HYCM Broker Overview
HYCM is a forex and CFD brand whose website, hycm.com, is operated by HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L., a Costa Rica company that HYCM says is not regulated. Three other companies in the HYCM group hold licences from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the UAE Capital Market Authority (CMA), each confirmed on the regulator's register on 27 October 2026, but none of those licences extends to HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L. The group cites more than 40 years of cumulative experience. Clients of hycm.com choose between Fixed, Classic and Raw accounts, each from a US$20 minimum deposit with leverage up to 1:500, and trade on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or HYCM's own HYCM Trader app.
HYCM Regulation and License
HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L., the company that holds hycm.com accounts, appears on the Costa Rica Ministry of Finance (Hacienda) taxpayer registry under number 3-102-883933, checked on 27 October 2026. That is a company registration, not a financial licence. HYCM's website tells European visitors that the company falls outside the European regulatory framework and its product intervention rules, European applicants are asked to acknowledge that it is not regulated, and HYCM's regulation page lists it under Other Incorporated Entities.
The licences on record belong to three other HYCM companies, and each was checked on the regulator's own register on 27 October 2026:
- FCA, firm reference number 186171: the FCA's Financial Services Register lists HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited as Authorised since 1 December 2001 for dealing in investments as principal, covering CFDs, rolling spot forex, spread bets and options, with retail as well as professional clients. The register gives hycm.co.uk as the firm's website.
- DFSA, reference number F000048: the DFSA Public Register lists HYCM Limited, formerly HYCM Capital Markets (DIFC) Limited, for Arranging Deals in Investments with a retail endorsement, licensed since 19 September 2006. It is an arranging licence rather than a dealing licence and does not allow HYCM Limited to hold client money; HYCM Limited says its clients are also clients of the UK company, which holds their money under FCA rules.
- CMA: the UAE Capital Market Authority's list of licensed companies shows HYCM Financial Services L.L.C. as active for introduction and promotion only, under record CP-0001759. HYCM gives the licence number as 20200000473, which does not appear on that record.
Is HYCM Regulated?
Not for accounts opened through hycm.com. Those accounts are held with HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L., not with the FCA-authorised UK company or the DFSA-licensed Dubai company, even though HYCM's help centre describes the brand as multi-regulated. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which covers eligible claims up to 85,000 GBP per person, per firm, and the Financial Ombudsman Service protect clients of HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited, not clients of the Costa Rica company, and HYCM asks UAE applicants to confirm that DFSA client protections do not apply to them. Visitors from outside the UK who open hycm.co.uk, the website the FCA register gives for the UK company, are forwarded to hycm.com.
HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L.
HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L. is the client's counterparty under HYCM's Customer Agreement and Terms of Business, with a registered office in San Jose, Costa Rica, according to the Customer Agreement. HYCM describes HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited, UK company number 02878581, as the owner of the HYCM brand, and the hycm.com footer names that company as the provider of the MetaTrader platform services.
HYCM Financial Services L.L.C., the CMA-licensed company, is a Dubai limited liability company that HYCM says does not hold client money or offer trading itself. A separate HYCM Limited, incorporated in St Vincent and the Grenadines under number 25228 BC 2018, appears in an April 2024 privacy policy in HYCM's help centre but not on its regulation page.
Is HYCM Safe?
A hycm.com account carries fewer safeguards than HYCM's licences suggest, because it is held with a company that HYCM says is not regulated. HYCM says client money not needed for margin is kept in segregated accounts and advertises negative balance protection, but without a regulator over HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L. these are the company's own commitments. The Customer Agreement gives HYCM up to seven business days to transfer a withdrawal. Clone websites also use the HYCM name: the FCA register listed twelve clone entries against the UK company when it was checked on 27 October 2026, and HYCM states that genuine HYCM emails come only from the hycm.com and uk.hycm.com domains.
HYCM Account Types
All three accounts start from a US$20 minimum deposit:
- Fixed: fixed spreads from 1.5 pips, no commission and USD as the only base currency. It is the only account listed with HYCM Trader and with energy, commodity, index, stock and cryptocurrency CFDs, but it does not allow Expert Advisors.
- Classic: variable spreads from 1.2 pips, no commission, a choice of EUR, USD, GBP, AED or JPY as base currency, and Expert Advisors allowed.
- Raw: spreads from 0.1 pips plus a commission, the same base currencies as Classic, and Expert Advisors allowed.
HYCM's account comparison lists only forex pairs and metals on the Classic and Raw accounts. HYCM also mentions VIP and Corporate accounts for larger-volume clients without publishing their terms, and offers HYCM INVEST, a separate stock-investing product on MetaTrader 5 with fractional shares from US$10, advertised without commission.
HYCM Spreads, Commissions and Fees
Only the Raw account charges commission: US$4 per round turn on forex and US$5 on metals. HYCM calls its spreads indicative and says they widen during its midnight session, from 8pm to 6am GMT, fixed spreads included. An inactivity fee of US$10 a month applies after 90 days without activity.
Swap-free trading is an option on all three accounts for certain products, for clients of the Muslim faith. HYCM's Islamic fees notice allows 14 days without overnight charges on forex pairs, cash indices and metals, then applies an Islamic charge of US$5 on forex and cash indices and US$10 on metals for USD accounts, while its Terms of Business say normal overnight fees apply after 14 days. HYCM may charge the waived swaps retrospectively if it finds abuse.
HYCM Leverage
HYCM's maximum leverage is 1:500, the cap on the Fixed, Classic and Raw accounts and the level HYCM gives for forex. Lower maximums apply to other asset classes: 1:200 on indices, 1:133 on commodities and 1:20 on stock CFDs and cryptocurrencies. HYCM INVEST positions are unleveraged at 1:1.
HYCM Trading Platforms
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are available on all three accounts, as Windows downloads and Android and iOS apps, and MetaTrader 5 also has a web terminal at webtrader.hycm.com. The site's MetaTrader 4 web trader button opens a MetaTrader 5 web address. HYCM Trader, HYCM's own app for Android and iOS, uses a separate HYCM Trader account, is listed only for the Fixed account and supports pending orders, price alerts and in-app deposits and withdrawals.
HYCM Deposits and Withdrawals
The hycm.com funding table lists bank wire, Visa and Mastercard cards, and cryptocurrency, each with a US$20 minimum deposit and no HYCM deposit fee, although banks may deduct their own charges. Card deposits are credited within an hour, crypto within three hours and wires in 1 to 7 working days; no coin or network is named for crypto, and the Terms of Business describe deposits by card or bank transfer only. Withdrawals go back to the original card or bank account, only the amount deposited by card can return to a card, and profits are paid by bank wire to an account in the client's name.
HYCM's withdrawal terms differ between its own pages. The funding table gives 1 to 4 working days for wires, 1 to 7 for cards and 24 hours for crypto; the help centre says requests are processed within one business day and the money can take 3 to 7 days to arrive; and the Customer Agreement allows up to seven business days. The table also sets a US$300 minimum for wire withdrawals, while the Terms of Business and the help centre allow smaller wires for a US$30 charge where the account has traded. An older help-centre article names Skrill, Neteller, China UnionPay and Interac for some HYCM companies and regions; they are not in the hycm.com table.
HYCM Support
Client support, account opening and general enquiries are staffed 24 hours a day, five days a week, by live chat, by email (support@hycm.com) and by phone on +44 20 3996 4943, and HYCM also offers a Telegram bot and Viber. Complaints go to complaints@hycm.com from 9:00 to 18:00 (GMT+3), and the Customer Agreement commits HYCM to a written reply within 14 days. The site is published in 15 languages, including Simplified Chinese at hycm.com/cn, while English is the language of the contract.
HYCM Pros and Cons
Pros:
- US$20 minimum deposit on every account
- Fixed, variable and raw-spread pricing to choose from
- MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and HYCM's own app
- No HYCM fee on deposits
- Support 24 hours a day, five days a week
Cons:
- hycm.com accounts are held with a company HYCM says is not regulated, outside the protections of the group's FCA and DFSA licences
- Classic and Raw accounts list only forex pairs and metals
- Withdrawal times and the wire minimum differ across HYCM's own pages
- Profits can be withdrawn by bank wire only, and wires under US$300 can cost US$30
- US$10 monthly inactivity fee after 90 days
HYCM Review and Assessment
HYCM offers a US$20 entry point, a choice of fixed, variable and raw-spread pricing and the MetaTrader platforms, under a brand whose UK and Dubai companies are licensed by the FCA, the DFSA and the CMA. The hycm.com account itself is with HYCM Capital Markets S.R.L. in Costa Rica, which HYCM says is not regulated, so the main consideration before funding is that the account sits outside those regulators' client protections, under withdrawal terms HYCM states differently from page to page.
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