FXCM

FXCM Broker Overview

FXCM is a forex and CFD brand of the Stratos group of companies, which is headquartered at 110 Bishopsgate, London. The broker says FXCM was founded in 1999. Its main UK company, Stratos Markets Limited, was incorporated on 15 September 2000 and is listed on UK Companies House under number 04072877. Group companies hold licences in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Australia and Israel and an intermediary licence in South Africa, while FXCM's international sites are run by a company in St Vincent and the Grenadines that says it needs no financial services licence there. FXCM offers its own Trading Station platform, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView, and an individual account opens with 50 in the account's base currency. Since 15 October 2026 the FCA register has shown the UK company as having applied to cancel its authorisation, and the FXCM UK site now sends new accounts to Trade Nation, a different firm.

FXCM Regulation and License

Each FXCM licence is held by a different Stratos company, and all five were confirmed on the regulators' own registers on 24 October 2026:

• Stratos Markets Limited, United Kingdom: authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference 217689 since 27 May 2003. Its permissions include dealing in investments as principal and as agent, arranging deals, advising on and managing investments, and safeguarding client assets, covering CFDs, rolling spot forex, spread bets and shares. The register lists FXCM, FXCM UK and Tradu among its trading names and shows its status as 'Authorised - applied to cancel', recorded since 15 October 2026. It runs fxcm.com/uk.
• Stratos Europe Ltd (formerly FXCM EU Ltd), Cyprus: a Cyprus Investment Firm authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under licence 392/20 since 23 November 2020, for reception and transmission of orders, execution of orders on behalf of clients and dealing on own account, with cross-border services to 28 listed European states and Switzerland. CySEC's approved web addresses for the firm include the EU and country sections of fxcm.com.
• Stratos Trading Pty. Limited (ACN 121 934 432, formerly FXCM Australia), Australia: Australian Financial Services Licence 309763 from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), effective 15 May 2007 and current. An interim stop order on its retail CFDs made in December 2025 was revoked on 16 December 2025. It runs fxcm.com/au.
• Stratos Light Ltd, Israel: company 515234623, active on the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) list of companies licensed to operate a trading platform, with fxcm.com/il as its website.
• Stratos South Africa (Pty) Ltd, South Africa: authorised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) under FSP 46534 as an intermediary only, for Category I derivative instruments and without permission to give advice. FXCM states that South African clients trade with Stratos Markets Limited in the UK.

In Canada, FXCM's office list directs clients to Friedberg Direct, whose accounts are held with Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd.

Is FXCM Regulated?

Partly. FXCM's UK, Cypriot, Australian and Israeli companies hold licences confirmed on their regulators' registers, and its South African company holds an intermediary licence, but the company behind its international sites holds none. The international site at fxcm.com/markets and the Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Arabic and South East Asian sites (fxcmofficial.com, fxcm-tw.com, fxcm-id.com, fxcm.my, fxcm-viet.com, fxcm-arabic.com and fxcm-markets.com) are run by Stratos Global LLC, incorporated in St Vincent and the Grenadines under number 1776 LLC 2022, which states that it is not required to hold a financial services licence there. An account opened on those sites is not with one of the licensed companies, and the UK company's own authorisation is subject to its application to cancel it.

Is FXCM Safe?

How well a client is protected depends on which FXCM company holds the account, and holding a licence is not proof of safety. Stratos Markets Limited is subject to FCA conduct and client-money rules, with access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and possible Financial Services Compensation Scheme cover for eligible claims, up to GBP 85,000 per person, per firm; its retail clients have negative balance protection, which professional clients give up along with the retail leverage limits and, for some categories, compensation scheme eligibility. Stratos Europe Ltd works under EU conduct rules supervised by CySEC. In Australia, ASIC conduct and client-money rules apply but no government compensation scheme covers CFD losses, and in Israel client funds are held in a trust account under ISA supervision. Accounts with the international company are covered by none of these licences: its risk warning says losses can exceed deposits, and its Rate Card reserves interest of 1.75% above the overnight rate on negative balances.

The FCA register also records a 2014 disciplinary entry with a GBP 4,000,000 penalty against the UK firm, and lists six clone entries, such as 'FXCM Germany', for parties that have used its details, so check that the company and website match the regulator's own record before funding an account.

FXCM Account Types

The FXCM UK site states that new trading accounts are now provided through Trade Nation, and its Open Account links lead to a Trade Nation page describing Trade Nation's own accounts and terms. FXCM UK's own pages still describe these accounts:

• CFD Trading, from 50, with leverage up to 30:1 for retail clients.
• Spread Betting, for UK residents only, commission free with bets from 7p a point; the broker says proceeds are tax free for UK residents.
• Active Trader, for clients with at least GBP 25,000 of account equity, with commission tiers from 50 million (Tier 1), 150 million (Tier 2) and 500 million (Tier 3, custom) of monthly volume.
• Professional Clients, an elective status that removes retail protections.
• Corporate, from 50,000.

The international site offers a CFD Trading account from 50, an Active Trader cash rebate programme from USD 10 million of monthly volume with up to two free withdrawals a month, a Corporate account from 50,000 and an Islamic Interest Free account. Minimum deposits are stated in units of the account's base currency.

FXCM Spreads, Commissions and Fees

FXCM's standard pricing puts the cost in a variable spread, and both main sites quote average spreads of 1.3 pips on EUR/USD and 1.8 pips on GBP/USD. On the international site, CFD accounts pay no commission by default, while selected accounts move to commission pricing of USD 4.00 to 6.00 per 100k per side (USD 3.50 for introduced accounts). The UK site disagrees with itself: its Rate Card of 25 June 2026 lists CFD commission as nil, while its spread betting page says CFD trading accounts are charged commissions. UK Active Trader commission is GBP 2.00 per 100k per side at Tier 1 and GBP 1.70 at Tier 2.

Both Rate Cards charge a dormant account fee of 50 units of the base currency, or the remaining balance if lower, after 12 months without trading, and VPS hosting at 30 units a month. Currency conversion costs 0.1% at the UK company and a mark-up of 10 to 150 pips, depending on size, at the international company. International corporate accounts pay a one-time processing fee of 300 unless the first deposit is 50,000 or more, and 25 a month unless 50,000 is kept across the client's accounts.

FXCM Leverage

UK retail clients can use up to 30:1 on the CFD account, and professional clients give up the retail leverage limits. The international CFD account advertises up to 1000:1 on forex, indices and commodities. FXCM publishes no leverage figure for its spread betting, Active Trader, corporate or Islamic accounts.

FXCM Trading Platforms

FXCM offers its own Trading Station for Windows, the web, iOS and Android, MetaTrader 4 for Windows, Mac, Linux, the web and mobile, and TradingView through a live trading integration. TradingView plan upgrades are free on the UK site for 5, 10 or 15 lots of monthly volume and on the international site for deposits of USD 300, 1,000 or 5,000. FXCM's FIX, Java and ForexConnect APIs connect directly to its trading server, and the FIX API needs a USD 5,000 minimum balance.

FXCM Deposits and Withdrawals

An individual account opens with 50 in the base currency, and corporate, trust and IRA accounts with 50,000. The two main sites have different payment menus. The UK site takes Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards, bank wire, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Open Banking, Skrill, NETELLER, Rapid Transfer and Sofort by Klarna. The international site takes Visa and Mastercard, bank wire, Google Pay, Skrill, NETELLER, China Online Payment, crypto and local bank or mobile money transfers in parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa, although its deposit FAQ says it accepts no PayPal or eWallet deposits.

Deposits carry no FXCM fee under normal circumstances. Withdrawals go back to the card used, up to the amount deposited on it, to Skrill, NETELLER or PayPal for clients who funded that way, or by bank wire, which arrives within 3 to 5 business days after a request that can take up to 2 business days; most local methods are deposit only. UK wires are free through BACS or SEPA, otherwise 15 to 30 in GBP or EUR and USD 25. For the international company, the Rate Card charges USD 25 to US or UK accounts and USD 40 elsewhere, while the help centre states a flat USD 40. The broker's pages also disagree on limits: card deposits are capped at 30,000 a month in one FAQ and 20,000 in another, and Google Pay is called unlimited on the deposit pages but capped at 30,000 a month in its FAQ.

FXCM Support

FXCM UK says its representatives and live chat are available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. UK clients can call +44 20 7398 4069 or the free line 0808 234 8789, use WhatsApp on +44 20 7398 4063, or email info@fxcm.co.uk. Complaints get a full written response within eight weeks and can then go to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service. Each regional company has its own phone and email.

FXCM Pros and Cons

Pros

• Licences held by named Stratos companies in Cyprus, Australia and Israel, confirmed on their regulators' registers on 24 October 2026.
• Three platforms: Trading Station, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView.
• A 50 minimum deposit for individual accounts.
• Dated Rate Cards that list fees in detail.

Cons

• The UK company has applied to cancel its FCA authorisation, and new UK accounts now go to Trade Nation, a different firm.
• The international, Asian and Arabic sites are run by Stratos Global LLC, which holds no financial services licence, advertises up to 1000:1 and warns that losses can exceed deposits.
• The South African licence covers only an intermediary, with trades held by the UK company.
• The broker's own pages disagree on card and Google Pay limits, international wire fees and UK CFD commission.
• A dormant account fee after 12 months without trading.

FXCM Review and Assessment

FXCM is a long-standing brand whose companies in the UK, Cyprus, Australia and Israel hold licences that were confirmed on their regulators' registers in October 2026. Its UK company, however, has applied to cancel its FCA authorisation and sends new applicants to Trade Nation, and much of FXCM's website network serves an offshore company in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Before funding, check which Stratos company the FXCM site you use names, because regulation, leverage, negative balance terms, payment methods and fees all change with it.