors to buy or sell the underlying asset – wheat, soy, oil, etc. However, traders should consider factors such as supply and demand, weather conditions, supply chain disruptions, etc. to be able to predict whether the underlying commodity would rise or decline in value.
Various types of commodities can be traded at easyMarkets – agricultural ones such as wheat, corn, soybeans, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton or energy products such as Brent oil, WTI Crude (West Texas Intermediate), natural gas, gas oil, and heating oil. The spreads start from 3 pips and the maximum leverage is 1:10. In addition to these commodities, easyMarkets offer CFDs and options on several types of metals, including gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium.
Options, much like CFDs, allow investors to profit from the price movements of the underlying asset. However, here, traders “bet” that the price of gold, for instance, will go beyond a particular rate or will go down. Vanilla options, as they are also known, are available only for metals, certain types of commodities, and Forex pairs.
CFD Indices
Another great option for investors is to trade contracts for difference (CFDs) on global market indices. Indices, which are essentially baskets of different company stocks, are among the most popular trading instruments because they balance out the volatility of individual companies and their shares. They can be tracked easily and investors do not need to own the particular company stock to trade it.
With the wide range of index CFDs, available at easyMarkets, clients get exposure to some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. They can trade popular indices such as the US30 or Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, DAX 30, Nikkei 225, FTSE 100, EURO STOXX 50, and many others.
Trading Platforms
 Platforms |
 PC / MAC |
 Smartphones |
 Tablets |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 |   |   | |
| MetaTrader 5 | | | |
| Meta Trader Mobile | | | |
| Web Trader | | | |
| easyMarkets | | | |
The broker offers several trading platforms where its clients can trade various instruments and access the global markets. This includes easyMarkets’ proprietary platform and the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Customers can also download and install MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which is broadly considered speedier and more efficient than its predecessor.
Using the broker’s proprietary platform is an option for those who wish to execute trades directly in their browsers without installing any specialized software. Connecting your easyMarkets account to the popular charting platform TradingView is another alternative and so is trading on the fly via the broker’s native applications for iOS and Android.
MetaTrader 4
Most traders would probably instantly pick the MT4 platform, which is available for desktop and mobile devices. The MetaTrader 4 app can be downloaded and installed on any modern iOS or Android device. When it comes to functionality, MT4 is one of the best options on the market – it is highly customizable, it comes with a great number of analytic tools and features, and it allows automatic trading.
Traders can change the overlays and use different technical indicators, while the platform supports two main types of orders, namely market orders and pending orders. When using the MT4 platform offered by easyMarkets, traders can access more than 80 markets and invest in various financial instruments, including forex pairs, indices, cryptocurrencies, and soft and hard commodities.
Additionally, MetaTrader 4 supports single-click trading with contracts for difference and comes with numerous preinstalled indicators that facilitate easier market analysis. The platform can show multiple live charts simultaneously, which works to the benefit of well-versed traders. Automated analysis is also possible via the expert advisors featured in the platform. Users can conveniently test their expert advisors as MetaTrader 4 provides them with two decades of historical data.
MetaTrader 5
Customers of easyMarkets have the option to install MT4’s more advanced successor on their desktop computers or mobile devices. Registered traders who already hold accounts with easyMarkets can contact a customer support representative to assist them with setting up MetaTrader 5.
The MT5 version is more suitable for versed traders as it gives them access to more financial instruments across all markets, including currency pairs, shares, soft and hard commodities, cryptocurrencies, and stock indices. The platform is loaded with great features that can significantly improve your trading efficiency and performance. It comes with 38 technical indicators, as opposed to the 30 indicators built into its predecessor, and features 21 chart timeframes, with intervals ranging from one minute to a month.
EasyMarkets offers very good trading conditions on MetaTrader 5, including negative balance protection and flexible leverage ratios capped at 500:1 for professional traders. The biggest difference between the two platforms is that MetaTrader 5 gives you access to variable spreads that start at 0.5 pips, which is not the case with its predecessor where all spreads are fixed.
Variable spreads are beneficial for traders because they change as market conditions improve or deteriorate. Traders can anticipate lower spreads when there is less volatility in the market, which, in turn, results in reduced costs and greater long-term profits. Last but not least, MT5 gives you tons of customization options, allowing you to create your own symbols and build custom technical indicators.
easyMarkets Proprietary Platform
EasyMarkets has its own web platform, which has a simple, intuitive design that makes it suitable for new clients of the broker. It also comes with tons of features for more experienced traders – it offers a news feed, charts, Inside Viewer, which shows the investor sentiments, and more.
Clients can instantly switch between day trading, forward trading, pending orders, and the easyTrade feature. This is a unique trading ticket that has zero spot spread, the risk is limited, while the reward can be unlimited. The platform also features dealCancellation and Freeze Rate, as well as free guaranteed stop-loss orders.
The dealCancellation feature works to the advantage of beginners prone to making trading mistakes. The feature enables novices to cancel their erroneous trades and recover any potential losses within an hour of opening the positions by mistake. In essence, this works like a trade ‘insurance’ that comes at the expense of a nominal fee.
The Freeze Rate is another great tool exclusively available at the broker’s proprietary browser-based platform. As the name indicates, this feature enables savvy traders to lock in the prices of their chosen markets for three seconds. This may not seem much but a lot can change in three seconds in highly volatile markets like cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange. When used adequately, Freeze Rate can be an indispensable tool for intraday traders and scalpers.
TradingView
Registered customers have the option to link their easyMarket accounts to TradingView, a hugely popular and extremely powerful charting platform that is implemented by more than 50 million traders worldwide. The platform enables you to identify favorable opportunities in the global markets, which can significantly improve your results as a trader in the long run. It also functions as a social media platform, allowing you to connect with fellow traders, exchange ideas or strategies, and discuss market conditions.
Needless to say, you must sign up for TradingView beforehand in order to connect it to your easyMarkets account. TradingView is overflowing with useful features for analysis and customization. It allows you to backtest your trading strategies to see how they perform against historical market movements, customize your charts, perform technical analysis, and more. Connecting your easyMarkets account to TradingView comes at no extra cost. The only downside is that manually executed market orders via the platform typically suffer from slippage.
Mobile Trading
EasyMarkets gives you the flexibility to trade on the fly via two highly intuitive apps, available for free download on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Customers can install them on any portable device that meets the minimum system requirements (iOS 11.0 and Android 4.4). App users can trade a couple of hundred financial instruments, including shares, indices, commodities, and currency pairs under very competitive conditions.
Cryptocurrency trading is also possible with the easyMarkets app. Mobile traders can dabble in various decentralized currencies like Stellar, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Another benefit of installing the app is that it enables traders to easily access their portfolio without entering any login credentials. The app supports biometric authentication, allowing you to sign in via Face ID or Touch ID.
Payment Methods
To make trading easy and convenient for clients from all over the world, the broker accepts a wide range of payment methods and currencies. When new customers open an account with easyMarkets, they can choose from the following currencies – USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, CHF, SEK, NOK, CZK, PLN, ZAR, JPY, CNY, HKD, SGD, and TRY.
Investors can make a deposit into their brokerage account for free. Withdrawals are also free. The minimum deposit amount is $25, while the minimum withdrawal to a bank account is $50. There is no minimum amount for withdrawals to credit and debit cards or digital wallets. Also, most deposits are instant, while withdrawals are processed within 24 hours by the broker. It may take, however, 3 to 10 days until the withdrawal reaches the client’s account – this would depend on the bank’s processing times, on the client’s country of residence, as well as on the preferred payment method.
The choice of banking methods is impressive and investors can choose from several brands of credit/debit cards, including Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, American Express, JCB, and AstroPay. However, not all cards are available globally – JCB cards, for instance, can only be used in Europe, while AstroPay is not available to users in the European Union and Australia. Digital wallets are also accepted at easyMarkets – these include Neteller, Skrill, and the local Indonesian FasaPay.
Clients can also fund their trading accounts using online banking services by several different providers. It should be noted that most of these services are available only in certain countries and regions. Deposits via this type of payment method vary considerably in terms of processing time – GiroPay (Germany) and Sofort (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, and the UK) transfers are processed within 2 hours, while the transactions through the Dutch service iDeal are instant. WebMoney (all countries except for Europe and APAC) and BPay (APAC only) take 1 business day to appear.
Ingenico transfers, however, are much slower, taking 3 to 5 days to complete. The broker offers several payment methods, available exclusively to clients in China – UnionPay cards, the payment app WeChatPay, as well as Alipay. Of course, wire transfers are also available.
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
 | $25 | No Fees | Instant |
 | $25 | No Fees | Instant |
 | $25 | No Fees | 3-5 business days |
 | $25 | No Fees | 1 business day |
 | $25 | No Fees | 1 business day |
 | $25 | No Fees | Instant |
| Brand | Minimum | Fees | Processing Time |
| $50 | No Fees | Instant |
| $50 | No Fees | Instant |
| $50 | No Fees | 3 - 5 business days |
| $50 | No Fees | Instant |
| $50 | No Fees | 1 business day |
| $50 | No Fees | Instant |
Account Types
The broker offers a handful of traditional client accounts and gives customers the option to register swap-free Islamic accounts where no interest is involved. Investors who wish to try out the platform and see all available instruments and technical tools can also open a demo account. Depending on their capital and experience, investors can opt for four different types of live accounts. Standard, VIP, premium, and professional accounts are all available at easyMarkets.
Demo Account
The demo account comes with $10,000 in virtual funds that can be used for risk-free trading. Of course, to trade for real money, easyMarkets clients need to complete their registration on the broker’s website and switch to a live account. The site allows users to effortlessly transition from demo to live accounts from the main menu located in the upper right corner. This is great news for those who wish to test new trading strategies with zero risk exposure.
The demo account is basically unlimited, allowing customers to practice as much as they want. It is available on both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 as well as on the web-based proprietary platform of the brokerage. Demo accounts are equipped with all the useful features incorporated into the live version, including guaranteed stop-loss, dealCancelation, easyTrade, and Frozen Rate. You can trade all available markets and financial instruments like shares, forex, cryptocurrencies, indices, and commodities.
Standard Accounts
When customers sign up for the first time, the system will automatically open a standard account. Once they start making larger deposits and trading higher volumes, traders will be able to choose a higher-tier account. Those who hold a standard account can deposit as little as $25 and trade with fixed spreads of 3 pips for the EUR/USD pair, for instance. Customers are recommended to set up their standard accounts in the base currency of their country of origin to avoid incurring any unnecessary transaction fees.
Premium Accounts
Premium accounts are suitable for customers looking to trade with lower spreads but the exact pricing is instrument-specific. Spreads for the EUR/USD pair, for instance, are twice as low compared to those in the standard accounts and start at 1.5 pips, while those for GBP/USD start at 1.9 pips if you are trading via the proprietary web platform or TradingView. Spread values are even lower for those who use the MT4 and MT5 platforms.
The minimum amount you can deposit into your premium account is again $25 and you can gain more exposure by leveraging your positions up to a maximum of 30:1. Keep in mind that leverage caps are instrument-specific and can be significantly lower for highly volatile markets like the cryptocurrency market, for example.
VIP Accounts
The minimum deposit requirement for VIP accounts is $10,000, while the fixed spread for the EUR/USD pair is 0.8 pips on the easyMarkets flagship platform and 0.7 pips on MT4. The minimum transaction volume is 0.01 lots regardless of which platform customers are trading from. The maximum leverage, of course, remains the same at 30:1 under the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)’s restrictions.
There are no commissions or account fees. Traders who set up VIP accounts will benefit from zero slippage, guaranteed stop-loss orders, and negative balance protection. They receive technical analysis from Trading Central via daily email newsletters.
Professional Accounts
Seasoned traders who join the ranks of easyMarkets can upgrade from retail to professional accounts but only on condition they meet the eligibility requirements of the brokerage. For starters, they must have a financial portfolio whose value exceeds half a million euros. The second condition is to have carried out at least ten high-volume transactions per quarter over the course of the past four quarters prior to application.
Finally, applicants should have been employed in the financial sector for at least twelve months, not just in any position but in one that requires sufficient financial expertise. Only customers who fulfill at least two of these requirements should send their applications. One of the benefits of opening a professional account is that it gives you access to considerably higher leverage. The exact leverage caps vary depending on the platform and the type of instruments you trade with.
Those who trade professionally via the proprietary easyMarkets platform can leverage their forex positions at a maximum rate of 200:1. Professionals who use MT4 and MT5 will benefit from leverage caps of 400:1 and 500:1, respectively.
Professional traders also have access to other perks like lower margin requirements, the services of personal account managers and analysts, real-time market updates via text messages, and live webinars. Here is the rub, though. Professional traders are not covered by the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) and their assets are not fully protected as is the case with retail customers.
Islamic Accounts
Like all reputable online brokerages, easyMarkets strives to accommodate all customers and to this end, provides them with the opportunity to trade swap-free via special Islamic accounts that operate in line with the principles of the Sharia law. The latter prohibits traders of the Muslim faith from paying or earning interest from their overnight positions.
Customers with swap-free accounts are able to extend their trading positions without being charged any rollover interest fees. They can extend their day-trading positions for a maximum period of 14 days and their trades expire automatically afterward. Traders can apply for swap-free accounts by submitting a request form to cs@easymarkets.com.
Support
The customer support at easyMarkets is professional and reliable. The support representatives respond within seconds when contacted via the Live Chat. There are also multiple phone lines available for clients from different countries but investors can always call +181 930 710 00 or +357 25 828 899. They can also request a call-back after filling in their name, phone number, email address, and preferred contact time.
Another great thing about the broker is that its customer support can be contacted at any time during working hours – 24 hours a day from Monday through Friday. Clients can also follow easyMarkets on social media or use various social channels to contact representatives of the firm. The broker supports several chat channels, including Viber, WhatsApp, and, of course, Facebook Messenger.
In addition, investors can send their queries at support@easymarkets.com – emails are typically replied within several hours. The site of the broker, as well as the support, is available in several languages, including English, German, Polish, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.
Conclusion
EasyMarkets features a fast, user-friendly, intuitive proprietary platform, which is suitable for every trader, including newly registered clients who are new to the world of online trading. The broker is also fully licensed and regulated in multiple jurisdictions, which makes it a safe and trusted Forex partner.