TheRoyalfx review – 5 things you should know about theroyalfx.com

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

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TheRoyalfx claims to be a broker trading with currencies, commodities, stocks, CFDs and other financial assets, with an emphasis on cryptocurrencies. However, the vague and conflicting information about the jurisdiction under which the company operates, as well as the site’s missing functionality, suggests that this is not a legitimate broker, but just another scammer operation.

THEROYALFX REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS

The first and clearest tell-tale sign that these are fraudsters is the ambiguity of where TheRoyalfx is registered and under whose jurisdiction it operates. A contact address is given in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but with a telephone number with UK code. However, registration in the Marshall Islands is mentioned at the beginning of the Terms and conditions. Both are offshore locations, which means that brokers operating from there are not subject to any control and regulation – so there are no guarantees for the safety of their clients’ money.

Тhe Financial Services Authority (FSA) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has repeatedly issued warnings that it does not regulate the activities of forex and CFD brokers. The latest such warning dated 23 June 2021. The Marshall Islands, on other hand, do not have a financial regulator at all and are one of the few places where you can incorporate a company on the internet, without even setting a foot in the country.

Further in the Terms and conditions it is mentioned that “clearing and billing services are done by Global Payment Solutions LLC” , a company registered in Podgorica, Montenegro. The Financial Market Supervision in Austria issued a special investor warning on this firm last year, indicating that Global Payment Solutions LLC is behind other shady operations as well. The company also uses the same name as a legitimate US-registered financial services firm, which is probably intended to mislead that it is the same legal entity.

The terms and conditions also stipulate that the agreement “shall be construed and enforced in accordance with, and shall be governed by the law of Montenegro”. Although Montenegro aspires to become a member of the EU, companies registered there are not covered by the rules and guarantees of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The website of the Montenegro’s Capital Market Authority doesn’t have a dedicated search engine for registered companies, but we couldn’t find any mention of TheRoyalfx or Global Payment Solutions. So even if they are indeed registered there, in all likelihood they are not registered as a broker.

In all cases, it will be preferable to trust your money to one of the many legitimate brokers operating under the control of powerful and respected institutions such as Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) or UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Such brokers must meet certain conditions for transparency and stability, including participation in Investment Compensation Fund, which guarantees retail investors’ money up to a certain amount – up to EUR 20,000 EU and 85,000 GBP in the UK

THEROYALFX TRADING SOFTWARE

Although TheRoyalfx’s website promises “ground-breaking trading experience”, which is illustrated with a picture of a trading platform, such a platform cannot be found anywhere, even after logging into the system. This is unusual even for most scammers who at least try to pretend that they offer genuine trading software. Legitimate brokers offer their clients multiple choices for trading software, which typically includes the most popular platforms in the industry MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

THEROYALFX TRADING CONDITIONS

TheRoyalfx’s website lists five types of accounts – Classic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and VIP. They are tied to various investment plans, starting at $2,500 – although the terms and conditions specify a minimum deposit of “250 EUR, 250 USD, or 250 GBP, depending on the currency of choice in your account”.

The promised spread ranges from 1.1 to 2.8 pips for the EUR/USD currency pair, which is comparable to the average levels at real brokers. But one of the many clues that TheRoyalfx is not a genuine broker is that it promises bonuses – something banned by regulators in the EU, the UK and the US. These “welcome bonuses” range from $50 to 50% of the amount deposited by the customer, depending on the account.

Nowhere is there information on another key indicator – the leverage offered. At the same time, the aforementioned bonuses are presented as “additional leverage” – an obvious attempt to exploit most people’s unfamiliarity with the terminology and principles of trading.

THEROYALFX DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES

On TheRoyalfx’s website are listed minimum withdrawal amount of 100 EUR/USD/GBP and minimum deposit amount of 250 EUR/USD/GBP. However, the deposit menu is not active at all if you have not verified your identity. The logos of well-known payment platforms such as Skrill and Neteller can be seen in various places on the website, but there is no way to confirm that they can actually be used. It is specifically highlighted that TheRoyalfx does not accept Western Union or Moneygram.

There are two different withdrawal fees mentioned in different places on the site – 0.5% and 3.5% of the amount. In both cases if this percentage equals an amount of $30 or less, the trader will be charged “a standard $30 withdrawal fee”. There is no mention of inactivity fees, but there are renewal/rolling fees for extending day-trading positions to the following day. The amount of these fees is not specified, but it is stated that тhe minimum charge from a credit card is €3.

HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK

Scammers who promise easy money without any effort are nothing new, especially on the internet. But given the excitement around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in recent years, malicious actors have run rampant more than ever, capitalizing not only on people’s desire to solve their financial woes with a magic wand, but also ignorance and misunderstanding of how blockchain and complex financial instruments actually work.
If your curiosity is stirred by one of the many flashy websites promising easy riches, and you provide your contacts, you will soon be contacted by skillful and persuasive scammers who will convince you to start with a relatively small and “risk-free” investment. If you agree to this, you will be transferred to even more skilled at convincing scammers, who will persuade you to invest even more. Any money you give to such people is money you are unlikely to get back.
Any attempt to withdraw deposits or alleged profits will be hampered by numerous and significant fees, as well as harsh and often prohibitive conditions written into the terms and conditions – such as high trading volume requirements, unexpected “taxes”, or withdrawal fees as high as 10% or even 20% of your funds.

WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED

Recovering money you have given to fraudsters is difficult and often impossible. Fraudsters always want you to provide them with documents such as a copy of your ID and proof of address so that they can claim that it is a legitimate transaction, agreed voluntarily between both parties. If the transaction is made by credit or debit card, you can request a cashback and hope for the best, but transactions via wire transfer or cryptocurrencies are not refundable. It is important not to trust online offers from people who offer to recover your money in exchange for an upfront payment, because this is also a well-known scam.