ITRADER Review
Why ITRADER Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words
In light of the recent settlement reached between Hoch Capital and CySEC, the company appears to understand the need to provide a better service. Their official statement after paying the settlement amount was “We believe that it is imperative for all organizations across the industry to uphold high compliance standards and set robust arrangements on an ongoing basis to maintain integrity in this evolving market”. So let’s hope they’ve learned the lesson and will become a more reliable broker.
Why ITRADER Sucks In 50 Words
You will only find out the deposits for each account type after you create an account and deposit the minimum of 250 EUR/USD. According to their Live Chat, an account manager will contact you within 24 hours of depositing and will discuss the account that fits you, depending on your trading knowledge, risk management, and other such stuff. Ok, you have my best interest in mind, but I would still like to know from the get-go how much each account requires me to deposit.
Is ITRADER A Scam?
The owning company of ITRADER is regulated by CySEC since 2013 and also authorized to provide its services by other European regulators. If this is a scam, then how can I trust any other company or brokerage on the face of the Earth? I mean, you can’t ask for more supervision than this, so if ITRADER is a scam, then all these regulators are sleeping on the job and I just can’t believe that’s true. So, bottom line: nope, no scam here.
However, it’s not all milk and honey because Hoch Capital has been fined by CySEC for 30,000 EUR back in 2018, and more recently, in early 2019 they have reached a settlement of 200,000 EUR with the same regulator for possible violations of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 – L.87(I)/2017. Also, they’ve had their share of ugly complaints from traders, so I can’t say they enjoy the best reputation possible.
Should I Open An Account With ITRADER?
ITRADER is a brand operated by Hoch Capital Ltd, a company regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under licence number 198/13. Hoch Capital Ltd. is also registered with FCA to provide certain services in the UK, under reference number 631408. Apart from this, they are also registered with most of the European regulators to offer cross-border services.
ITRADER is operated by Hoch Capital Ltd. The Company was incorporated in 2012 and offers CFDs trading on a multitude of assets, including currencies, indices, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The platform of choice is Meta Trader 4, which I can safely say that it’s the most popular trading platform out there. They also offer a web-based platform called WebTrader (no download or installation required) and a mobile version.
The website offers a lot of information but is well organized so you will easily find what you are looking for. They have an extensive Education section, which includes e-books, videos, tutorials, courses, articles, and webinars. Apart from all this, they offer Daily Market Analysis (in video format) but unfortunately, the last video was 3 days old at the time of writing.
ITRADER offers three types of accounts: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, each with different leverage*, spreads, and perks but unfortunately I cannot give you the exact sums for each account because these will be known only after you deposit the minimum of 250 EUR/USD/GBP. I don’t really like this approach, and I consider that all conditions should be known from the start. *Note: Different leverage as per account categorization applies to professional clients only. As for retail clients, leverage is fixed as per regulations requirements.
Probably the most important things to look for in a broker are regulation and good reputation; ITRADER is regulated but their reputation has some dents in it. Overall they are OK but I cannot see some outstanding trading conditions or special features that would make me recommend them wholeheartedly.
The broker can be contacted at phone +80040015002, email [email protected] and the listed address is 5, Christaki Kranou Street, 2nd Floor, Yermasogia, CY-4047 Limassol, Cyprus.
ITRADER Complaints
Some traders have complained that account managers asked them to deposit more money, others have complained that they had to send ID verification and others call them an outright Scam. It’s a well-known fact that nowadays all brokers ask for IDs in order to prevent money laundering so the fact that ITRADER asks for these documents should be considered normal, not a cause for concern.
About the other type of complaint… what can I say, I don’t like those account managers ask for larger deposits, but on the other hand, they have to do their jobs, so simply think about how much you want to invest and don’t let them sway you. And about scam allegations… well, they have been fined by CySEC in the past, so I can see where those complaints are coming from. Let’s just hope this broker decides to do a better job in the future. Also, I have to mention that we cannot verify any of these online complaints, so take them with a pinch of salt.
ITRADER Regulatory Warnings And Announcements
06.02.2018: CySEC announced that it imposed an administrative fine of 30,000 EUR to Hoch Capital, the parent company of ITRADER, for several non-compliance issues. View the official CySEC document here.
27.03.2019: CySEC and Hoch Capital reached a massive settlement of 200,000 EUR for possible violations of the “The Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017” –L.87(I)/201. The company has already paid the full sum. View the official CySEC document here.
ITRADER Bonus
They don’t offer a bonus, in accordance with CySEC’s rules and ban on bonuses.
ITRADER Withdrawal
Withdrawals are one of the most important things when dealing with a broker and I am sure you agree. Unlike many other brokers, ITRADER doesn’t waste any time when it comes to your money: withdrawal requests received before 11:00 am GMT will be processed the same day and requests received after 11:00 am GMT will be processed the next day, which is still lightning fast. Additional time will pass until the money reaches you, depending on the method used for withdrawal.
ITRADER Extras
Normally I would list Meta Trader 4 as an extra, but this is an FX/CFD broker (not Binary Options) and Meta Trader is widely used by this type of broker. So in other words, ITRADER doesn’t have any outstanding features that would put it ahead of the pack.
Trading Bitcoin With ITRADER
They offer more than 30 crypto/fiat pairs, meaning that you can trade the most popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, and many more against US Dollar, Euro, Pound, and more. The offered leverage is 1:2.
ITRADER Ratings
User Friendliness 15/20
The website contains a lot of information but it is not very well-structured and that means that you will not find easily what you’re interested in. Demo accounts are available, without the need to deposit first and the trading platform is one of the best out there in my opinion (Meta Trader 4). You can also find a slightly simpler version that is entirely web-based and doesn’t require any download or installation (WebTrader). The website is available in 7 languages; US |Clients are not accepted.
Range Of Markets, Spreads, And Leverage 17/20
Their asset basket is wide, including currency pairs, indices, commodities, stocks, and a hefty selection of cryptocurrencies. Spreads are floating and change depending on the account you have. Given that ITrader doesn’t give information about the minimums required for each account, it is unclear what spread you will benefit from but according to info available on their website, the spread for EUR/USD is floating and can go as low as 0.7, which is very good.
Leverage goes up to 1:30 for currency pairs and lower for the other asset classes. Cryptocurrencies have the lowest leverage, at 1:2. Professional clients can use higher leverage for most assets.
Fees and Support 13/20
ITRADER doesn’t charge any fee to deposit or to withdraw; however, your bank or payment provider may charge for transactions. If your account is inactive for 2 to 3 months, it will be charged a monthly inactivity fee of 80 EUR or equivalent (in the client’s account currency). If the account is inactive for 3 to 6 months, the monthly fee is 120 EUR or equivalent and for accounts without activity for more than 6 months, the fee goes up to 200 EUR or equivalent. These are extremely high fees, so be aware and take the necessary action to avoid paying them. Also, keep in mind that if you want to withdraw before trading as much as ITRADER whats you to, they will charge a 50 EUR fee. Support is slow, unknowledgeable, and not very helpful.
Deposits And Withdrawals 17/20
The minimum deposit is 250 EUR/USD/GBP and can be done via credit cards, wire transfer, and e-wallets (including but not limited to Skrill, WebMoney, Neteller). Withdrawals are processed the same day if the request is received before 11:00 am GMT or the next day if the request comes after 11:00 am GMT, which is extremely fast. Due to anti-money laundering rules, clients have to provide IDs and proof of residence.
Extras 15/20
Lots of educational material, daily market review, and daily trading ideas brought to you in video format. Also, fully regulated by CySEC and registered with more than 20 other financial watchdogs across Europe.
ITRADER Overall Ratings 77 + Regulated (+3) = 80/100