XM Broker Review 2020

XM Trading is our #2 ranked forex broker in South Africa. We like XM's fast execution (no-requotes policy), low spread, negative balance protection, and zero fees on deposits/withdrawals. Read our full XM broker review to find where XM shines & where they lack!

XM Trading is popular forex broker in South Africa. They were founded in 2009 & are now one of the largest forex broker in world in terms of daily trading volume, and have close to 2.5 million clients globally.

We consider XM to be a safe broker for South African traders since they are regulated with FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia) & CySEC. They have also applied for registration with Financial Sector Conduct Authority/FSCA, South Africa’s regulatory authority.

XM broker offers a wide array of trading instruments: 55+ currencies, equity indices, CFDs, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and energies. Their support is also great, and they even have local payment options for South African traders.

We signed up with XM broker’s Zero Account & traded for 7 months. Read our below in-depth breakdown of all the pros & cons of XM broker, plus the user reviews.

XM Broker – a short description

Regulations and Safety of Funds

XM Trading is regulated by the top regulatory bodies FCA, CySEC & ASIC. But their regulation application with FSCA is currently pending.

Below is an overview of all the important XM’s regulations:

1. FSCA/Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa (application under processing): XM forex is currently not regulated with FSCA, but they have applied for on 29/08/2016 (Name: Trading Point of Financial Instruments & FSP No. 47346). The application status is currently processing, so we may see XM get regulated with FSCA in the future.



2. FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in the UK: XM is regulated in UK under license number 705428 as ‘Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd’.



3. CySEC: XM Trading is regulated with CySec in the EU under the license number 120/10.
4. ASIC in Australia: XM is regulated as Trading Point of Financial Instrument Pvt Ltd. In Australia (ASIC license number 443670).
5. Other Regulations: Other than the above regulations, XM trading is also regulated by IFSC Belize (license number IFSC/60/354/TS/17), MiFID/Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), and with many other countries in the European Union (EU).

We have found XM to be very safe in terms of being regulated. Moreover, there were no complaints of bad practices against XM.

XM Broker Fees

The commissions and fees depends on account type at XM. Standard and Micro Accounts have variable spread while Zero accounts have commission.

The good thing that we like is XM’s zero fees on deposits & withdrawals, while some other brokers charge high fees during funding & withdrawals.

Here is the breakdown of all fees and charges at XM broker:

1. XM has tight spread with Ultra Low Account: XM offers variable spread, but their typical EUR/USD spread is around 1.6 pips with the Micro and Standard Accounts, and it is around 0.8 Pips with their Ultra Low Account. So you should choose Ultra Low account for lower spreads.

   They don’t have the lowest spread (with smaller accounts) when compared with other regulated brokers that we have listed, but it is still very competitive.



2. No Commissions: XM does not offer any ECN accounts, so don’t charge any extra commissions with any of their accounts. The only fees with a trade is the spread
3. Zero Deposit/Withdrawal fees: With XM Broker, you can choose any payment method to withdraw and deposit funds, and they will not apply any extra charges on the transaction. So you will receive 100% of your amount on deposits & even withdrawals
4. Rollover fees: With its micro, standard & Zero accounts, XM broker charges Rollover fees for Overnight Positions that are open. This fees depends on the currency pair being traded.

XM has one of the lowest overall fees of all the best South African forex brokers that we have compared. Their spread with their Micro & Standard accounts is not the lowest, but it is very low with the Zero account.

Besides the spread, XM does not charge any other extra commissions on any trade. Overall, XM’s fees is highly competitive.

XM Account Types

XM offers 3 different accounts namely a Micro account, a Standard account and a recently launched Ultra-Low account along with the free-demo account. XM also offers Islamic swap-free accounts.

XM Demo Account

XM offers free demo account for South African traders.

Demo account-holders traders receive US $100,000 as virtual cash for trading. The only benefit of this is they can also access real-time data or analytic tools offered on the XM trading platform.

Demo traders at XM can also use the site’s resources and educational materials besides support.

Note: Demo accounts not functional for more than 120 days from the previous login attempts will be shut. However, new ones can be started at any time.

XM Live Accounts

XM offers 3 different live accounts to its customers, all of them with different deposit requirements & trading conditions.

All of the XM’s Live trading accounts have the 3 following features in common:

1. Negative balance protection: XM Brokers offers you the negative balance protection which helps you to protect your account funds and trade. So in case of any loss in trading when market will move against your trade, your balance will never go below the zero i.e in negative.
2. Instant Order Execution: We find XM to be one of the best forex in terms of order execution. With them you will get near instant execution while placing any trading order. XM broker neither changes the execution price nor rejects the orders, so you will never receive any requotes, and your orders will be fulfilled at the price on click.
3. ZAR Base Currency (optional): South African traders can choose ZAR as the base currency for their XM Trading account. Or you can even choose USD, EUR, GBP, AUD as the base currency of your account.

Here are the Live trading Accounts available at XM broker:

1) XM Ultra Low Account: $50 deposit (Recommended)

This account type has highly competitive spread of as low as 0.8 for EUR/USD. The minimum deposit for this account is is 730 South African Rand/ZAR.

On the positive side, the spread is very low with this account. You can only claim XM’s welcome bonus if you choose this account, but on negative side, you cannot claim any other bonus like Loyalty Rewards.

But still, we recommend South African traders to start with this account, due to its very low fees.

2) Micro Account: $5 deposit
Micro account type has a very low $5 minimum deposit condition. This account is suited for new traders learning the forex markets as the deposit requirements are very low.

As the name suggests, you can only trade micro lots with this account. This is an account type comes with XM’s standard 1:888 leverage.

On this plus side, you can get XM’s bonus & offers with this account. In negative, you can only trade micro lots (1000 units or its multiples), and the average spread with this account is also higher, around 1.6 pips on average for EUR/USD.

3) Standard Account: $5 deposit

For this account, the minimum deposit is US $5. The standard account allows you to trade upto standard lots.

Everything else is the same as Micro lot (even the spread), the only difference is that you can trade standard, mini & micro lots.

4) Zero Account (discontinued)
Note: XM no longer offers the Zero Account, but instead offer Ultra Low Account.

XM’s Zero Account offered spreads of 0 pips. The leverage was up to 1:500. For a market maker model brokerage.

Further, a USD 100 minimum deposit condition was required for this account. XM charged a flat $7 as total commission for every $100,000 traded on the Zero Account. This account was for high volume traders.

Now, XM’s Ultra Low account is the perfect replacement, with very low spread on majors & minors.

5) Forex Islamic Accounts (Optional)

These are swap-free accounts. This means no swap and/or rollover interest is charged or gained on overnight positions. These Islamic accounts can be opened with micro or standard or Ultra Low account. It is for those wishing to trade under Sharia laws.

How to open account with XM Trading?

Step 1) Signup with XM: Open the home page of XM.com’s website on your browser. At the top right side of the screen, click on the Opening an Account tab. This will direct you to the real account registration where you need to complete personal data using alphabet characters.

Step 2) Select Account Type: In this step, you need to finalize trading account details by choosing the Trading Platform type and Trading Account type.
Now in Real Account Registration 2/2 section you need to confirm the following:

• Citizenship
• Bonus
• Leverage
• Account base currency
• Investor Information

Step 3) Set login Password of account: At last, you need to secure your account by setting a strong password and then click on Open a real Account button as shown in the below screenshot.

Step 4) Verify your account: Once done with setting password of your account, you need to verify your account that required before funds and withdrawal of your funds from your account.

Identification documents include:

• ID Proof: You can verify your account by submitting photo of any of your ID proof like: Passport, driver’s License, PAN card, etc.
• Address Proof: Submit any Utility bill like electricity bill, water, postpaid phone can be submitted as Address proof to verify your account. It must be no longer than 3 months old.

Step 5) Funding Your Account: At last after the complete setup of the account you need to deposit cash by logging into the XM Client Portal.

Trading Instruments

Over 1000 financial instruments are on offer at XM for forex traders in 7 asset classes.

Here are the most important instruments that you can trade at XM:
1) Forex Trading:

XM offers 57 currency pairs including the majors, minors & exotics, making their forex offerings really wide. Some of the major currency pairs traded on XM include: GBP/USD, USD/EUR and USD/JPY. XM does not charge any extra fees on forex trading, except for their variable spread.

2) Stock CFDs:

XM platforms let traders trade in stock CFDs/Contract for Difference. They offer 1209 global stocks from 17 different countries including: US, UK, Germany & Australia.

3) CFDs on Commodities:

XM forex traders can opt to trade 8 of the most popular commodity including Corn, Wheat, Cocoa etc. Traders can benefit from no fees and low spread.

4) CFDs on Equity Indices:

The XM trading platform offers trading in all the major equity indices. This includes leading indices such as S&P 500, ASX200, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, FTSE100, DAX, CAC40, Nikkei225 and Euro Stoxx 50. No extra fees are charged, and 18 cash indices CFDs on offer are among the biggest stock indices in the global financial industry.

5) CFDs on Precious Metals & Energy:

XM forex trading platforms offer precious metal trading in gold and silver. Moreover, you can trade Oil, Natural gas with very low spread on XM.

6) Cryptocurrencies:

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is easy on the XM platform. They offer trading in 5 cryptos: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash & Ethereum, all of them traded against USD.

XM Trading Platforms

XM Broker offers standard MetaTrader platform for mobile as well as for desktop.

Mobile Trading Platforms

XM has mobile trading app for both Android and iOS.

Both MT4 and MT5 offer quality online trading. With no re-quotes or rejections, leverages are competitive from 1:1 to 1:888 on these platforms. You can install both MT software on your Android or Mac device.

Full functionality is available through MT4 and MT5 mobile XM trading platforms.

MT4 is internally acclaimed, with EAs, 50 in-built technical indicators, and ready-made robo-trading. It is available for all devices – mobile, web and desktop. Multiterminal MT4 offers PAMM or management of multiple accounts from single interfaces.

The 2 platforms differ in terms of trading spreads and commissions, trade execution, and other features.

The choice is between the industry-standard MT4 platform and next-gen trading platforms like MT5.

XM forex broker offers rapid market execution along with a no re-quotes/rejection system on both platforms. The only difference? The MT5 platform offers over 300 more stock CFDs.

Desktop Trading Platform

XM offer Metatrader platform for desktop, including PCs or Laptops. We recommended using desktop MT5 for most traders. MT4 and MT5 are on offer for Windows and Mac OS devices both.

XM’s Metatrader for desktop includes:

• 100 Instruments including Forex, CFDs & Futures,
• In-built news functionality
• One single type login access to eight platforms,
• Spreads reaching 1 pip,
• Full EA functionality,
• One click trading,
• Technical analysis tools like 50 indicators
• Various Charting tools
• 3 different chart types.

Deposits & Withdrawals Options

XM offers very good deposit & withdrawal options.

First of all, XM covers all withdrawal and deposit transfer fees for payments through Neteller, Moneybookers or major credit cards (including VISA Electron, VISA, Maestro, MasterCard, and China UnionPay). Even in case of wire, all deposits and withdrawals above US$200 USD processed by wire transfer are part of the zero fees policy.

Moreover, Local bank transfer option is available for South African traders for easy funding. You will need to login to your XM account to check the options available for you.

Let’s get into more detail on their funding & withdrawal methods.

Deposit Methods:

XM Brokers allows their customers to make deposit using their cards and using various electronics payment gateways.

1. Cards: Deposit payments can be made using VISA, VISA Electron, Master Card, Maestro debit or credit cards. You are required 5$ minimum balance with no additional charge.

   

2. Electronic Payments: Electron payment methods include various transfer method using various gateways like Bitcoin, CashU, Neteller, Przelewy 24, Skrill, Sofort Banking. There is a minimum requirement of US$ 5 USD but no service charge.
3. Bank Wire Transfer: Bank transfer is allowed on selected currencies like with US$ 200 as a minimum amount. Bank transfers take from 2 to 5 business days for processing.

Withdrawal Methods:

You can withdraw your funds with XM using multiple methods such as Major Credit Cards & other well-known Electronic payments.

Except for bank wire transfers which take a maximum of 5 days, all other methods of withdrawal are processed in 24 hours.

Rules for Withdrawal at XM:

1) Account must be verified: Using valid ID plus supporting document (such as proof of address) must be submitted to request fund withdrawal.

2) Withdrawal time depends on your procedure of methods like a credit card, e-wallet bitcoin, a bank transfer is followed by XM.

3) Same Source Withdrawal: Like every other regulated broker, at XM you can only withdraw to your funding source. If you did your first deposit via card, then your first withdrawal will be your funding source.

For example: If you deposited $400 via your card, then the first $400 during withdrawal would be made to your card, and you can then select other alternate methods for the subsequent withdrawals.

XM Bonus

For South African traders, sign-up bonuses are allowed at XM (unlike EU traders following MiFID).

The following bonuses are available at XM broker:

1. $30 No deposit bonus: A $30 no-deposit trading bonus is available at XM right now, with no end date. South African traders can avail this bonus.
2. 50% Welcome Bonus: Further, XM is offering a 50% deposit bonus amounting to $500 and 20% deposit bonus up to $5000, for new clients. For example: If you make a deposit of $1000, then XM will add $500 as bonus to your account.
3. XM’s Loyalty program: This offers XM points per lot traded which can be redeemed as credit bonus, that can be used for trading only.

Customer Support

XM trading has a really good customer support for South African traders. We tested their Chat & email support & we found them to be really helpful.

Here is a quick breakdown of XM’s support:
Chat Support: The XM customer chat support desk is available 24*5 hours a day. Their live chat support is very quick in answering most questions.

Email Support: XM’s email support normally replies within 24 hours. You can reach them via support[at]xmglobal[dot]com. Their email support is not the fastest though.

Phone support: We have checked that XM does not have any local phone number in South Africa. If you want to contact them via phone then you can call at their international phone number.

Research and Education: This includes daily resources for customers: the latest news, fundamental analyses, technical analysis by XM.com’s research team. Moreover, XM offers free forex webinars, forex seminars, and video tutorials.

Do we recommend XM broker?

Yes, we do recommend XM.

Highly regulated (in UK, EU & Asia), very competitive trading fees, zero deposit/withdrawal fess, negative balance protection, instant order execution, all of this makes XM Trading an exceptional forex broker in terms of trading environment.

Their bonus offerings are very nice for new traders. Plus, their customer support, especially their live chat is quite solid!

XM trading’s platforms are also very good with multi-device support. Other than forex trading, their instruments on offer include cryptocurrencies & stocks, which makes them even better option for traders looking to trade multiple instruments.

So, choosing XM broker is a no-brainer.

"Do you have experience with XM Broker? Please consider sharing your experience with a review below – good or bad – doesn’t really matter as long as it’s helpful to other traders!"