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Contract reading

What IFC Markets legally published, but does not want you to read

Every clause below is published by IFC Markets itself, on its own website, today. The finding is not that the text exists. It is the distance between what a client is shown and what a client agreed to. Read from its own documents on .

Contracting entity: IFCMARKETS. CORP.

withdrawalssole discretionprofit voidingcross accountdeemed acceptancehidden feeunilateral amendmentaccount freezeassignmentbest efforts

IFC Markets sells itself as an STP broker, but its contract makes it the other side of your trades. It promises negative balance protection, then reserves the right to bill those resets back when you withdraw. Your deposit legally becomes the company's money, and you get one business day to dispute a trade. Its stop-out level quietly doubled to 20% while ads still say 10%, and a $10 monthly dormancy fee arrived in August 2026.

Back to IFC Markets

Contract risk

Money at risk
7.5/10

Where this contract sitsHow far this contract goes, overall. Under 2 is nothing beyond the ordinary; 6 to 9 means several clauses put money you have already earned at risk; 9 and above reads as designed to make payout refusable.

0510
CriticalClauses that can cost you money you have already earned or deposited, or that remove your ability to challenge it.
7
FlaggedEvery clause worth knowing about, at all three severities. Ordinary terms that every broker has are not counted.
23
DocumentsHow many of the broker's own legal files this reading is based on. Each one was downloaded and hashed on the date shown.
14
ContradictionsPlaces where a promise the broker makes in public is not kept by the clause that governs it.
11

How the 23 break downThe same flagged clauses, split by how much each one can cost you. Severity is our reading of the clause, not the broker's label.

Critical7
Warning12
Notice4

section 23 of 23is where the deepest clause sits: the very end of the document it is in

The numbers in this contractFigures taken from this broker's own clauses, so the labels differ from broker to broker. The four in the panel above are the same on every report.

2 of these 4 figures come from a clause we rate critical, which means it can take your money or your profit rather than only delay it.

Critical1 working daysTime to complain. Jump to the clause this comes from.One business day to dispute a tradeCritical14 daysProfit at risk. Jump to the clause this comes from.One swap-free request converts every account and risks all profits$10Fee on an unused account. Jump to the clause this comes from.A new $10 monthly fee on dormant accounts20%In the contract. Jump to the clause this comes from.Stop-out advertised at 10%, now 20% in the Risk Disclosure

What the documents say

23 clauses worth knowing about, worst first, each quoted from IFC Markets's own files

01

IFC Markets promises you negative balance protection on each trading account, so a loss below zero is never yours to repay. Its withdrawal page then lets it charge you those resets, across all your accounts, when you ask to withdraw.

In plain words

Negative balance protection is a limit that stops you owing more than you put in. Without it, one fast market move can leave you owing the broker money on top of your deposit.

Why this matters

A loss you were told you would never owe can come out of a later withdrawal, even one from a different account. IFC Markets' FAQ adds that on MetaTrader it books the reset as a credit and leaves your balance negative.

Exhibit 1CriticalRarely seen

Notwithstanding the above, the Company provides you with a negative balance protection, per trading account, ensuring that you will not enter into a negative balance and be required to recover such losses and/or pay the difference to us.
Clause 3 in Risk Disclosure, p.2
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Our own capture of ifcmarkets.com, taken on Oct 25, 2026The claim, on English FAQ, answer on negative balances after a stop-outThis capture shows the page the quotation was taken from. The words themselves are not marked in it, so please read the quotation above as the evidence.Visit this page on the broker's siteDownload the full size image file
Our own capture of ifcmarkets.com, taken on Oct 25, 2026What the contract saysVisit this page on the broker's siteDownload the full size image file
Set against a regulated standard: ESMA (EU), FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

ESMA's 2018 CFD restrictions, kept by the FCA and CySEC, require negative balance protection on every retail account. A client there can never lose more than the money in that account. IFC Markets' withdrawal page lets it charge earlier resets against a withdrawal from any of your accounts.

IFC Markets is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 4Clause 29.2(b) also bans trading that exploits the possibility of a negative balance, so profit from a trade that relied on this protection can be seized as well.
02

Once IFC Markets receives your money, the contract says you no longer own it and the company may use it as its own. The next section promises to keep your funds segregated, held apart from the company's own money.

Why this matters

If IFC Markets failed, you would be a creditor claiming a debt, not an owner taking back your money. Clause 42.2 also says IFC Markets is not liable if the bank holding client funds fails.

Exhibit 22CriticalRarely seen

Any money received by us from you will be owed by us to you and you no longer have a proprietary claim over such money transferred to us, and we can deal with it in our own right.
Clause 41.1 in Customer Agreement, p.44
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA or CySEC must hold a retail client's money in segregated client accounts, and may not take ownership of it through a title transfer arrangement. This contract says ownership passes to IFC Markets when it receives your money.

IFC Markets is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

03

IFC Markets treats each trade confirmation and account statement as binding unless you object in writing by close of business the next business day. Its own recordings of your communications count as conclusive evidence too. Only the statement clause keeps an exception for manifest error.

In plain words

A manifest error means an obvious mistake by the broker.

Why this matters

A wrong execution price or a missing trade becomes your agreed record after one business day, counted from when IFC Markets sends or posts it. The contract defines a business day as any day on which IFC Markets conducts normal business.

Exhibit 3CriticalHarder than usual1 working days

Settlement/Trade Confirmations shall be deemed to be conclusive and binding on you if not objected to immediately upon receipt with such objection confirmed in writing no later than the close of business on the Business Day following the day on which the Settlement/Trade Confirmation is sent through our Online Trading Facility.
Clause 24.1 in Customer Agreement, pp.29-30
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 15Once the one business day passes the record binds you, and the complaints procedure that remains has no deadline and no independent referee.
04

If IFC Markets has solid reasons to believe you used a banned technique, it can cancel your closed trades and seize the profit they made. Clause 29.3 then lets IFC Markets decide any dispute itself, and says no correspondence will be entered into.

Why this matters

The banned list reaches trading that exploits what the contract calls peculiarities of the Order execution, and it never defines them. The seizure covers only profit from the banned technique, but IFC Markets alone decides what that profit was.

Exhibit 4CriticalHarder than usual

(b) any trading techniques aiming at exploiting technical vulnerabilities of our Online Trading Facility, for instance the possibility of a negative Account Balance or peculiarities of the Order execution.
Clause 29.2(b) in Customer Agreement, p.34
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
05

IFC Markets' website says it passes your orders straight through to liquidity providers. Its Risk Disclosure says it enters every trade with you as principal, meaning IFC Markets itself takes the other side. Clause 44.4 lets it hold positions against yours.

In plain words

On a principal basis, as your counterparty, means the broker takes the other side of your trade itself. Your loss is then the firm’s gain, so it has an interest in how your trade ends.

Liquidity providers are outside banks and brokers.

Why this matters

When IFC Markets keeps your trade on its own book, your loss is its gain. The contract also says its conflict of interest policy is a policy only and does not bind it.

Exhibit 2WarningStandard wording

Each transaction in these trading instruments, which is agreed and entered into by IFCMARKETS. CORP. with you, will be entered into by us as a principal.
Clause 1 in Risk Disclosure, p.1
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Where it sits: section 7 of 45 in the Risk Disclosure, near the start.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 9As the other side of your trade, IFC Markets also sets the price, and clause 44.6 keeps its markup on that price hidden from you.
06

Since the August 2026 revision, IFC Markets can charge $10 a month on each inactive or dormant account. When none of your accounts has traded for 12 months, all of them turn dormant. The fee stops only when the cash balance reaches zero.

Why this matters

Money you leave idle now costs you, and the May 2025 contract had no such fee. IFC Markets' interest promotion still tells you that a break from trading will earn you extra. Its own rate table pays nothing in a month with under 10 lots of trading.

Exhibit 5WarningStandard wording$10New

A monthly maintenance/inactivity fee in the amount of Ten (10) USD (or its equivalent in the account's Balance Currency) may be charged on inactive/dormant accounts. Such fee will only be deducted as long as there is a positive cash balance.
Clause 43.4 in Customer Agreement, p.45
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

What happens, and when

The stages this clause runs through, taken from the broker's own document
TriggerWhat the broker may then doClause
Over 32 days without a trade, balance under $0.75IFC Markets may deactivate the account and treat it as inactive.43.1
12 months without a trade on any accountIFC Markets classes all your accounts as dormant.43.2
Every month while inactive or dormantIFC Markets may take a $10 fee until the cash balance reaches zero.43.4
No reactivation and no contact for 12 monthsIFC Markets proceeds as the BVI Dormant Accounts Act, 2011 directs.43.3

Three ways IFC Markets can undo trades you have already closed

IFC Markets' Customer Agreement gives it three ways to cancel trades you have already closed. Clause 29.3 covers banned trading techniques, and clause 57.1(m) treats anything that might harm its business as your default. Clause 26.5 reaches every account of an Islamic account holder, and in each case IFC Markets decides.

Profit at risk2 clauses flagged

The contract counts as an Event of Default any event that has, or might have, a material adverse effect on IFC Markets' business. It does not require you to have caused it. After a default, clause 58.1 lets IFC Markets reverse your trades and sell or charge the funds you deposited.

Why this matters

Almost every other item on the default list is about you, such as missing a payment or going bankrupt. This one turns IFC Markets' own business risk into your breach, and clause 58.3 leaves it liable only for gross negligence.

Exhibit 6CriticalHarder than usual

(m) any action is taken or an event occurs which has or might have a material adverse effect upon our business, or which affects your ability to perform any of your obligations under this Agreement;
Clause 57.1(m) in Customer Agreement, p.61
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 2IFC Markets can be the other side of your trades, so a large profit for you can be exactly the harm to its business that clause 57.1(m) treats as your default.

Asking for one Islamic account, which carries no overnight swap charge, converts all your real accounts to Islamic. Positions on them close automatically after 14 calendar days. IFC Markets can nullify every position in every account and cancel all profits and losses if it detects abuse. Its list of abuse includes carry trades, which profit from interest gaps between currencies.

Why this matters

One request changes the rules for all your money. The Islamic accounts page warns only that IFC Markets can cancel the status and recover swaps. The contract goes further and sets no standard for what counts as detected abuse.

Exhibit 8CriticalHarder than usual14 days

While a Customer may file a request for an Islamic Trading Account at any time, the filing of any such request entails that all of such Customer’s other real Trading Accounts with us will be converted into Islamic Trading Accounts as well, without any further notice being required.
Clause 26.3 in Customer Agreement, p.31
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Getting your money out runs on IFC Markets' terms

Two business days is IFC Markets' best-efforts target for a withdrawal, counted from when it accepts the request. Its withdrawal page lets it charge earlier negative balance resets, across all your accounts, against the payout. Clause 47.2 lets it keep a blocked account's funds on suspicion, and clause 58.2 leaves your heirs to its sole discretion.

Exit conditions3 clauses flagged

If IFC Markets becomes suspicious that you may be involved in fraudulent, unlawful or improper activity, it can block your account. Clause 47.2 then frees it from any duty to refund the money in that account, unless a competent regulator instructs otherwise.

Why this matters

Suspicion is enough, and the contract never says what counts as improper. Getting your money back can then depend on a regulator stepping in.

Exhibit 7CriticalHarder than usual

Should we become suspicious that you may be engaging or have engaged in such fraudulent, unlawful or improper activity your access to our Online Trading Facility may be terminated immediately and/or your Account blocked. If your Account is terminated or blocked in such circumstances, we are under no obligation to refund any funds that may be held in your Account, unless otherwise instructed by a competent regulatory authority.
Clause 47.2 in Customer Agreement, p.49
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Worse together with Exhibit 22Under clause 41.1 the money in a blocked account already belongs to IFC Markets, so you are left with a contract claim rather than a right to your own funds.

IFC Markets removes a withdrawal from your balance at once, then aims to process it within two business days of accepting it. It can refuse certain payment methods and ask for more documents first. If it cannot pay the way you deposited, it picks the method and the currency.

Why this matters

The two days start only when IFC Markets accepts the request, and they are a best effort, not a promise. If it pays you another way, clause 39.8 leaves the transfer and currency costs with you.

Exhibit 13WarningHarder than usual2 working days

If you give an Instruction to withdraw funds from your Account, we will reduce the requested funds immediately from your Account Balance and shall use our best efforts to process the specified withdrawal request through our systems within two (2) Business Days following the day on which the withdrawal request was accepted, provided that the following requirements are met:
Clause 39.9 in Customer Agreement, p.41
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
  • Same clause as Exhibit 18Clause 39.9 sets both the two business day target and the conditions that pause it, including full identity documents and positive free margin across all your accounts.

If you die, your heirs must satisfy IFC Markets with official documents from the country where you lived. IFC Markets then decides at its sole discretion whether they may withdraw what is left.

Why this matters

Even complete papers do not oblige IFC Markets to pay your family. The contract gives no test it must apply and no deadline for its decision.

Exhibit 14WarningHarder than usual

Upon the death of an Account owner and if the legal heirs of the deceased would like to withdraw the remaining balance in the Account, to the extent there is any, such legal heirs should present us with official legal documents from the applicable governmental authorities in the jurisdiction of the deceased to our satisfaction, and we, at our sole discretion and upon checking such documents, shall make the decision whether to allow such withdrawal(s).
Clause 58.2 in Customer Agreement, p.62
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

The 10% stop-out and the managed-funds pitch do not match the documents

10% is the stop-out level IFC Markets advertises on its account and payment pages, while its Risk Disclosure now says closing starts at 20%. Its copy trading pitch offers experienced managers, but the IFCM Invest terms make you liable for your share of a manager's losses below zero. Its Japanese pages exclude three countries, and its sign-up page adds Japan.

Said versus signed3 clauses flagged

IFC Markets advertises a stop-out level of only 10%, the point at which it starts closing your positions. Its Risk Disclosure said 10% in November 2025 and now says 20% of the margin required. The Customer Agreement also lets it set a different level for you, with or without notice.

Why this matters

IFC Markets can close your positions at twice the advertised level, earlier than its website leads you to plan for. IFC Markets can also change the level for your account alone without telling you first.

Exhibit 11WarningHarder than usual20%

As soon as the equity in your trading account (with any unrealised profit/losses) reaches the margin level required to maintain your open positions or drops below that level (i.e., 20% of the total margin required to maintain the open positions), we will start closing your open trades in order to prevent further losses in your trading account.
Clause 5 in Risk Disclosure, p.3
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Our own capture of ifcmarkets.com, taken on Oct 25, 2026The claim, on English Trading Account Types page, closing bannerVisit this page on the broker's siteDownload the full size image file

Where it sits: section 18 of 45 in the Risk Disclosure, 40% of the way through.

Set against a regulated standard: ESMA (EU), FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

ESMA's CFD restrictions, kept by the FCA and CySEC, require firms to close a retail client's positions once equity falls to 50% of the margin required. A lower stop-out level lets losses run further before positions close.

IFC Markets is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

IFC Markets invites you to let experienced traders manage your funds. Its IFCM Invest terms say the service is not an asset management tool. You carry the risk that a manager is unqualified or commits fraud. The last paragraph makes you liable for your share of any negative equity, a balance below zero, on the manager's account.

Why this matters

You could lose more than you put in, and nobody at IFC Markets answers for the manager. The terms also say the main agreement wins any conflict. That agreement promises negative balance protection, so the two point in opposite directions.

Exhibit 12WarningRarely seen

The IFCM Invest Service is not an asset management tool.
Clause 2.7 in IFCM INVEST Terms and Conditions, p.5
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Buried at section 23 of 23 in the IFCM INVEST Terms and Conditions, 100% of the way through.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 1Both cut into the negative balance promise: copy trading investors carry a share of the master account's negative equity, and the withdrawal page lets IFC Markets bill earlier resets back.

IFC Markets' Japanese pages are titled IFCM Japan, quote yen deposits, and list only the US, BVI and Russia as places it does not serve. Its sign-up page adds Japan to that list, yet still lets you pick Japan in the country menu. A notice on the Japanese pages says they are not intended for Japanese residents.

Why this matters

If you live in Japan, you can open an account that IFC Markets says it does not serve. The contract makes you promise you are eligible, which gives IFC Markets grounds to close the account later.

Exhibit 20Notice

IFCMARKETS. CORP. does not provide services for United States, BVI, Japan and Russian residents.
Quoted in Registration
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

The price carries markups IFC Markets never has to show you

IFC Markets builds its own markup into spreads, swaps and currency conversions. Clause 44.6 of its Customer Agreement says you will never be shown the spread markup. A deposit its website lists as free can carry the processor's fee if you do not trade.

Cost disclosure2 clauses flagged

IFC Markets builds its own markup into the spread, the gap between its buying and selling prices, and into overnight swaps and currency conversions. Clause 44.6 says you will never be shown the spread markup. Clause 44.9 says IFC Markets never has to disclose its income from any fees.

In plain words

Remuneration means payments it receives.

Why this matters

You cannot work out what a trade really cost you, so you cannot compare IFC Markets fairly with another broker. Its about-us page still calls full fee information a point of principle.

Exhibit 9WarningHarder than usual

furthermore, you acknowledge, recognise and accept that the said “spread difference” constitutes remuneration to us and that such “spread” will not be specified at the Settlement/Trade Confirmation or otherwise revealed to you.
Clause 44.6 in Customer Agreement, p.47
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), ESMA (EU)

Firms licensed by the FCA or CySEC must tell a retail client the total costs and charges before and after trading, including costs built into the price. Clause 44.6 says the spread markup will not be revealed to you.

IFC Markets is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

IFC Markets' deposit page lists no fee for card, crypto and most other deposits. A footnote on the withdrawal page changes that. Without trading activity, IFC Markets can take the payment system's commission from your balance in full. The contract also lets it add deposit fees and new fees at any time.

Why this matters

If you deposit and withdraw without trading, the deposit you were told was free can cost you the processor's fee. The page where you make the deposit never mentions it.

Exhibit 10WarningHarder than usual

In case of the absence of trading activity or detection of any abuse of the payment system commissions reimbursement policy for replenishing the trading account, IFC Markets reserves the right to debit commissions of payment systems from the client’s balance fully.
Quoted in Withdrawals
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

IFC Markets can rewrite your agreement without telling you

IFC Markets' Customer Agreement lets it change any term at any time, effective the moment IFC Markets posts the revision. You waive the right to specific notice, and continuing to trade counts as accepting. Its Terms of Business allow the same for account types, trading conditions, trading hours and margin.

Changing the deal1 clause flagged

IFC Markets can change any part of your agreement at any time, and a change takes effect as soon as IFC Markets posts it online. You waive any right to be told, and continuing to trade counts as accepting it.

Why this matters

A new fee or rule can apply to you before you know it exists. The Terms of Business let IFC Markets change account types, trading conditions, trading hours and margin without notice as well.

Exhibit 17WarningHarder than usual

We reserve the right to change or modify any of the terms and conditions contained in the Agreement or any policy or guideline displayed on our Online Trading Facility, at any time and at our sole discretion. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revisions on our Online Trading Facility, and you waive any right you may have to receive specific notice of such changes or modifications.
Clause 3.1 in Customer Agreement, p.6
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

One business day to object, then a process with no deadline

One business day is all IFC Markets allows for objecting to a trade confirmation or statement, after which the record binds you. Its complaints procedure sets no time limit and names no independent body. A card chargeback can count as fraud unless you first tried to settle with IFC Markets.

Challenging a decision2 clauses flagged

IFC Markets' complaints procedure promises to carry out a resolution within an agreed timeframe, but sets no time limit and names no independent body. The Customer Agreement adds that the procedure creates no new duties for IFC Markets and does not cover money you owe it.

Why this matters

If IFC Markets rejects your complaint, your next step is a court in the British Virgin Islands. IFC Markets keeps the right to chase what you owe straight through the courts.

Exhibit 15WarningHarder than usual

Ensure that the resolution is implemented within an agreed timeframe.
Clause Step 4 in Complaints Handling Procedure
Read from the broker's site on Archived copyOpen the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK)

Firms licensed by the FCA must send a final response to a complaint within eight weeks and tell you that you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. IFC Markets' procedure has neither a deadline nor an outside body.

IFC Markets is not licensed by this regulator, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

IFC Markets treats a chargeback, a refund claimed through your card issuer, as fraud unless you first tried to settle with it. It can then use a collection agency, report you to credit bureaus and file a police report.

Why this matters

A chargeback is your card issuer's protection, and this clause makes using it risky unless you have first argued your case with IFC Markets. The contract warns that a credit bureau report may harm your rating for at least seven years.

Exhibit 16WarningHarder than usual

We consider credit card chargebacks to be fraudulent if you make no reasonable effort to work with us to resolve any problems with your deposit.
Clause 40.4 in Customer Agreement, p.42
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Verification waits until you want your money back

IFC Markets' FAQ says you can usually trade before verifying your profile, while its anti-money-laundering policy bars any transaction before an ID check. Its Customer Agreement makes full identification a condition of every withdrawal. The same contract lets IFC Markets share your personal data with the referral partner who introduced you.

Your documents2 clauses flagged

IFC Markets' FAQ says you can usually trade without verifying your profile. The contract then makes full identity documents a condition of every withdrawal, and lets IFC Markets ask for more papers when you request one.

Why this matters

The check you skipped at the start becomes the gate at the exit, when your money is already inside. Withdrawals also wait until your free margin, the money not tied up in open trades, is positive across all your accounts.

Exhibit 18WarningStandard wording

(c) you have provided full identification documentation to support your withdrawal request; and (d) total Free Margin of all Accounts that belong to you is positive.
Clause 39.9 in Customer Agreement, p.42
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

The Customer Agreement lets IFC Markets share your personal data with any Referral Partner, someone it may pay for introducing you. The stated purpose is checking your account application. The Privacy Policy also allows disclosure when it is essential to safeguard IFC Markets' interests, and sets no limit on that exception.

Why this matters

The identity papers you upload can reach an introducer who earns commission on your trading.

Exhibit 19NoticeHarder than usual

furthermore, we may share such information with any Referral Partner for the purpose of completing the due diligence to, and the approval of, your Account Opening Application Form(s).
Clause 52.3 in Customer Agreement, p.55
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

BVI courts for you, any court for IFC Markets

British Virgin Islands law governs the IFC Markets Customer Agreement, and BVI courts have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes. Clause 64.2 keeps IFC Markets free to sue you in any other court. Clause 61.2 lets it transfer its rights to any company in its group without your consent.

Where disputes go1 clause flagged

British Virgin Islands law governs your agreement, and only BVI courts can hear your dispute. IFC Markets keeps the right to sue you in any other court. It can also pass its rights to any company in its group without your consent.

Why this matters

To bring a claim yourself, you would need a lawyer in the British Virgin Islands. IFC Markets could bring a claim against you where you live.

Exhibit 21NoticeStandard wording

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the British Virgin Islands, and the courts of the British Virgin Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes which may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement.
Clause 64.1 in Customer Agreement, p.65
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Your deposit becomes IFC Markets' money, with no compensation scheme behind it

Clause 41.1 of the IFC Markets Customer Agreement ends your ownership of money as soon as the company receives it. Clause 42.1 still promises segregation, and clause 42.2 disclaims any loss if the bank holding client funds fails. The documents name a BVI FSC licence and no compensation scheme.

Client money1 clause flagged

The contract says IFCMARKETS. CORP. holds a BVI investment business licence for dealing as principal and arranging deals. It names no compensation scheme for you. The insurance it mentions is professional indemnity cover, the kind that protects a firm against claims over its own mistakes. The contract does not say it pays you anything if IFC Markets fails.

In plain words

Indemnities are money it says you owe it.

Why this matters

If IFC Markets failed, no fund named in these documents would pay you back. Whether the licence is current and what it is worth is covered in our main review of IFC Markets.

Exhibit 23NoticeStandard wording

IFCMARKETS. CORP. is a BVI incorporated company and is regulated in the BVI by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (the “BVI FSC”, or the “FSC”) and holds Investment Business Licence No. SIBA/L/14/1073 (the “Licence”) of the following categories:
Clause 2.1 in Customer Agreement, p.5
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Clients of FCA-licensed firms can claim from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm fails, and CySEC firms belong to the Investor Compensation Fund. These documents name no scheme of any kind.

IFC Markets is not licensed by these regulators, so this is a comparison of practice, not a finding of any breach.

Where the marketing and the contract disagree

A promise made in public, set against the clause that governs it

01

The FAQ says IFC Markets resets a negative balance to zero; the withdrawal page lets it charge those resets back when you withdraw.

Said in public, in English

Generally, if the balance of your account has become negative we will automatically return it to zero.

English FAQ, answer on negative balances after a stop-out

We took a picture of this page. It is shown once, with the finding it belongs to. See our capture of ifcmarkets.com

In the contract

If you send a withdrawal request, IFC Markets reserves the right to charge you the amount of accrued negative balance compensations for all your accounts, as well as to cancel the bonus funds accrued in the framework of promotions.

We took a picture of this page. It is shown once, with the finding it belongs to. See our capture of ifcmarkets.com

02

The execution page describes orders routed to outside liquidity providers; the Risk Disclosure says IFC Markets itself takes the other side of every trade.

Said in public, in English

IFC Markets executes your orders using either STP (Straight Through Processing) or ECN (Electronic Communication Network) model, depending on your account type.

English Trade Execution page, opening paragraph

In the contract · clause 1

Each transaction in these trading instruments, which is agreed and entered into by IFCMARKETS. CORP. with you, will be entered into by us as a principal.

03

The Farsi FAQ tells readers their orders go to the market; the English contract lets IFC Markets hold positions against theirs.

Said in public, in Persian

IFC Markets یک کارگزار STP (پردازش مستقیم - انجام خودکار معاملات با ابزارهای مالی) است. یعنی اینکه ما قیمت ها را از تامین کنندگان نقدینگی خود دریافت می کنیم و سفارشات انباشته مشتریان را به بازارها انتقال می دهیم.

Word for word in English: IFC Markets is an STP broker (straight-through processing, automatic execution of transactions in financial instruments). This means that we receive prices from our liquidity providers and pass clients' accumulated orders on to the markets.

Farsi FAQ, general questions section

In the contract · clause 44.4

You accept that when we act as a Market Maker we may hold Positions that are contrary to your Positions and/or the Positions of certain other of our Customers, resulting in potential conflict of interest between us and any such other of our Customers.

04

The about-us page calls full fee information a point of principle; the contract says IFC Markets never has to disclose its income from fees.

Said in public, in English

It's a point of principle for us to provide full information concerning fees and have an open and clear communication channel.

English About us page, Openness section

In the contract · clause 44.9

Please note that we are at no time and under no circumstances obliged to disclose any details of our performance or our income produced as a Market Maker, or otherwise related to other commissions, charges and fees.

05

The Japanese FAQ promises no hidden fees; the contract says IFC Markets will never reveal its spread markup to you.

Said in public, in Japanese

IFC Marketsの場合、隠している手数料はありません。サービスは全部無料です。

Word for word in English: At IFC Markets there are no hidden fees. All services are free.

Japanese FAQ, answer to the question whether there are fees

In the contract · clause 44.6

furthermore, you acknowledge, recognise and accept that the said “spread difference” constitutes remuneration to us and that such “spread” will not be specified at the Settlement/Trade Confirmation or otherwise revealed to you.

06

The deposit page lists no fee; a footnote on the withdrawal page lets IFC Markets take the processor's commission if you did not trade.

Said in public, in English

Deposit fee: None

English deposit page, bank card method

In the contract

In case of the absence of trading activity or detection of any abuse of the payment system commissions reimbursement policy for replenishing the trading account, IFC Markets reserves the right to debit commissions of payment systems from the client’s balance fully.

07

The site advertises a 10% stop-out; the Risk Disclosure now says IFC Markets starts closing positions at 20% of required margin.

Said in public, in English

Stop Out Level - Only 10%

English Trading Account Types page, closing banner

We took a picture of this page. It is shown once, with the finding it belongs to. See our capture of ifcmarkets.com

In the contract · clause 5

As soon as the equity in your trading account (with any unrealised profit/losses) reaches the margin level required to maintain your open positions or drops below that level (i.e., 20% of the total margin required to maintain the open positions), we will start closing your open trades in order to prevent further losses in your trading account.

08

The achievements page offers managed funds; the IFCM Invest terms say the service is not an asset management tool.

Said in public, in English

Let experienced traders manage your funds or become a PAMM manager and earn commissions.

English Our Achievements page, PAMM trading entry for 2023

In the contract · clause 2.7

The IFCM Invest Service is not an asset management tool.

09

The promotion says a break from trading earns you more; the August 2026 contract charges $10 a month once a break lasts 12 months.

Said in public, in English

If you are using only a part of your deposits when trading or you have decided to take a break in trading, your free funds will bring additional profits to you!

English Annual Interest on Free Margin promotion

In the contract · clause 43.4

A monthly maintenance/inactivity fee in the amount of Ten (10) USD (or its equivalent in the account's Balance Currency) may be charged on inactive/dormant accounts.

10

The FAQ lets you trade before verifying your profile; the AML policy bars any transaction before an ID check.

Said in public, in English

Commonly, we do not make it mandatory to authorize your profile to trade with us.

English FAQ, answer on profile authorization

In the contract

Any transaction with the Customer may only be entered into after obtaining a photocopy of a valid identification of the potential Customer and performing the necessary check.

11

The Japanese site's footer leaves Japan off the list of countries IFC Markets does not serve; the sign-up page puts it on.

Said in public, in Japanese

IFCMARKETS. CORP.はアメリカ合衆国、英国領ヴァージン島、ロシアの居住者に金融サービスを提供いたしておりません。

Word for word in English: IFCMARKETS. CORP. does not provide financial services to residents of the United States of America, the British Virgin Islands or Russia.

Footer of the Japanese site, on a page titled IFCM Japan

In the contract

IFCMARKETS. CORP. does not provide services for United States, BVI, Japan and Russian residents.

What changed quietly

This is the first review of IFC Markets' documents, so no changes are listed.

  • ADDEDClause 43.4 · 29 May 2025 to 25 August 2026

    Adds a $10 monthly fee on inactive and dormant accounts; the May 2025 contract had no inactivity fee.

    A monthly maintenance/inactivity fee in the amount of Ten (10) USD (or its equivalent in the account's Balance Currency) may be charged on inactive/dormant accounts. Such fee will only be deducted as long as there is a positive cash balance. No negative balance will accrue in the Customer’s account.

  • ADDEDClause 43.2 · 29 May 2025 to 25 August 2026

    Adds the rule that all your accounts turn dormant once none of them has traded for 12 months.

    If there is no trading activity in any of the Customer’s accounts (or a single account, if that is the case) with the Company for Twelve (12) consecutive months, all accounts held by such customer will be classified as “dormant” in accordance with the BVI Dormant Accounts Act, 2011.

  • REWRITTENClause 3.1(c) · 29 May 2025 to 25 August 2026

    Renames the risk document the Risk Warning; it is still part of your agreement and still holds the negative balance promise.

    c. our “Risk Warning”;

  • REWRITTENClause 5 · archived 5 November 2025 to current, undated

    Doubles the stop-out level from 10% to 20% of required margin, so IFC Markets now starts closing your positions earlier.

    As soon as the equity in your trading account (with any unrealised profit/losses) reaches the margin level required to maintain your open positions or drops below that level (i.e., 20% of the total margin required to maintain the open positions), we will start closing your open trades in order to prevent further losses in your trading account.

  • ADDEDClause 4 · archived 5 November 2025 to current, undated

    Adds a plain promise that you can lose only the balance on your trading account.

    However, you will only lose funds within the balance on your trading account.

  • REWRITTENClause 3 · 11 June 2024 to current, undated

    The policy drops its ban on staff dealing on their own account and asks only that they disclose their investments.

    - establishment of disclosure requirements applicable to employees in relation to their own investments;

  • REWRITTENClause 2.2 · 28 September 2023 to 04 June 2025

    Only the name of the risk document changed; the main agreement still wins any conflict with these copy trading terms.

    This document is part of a broader agreement with the Company including the Customer Agreement, Terms and Conditions of Business, the Risk Disclosure and the Privacy Policy.

  • REWRITTENClause 3.2 · 28 September 2023 to current, undated

    Only capitalisation changed; IFC Markets can still change account types and trading conditions without notice.

    IFCMARKETS reserves the right to change any Account types and/or trading conditions at any time without being obliged to provide prior notice.

The documents this reading is based on

14 files, all published by IFC Markets. Each shows when we read it and a fingerprint of its wording.

WIKILIX keeps the copy of each file it read, and does not republish it: what is published is the fingerprint of its wording. Download the file yourself and hash its text, lowercased with runs of whitespace collapsed, and a matching fingerprint means the wording quoted above is still the wording IFC Markets publishes.

How this reading was done

Every clause above was read out of a document IFC Markets publishes itself

This reading was published on .

Documents
12 of 14downloaded from the broker's site, and 12 read in full
Pages opened
80pages walked to find those documents, footer links included
Older copies
8earlier versions downloaded, 1 identical to the copy we hold by fingerprint
Marketing pages
11public pages set against what the contract says
Languages
EN vs FA vs JAthe language it advertises in, against the language it contracts in
Position measured
3clauses whose position was counted: which numbered section of the document holds them, out of how many

Who the contract is with

IFCMARKETS. CORP.

Every document names one contracting company: IFCMARKETS. CORP., incorporated in the British Virgin Islands as Company No. 669838, with its registered office at Quijano Chambers, Road Town, Tortola. The Customer Agreement says it holds BVI FSC Investment Business Licence No. SIBA/L/14/1073 for dealing as principal and arranging deals. The legal page adds a postal address in Limassol, Cyprus and a physical address in Yerevan, Armenia, and lists Nettradex Limited of Cyprus as the platform developer. Nettradex Limited is not a party to the Customer Agreement. Because IFC Markets deals as principal, the company you sign with is also the other side of your trades.

Quotations are copied verbatim from the documents named above, with the clause number and the page each one came from. Where a clause is quoted in another language, the original is shown first and the English is a translation.

The plain-language parts, what a clause means for a client, how ordinary it is, and how it reads against a regulated standard, are WIKILIX's analysis and are labelled as such on every card. This is a reading of public documents, not legal advice and not an allegation of wrongdoing.

In fairness, and what we could not check

A reader who knows the edges of the work can trust the middle of it

IFC Markets publishes its full legal set on one page, linked from every language version checked, and every page of the Customer Agreement carries its revision date. That date let us confirm that only the dormancy section changed between May 2025 and August 2026. The deposit and withdrawal pages list a fee, a limit and a processing time for each method, including the 20% WebMoney deposit charge, and the FAQ explains the $10 inactivity fee in plain words. The Risk Disclosure states in its first section that IFC Markets deals with you as principal, and the current version adds that you can only lose the balance on your account.

The licence certificate could not be read: the link on IFC Markets' legal page opens a scanned image with no text in it. The earlier Risk Disclosure is an Internet Archive copy from 5 November 2025. The current file carries no date, so it is not possible to say exactly when the stop-out level changed. We had no earlier copy of the FAQ, the deposit page or the account types page, so we cannot say when the 10% stop-out banner or the STP description first appeared. The review compares marketing pages in English, Farsi, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, French, Czech and Japanese, and the FAQ in several more languages. Other language versions are not compared. IFC Markets also runs its Farsi site on a separate domain, ifcmiran.asia, which this review does not cover. The quoted Farsi pages are on ifcmarkets.com. The review does not cover the client portal or the IFCM Invest service itself.

How to check any of this yourself

Every quote above links to the IFC Markets file it came from. This is what to do with it.

Open the three stepsFind the words in the source, work out the fingerprint, and read what a difference does and does not prove.

Open the source and search for the words

Every quote has a link under it. Open the file, or the web page, and search it for the words we quote. The clause number next to the quote tells you where to look.

If the words are not there any more, the source may have changed after we read it. That is worth knowing too. We keep the date we read it, and a code worked out from its wording, so the quote stays checkable.

What a fingerprint is

A fingerprint is a code worked out from what a source says. Change one word and the code changes completely. We keep two codes for every file we read, and the panel on each source shows both.

The first is the code of the exact file we downloaded. The second is the code of its wording alone, with capital letters lowered and runs of spaces collapsed. When the same words are saved as a new file, the first code changes and the second one stays the same.

Only the first code can be worked out on your own computer. Save the file, then run one of these, putting the name of the file you saved where the example is. The panel on each source prints the command with that source's real file name already in it.

macOS or Linux:
  shasum -a 256 the-file-you-saved.pdf

Windows:
  certutil -hashfile the-file-you-saved.pdf SHA256

The two codes are different from each other, and they are not meant to match. Comparing one against the other proves nothing.

What a difference means, and what it does not

A different file code on its own proves nothing. A PDF saved again with a new date inside it is a new file saying exactly the same thing.

A different wording code means the words themselves changed. That is the one that matters, and it is why we keep it.

Even then, a change is not proof of bad faith. Companies update their documents. What this report says is what the document said on the day we read it, and every quote carries that date.

A source that is a web page and not a file has no file to save, so only the code of its wording is shown.

How this report is made

Every clause quoted above comes from a document IFC Markets publishes on its own website, downloaded and hashed on the date shown, with the clause number and page recorded so any reader can check it. We do not allege anything the documents do not say, and we do not judge IFC Markets on anything other than its own published terms and its own public marketing. Where a clause has a qualifier that softens it, the report says so. Last read Oct 25, 2026.

If you represent IFC Markets and a clause has changed, been withdrawn, or is being read out of context, tell us and we will re-read the documents and update this page. Corrections from the broker are welcome and are published with the reading they change. Contact us.

This is a reading of a contract, not legal advice and not a ruling on IFC Markets. Whether its licence is real and current is a separate check on the broker profile.

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