Wonderinterest: CySEC licence 307/16

The firm states that withdrawal requests are handled within one business day of receipt, and its client agreement commits it to processing a completed withdrawal form no later than the next business day. Arrival is separate from processing: the firm warns that international transfers can take a further two to five business days and that it cannot guarantee same day receipt. Third party bank charges are passed on to the client.

Deposits are by bank transfer or credit and debit card, and the firm charges nothing on either. Card deposits are capped at 10,000 EUR and bank transfers have no stated maximum. Withdrawals are made by bank transfer only, and under the firm's anti money laundering rules the money must return to the same account it came from; payments to anonymous or third party accounts are refused.

Contracts for difference on 54 currency pairs, on shares, on indices, on commodities and on ETFs, plus physical share dealing on European, US and other listed markets. Cryptocurrency is not among the asset classes the firm lists on its products page.

MetaTrader 5 is the main platform, running on the firm's own Wonderinterest-Live server, with Windows desktop, iOS and Android builds linked from its trading platform page and more than 31 interface languages. The firm also names the XOH Trader platform. Autochartist is included from the Solar tier upwards. MetaTrader 4 is not offered.

Yes. There is no charge for the first six months of inactivity, then 39 USD per month from six to twelve months, and 79 USD per month beyond twelve months. The firm states the fee is not charged if the trading account holds no funds. A separate portfolio management fee is taken as a swap on physical share holdings.

Spreads are floating and start at 0.5 pips on EUR/USD, and forex, index and commodity CFDs carry no separate commission. Share CFDs cost 0.1% of volume on most European markets and 0.3% on US markets, ETF CFDs 0.3%, and physical shares 1% with a minimum of 20 EUR or 20 USD, charged on both opening and closing. Spreads are quoted as tightening at each higher deposit tier.

Up to 1:30 for retail clients, which is the European regulatory cap rather than a choice by the firm. Major currency pairs reach 1:30, most other pairs are limited to 1:20, share and ETF CFDs to 1:5, commodities to 1:10, and physical shares are unleveraged at 1:1. Margin call is signalled at a 100% margin level and open positions are closed automatically at 50%.

There is no minimum deposit on the entry level Wood account. The five higher tiers are defined by deposit size: Coal from 50,000 USD, Water from 100,000 USD, Solar from 250,000 USD, Nuclear from 500,000 USD and Fusion from 1,000,000 USD. The benefits that matter commercially, chiefly tighter spreads, only begin at Coal.

Nothing found in this review supports that. The licence, the operating company, the registered address and the named management were each checked against official records and each held up, which is more than most firms accused of fraud can produce. That does not make trading with it safe: the firm's own disclosure is that 73.31% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with it.

Wonderinterest Trading Ltd, a private Cyprus company registered under number HE 332830 at Spyrou Araouzou 163, Lordos Waterfront Court, Office 201, 3036 Limassol. The Cyprus companies registry records it as registered since 29 May 2014 and lists five directors and a named company secretary. Two of the directors, Evrula Papadopoulou and Matej Homola, are the executives the firm names on its own about page.

Yes. Wonderinterest is the trading brand of Wonderinterest Trading Ltd, a Cyprus Investment Firm authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission under CIF licence number 307/16, in force since 9 August 2016. That is an onshore European authorisation rather than an offshore registration, and it brings European rules on leverage, client money and negative balance protection with it. The firm publishes a direct link to its entry on the regulator's register from its own licence and regulation page.