Beware! XPATFX is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
XPATFX is an interesting bird to be sure and we are having fun investigating this broker. However, one thing is very clear even after taking a quick glance at its interface – trading with this broker won’t be any fun for your hard-earned money.
XPATFX Regulation and safety of funds
From XPATFX we see that GF Markets LLC owns and operates the website and is incorporated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Fun fact – this jurisdiction does not have an official forex brokers regulator, therefore companies claiming to be registered there should be considered fraudulent.
This broker claims to be designed by a Nigerian financial expert to better support the Nigerian forex traders and there is even an address of the company in Nigeria. And here is another fun fact – the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a warning that for the time being the forex market in the country remains unregulated.
So, XPATFX claim of being regulated and licensed by all the necessary agencies is in fact a lie.
if you are looking for a potential broker that is licensed and reliable, we suggest that you research brokers from some well-established jurisdictions in the links that we provide below. We consider that the best trading conditions exist in the EU, the UK and the US where forex brokers are strictly regulated and many measures exist to provide a guarantee for the safety of clients’ funds. First of all, the brokers from these jurisdictions must be well-capitalised and for the US we mean having an initial capital of no less than $20 million and for the EU and the UK, no less than 730,000 EUR. We do not think that scammers will ever match such amounts just for the benefit of looking legit. In addition to that, licensed brokers are required to adhere to some requirements regarding clients’ funds which must be kept in segregated accounts, reporting on a regular basis, providing negative balance protection, etc. It is good for you to know that in these jurisdictions the leverage is capped as we’ll explain in the next section of the review.
One of the biggest advantages in trading with EU and UK licensed brokers is that they participate in local compensations funds or schemes from which their clients can be reimbursed if the broker goes bankrupt. In the UK, the maximum amount that can be paid as compensation is 85,000 GBP per client and in the EU, it is 20,000 EUR. US brokers, on the other hand, do not participate in such schemes which is one of the downsides in trading with them. However, by being well-capitalised, US brokers are still able to protect their clients in case of unfavourable events.
XPATFX Trading software
The information on the XPATFX interface tells us that there are 3 types of software offered to the clients – MT4 for desktop and mobile app and XPATFX web trader. And the fun with this broker never ends thanks to broken links and login information in the verification email. To sum it up, the MetaTrader 4 trading platform for desktop is not activated and the web trader does not open and potential traders cannot get access to the trading area.
The only thing we could gather that tells us a bit about how the software is set up is the information on its interface that the leverage is 1:400. Such high leverage is typical for fraudulent brokers and scammers. It may look attractive to potential traders who think that it will increase their potential for making a big win. However, what happens in reality given the fact that 70% of traders lose in transactions, the high leverage will only amplify the scope of financial loss that comes with unsuccessful transactions. It is not by chance that in the well-established jurisdictions forex brokers are prohibited from offering high leverage. In the EU and the UK, the leverage for forex currencies is capped at 1:30 and in the US, at 1:50. These are measures to protect clients’ funds by preventing traders from entering risky and reckless transactions using high leverage.
If you are not familiar with the MetaTrader 4 trading platform, let us tell you that this is a top-notch platform that offers a lot of advantages to traders. For example, MT4 is equipped with the auto trading option, an app market, VPS, trading signals, code base with customs scripts and all these trading tools and instrument give traders an edge when executing orders. A key feature for MT4 is the charting options that make it so popular with brokers and traders alike and when combined with the variety of technical analysis indicators, it helps traders predict the future direction of exchange rates and make a profit.
However, as we always say, a platform is as good as its broker is reliable and as we could see, this is not the case with this broker.
XPATFX Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
XPATFX does not provide information about what trading accounts are available to the clients. We only managed to find out that the minimum initial deposit is $50.
The payment methods for feeding an account or making a withdrawal include credit card, Neteller, Skrill, Bitcoin, PerfectMoney and Paysafecard. There are no deposit fees.
There is no specific number regarding the minimum withdrawal amount, only that the company reserves the right to impose withdrawal limits and fees at any time. What these withdrawal limits and fees are is anybody’s guess.
Please note that the company reserves the right to freeze a client’s account if it considers that the documents provided by the client are not adequate or are not submitted within the advised deadline. In such a case, the client will be charged a monthly handling fee of $5 until the client provides the missing information.
How does scam work?
If scammers make a movie, it will probably be called “Dream on”. They make everything sound credible and build their scam on your dreams of getting an easy and quick profit. People get duped if they decide to deposit money into one of the scammers’ schemes. What you probably do not know is that your hard-earned money goes as commission to the scammers. Next, you get inundated by daily calls. First, the scammers congratulate you for joining their business, next they try to persuade you to invest even more money. After all, the more money you send, the bigger money fall you can expect. This of course is not how things work. By the time you realise that no money is coming your way, it might be too late. All you want now is to get your money back and get out of there but the scammers have other plans for you and they won’t late get away so easily. Now they try to delay you so that you miss the deadline for a chargeback.
What to do if scammed?
If you get scammed, our advice is to act immediately and if you have paid your deposit via credit/debit card you may still have a chance. Visa and MasterCard allow you 540 days time limit to file for chargeback which gives you a fighting chance to recover your money.
However, if you have used bitcoin or bank wire for your payment, the chances of you recovering your money are really slim.
Cancelling your credit/debit card in case you have given the scammers your CVV code may be another good idea. Also, make sure to remove from your PC any software that my give scammers access to your private data stored on your computer.
Whatever you do to recover your funds, beware of the so-called recovery agents. Please make sure that you are dealing with a genuine one by checking their credentials and company’s information transparency. Otherwise, you may fall victim to another form of scam.
