Beware! IEXS 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.
IEXS is an offshore broker run by a company holding licenses in various jurisdictions, including the UK and the British Virgin Islands. However, they operate this entity in a highly controversial way, awfully undermining their credibility. We faced many awkward problems with this broker, which we will share in the full IEXS review.
IEXS REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
IEXS regulation is messy, or more precisely, currently non-existent. From the footer on the website, we understood that there is a parent company registered on St. Vincent and the Grenadines named IEXS LLC, which has many subsidiaries. As Europeans, we were intrigued by the UK company VIEXS, actually licensed and regulated by the British regulator FCA. Very recently, they even registered IEXS as a trading name- on the 22nd of February 2021 (just three weeks ago), but it’s not the end of the story. FCA has a reliable register, including the domain names of the websites operated by financial companies. It turned out that iexs.com isn’t in the database, which undoubtedly proves that IEXS operating iexs.com isn’t regulated in Britain at present. We can’t know why the brand is there but the website isn’t, but that’s a problem, nonetheless.
Then comes the shocking discrepancy. IEXS is presented as a worldwide regulated broker, but St. Vincent and the Grenadines laws govern their Client Agreement. Moreover, they falsely claim to be SVG regulated, but it can’t be true because the island’s regulator does not even license or control the brokers legally registered there. The statement you can see in the picture above shows IEXS is knowingly misleading the public. That’s fraudulent behaviour and a potential scam, notwithstanding the licenses they have. Your funds are not safe if you deposit with IEXS.
Avoid them and see the genuine EU brokers and British brokers. We recommend European FX companies for those are covered by deposit insurance funds protecting traders and investors’ money in case of bankruptcy or fraud. For example, CySEC brokers’ clients can claim up to 20 000 EUR, while the British guarantees are up to 85 000 GBP per person. Also, the European regulators implement various customer protection rules in their pursuit to make the trading environment safer. As a result, most of the world’s leading brokers reside in Europe, so consider this fact if you want to open an account and trade.
IEXS TRADING SOFTWARE
IEXS provides with MetaTrader4, which is considered the best trading software for retail clients. They also claim to offer a proprietary web-based platform, but it’s still under construction. Nevertheless, the spreads offered are not favourable at all; the EUR/USD quotes difference starts from 1.8 pips. That used to be a competitive spread years ago, but not in 2021. Currently, traders can find trusted brokers offering much more affordable quotes of 1 pip, and below even with the micro accounts, so it’s no hassle to find a better opportunity.
You’d better consider the MetaTrader4 brokers and MetaTrader5 brokers we recommend. MT is the most popular Forex platform, which seasoned traders and investors prefer for its reliability. The software provides sophisticated trading tools such as Expert Advisors, Algo trading and plenty of complex indicators. MetaTrader also created a marketplace where you can find more than 10 000 apps you can utilise in your trading routine.
The next controversial aspect is leverage. IEXS allows 1:500 for European traders like ourselves, which is unacceptable behaviour. Their subsidiary holds a UK license, but they dare to offer a leverage ratio that’s not allowed in Europe. They apparently neglect the European financial laws and refuse to act accordingly. Ask yourself, what else could they disregard and is IEXS a reliable broker at all.
Considering leverage, it’s a financial tool presenting excellent profit potential, but the higher the ratio, the bigger the risks. That’s what made many financial authorities impose restrictions as customer protection measures. As a result, the European, British and Australian brokers (to come in effect later in 2021) are limited to 1:30, while the Canadian brokers and the US brokers can’t provide higher levels than 1:50. Be cautious when dealing with companies offering excessive leverage because most of these are poorly regulated and might as well be a scam.
IEXS DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
The minimum deposit with IEXS is $200, which is another weak point, even if it’s not as significant as their bamboozling legitimacy claims. The industry standard is $100, a requirement much more beneficial for traders who’d like to gain some experience while investing as little as possible. According to the T&Cs, the funding methods include Wire Transfers, Credit/Debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay and other e-wallets. However, we can’t validate this information, for we had some issues with the registration (they didn’t send a confirmation e-mail), and that is yet another problem we came across. The issues with this broker are countless, showing that they are careless about the quality of the service.
Anyway, see our lists with Skrill brokers, Neteller brokers, FasaPay brokers, Sofort brokers, and Bitcoin brokers if you have a preferred payment system. The selected companies are strictly regulated, so it’s unlikely for traders to experience fraud.
There are no minimum withdrawal requirements, and the request processing time is said to be 3 days free of charge. This sounds well, but because they mislead the customers about their regulation, we can’t trust anything included in their legal documents.
There is no dormant policy or inactivity fees mentioned, and that might be considered a warning sign. This policy is important because it determines how the companies handle accounts that ceased to be active. The regulated brokers charge the dormant accounts 5 to 10 dollars per month on average, and the provisions are explicitly determined within the legal documentation.
We found nothing about bonuses or other trading incentives such as promotions or contests.
Overall, the company standing behind IEXS is licensed and regulated, but they operate in a manner we can only describe as inappropriate. Stay safe and trade with a better broker.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
People can see many fraudulent ads on the Internet and social media posted by scammers who want to steal as much as possible from traders and investors.
If you click on the post and submit your e-mail and contact number, they’d ring you immediately and would promise you anything to make you deposit money as quickly as possible. Most of the scammers are experienced manipulators, and before you know it, they’d ask for your bank card numbers out of the blue. Urgency is a treacherous sign, so if someone pushes you to start trading ASAP, then it’s most probably a scam.
However, the first deposit is just the beginning. Gradually they’d ask for more money from you no matter what. If you lost on the market, they’d persuade you to put more money and recover the losses. If you traded well, they’d convince you to put more money and increase the profits. The troubles start when you ask for a withdrawal. The scammers would do anything to discourage you and would even ask you to deposit even more funds if you want to withdraw. The scammers’ mantra is “give me your money”, they’d insist every day you should fund your account over and over again for no obvious reason. Legit companies do not bother you over the phone to deposit with them, so if someone pushes you to invest, it’s most probably a scam.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
Unfortunately, no one is immune to scam. If this unfortunately happens, the first thing to do is to protect yourself from further risk. Contact your bank and explain what happened to you so that they can give you instructions and help you, if possible, recover your money.
Report what happened to you, file a complaint, contact the financial regulator, contact other government institutions related to trading and investing, call the police if you feel necessary. Seek help actively!
Remember, it’s crucial not to rush blindly trying to recover your funds because many scam chargeback agencies and individuals are trying to double scam the victims. They ask for upfront payment, take the money, but won’t do anything to help you!
Share online your experience; it’s important to protect others, as well. Be responsible!
