ForexTime Review

ForexTime (also known as FXTM) is a well-known, well-established forex/CFD brokerage that’s been in operation since 2011.

They’ve become somewhat of a household name in the online trading world over the past few years, and they’re now one of the industry’s main powerhouses.

With millions of registered users and a strong selection of forex and CFD options, it’s not hard to see why so many traders are choosing ForexTime for their trading.

In this ForexTime review, I’m going to give you a comprehensive overview of the company, as well as details on how they operate.

Please note that I’ll be referring to them as ForexTime as opposed to FXTM.

Let’s start things off by taking a closer look at who ForexTime are.

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

About ForexTime

Established in 2011, ForexTime has three main bases.

These can be found in the UK, Cyprus and Mauritius.

I did a fair bit of in-depth research about the company when putting this review together, and I was unable to find any major red flags that would prevent me from recommending them to readers.

In fact, they have a solid reputation in the online trading world.

They may not offer the largest selection of commodities on the market, but they do cover forex very nicely.

I’ll talk more about this later on in the “Investment Options” part of this ForexTime review.

Opening an Account

ForexTime are a little different to most trading platforms, as they offer six different trading accounts, split equally between Standard Accounts and ECN Accounts.

Essentially, the better the account, the more you’ll need to fund it with initially.

I’ll talk more about this a bit later on.

Writing this review, I wanted to see how easy the account creation process was for myself, and I’m happy to report that it was (for the most part) a hassle-free experience.

Expect to spend around 10-15 minutes getting set up – you’ll need to input some personal details like your name, email address, home address and phone number, plus there are also some disclaimers and waivers to sign too.

I really recommend you take the time to read about the different account types before choosing which one is best for you.

Some of them have quite a few differences, so – in my opinion – it’s worth spending 20 minutes reading about the pros and cons of each account to ensure you have a better idea of what’s what.

How Long Does the Account Creation Process Take?

Opening your initial account is fast – it takes around 10 minutes to get fully set up.

Once you’ve verified your email address and/or phone number, your account will be open, but you will need to complete an identification check before you’re able to deposit money into your account and begin trading.

What’s the Minimum Deposit?

As I mentioned earlier, the different accounts have different minimum deposits.

For example, the Cent Account requires you to fund just $10, while the Standard Account requires a minimum deposit of $100.

The ECN accounts require you to make deposits of between $200 and $500.

Identity and Verification

You will need to verify your identity before you’re able to begin trading at ForexTime.

Sometimes this can be done automatically (especially for customers residing in the UK), but more often than not you’ll need to upload some documents.

Accepted documents include a copy of your passport or driving license, as well as a utility bill, phone bill or a copy of your tax return.

Can ForexTime Be Trusted?

ForexTime is strongly regulated.

With bases in some of the world’s strictest financial markets, they have to adhere to incredibly stringent rules and regulations.

In Cyprus, ForexTime is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, and it is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa.

Perhaps the most notable license they hold is from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

By taking a multi-region approach by acquiring licenses and regulatory approval in a number of different markets, ForexTime have allowed themselves to accept traders from all corners of the globe – something that’s proved to be a pivotal point for the company, as they now are accepting more users than ever before.

ForexTime also ringfences all customer funds to protect them in case of insolvency.

I was able to come across a news report online that states the company has more than $10 billion ringfenced.

This is important, as it’s evident that the brokerage is keen to adhere to the financial regulations their regulators impose on them.

For you, the trader, it helps to ensure that your funds are protected in case anything was to happen to the company.

Research and Assistance

Compared to other trading platforms, I’d say the level of research and assistance offered by ForexTime is reasonable.

Their resource section is pretty comprehensive and offers you the chance to learn more about trading and how their specific trading platforms work.

One of the things I really like at ForexTime is the way in which they categorize their education section.

Everything is sorted into various subsections – and this includes eBooks, Forex Trading Seminars, Webinars, and – my personal favourite – their Forex Glossary.

This glossary gives you a comprehensive look at what forex is and how it works, plus it gives you an idea of what all the terminology means, so as to make your life trading forex as easy as possible.

All the eBooks available at ForexTime are authored by a man called Andreas Thalassinos.

He’s a certified technical analyst and has decades of experience with online trading, so you’ll find that his insights can be exceptionally helpful.

In terms of webinar frequency, ForexTime averages around three per week.

This is, I feel, really impressive, and showcases their commitment to providing traders with all of information and knowledge they need to succeed.

Demo Accounts

Like all leading trading platforms, ForexTime allows you to create a free demo account.

Signing up for one of these accounts is incredibly straightforward and doesn’t require you to verify your identity.

You might need to confirm your email address, however.

All demo accounts are set up and run on the MetaTrader4 platform.

This certainly isn’t a bad thing, as it’s the most common trading platform offered at ForexTime.

Desktop Experience

At first, I was surprised to see that ForexTime don’t offer their own proprietary trading platform.

This is against what I’ve come to expect from the vast majority of trading platforms – although I should point out it’s not a necessity.

Most traders will have an option between two different platforms – MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5. Both are world-leading platforms and offer a fantastic overall trading experience.

Below, I’m going to take a look at both of these platforms and what they have to offer.

MetaTrader4: Long known as the industry standard when it comes to online trading, MetaTrader4 is the trading platform most users at ForexTime will use.

While it no longer benefits from technical support from MetaQuotes, it’s still seen as industry-leading, and the interface is easy-to-navigate, easy-to-use and well made.

The platform also allows hedging and there’s also the ability for you to run back-end testing, although I should point out that it’s not the fastest in the world – and can be a bit clunky at times.

MetaTrader5: MetaTrader5 was launched by MetaQuotes as a follow on to their wildly popular MetaTrader4 trading platform.

Unfortunately, it never really took off, with most traders opting to stay with the more popular MetaTrader4 platform.

However, it does offer a slightly better user-interface and the back-end testing facilities are a lot more advanced.

I feel it’s better suited for the more experienced traders, although even then, they may well be so used to MetaTrader4 that they don’t want to make the switch to something new.

Mobile Experience

ForexTime’s mobile app is classified as one of their key trading tools and it’s available to download free of charge on all iOS and Android devices. In my opinion, the app is incredibly well-made.

It allows you to trade major, minor and exotic currency pairs in the forex area, along with spot metals and CFDs.

You can also share CFDs for more than 180 major company shares directly from the app – and it’s all updated in real-time too.

The app also has a fairly substantial account section.

This allows you to keep track of your balance, profits and the current rates.

You can also make adjustments to your account directly from the app (like changing your email address and password).

One of my favourite parts of the app is the main Trading Dashboard.

This gives you a comprehensive overview of all the important features on offer and lets you see all of trades happening in real time.

It makes it easy to keep track of your trades, and you can then choose to view more information about your balance, margin and profits at the touch of a button.

I also really like the 1-click trading option ForexTime has built into the app.

Now, while I do not recommend this feature for new traders, it’s perfect for those who have a good grasp of the platform already and who want the ability to make fast, instant trading decisions.

I should also point out that ForexTime’s website itself is mobile-optimized.

This means you’ll be able to access your account (and place trades) from your mobile devices without downloading one of their apps.

I prefer the apps to the mobile website though.

The apps are specifically designed to make trading possible on the go, and while the mobile-optimized website does function, it’s not as streamlined or up to date.

It might be possible to use it correctly from a tablet – but I think most will struggle if they were to try and use it from their smartphone.

Investment Options

I always cite the importance of choosing a trading platform that offers you a decent selection of assets to trade.

If you’re a new trader, then it’s not hard to find sites.

However, more experienced traders will likely want to explore other options including CFDs to diversify their portfolio – which is why, when writing a review, I always cover the investment options in quite a bit of depth.

When it comes to forex trading, ForexTime offers more than 55 different currency pairs.

Surprisingly, many of these pairs are quite unique – I found pairs I haven’t seen at the majority of other trading platforms out there.

ForexTime also offers metals trading – spot gold and spot silver, to be exact.

You should be aware, however, that gold is paired with GBP, USD and EUR, while silver is only paired with USD and EUR.

There’s also a small selection of commodities offered, all of which are energies.

This includes both the different types of crude oil and natural gas.

I feel that the commodities section at ForexTime is lacking, and they would do well to expand this, as more experienced traders will likely want more than just a couple of options to choose from.

One of the areas I feel ForexTime do excel in is their cryptocurrencies.

These are all paired with USD.

They currently offer Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin and Ripple.

It’s strange to see Bitcoin Cash failing to make the cut, but this may well make an appearance in the future.

You can also trade a number of US shares as CFDs – there are more than 120 options in total, and you’ll be able to trade these shares for certificates.

Some of the world’s largest companies like Apple, Amazon, Alphabet Inc., and Johnson & Johnson can be found at ForexTime, making their CFD shares options impressive.

Commissions and Fees

I highly recommend you take a very in-depth look at the fees associated with any new trading platform you’re thinking of joining.

It really can make up a large part of your overall profit/loss.

Weight up how you’re going to trade with the fees being charged, to ensure you get the best deal for your level and style of trading.

As well as the three account types, you will also be able to open three different Electronic Communication Network (ECN) accounts.

These are the ECN Account, ECN Zero Account and FXTM Pro Account.

There are no significant fees to report at ForexTime.

They do charge an inactivity fee, but this doesn’t kick in until after your account has been inactive for a year or more.

Deposits & Withdrawals

One of the first things that stood out to me when reviewing ForexTime was their extensive range of payment methods.

This goes for both deposits and withdrawals.

You’ll find yourself able to deposit using debit and credit cards, direct bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill and WebMoney.

There are also some other methods available on a country-by-country basis.

Once you’ve used your debit and credit cards to deposit once, the details are securely stored, so you can make future deposits simply by entering your CVV number.

The minimum deposit for all deposit methods is $10, which is definitely on the lower end of the scale.

This amount should suit the vast majority of traders.

I should also point out that ForexTime don’t apply any fees to deposits. You should, however, check to see if your payment provider charges fees of their own.

Withdrawals can be made using the same methods you can deposit funds into your account with – although I need to make you aware that you do need to withdraw using the same method that you opted to make a deposit with.

Unfortunately, the fees for withdrawals are high at ForexTime – withdrawals made using debit and credit cards cost around $3, while direct bank transfers will set you back $20 per transaction.

I’m not a fan of withdrawal fees, although they do seem to be relatively common practice with trading platforms today.

Customer Support

I have to say, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll run into any major problems while trading at ForexTime.

In my personal experience and the experiences of many traders I know, everything works seamlessly and it’s incredibly rare for things to go wrong.

However, no review would be complete without a look at the customer support facility on offer – and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing in this next section of our ForexTime review.

On the whole, ForexTime’s customer support team is incredibly helpful.

They work round the clock (meaning you can get help and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and they’ll be able to help with anything from account-specific problems to questions about their platform.

However, please be aware that the customer support team cannot provide financial/trading advice.

The firm has a number of different support centres around the world, with hubs in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Korea and Thailand.

Let’s take a look at the ways in which you can contact this trading platform’s customer support team…

Email Support: I’m never usually a big fan of email support – I find that it often takes a while to receive a response (I’m not talking about ForexTime here, just in general), and I also prefer to skip through the back and forth and work things out there and then on the spot.

However, ForexTime does have a speedy response time – averaging just a few hours – so if email support is your go to customer support method then you shouldn’t run into any issues.

Phone Support: Like almost any leading trading platform, ForexTime offers phone support to all customers, regardless of account type or trading volume.

Telephone support is offered in a number of languages.

When you’re logged into your account, you’ll be able to find your country-specific phone number to call.

Live Chat Support: Live chat is another way in which you can get in touch with ForexTime’s customer support team.

Live chat is, like their other customer support methods, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, although they operate a reduced number of workers over the weekends.

I really like the way that ForexTime has set up their customer support portal.

They have different departments, allowing you to get through to the person you most need to speak with, and I think it’s fair to say, while unlikely you’ll ever run into any problems, they certainly cover everything when it comes to customer support.

Conclusion

With an excellent reputation, I was excited to see what ForexTime had to offer.

On the whole, I wasn’t left disappointed and I feel like the site has done a fantastic job in making the user experience as positive as possible.

It’s incredibly easy to set up an account, and there are plenty of trading options to choose from.

My biggest gripe is with the fact that only MetaTrader platforms are offered.

This shouldn’t be too much of an issue for the more casual/new investor, but for those wanting something more it could be a bit of an annoyance.

The site’s also incredibly trustworthy and is regulated in some of the world’s strictest financial regions, so I have absolutely no issues in recommending the brokerage to anyone looking for a safe and secure place to trade forex and CFDs.

7.6Expert Score

Very Good

ForexTime review result is: Very Good ForexTime is a very popular broker and a safe one to trade with. Tradable instruments have a wide variety and their spreads are very competitive.

Spreads

9

Trading Tools

7.5

Customer Support

6.5

Instruments

8

Reliable

7.5

PROS

• Very Low spreads
• Diversity of forex and CFD instruments
• Reliable forex broker
• Fast account opening
• Good for Pros
• Good for beginners

CONS

• Some fees could be lower
• Analysis and education could be improved