Wikilix
Contract reading

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

Every clause below is published by IST 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: IST MARKETS LTD

withdrawalscounterpartyaccount restrictionsbonus lockcomplaintsconflicthidden feekyc freezemarket makersole discretion

IST Markets advertises its cashback bonus to scalpers. Its own Terms and Conditions list scalping as a prohibited practice. The fees page says withdrawals are free, while the contract makes one free withdrawal a month depend on trading 5 lots. Two different companies are called IST MARKETS LTD, and only one of them has a regulator.

Back to IST Markets

Contract risk

Money at risk
6.5/10

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.
4
FlaggedEvery clause worth knowing about, at all three severities. Ordinary terms that every broker has are not counted.
17
DocumentsHow many of the broker's own legal files this reading is based on. Each one was downloaded and hashed on the date shown.
20
ContradictionsPlaces where a promise the broker makes in public is not kept by the clause that governs it.
7

How the 17 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.

Critical4
Warning9
Notice4

section 30 of 43is where the deepest clause sits, 70% of the way into 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.

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

Critical$250000In the contract. Jump to the clause this comes from.No investor compensation scheme, and you can owe more5Fee you were not shown. Jump to the clause this comes from.Free withdrawals depend on trading 5 lots a month14 working daysWithdrawal limit. Jump to the clause this comes from.Wire withdrawals can take up to 14 business days30 working daysTime to complain. Jump to the clause this comes from.Complaints are judged on IST Markets' own records

What the documents say

17 clauses worth knowing about, worst first, each quoted from IST Markets's own files

01

IST Markets advertises its cashback bonus to scalpers and high frequency traders. Its Terms and Conditions list scalping as a prohibited practice, and the order execution policy says the same. One page recruits you and another restricts you.

Why this matters

If you take the cashback offer and trade the way that page describes, IST Markets can treat your trading as abusive. It can then investigate, restrict your account, and handle the affected trades under the official PDF terms.

Exhibit 1CriticalRarely seen

This promotion is built for high-frequency traders, scalpers, algorithmic traders, and active day traders who want more value from their trading activity.
Clause What Is the Smart Trade Cashback Bonus? in Smart Trade Cashback Bonus
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must make sure a promotion is fair, clear and not misleading, and must not invite trading their own terms forbid. IST Markets promotes its cashback bonus to scalpers while its Terms and Conditions list scalping as prohibited.

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

Our readingPlenty of brokers ban scalping and plenty pay volume rebates. Running a promotion written for scalpers on top of a clause that forbids scalping puts the client in breach of the contract by following the advertisement.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 13The Friday bonus is voided for the same scalping that the cashback page invites, so one promotion can cancel the other.
  • Worse together with Exhibit 12What happens after IST Markets decides your trading was abusive is set out only in the PDF the website does not display.
02

IST Markets holds USD 250,000 of insurance. Its own page says that cover is for directors and professional liability, and not a compensation scheme for you. The risk disclosure says a losing position can take you past your balance and leave you liable for the difference.

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

If a trade runs past your deposit, IST Markets can ask you for the rest. If the firm fails, no scheme pays you back, and the USD 250,000 is an annual total for the whole company.

Exhibit 2CriticalHarder than usual$250000

If the market moves against your position or margin levels are increased, you may be called upon to pay substantial additional funds on short notice. If you fail to comply, your position may be liquidated at a loss and you will be liable for any resulting deficit.
Clause Key Risk Warning in Risk Disclosure
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

What it costsA USD 250,000 annual aggregate spread across a client base IST Markets describes as 25,000 people is USD 10 each, and the cover is not for client balances anyway.

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

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC, and others under ESMA rules, must give retail clients negative balance protection, so a client cannot lose more than the money in the account. Those regimes also require membership of an investor compensation scheme. IST Markets says you will be liable for any resulting deficit and names no compensation scheme.

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

03

IST Markets runs more than one legal entity, and which one holds your money depends on where you were signed up. One is registered in Mauritius and holds a Financial Services Commission licence. The other is a Saint Vincent company with no regulator named beside it.

Why this matters

Every page of the site says IST Markets is regulated in Mauritius. If your account sits with the Saint Vincent company, that sentence is not about the firm holding your deposit, and the regulator named in the complaints procedure is not its regulator.

Exhibit 4CriticalRarely seen2

IST Markets operates through more than one legal entity, and the documents that apply to your account depend on the entity you register with.
Clause Important note (regional differences) in Legal Documents
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Our readingBroker groups often run several entities, but they normally give each a different registered name. Here both companies are called IST MARKETS LTD, so the name on a document does not tell you which one you contracted with.

  • Worse together with Exhibit 9The complaints page sends you to the Mauritius regulator, which only supervises one of the two companies that can be holding your account.
04

The risk disclosure lets IST Markets stop trading in any over the counter product whenever it chooses. If it does that while you hold a losing position, the same paragraph says you may be prevented from closing it.

Why this matters

A position you cannot close keeps losing. The contract sets no test for this decision, no notice period, and no way for you to appeal it.

Exhibit 5CriticalHarder than usual

IST MARKETS LTD has the right, in its sole discretion, to cease trading in any OTC and off-exchange derivative instrument at any time, and in such event, you may be prevented from liquidating an adverse position. Such actions may result in a substantial loss.
Clause Counterparty Risk (You Trade with IST MARKETS LTD) in Risk Disclosure
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Buried at section 30 of 43 in the Risk Disclosure, 70% of the way through.

05

IST Markets tells you on its fees page that withdrawals cost nothing. The Terms and Conditions say only one withdrawal a month may be free. That one is free only if you traded at least 5 lots or still hold a balance. Any other withdrawal that month can carry a fee the contract never puts a number on.

Why this matters

Trade under 5 lots, empty the account, and the withdrawal you make can be charged. IST Markets does not publish the amount anywhere, so you cannot work out the cost before you deposit.

Exhibit 3WarningHarder than usual5

Per the Official Terms, IST Markets may cover the fee for one withdrawal per calendar month provided that you have traded at least 5 lots or you have a remaining balance in your account. If these conditions are not met, or if you request additional withdrawals in the same month, fees may apply (depending on the payment method and circumstances).
Clause Deposits, withdrawals & refunds in Terms & Conditions
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Buried at section 52 of 86 in the Terms & Conditions, 60% of the way through.

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

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must give a retail client the costs and charges of a service before they trade. IST Markets says a withdrawal fee may apply and does not say what it is.

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

  • Worse together with Exhibit 6One page promises free withdrawals, the contract makes them conditional, and the funding page then names a flat charge on small wires.

IST Markets sells to scalpers and bans scalping in the same document set

IST Markets promotes its cashback bonus to scalpers, then lists scalping as a prohibited practice in its Terms and Conditions. The execution model page advertises 0 re-quotes while the order execution policy explains when a re-quote happens. The client portal even prints the Mauritius company number where the licence number belongs.

Promise versus contract2 clauses flagged

The IST Markets client portal tells you it is authorised under licence number GBC 190266. Its own legal documents page lists GBC 190266 as the Mauritius registration number, and the licence as GB22200573.

Why this matters

Search the regulator's register with the number on the login page and you are looking for a company number, not a licence. Two different numbers are presented as the same thing on two pages of the same brand.

Exhibit 11WarningHarder than usual

Registration number: GBC 190266
Clause A) Mauritius (FSC-regulated) in Legal Documents
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

The execution model page states 0 re-quotes or rejections and says IST Markets never re-quotes. The order execution policy then sets out when an order is rejected, or sent back for you to re-submit at a new price.

Why this matters

In a fast market you can be handed a new price or refused outright, on grounds the marketing page says do not exist. The reasons include margin, available liquidity and price integrity checks.

Exhibit 16WarningHarder than usual

We never re-quote and market orders will only be rejected if they fall outside the upper or lower TP and SL limits that you choose to place to protect against price fluctuations
Clause Reliable Execution with No Re-quotes or Rejections in Trade Execution Model: Speed, Precision, Transparency
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Buried at section 47 of 69 in the Trade Execution Model: Speed, Precision, Transparency, 68% of the way through.

Withdrawals are free until the contract says they are not

IST Markets says withdrawals cost nothing, then makes one free withdrawal a month depend on trading 5 lots. The Terms and Conditions never say what the fee is when that condition is missed. The funding page also charges a flat 10 EUR on bank wires under 100 EUR, printed below the line saying withdrawals are free.

Cost disclosure1 clause flagged

Bank wire withdrawals under 100 EUR carry a flat 10 EUR charge. The top of the same page tells you IST Markets charges no broker fees on deposits or withdrawals.

Why this matters

Take out 50 EUR by bank wire and 10 EUR of it goes in the fee. That is a fifth of your money, and the charge sits far below the line saying withdrawals are free.

Exhibit 6WarningStandard wording$10

Bank wire withdrawals under 100 EUR have a fixed rate of 10 EUR.
Clause Important Notes: Instructions in Funding & Withdrawals
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

What it costsA 50 EUR bank wire withdrawal reaches you as 40 EUR. The 10 EUR is taken before the money leaves.

A bank wire out of IST Markets can take 14 business days

IST Markets says a wire withdrawal may take up to 14 business days to arrive. Money must go back to the account it came from. The Terms and Conditions add verification checks with no deadline attached, on conditions set out in a PDF the website does not display.

Exit conditions1 clause flagged

IST Markets says a bank wire withdrawal may take up to 14 business days to reach you. Withdrawals must go back to the account the money came from. The Terms and Conditions also let IST Markets run verification checks with no deadline on them.

Why this matters

You wait up to 14 business days for a wire, and the clock counts banking days only. If the route you deposited with has closed, nothing in the published terms says how you are paid instead.

Exhibit 8WarningHarder than usual14 working days

May take up to 14 business days to be credited to the client’s account.
Clause Withdrawals (Processing + cut-off) in Deposit Funds
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

What it costs14 business days is close to three calendar weeks once weekends are counted.

The Friday bonus disappears if you withdraw inside 14 days

IST Markets doubles a Friday deposit up to $500 as credit you cannot withdraw. A withdrawal inside 14 days cancels it, and so does scalping, hedging or latency arbitrage. The same broker advertises a separate bonus to scalpers.

Bonus conditions1 clause flagged

The Double Deposit Fridays bonus doubles a Friday deposit up to $500, as credit you cannot withdraw. Take money out within 14 days and the bonus is cancelled. It also becomes void if IST Markets detects scalping, hedging or latency arbitrage.

Why this matters

The extra margin is yours only while your own money stays in place. Withdraw early and you lose the credit your position sizes were built on.

Exhibit 13WarningStandard wording14 days

Withdrawals within 14 days will cancel the active bonus
Clause Terms and Conditions in Double Deposit Fridays
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

What it costsA $500 Friday deposit becomes $1,000 of tradable balance. Withdraw anything in the first 14 days and you are back to $500 of margin.

What happens, and when

The stages this clause runs through, taken from the broker's own document
TriggerWhat the broker may then doClause
Friday depositIST Markets adds 100% of your deposit as credit, capped at $500.Bonus Details
No trade in 14 daysThe bonus is removed.Terms and Conditions
Withdrawal in 14 daysThe active bonus is cancelled.Terms and Conditions
Day 14The bonus expires if it has not been used.Bonus Details

IST Markets reviews your complaint against its own records

A formal complaint at IST Markets is decided internally, on the firm's own platform logs, within 15 to 30 business days. The page setting this out still carries the notes written for its own web team. The version of the terms that would settle any dispute is a PDF on a separate address.

Right of reply3 clauses flagged

A formal complaint to IST Markets is reviewed by IST Markets, using its own platform logs and trading records. It aims to answer within 15 business days and can take 30 business days on a complex case.

Why this matters

You are asking the firm you are in dispute with to weigh its own evidence. If the answer does not satisfy you, the next step is the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius, and that is a long way from most clients.

Exhibit 9WarningStandard wording30 working days

Complaints are reviewed based on evidence and internal records (e.g., platform logs, trading records, payment confirmations).
Clause Fairness and impartiality in Complaints Handling Procedure
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference
Set against a regulated standard: FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus)

Firms licensed by the FCA and CySEC must give retail clients access to an independent ombudsman after the internal process ends. IST Markets offers the Mauritius regulator, and the Saint Vincent entity has no equivalent route named.

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

What happens, and when

The stages this clause runs through, taken from the broker's own document
TriggerWhat the broker may then doClause
Step 1You email support and IST Markets aims to reply within 48 business hours.Step 1 — Informal resolution (Customer Support)
2 business daysIST Markets aims to acknowledge a formal complaint and give you a reference number.Acknowledgement + reference number
15 business daysIST Markets aims to send its final response.Investigation and final response
30 business daysA complex complaint can be extended to this point before a final answer.Investigation and final response

Every policy page on the site tells you the official PDF wins if the two disagree. The Terms and Conditions page is described as a summary for convenience, and the binding file sits on a separate address, istmarkets.mu.

Why this matters

You agree to a document you have probably never opened. The order execution policy also refers to a Client Agreement that IST Markets does not publish anywhere.

Exhibit 12WarningHarder than usual

Important: This page is a structured, easy-to-read summary for convenience. The Official PDF Terms & Conditions remain the legally binding version.
Clause Important (summary notice) in Terms & Conditions
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Where it sits: section 11 of 86 in the Terms & Conditions, near the start.

IST Markets published its complaints procedure with the instructions to its own web team left in. The page recommends fields for a complaint form that does not exist, so the only route in is email.

Why this matters

You get no form, no ticket system and no tracked submission. The reference number the page promises sits in the same unfinished section.

Exhibit 10NoticeRarely seen

If you add a form on this page (Elementor Form), these fields are recommended.
Clause Complaint form (recommended fields for your website) in Complaints Handling Procedure
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Our readingA published procedure that still addresses the website builder rather than the client shows the document was never finished. What a client can rely on is the part that was written, and this page cannot tell you which part that is.

IST Markets is the other side of your trade and its execution page says there is no conflict

The IST Markets risk disclosure says you open your position with IST MARKETS LTD as counterparty. Its conflict of interest policy names pricing, mark-ups and hedging as places a conflict can arise. Its execution model page tells you there is no conflict of interest at all.

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.

Who you trade against2 clauses flagged

The execution model page tells you there is no conflict of interest. The risk disclosure says you trade with IST MARKETS LTD as your counterparty. The firm is on the other side of your position, and its own conflict of interest policy lists pricing, mark-ups and hedging as places a conflict can arise.

Why this matters

When you lose on a trade, the money can stay with the company you traded against. The page that tells you there is no conflict is the one most new clients read first.

Exhibit 7WarningStandard wording

No hidden markups, no dealing desk, and no conflict of interest
Clause Maximum Transparency in Trade Execution Model: Speed, Precision, Transparency
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

The price you trade on is IST Markets' own quote. The Terms and Conditions say it can be higher or lower than the underlying market price. Financing and dividend adjustments are built into it.

Why this matters

Your stop and your take profit trigger on IST Markets' number, not on the market's. Most CFD brokers work this way, and the execution model page still tells you there are no hidden markups.

Exhibit 15NoticeStandard wording

Our Quote is derived from the underlying market and may include adjustments that reflect product mechanics and costs (for example, financing/interest (“cost of carry”) and dividend components where applicable). This means the price you see on our platform can be higher or lower than the underlying market price.
Clause Pricing: Our Quote and the underlying market in Terms & Conditions
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Where it sits: section 43 of 86 in the Terms & Conditions, 50% of the way through.

IST Markets can stop trading a product while you are still holding it

The IST Markets risk disclosure gives the firm sole discretion to cease trading in any over the counter instrument at any time. The document says you may then be prevented from closing a losing position. The restricted country list ends with a few others it does not name.

Control of your positions1 clause flagged

IST Markets names the USA, North Korea and China as places it does not serve, then adds a few other countries without naming them. Nothing on the site says which ones.

Why this matters

You can open an account and deposit, then find at withdrawal that your country was on a list you were never shown.

Exhibit 17NoticeHarder than usual

Regional Restrictions: IST Markets LTD doesn’t provide services to residents of the USA, North Korea, China and a few other countries.
Clause Regional Restrictions (site footer) in Terms & Conditions
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

IST Markets gives 15 days for documents and can close the account after

IST Markets can open your account before verification, with deposits capped at USD 2,000 for 15 days. If the documents do not arrive, the policy says the account may be closed. The same policy says IST Markets will not withhold your funds unless money laundering is suspected.

Verification clock1 clause flagged

IST Markets can give you 15 days to send identity documents. Deposits in that window are capped at USD 2,000. Miss the deadline and the account may be closed.

Why this matters

Your account can be closed over a late document rather than anything you did wrong. The same policy says IST Markets will not withhold your funds unless money laundering is suspected.

Exhibit 14NoticeStandard wording15 days

Clients may be provided with a grace period of fifteen (15) days to provide identification documents.
Clause 8.2 in AML & KYC Policy
Read from the broker's site on Open the reference

Where it sits: section 57 of 137 in the AML & KYC Policy, 42% of the way through.

What happens, and when

The stages this clause runs through, taken from the broker's own document
TriggerWhat the broker may then doClause
Day 0You can start trading, with total deposits capped at USD 2,000.8.2
Day 15Identity documents are due.8.2
After day 15The account may be closed if verification is not finished.8.2

Where the marketing and the contract disagree

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

01

One page recruits scalpers, and the Terms and Conditions ban scalping.

Said in public, in English

This promotion is built for high-frequency traders, scalpers, algorithmic traders, and active day traders who want more value from their trading activity.

Smart Trade Cashback Bonus promotion page, opening section

In the contract · clause FAQ: Do you allow scalping, sniping, or arbitrage?

No. The Terms prohibit certain abusive or unfair trading practices, including scalping, sniping and arbitrage. Actions may be taken as described in the Official Terms and platform rules.

02

The fees page says no withdrawal fee, and the contract makes one free withdrawal a month conditional on trading 5 lots.

Said in public, in English

Withdrawals: $0 broker fee — IST Markets does not charge withdrawal fees.

Fees page, Zero Broker Fees panel

In the contract · clause Deposits, withdrawals & refunds

Per the Official Terms, IST Markets may cover the fee for one withdrawal per calendar month provided that you have traded at least 5 lots or you have a remaining balance in your account. If these conditions are not met, or if you request additional withdrawals in the same month, fees may apply (depending on the payment method and circumstances).

03

The same page promises zero withdrawal fees at the top and charges a flat 10 EUR on small wires further down.

Said in public, in English

IST Markets does not charge broker fees on deposits or withdrawals.

Funding and Withdrawals page, Zero Deposit and Withdrawal Fees panel

In the contract · clause Important Notes: Instructions

Bank wire withdrawals under 100 EUR have a fixed rate of 10 EUR.

04

The execution page claims no conflict of interest while the risk disclosure names the firm as the counterparty to your trade.

Said in public, in English

No hidden markups, no dealing desk, and no conflict of interest

Execution Model page, Maximum Transparency panel

In the contract · clause Counterparty Risk (You Trade with IST MARKETS LTD)

You enter a trade and open a position with IST MARKETS LTD in its capacity as a counterparty. The online trading software is not a marketplace or an exchange.

05

The footer says IST Markets is regulated, while the legal documents page says some clients contract with an unregulated Saint Vincent company of the same name.

Said in public, in English

IST Markets LTD is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius with an Investment Dealer license. License number GB22200573.

Footer printed on every page of istmarkets.com

In the contract · clause Why this is not a conflict

Some clients were onboarded under the Saint Vincent entity historically, while the Mauritius entity is a later regulated structure.

06

The portal presents GBC 190266 as a licence number, and the legal documents page lists it as the company registration number.

Said in public, in English

IST Markets LTD is regulated and authorised by Financial Services Commission of Mauritius under license number: GBC 190266.

Client portal login page, disclosure block under the login form

In the contract · clause A) Mauritius (FSC-regulated)

Registration number: GBC 190266

07

The execution page says re-quotes never happen, and the execution policy describes the flow that produces them.

Said in public, in English

We never re-quote and market orders will only be rejected if they fall outside the upper or lower TP and SL limits that you choose to place to protect against price fluctuations

Execution Model page, 0 Re-quotes or Rejections panel

In the contract · clause B) Instant execution (platform term)

If price conditions change while processing, the order may not be filled at the displayed price and you may be prompted to re-submit at an updated price (commonly described industry-wide as a requote-style flow).

The documents this reading is based on

20 files, all published by IST 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 IST Markets publishes.

How this reading was done

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

This reading was published on .

Documents
17 of 20downloaded from the broker's site, and 17 read in full
Pages opened
51pages walked to find those documents, footer links included
Older copies
6earlier versions downloaded
Marketing pages
11public pages set against what the contract says
Position measured
6clauses whose position was counted: which numbered section of the document holds them, out of how many

Who the contract is with

IST MARKETS LTD

Two companies use the name IST MARKETS LTD. The Mauritius one carries registration number GBC 190266 and Financial Services Commission licence GB22200573. The Saint Vincent one is company number 24814 BC 2018 and has no regulator named beside it. IST Markets says the entity you contract with is the one shown in your application. You only learn which company holds your money during sign up.

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

IST Markets charges no inactivity fee and no account maintenance fee. Its fees page says so in plain numbers, which most brokers at this level avoid doing. The complaints procedure sets no deadline for you to complain. It targets a final answer in 15 business days and names the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius as the place to escalate. The Safety of Client Funds page also states plainly that its insurance is not a statutory investor compensation scheme, instead of leaving the reader to assume it is.

We could not read the official PDF Terms and Conditions, which IST Markets says is the version that prevails. It sits on istmarkets.mu and would not open as text. Every Terms and Conditions quotation here comes from the broker's own web summary at istmarkets.com/terms-conditions/. We read the complaints procedure, the execution model page, the legal documents hub and the privacy policy on IST Markets' own web pages. We did not read the loyalty ladder bonus terms in full, and we did not read the four other official PDFs at all. Three addresses in the document set repeat a page we had already read, and we did not open them separately. Two archived April 2026 copies, the risk disclosure and the terms, could not be retrieved. The archived complaints procedure and order execution policy came back unreadable, so we could not compare either against today's text. No Client Agreement is published on the site, although the order execution policy refers to one.

How to check any of this yourself

Every quote above links to the IST 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 IST 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 IST 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 Aug 22, 2026.

If you represent IST 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 IST Markets. Whether its licence is real and current is a separate check on the broker profile.

Back to the IST Markets profile