Thanks to the global reach, the Forex market can be accessed from the most distant corner of the world, and many Forex companies try to achieve global status by securing traders around the world. In Europe, the UK broker companies seem to be the most popular, first because of the rising interest of the British in trading, and second, the UK was always one of the financial market leaders, side by side with New York. This review deals with a particular UK-based Forex company, which reached international status. This ActivTrades review will give you more information on the company, conduct, regulation, and service.
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General Information
ActivTrade is a company that was formed before the real Internet revolution and online trading. It dates back to 2001 when it was registered in England and Wales. Every Forex business taking place in the UK has to be subject to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which takes care that the market works properly and that everyone is playing by rules. This, of course, means that ActivTrade is also under the supervision of the powerful FCA. The broker went through a complex registration procedure just to obtain the utmost appreciated FCA license. Even if the broker got the license then , it was subject to inspection and fined by the FCA for not being registered with the Money Laundering Regulations. The misconduct or neglect of the company was rectified, and the broker reported that the revenues in 2015 were £31.4 million or $46 million. This is a huge success and shows that the broker runs a successful business. Now we will discuss what else is in for traders who want to register with ActivTrades.
The Trading Platform
This broker offers a true variety of choice regarding platforms. If you register with this broker, you can choose between Meta Trader 4, Meta Trader 5, and the in-house designed ActivTrade platform. The MT4 and MT5 offer a set of features from easy navigation to automated trading and expert advisers. The majority of traders use the platforms from the Meta Trader family. The only difference between the two is that MT4 does allow hedging and MT5 does not. That is why the MT5 can be accessed in the USA, whereas the MT4 is strictly for non-American markets since hedging is illegal in America and the MT4 was not allowed on the US market at all. The in-house developed ActivTrade trading platform is intuitive and comes with all the necessary features including special technical analysis tools. It is a browser-based platform and also has a corresponding ActivTrade mobile app for iOS devices, just like the MT4 and MT5 which in addition include android devices as well.
Account Types
The ActivTrade broker offers a demo account which is free of charge, and this is not uncommon in the industry at all. Moreover, it is more than welcome. Besides this, ActivTrade offers a universal account for all users which can be opened with a £100 deposit. Account currencies can be EUR, GBP, USD, and the CHF and leverage is 1:400 allowing trading mini and micro lots. It is a little bit unusual to see a broker having just one live account type, but if it covers all needs of all traders, it should not be a problem. If you are hesitant and skeptic, you can try the demo account to test the ActivTrade account without depositing any money.
ActivTrade Bonuses
The bonus system takes the form of collecting points which bring in cash into your trading account. Also, the points can win you special gifts like tablets, iPads, etc. The ActivTrade bonuses include a 1000 point welcome bonus which the newcomer receives; and a 1500 point referral bonus, which is based on bringing in new traders. The bonus policy seems somewhat unusual since traders are used to getting bonuses based on a percentage or specific money amounts. The gift bonus is a creative idea which is also not seen every day in the Forex market.
ActivTrade Banking Options
ActivTrade also has a number of payment methods to meet the preferences of their customers. Payment methods are also an integral part of the Forex business, and a serious broker will always offer different banking options for you to choose from. The ActivTrade broker accepts bank transfer, credit/debit card, Skrill, Neteller, and Sofort. Withdrawal processing takes 30 minutes, but ActivTrade does not take responsibly for the time the intermediaries need, so take that into account and calculate how long you usually wait for money to appear in your account.
Customer Support
Since the Forex market is an online based business, the customer support represents the main link between the broker and the clients. ActivTrade offers a 24/5 customer support which is competent and very polite. They can be reached via e-mail, phone, and a 24h live chat. Their website also features options such as inquiry and call back requests, including the remote support app which provides access to the trader’s computer by the ActivTrade team. This app is not common in the industry, which means that ActivTrade is one of the pioneers of this idea and earns an extra point from us for the innovation. Also, the distant support app is completely optional so the traders can decide for themselves whether they want it or not.