ProudMarket review – 5 things you should know about Proud-market.com

Beware! ProudMarket is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.

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ProudMarket is an offshore Forex brokerage registered in Vanuatu. It provides a web-based trading platform, not the MT4 trading platform. The spread is below the industry average of a pip and a half and quite favorable for traders amounting to only 0.6 pips.

ProudMarket regulation & safety of funds

On the brokers website the name of the company nor its registered address is nowhere to be found. Such a lack of corporate information is troubling and should immediately raise red flags. However, going through the terms and conditions of the broker we did stumble upon a mention of Vanuatu. Here is a screenshot:

We remind readers that the VFSC does give financial dealer licenses to Forex brokerages, however, the regulatory oversight and financial mechanisms for compensation cannot compare with renowned European agencies such as FCA or CySEC. Nonetheless, a Vanuatu license is certainly better than nothing. The commission supports a website where you may download a pdf file with a list of all the licensees. However, upon reviewing the list we may safely conclude that the brokerage does not in fact have a financial dealer license from the Vanuatu authorities and we have to point out a worrying aspect of the broker. Without the name of the company, nor a registered address and a contact number we are in fact dealing with an anonymous website which answers to no authority. Such a situation is troublesome in Forex trading and is best avoided.  All in all, we fear that due to the lack of credible regulation potential clients of the brokerage may be open to substantial risk.

Traders needn’t have to worry themselves with such risk if they choose to trade with a brokerage regulated and authorized by a prestigious regulatory agency. Such agencies are the FCA in the UK or CySec in Cyprus which have been leading names in Forex trading for some time now. Their regulatory framework is composed of a number of strict rules which prevent clients from falling victims to fraud. Such rules include the segregation of accounts which assures that commingling with the client’s money is not possible. Furthermore, a license by such a regulatory body entails participation in a financial mechanism by which clients may be compensated if they suffer losses due to fraud or bankruptcy. With the FCA the compensation is up to 85 000 pounds, where as with CySEC it is up to 20 000 euro per person.

ProudMarket trading software

As was stated above, the brokerage does not provide the MetaTrader 4 platform – a big disadvantage since it is among the foremost trading terminals in Forex trading at the moment, close to 80 percent of users prefer it. The platform provides an advanced charting package, lots of technical indicators, extensive back-testing environment and a variety of Expert Advisors (EAs). Instead, there is a web-based trading platform and we were able to register for a demo account and get a look at it. Here is a screenshot:

The selection of trading products available for clients is quite impressive and includes CFDs on precious metals, indices, as well as crypto currencies which we highly value as an advantage for potential clients of the broker. The spread on EUR/USD is just 0.6 pips, however, we cannot be sure whether the broker doesn’t charge a commission as well which will affect the cost of trading. The required minimum deposit on the other hand is $250 which is quite advantageous since new traders needn’t risk a large sum to begin trading with a live account.

ProudMarket deposit/withdrawal methods and fees

Potential clients of the brokerage it appears may deposit or withdraw only via bank wire and the standard Visa and Mastercard which is quite unfortunate since we view the availability of diverse payment methods as a huge advantage.

In the terms and conditions we did come upon provisions worth noting. Here is a screenshot:

Even though the provision is quite strangely worded it appears to be a withdrawal fee of $30 which is excessive in our view and not in favor for traders. Furthermore, Proud Market offers a bonus promotion and as is standard in Forex it ties it with trading requirements for eligible withdrawal.

In the case of Proud Market the trading volume requirement is three times the bonus amount in lots which is an extremely large sum and quite difficult to achieve which is precisely the reason it is such.

Many scammers choose not to disclose such information to would-be clients. Without proper information on the website we cannot be certain whether clients won’t be charged with any unexpected withdrawal or deposit fees once they invest. This is why we advise traders to always put up only the required minimum deposit, instead of risking a bigger amount with no certainty. Afterwards, they may also try to withdraw a small amount in order to check for any unexpected fees or delays. Such fees and delays are usually the signs of a scammer.

How does the scam work?

Even though the forex trading world is extremely large and encompasses millions of people around the globe, the most common scamming is pretty simple and straightforward and as such – it’s not particularly daring to avoid. Here is a quick overview of how it is done:

Through clicking an ad with promises for fast money, you will be redirected to a website such as DaxRobot or CryptoContracts where registration will require you to give your address, email and phone number. After sharing your personal information, you will being receiving calls from brokers, compelling you to invest with them and win big. After a few minutes hearing their pitches, you decide to deposit some $200-250. And just like that – the scammers take a fat commission from this initial deposit.

After they are done with you, senior scammers begin working you into putting even more money. They say it’s the only way to profit from trading even more. After making the mistake of investing even further, you’ll begin wanting to get out of this and withdraw what you have left.

Unfortunately, the con-artists have no such thing in mind. They will now begin persuading you to wait it out and not withdraw right now. The angle here is pretty blunt – traders have a limited time period for filing a chargeback with their bank and get their money back. The “recovery department” will simply want to mislead you into missing thе crucial period and, along the way, losing any chance you might have of getting the money back.

It is important here to take notice that both Visa and MasterCard are taking measures to combat unregulated forex brokerages by classifying all forex transactions as high risk. And they are correct in doing so. Furthermore, supporting their intention with clear actions – MasterCard has increased the previous time period of six months for filing a chargeback to a year and a half.

What to do when scammed?

As was mentioned above, scamming is quite the common in the trading world and, sadly, even you might suffer from it. In such an unfortunate case there still may be some available options for you.

You may contact your bank or credit card provider and file a chargeback. 

If, however, you have provided the broker with your credit card details, immediately cancel your credit card.

If you have given information regarding your online banking pass – you should switch it asap!

Beware of potential calls from self-described “recovery agencies”! They prey on scammed and vulnerable traders who are desperate to recover their losses. They will require an “up-front” payment to help you, but after paying them, no such help will be coming your way!