Dukascopy Review

They also offer one of the best market research portals I’ve come across, and their mobile app is exceptional too.

In this Dukascopy review, I’m going to be giving you an in-depth look at what the online broker has to offer, and what you can expect when trading there yourself.

Let’s kick things off with a look at who DuSwiss Markets , and where they operate from.

Dukascopy review was last updated in May 2020. Author – Jonathan Mann.

About Dukascopy 

Dukascopy was established back in 2004 and is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

They currently operate under a Swiss banking license, and they’re regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

However, I’ll hold off talking about regulation, as we’re going to be covering this later on in this Dukascopy review.

Dukascopy has proven itself to be a popular choice with traders all over the world, and their extensive platform is designed to appeal to a wide variety of clients.

Many traders at the site use the highly-popular MetaTrader4 platform, plus they’ve also developed their own trading platform, JForex, details of which I’ll cover a little later on in this review.

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Opening an Account

There are four different types of accounts available to open at Swiss Markets, and below, I’ll be giving you an overview of what these accounts are.

Actually setting up and opening an account takes just a couple of minutes, and Swiss Markets have done their best to make it as simple and straightforward as possible.

Classic STP: The Classic STP account comes with a minimum deposit of $200 and offers variable commissions, depending on which base currency you’ve chosen to use.

The spreads on the Classic STP account vary but can be as low as 0.9 pips if you’re trading EUR/USD.

The Classic STP account actually offers the lowest leverage of the four different accounts, and the absolute maximum is 500:1.

You can also place as many as 200 different positions per currency pair, but you’re limited to 50 lots for each order ticket you place.

RAW STP SWISS11: The RAW STP SWISS11 account requires you to deposit a minimum of $200.

It operates in a similar fashion to the Classic STP account, although you are charged commissions.

These can be as much as $11 per trade, but again, it all comes down to the base currency you choose to use.

The spreads are as low as zero, and the maximum leverage you’ll be able to get is 200:1.

RAW STP SWISS8: The RAW STP SWISS88 account is designed more for experienced traders and comes with a minimum deposit of at least $2,000.

Some trades carry commissions, which can be as much as $8 per transaction.

This account type carries a leverage of up to 200:1, and the spreads can be as low as 0 pips.

The trade restrictions on the RAW STP SWISS8 account are the same as both the Classic STP and the RAW STP SWISS11 accounts.

RAW STP SWISS 5: This is Swiss Market’s premium account.

The minimum deposit for this account is a massive $10,000, so it’s designed more for highly experienced traders.

You’ll benefit from a leverage of up to 200:1 and the maximum commission per trade is capped at $5 per trade/transaction.

Again, spreads are as low as 0 pips when trading USD/EUR, and the account’s trading restrictions are the same as the other three accounts.

All four accounts are relatively easy to set up, and you’ll just need to enter some general information about yourself.

Depending on where you’re located in the world, you may also need to complete a short trading experience questionnaire.

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Opening an Account

There is only one type of account available at Dukascopy, and it’s the Standard Account.

However, you can choose which regulator to use for the account, which will alter the minimum deposit and maximum leverage, amongst other things.

The sign-up process is relatively straightforward, and to get started you’ll need to input the amount of money you’d like to invest.

This is shown in USD. Once you’ve done so, you’ll then be prompted to select the type of account you’d like to open.

You’ll then need to undergo the standard array of sign-up questions.

This will include your name, address, date of birth, phone number and email address, and you’ll also be required to enter a few bits of information about your trading history – this is a legal requirement.

You will also need to sign a waiver, stating that you understand that online trading can carry significant financial risks.

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How Long Does the Account Creation Process Take?

I found myself able to open an account at Dukascopy within around 10 minutes.

This isn’t as quick as I’ve managed at other online brokers, but it’s still pretty fast.

I did need to verify my phone number before my account was fully open, although I’ve heard that customers from some countries may need to verify their email address too.

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What’s the Minimum Deposit?

The amount of money you can deposit varies depending on which type of account you open, as well as whether you’re opening an account under their Swiss regulation or their Latvian regulation.

As a general rule of thumb, you can deposit as little as $100 at their Latvian platform and, if you’re joining their Swiss platform, you’ll need to deposit a minimum of $1,000.

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Identity and Verification

As with all major online brokers, you’ll need to complete an identification check before your account is fully up and running.

This requires you to prove your name and address.

You will be required to submit a number of documents.

To verify your name, you can upload your driving license, passport or national ID card.

To verify your address, you’ll need to submit a utility bill, tax return, phone bill or bank statement.

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Can Dukascopy Be Trusted?

In short; absolutely.

As I mentioned earlier, Dukascopy is licensed in Switzerland by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

However, they also hold a European license from the Financial and Capital Market Commission of Latvia (FCMC).

For Swiss clients, their license ensures that the client’s funds are protected up to CHF 100,000 in case of insolvency.

Under their European license, client funds are protected up to a maximum of €20,000.

One of the only downsides I was able to find was that Dukascopy don’t offer substantial security features within their JAVA-based software. For example, you won’t find yourself able to set up two-factor authentication.

However, if you choose to use the MetaTrader4 platform, you will benefit from a host of security features, including one-time passwords.

Aside from this, I feel as though Dukascopy is very trustworthy.

They have a solid track record and serve hundreds of thousands of clients around the world every month without issue.

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Research and Assistance

Dukascopy offers a wide variety of research tools designed to allow traders to gain an invaluable edge when placing trades.

These research tools are found at both the desktop site and mobile apps and can be accessed by all traders free of charge.

There are a number of tools and resources available to you, and they’re all found under the “Market Tools” tab on the site’s main navigation menu.

Let’s start off with a look at the “Market News & Research” area.

Inside here, you’ll find yourself able to access four different areas, namely Trading Ideas, Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis and Online News.

As you can imagine, the online news section is a comprehensive and up-to-date feed comprised of economic and political news events that may well influence the current trading markets.

It’s the trading tools section that’s most impressive, however, and here, you’ll find a huge array of tools and resources to help you learn more about trading and what’s going on within the market.

For example, there’s the Currency Index, which gives you an overview of how all currencies are performing, and there’s also the Pivot Point Levels section, well-suited for the more advanced investors.

Other trading tools include data tools for webmasters, online charts, daily highs/lows, average spreads, calendars, forex calculators, position size calculators, trading break calculators, mover shakers forex, market watch and FX market signals.

There is, however, a distinct lack of educational tools available.

This means that new traders will be unlikely to find enough learning resources to really get up to speed with how trading works, so I think it’s fair to say that Dukascopy is geared more towards advanced traders.

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Demo Accounts

Like all major online brokers, Dukascopy allows you to open a demo account.

You can choose to open a demo account on either their proprietary trading platform, or on the MetaTrader4 platform.

The demo account is free to set up, and you just need to fill out a few personal bits of information in order to get started.

You can also try out the demo account from your mobile device, which I really like as it allows you to try out their trading app too.

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Mobile Experience

Unfortunately, Swiss Markets haven’t yet developed their own proprietary app, and this, I feel, is something that all online brokers should be aiming for in today’s day and age.

I should point out that you can access Swiss Market’s trading platform through your mobile’s internet browser, although the trading experience isn’t as versatile as from the regular desktop site.

However, you are able to download the MetaTrader4 app and place trades through there.

The app is free to download and is available for all iOS and Android devices.

You’ll find it available in the various app stores – just search “MetaTrader4”.

I like that the MetaTrader4 app is just as customizable as the site’s desktop software, and this allows you to set alerts, draw trend lines and apply various technical indicators.~

The alerts can be configured to be push indicators too, making sure that you’re able to follow the progress of your trades at all times.

Once you’ve downloaded the MetaTrader4 app, all you need to do is login using your Swiss Markets login details.

Your account will then take a couple of minutes to sync up, and once done you’ll be able to make trades, make deposits and withdrawals and do all the other functions you’d find yourself able to DO were you using Swiss market’s main desktop website.

MetaTrader4’s mobile app is fast, responsive and easy-to-use, and there’s also a handily-placed navigation menu making it very easy-to-navigate.

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Desktop Experience

I was pleased to see that Dukascopy offers no less than five different trading platforms for you to use, including mobile platforms.

Below, I’m going to be taking a look at the two most popular platforms at their side – MetaTrader4, and their proprietary JForex Web platform.

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Commissions and Fees

Swiss Markets don’t offer the best fees and commissions, although they’re certainly not the worst in the industry either.

They do charge commissions on CFD instruments, although the exact amounts you pay depends on what type of trading account you open.

Below, you can view our detailed chart showing some of the various fees associated with different accounts at Swiss Markets.

Swiss Markets don’t publicly state whether or not they charge an inactivity fee.

I was unable to find information in their terms and conditions.

This likely means they don’t. However, I did notice that they charge a $10 fee per withdrawal, which I’m not a fan of.

I’m a firm believer that you should be able to access your money without having to pay for it.

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MetaTrader4

MetaTrader4 has long been seen as the industry leader in the online trading world, and every day it’s used by millions of people.

The platform is incredibly fast and offers some of the lowest latency levels available.

It’s also packed with customizable options, designed to make your time trading as hassle-free and straightforward as possible.

For example, you can rearrange the various tabs to suit your personal preferences, and there’s also a plethora of different technical analysis indicators of charts.

MetaTrader4 also allows you to program your own trading bots, which is hugely beneficial to the more advanced traders.

Another major benefit of using Metatrader4 is that – compared against other trading platforms – it’s pretty easy to understand.

MetaQuotes, the company behind MetaTrader4, has developed an extensive range of guides and tutorials to help you get to grips with the platform, and it’s worth taking some time to read through these if you’re new to using the platform.

They give you a great overview of how it all works and how to use their trading platform effectively.

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JForex

JForex is Dukascopy’s proprietary trading system, and it’s built and developed using Java technology.

This means you can actually download an app to your computer or laptop, giving you a slightly enhanced trading experience.

If you prefer not to download anything, you’ll also find yourself able to use JForex directly within your internet browser.

You do not need to install Java if you opt to download the desktop software.

I found the JForex trading platform to be incredibly feature-rich, and I feel that it’s really well-suited for the more advanced traders.

Through it, you’ll get access to more than 250 different trading indicators and studies, and I really like how there’s an up-to-date news feed providing you with the latest breaking news.

There’s also the ability to set up advanced charting using Renko, which includes range bars, line break charts and point/figure charts.

As you’d expect from a global company like Dukascopy, JForex is offered in a number of different languages, and there’s even the ability to set up automated trading.

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Mobile Experience

I’m usually very cautious with saying something is the best in the industry, but I honestly feel that Dukascopy’s mobile app could fit that title.

Their app is called the JForex Trader app, and it’s available free of charge on all iOS and Android devices.

The app comes packed with features and functions, designed to make your trading experience as easy, straightforward and hassle-free as possible.

One of my favourite parts of the app is the simple fact that you’re able to access robust charts.

These charts come with a number of customizable parameters too, and you can easily set push alerts when elements of these charts change.

The charts are also packed with other options.

For example, you’ll find more than 46 different technical indicators, which is way more than you’ll find on most trading platform mobile apps.

There’s also a number of advanced features built into the app, designed to give experienced traders a great variety of trading options.

This includes level-two quotes, and you’ll also be able to access several related order types, including conditional and big-offer orders, both of which you’ll see offered when placing a trade.

You can also access a variety of strategies from within the app, along with signals created by other Dukascopy clients.

The final part of the app I think is worth mentioning is the research facility.

I’ve already talked about the research and education tools available at the online broker, but I really like how these are all built into the mobile app too.

You can access almost all of them at the touch of a button, and these don’t simply direct you to a mobile-optimized webpage, as they’re actually available within the app.

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Investment Options

On the whole, I was relatively impressed with the investment options available at Dukascopy.

In total, they offer more than 650 different tradable assets, and this spans a number of different markets.

I think it’s fair to say that their forex offering is what they’re best-known for, and they currently offer some 60 different currency pairs.

This includes the likes of majors and minors, and there’s also a few exotic pairings to take advantage of too.

They allow spot trading as well, which will excite some of the more experienced investors.

When it comes to CFDs, you’ll find yourself able to benefit from 593 trading options.

This consists of 24 different indexes, along with bond and commodity CFDs.

They also offer two cryptocurrencies, which isn’t the biggest selection I’ve come across but should be sufficient for most traders.

I should also point out that all Forex trades at Dukascopy are traded through CFDs.

Unfortunately, you won’t find any futures contracts, forward contracts, spot markets or options available.

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Commissions and Fees

Commissions and fees at Dukascopy are dictated through what’s known as a declining tier system.

This is updated once per month and puts all customers into one of a number of tier brackets.

The commissions and fees you then pay are determined by which tier you are currently in.

I like that commissions and fees are clearly outlined before confirming a trade, and this allows you to see exactly what costs you’ll be facing on each trade.

Below, you can view A chart showing some of the various fees associated with different accounts at Dukascopy.

The only other real notable fee to be aware of is the withdrawal fee.

However, I’m going to be covering this in a separate section below, so keep reading to learn more about that.

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Deposits & Withdrawals

There are four main ways for you to make deposits and withdrawals at Dukascopy, and once your account is verified (meaning you’ve completed the ID verification process) you’ll be able to use all four right away.

Firstly, they accept all major debit and credit cards, including VISA and MasterCard.

You may also be able to use other debit and credit cards, although this isn’t guaranteed.

The most common way for traders to make deposits and withdrawals at Dukascopy is by a direct wire transfer.

This is a preferred method for those wanting to deposit large sums of money, and you can deposit in a wide variety of different currencies using this method.

Unfortunately, deposits made using a wire transfer aren’t instant, although Dukascopy aims to add the funds to your account within one to two business days.

The next way you can deposit is using Bitcoin. This is hugely beneficial, as it allows for instant, fee-free deposits and withdrawals.

Please note that in order to use Bitcoin you’ll need to have a Bitcoin wallet set up.

This can take some getting used to, so I’d advise you do a bit of reading up on Bitcoin before opting to use this payment method.

The final way to deposit is by using Dukascoin – the site’s own cryptocurrency.

It’s not a very common way to add money to your account yet, though it’s nice to know the payment method is there.

All deposits, aside from wire transfers, are credited to your account instantly, and there are no fees to make deposits.

Withdrawals are subject to fees unfortunately. SEPA payments will have a €2.30 attached to them, while withdrawals using Bitcoin have a $10 fee.

Withdrawals are processed quickly and are typically processed by the online broker within one to three working days.

It can then take up to five days for the funds to reach you, although those withdrawing using Bitcoin will find they arrive instantly.

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Customer Support

As with many leading online brokers, customer support is available on a 24/7 basis.

I should point out, however, that they offer very limited support on weekends, which is generally reserved for account-specific questions and queries.

On the whole, I was happy with the customer support facility at Dukascopy, and it’s clear their customer support team is well-trained.

There are multiple ways to contact the customer support team, which I’ll take a look at below.

Live Chat: Live chat is easy to access at Dukascopy, and you’ll see a chat icon in the bottom right-hand-corner of most pages on their website.

Clicking this button will open up the live chat window, and you’ll then be connected with a trained operator within a matter of seconds.

This allows you to chat through your problem or query easily and quickly.

Phone: Dukascopy operates a toll-free phone support system which can be used by all clients.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a brand-new customer with no trading volume or a multi-million-dollar client, as everyone is treated equally.

The wait time to speak with someone via phone is low, and you’re usually connected to an operator within just a couple of minutes.

Email: You can also reach Dukascopy’s customer support team via email, although I should point out that this customer support channel is generally quite slow.

I’d only advise using it when you’re not able to use the live chat facility or speak with them on the phone.

I was pleased to see that Dukascopy also operates a fairly significant social media presence.

This means you’ll be able to reach them through channels like Facebook Messenger.

However, I should also point out that they’re not able to help with any account-specific queries this way, and they’re only really designed to answer basic questions.

They also run an online forum, which is something you don’t see very often at online brokers.

I really like this, as it allows you to post questions and get answers from other members of the community.

This can be very useful when you’re looking for general help and feedback that doesn’t require a trained customer support agent to help you.

For example, if you’ve got a question about the site, or the way in which the trading platform works, the support forum is a great way of reaching out and getting help.

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Conclusion

With leverage of up to 1:200, a huge selection of bonus promotions and offers and five different trading platforms, it’s not hard to see why Dukascopy has become a popular choice with traders from around the world.

Strong regulation ensures they adhere to strict rules and regulations, and when it comes to trustworthiness, I have no doubts that Dukascopy is a suitable option for traders.

However, I would point out that the online broker seems better geared towards more experienced traders.

While they offer a substantial selection of trading tools and research facilities, they don’t have much in the way of educational tools, so if you’re a new trader you may be better suited joining an online broker that’s more focused on beginners.