iForex Review 2024: Important Things to Know Before Trading (2024)

Overview

Regulation and Security

While the location of the group headquarters is not specified, the international subsidiary, operated by Formula Investment House Ltd, operates out of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). As such, the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVIFSC) authorizes the company; client deposits remain segregated from corporate funds, and negative balance protection applies. Full compliance with all regulatory stipulations is maintained, and Formula Investment House Ltd has a clean regulatory track record.

Formula Investment House B.O.S. Ltd, a Cypriot-based entity, provides payment clearing services. Cyprus is also where the iFOREX Group operates its European subsidiary, iFOREX Europe, with oversight from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

The international subsidiary of iForex operates out of the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVIFSC) granted a license in December 2013.

The BVIFSC website confirms active status as of July 2020.

Formula Investment House B.O.S. Ltd provides payment clearing services out of Cyprus.

Fees

iFOREX derives its revenues from spreads: the difference between the bid and ask price of a quote. The EUR/USD spread can be as low as 0.7 pips, while the minimum deal size is 1,000 units or 0.010 lots. Commission-free equity trading is made possible, as is commonly the case, by the brokerage taking payment on the spread.

Swap rates on leveraged overnight positions apply, and iFOREX passes corporate actions such as dividends, mergers, and splits on to affected portfolios. A quarterly inactivity fee of $15 exists if the account has been dormant for twelve months. This broker waives all internal withdrawal expenses except for bank wires, which are charged at $20. iFOREX is transparent about all applicable trading costs and provides well-explained examples on its website.

iForex explains all applicable costs with examples on its website.

What Can I Trade?

Traders have access to over 750 assets across 6 categories. The coverage of the forex market is superior to many competitors, with 83 currency pairs. Complementing the forex pairs are 20 commodities; of those, 16 are unique and four are variants. Also available to trade are 18 cryptocurrency crosses, but only seven different ones exist, quoted against various fiat currencies. The bulk of the assets at iFOREX consists of 698 equities for direct share dealing, together with over 20 equity CFDs, over 30 index CFDs, and over 50 ETFs. Overall, the choice is excellent, and iFOREX is a rare broker offering more direct equities than CFDs. Given the broad choice, retail traders and asset management firms alike will benefit from the asset selection.

Over 940 assets offer a broad range of trading opportunities.

Account Types

iFOREX asks prospective clients to contact their customer service team to find out about the account types available. We, from our side, would have preferred if the information was readily available on the site.

While this broker maintains its proprietary webtrader, their site doesn’t go into too many details about its functioning. From the website page, it appears that key features include an integrated economic calendar and trading signals, advanced live charts and indicators, and a customizable and user-friendly interface. It seems that the platform does not support automated or social trading and may only be suitable for manual traders.

Trading Platforms

iForex is a rare broker focused on mobile trading via its proprietary mobile app. It is also available as a web-based alternative, accessible from the back office. iForex only supports manual trading, making the absence of MT4 with its algorithmic and copy trading functions notable. The iForex app has 500K+ downloads on the Google Play Store with a 3.8 rating from 3,900+ reviews.

Traders get a charting package, sentiment indicators, market news, and actionable trading signals on request.

Unique Features

The Trading Expert

The Trading Expert channel is available in English. Here traders can connect with two trading experts, Walid Salaheldin Mohamed and Mohamed Abd El Khaleq. The experts actively open CFD trading deals on a variety of assets, including Forex, shares, cryptocurrencies, indices, and more, and provide daily commentary on each deal's various stages.

Today’s Opportunity

iFOREX traders get a daily insight into one market opportunity, presented by video. The videos allow traders to watch and follow every day's opportunity as it goes live at 8am (GMT), including today's hottest deal, the reasons to trade it, a step-by-step breakdown on how to open the deal and in-depth explanations.

Research and Education

Education is where iFOREX has created an excellent service for new traders. The Education Center features many articles that cover various topics. Each one consists of quality written content with proper explanations and examples, while a video is equally available. A basic and advanced category divides the depth of the educational content. A free PDF guide for beginners is available upon registration, and 1-on-1 training lessons exist, increasing the value of this section. This broker offers two promotion packages centered on education, namely, the iFOREX Education Package, and the iFOREX Pro Package. The latter includes free trading signals, while iFOREX does not list any requirements. Overall, this is the best-developed category at this broker.

iForex notes that it does not offer investment advice.

In a different section, this broker prides itself on trading signals.

The Education Center is a must-read for new traders.

The iForex Education Package offers more courses and 1-on-1 trading.

The iForex Pro Package adds free trading signals.

Customer Support

Customer Support Methods
	Support Hours	M-F, 04:00 - 20:00 GMT
	Website Languages	English Spanish Arabic Japanese Other Chinese Russian Thai

Customer service, in English, is available from Monday to Friday between 04:00 and 20:00 GMT. The FAQ section attempts to answer the most common questions, while those in need of more assistance may either call one of the fifteen phone numbers, write an e-mail, or use live chat.

Bonuses and Promotions

Besides the two educational promotions, iFOREX maintains a refer-a-friend campaign. Referring new traders may earn up to $300. The bonus is applied after the account is verified and funded. While family members count, same-household family members do not.

A refer-a-friend campaign exists at iForex.

Opening an Account

Per established industry standards, an online application will process new accounts. iFOREX merely asks for name, e-mail, and valid phone number to complete the first step. Being a regulated broker, iFOREX must satisfy AML/KYC requirements, as stipulated by the BVIFSC. A copy of the trader’s ID and one proof of residency document (not older than three months) usually completes this second step.

The Account Opening process adheres to AML/KYC requirements.

Deposits and Withdrawals

iFOREX supports bank wires, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets. Per information gathered from the support section, CashU, Alipay, Neteller, PayPal, and Skrill are available. Detailed information regarding processing times and fees does not seem available. This broker notes that no internal costs apply except a fee of $20 for bank wires, while third-party charges will depend on the payment processor.

A question in the support section reveals several supported e-wallets.

iForex applies a $20 fee for all withdrawals via bank wires.

Summary

iFOREX has over 25 years of market experience, and 10 as a BVIFSC-regulated entity, which is its biggest asset, together with an excellent educational section for new traders. Over 940 assets are available for trading. As to their platform, it was built in-house with the aim of excelling in meeting clients’ needs. While it isn’t based on the MT4 or MT5 models, it could possess uniquely useful features of its own, and there are lots of positive customer reviews which seem to testify to this.

New and experienced retail traders may find iFOREX suitable because the platform seems geared to meet the needs of both. The company’s clean regulatory record and substantial store of positive client reviews indicate not only trustworthiness, but also the efficiency of their platform. The fact that they have been in the business so long is surely a good sign on its own.