Markets.com (operated by Safecap Investments Ltd) is one of the fastest growing online Forex and CFD brokers in the world today. It offers its clients the possibility to trade a wide range of financial markets such as Forex, crypto-currencies and also CFDs on shares, commodities, indices, ETFs,…
If there is one word to describe Markets.com it is “simplicity“. This online broker has only one type of platform and one account type which can be accessed easily and quickly from its website.
In addition, Safecap Investments Ltd is authorised and regulated by CySEC under licence number 092/08. It therefore represents a good all-in-one solutionfor the investor.
Platform
The trading platform is the epicentre of the trader’s business. Through it, the entire operation is controlled. Both to analyse a market, launch buy and sell orders, and manage our account (cash deposits and withdrawals) we must use the platform. This is why it is so important.
Markets.com provides its clients with its own web-based trading platform. Its main features are the following:
- It has a fairly attractive, simple and intuitive interface.
- It is possible to pre-select the most used assets in order to create a watch list.
- The operator has interactive real-time graphics to analyze the different markets, including tools such as the main technical indicators.
- It allows more than one chart to be open at the same time.
For PCs, the Markets.com platform is available for online trading. There is no need to download or install anything on your computer. It is the so-called “web version” of a platform. It can be accessed through the broker’s own website by simply entering our username and password.
For mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, Markets.com offers a specific application. In this case, it is necessary to download the application into the terminal and enter our data (username and password) to access it. It has a similar interface to the PC version, attractive and simple. It has practically the same functions. We can even see an enlarged image of the graphic if we put the screen horizontally.
For technical reasons, trading platforms for this type of device do not usually have the option of performing a full analysis (although there are exceptions). In this case we do not have the possibility of introducing technical analysis elements into the application’s chart. This is perhaps the only requirement that is missing to make it comparable to the PC version and it is a point to be improved by this online broker. However, mobile trading apps can be useful to monitor the market and our account from anywhere and at any time.
The Markets.com trading platform’s mobile application is available for both the Android and iOS operating systems.
Reliability
According to the legal information on Markets.com’s website, the company behind this brand is Safecap Investments Ltd. It is based in Cyprus (as are many other online brokers mainly for tax reasons), a member country of the European Union, and is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Once this preliminary investigation has been made, we proceed to check it on the CySEC website. The results are shown in the following image:
As can be seen, Safecap Investmets Ltd. is duly regulated. With licence number 092/08 and since 28 July 2008. This investment services company has the capacity to offer its services throughout the European Union, including here in Spain.
On the security of client funds we must mention the European Community legislation (MiFID Directive) which requires that client funds must be fully segregated from the broker’s own assets. This means that Markets.com can only use our funds to fulfill our trading orders. The broker may not, even on an ad hoc basis, use these funds to meet any of its liquidity needs.
In addition, this broker is attached to a clearing fund. In this case it is the Investor Compensation Fund for clients of Cyprus Investments Firms (CIFs) which guarantees the investor the amount deposited up to a maximum of 20,000 euros in the event of the company’s bankruptcy.
A broker’s experience can also say a lot about his reliability. If the broker has a solid professional background it will be proof that over the years he has been able to compete in this sector in a professional manner. Markets.com has been in business since 2008, as we have seen from its CySEC registration date. So we can confirm his experience in offering trading services to Forex and CFD traders.
It should also be noted that Safecap Investmens Ltd, and therefore Markets.com, belongs to a business conglomerate listed on the London Stock Exchange, Playtech PLC. This is an important point. Any company wishing to be listed on a stock exchange must meet a number of requirements in terms of solvency and transparency. It must present periodic accounts, communicate all the facts to the regulatory body, …
Regarding deposits and withdrawals:
To deposit we must access the trading platform. Once there, in the menu, we have this option. All you have to do is select the amount and one of the payment methods supported by Markets.com, which are listed below:
- Debit or credit card
- Bank transfer
- Paypal
- Skrill
- Neteller
The minimum deposit to open an account with Markets.com is EUR 100 or equivalent amount in any of the accepted currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, DKK, NOK, SEK, PLN, CZK, AED. Funds will generally appear on the trading account within 24 hours if payment is processed by credit card. Bank transfers can take a couple of days and via electronic payment means the deposit is almost instantaneous.
Markets.com does not charge a fee for depositing funds into the account. Any fees you may incur for this transaction will depend on the provider of your chosen payment method.
To withdraw funds our Markets.com trading account must be verified. This is common for any online broker that is regulated to comply with anti-money laundering and security regulations. The broker can only receive and send funds to the account holder. Therefore, through verification, the identity of the account holder and his/her address are verified. To do this, the broker will ask us to send a series of documents such as the ID card (or passport or driving licence) and a recent utility bill (water, electricity, gas,…) that provides proof of our residence
Once the account is verified, when withdrawing it is only a matter of choosing the amount, because the payment method for withdrawals is by default the same as the one the trader chose for the deposit. Therefore, when choosing the payment method we must think about both the deposit and the withdrawal. This is important because, although withdrawal requests are dealt with fairly quickly by Markets.com, the payment method chosen marks the waiting time to receive the money (electronic payment methods being the fastest and bank transfer the slowest). As with deposits, Markets.com does not charge a fee for withdrawals. Any costs we may incur in this transaction will be borne by the chosen payment service provider.
In terms of Markets.com customer service, this broker meets most of the requirements that are understood to be demanded of a good intermediary. Although the service is not 7 days a week, it is offered Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day. In short, all the markets are closed at the weekends (except the cryptomoney market).
Markets.com offers these channels when making contact:
- E-mail: Useful for sending documents, for writing records and for dealing with topics that require more depth.
- Live online chat: Offers immediacy and interactivity with the agent. It is useful for questions and quick resolution of doubts.
- The telephone: The telephone has been relegated to the background since it is possible to communicate by chat. However, what do we resort to when we lose our Internet connection? The telephone is always and will always be an alternative channel which we have to keep in mind. Markets.com has a Spanish-speaking telephone hotline.
In our opinion the service offered by Markets.com is quite good. As a point of improvement, we have found a couple of times that the online chat in Spanish was not available at the time of a query. The agent has offered to attend to us in English or to contact us again at a later date for attention in Spanish.
Markets.com Trading Accounts
Markets.com has only one type of live account. The trading conditions are the same for all types of clients who intend to contract their services. It is a way to gain in ease and speed when registering.
As discussed above, it is possible to open a live account with Markets.com by making an initial minimum deposit of $100 or equivalent in other currencies. The level of leverage varies depending on each financial instrument and the trader’s experience. As for the spreads (commission applied by the broker in the form of a spread between the buy and sell price) it is in line with other online brokers of a similar profile being about 2 pips for example for the currency pair EUR/USD.
– Demo account
With Markets.com you can learn how to trade thanks to its Free Demo Account with which you can familiarize yourself with the trading platform without putting your money at risk. It comes preloaded with a virtual balance of 10,000 euros so you can make buy and sell trades and practice in an environment identical to that of a real account. In addition, the Markets.com demo account has no time limit so you can use it whenever you need to.
