RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
MagnetFX is an Indonesian forex broker that is fully regulated by the local BAPPEBTI financial regulator. Bear in mind however that the whole website is in Indonesian without any option to switch to English, so it could be quite difficult if you don’t speak the language.
This broker offers the industry standard MetaTrader 5 along with some standard payment methods for the country. Note however that there are some drawbacks in its trading conditions as well, so better read the full review before opening an account here.
MagnetFX Regulation and safety of funds
MagnetFX claims its registered address to be in Jakarta, Indonesia and also displays an email and phone number. The broker also claims to be fully regulated and posts several legal documents that can prove that.
As a beginning, you should know that every broker based in Indonesia must be licensed by the local trading regulatory authority – BAPPEBTI. We searched the registers of this watchdog and it turned out that MagnetFX is really regulated and licensed. Along with the regulatory details you can also spot the same address, trade name and website, take a look:
So there is no doubt that this broker is truly authorized according to the rules in this country. Note however that the regulatory system in Indonesia is not one of the strictest. In fact there isn’t a formal set of guidelines for financial service providers. This being said, don’t expect a high client protection or guaranteed funds in case of broker’s insolvency – such perks can be seen only with UK and EU regulated firms for example.
MagnetFX Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
MagnetFX platform | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MagnetFX claims to offer the industry standard MetaTrader 5 – you can download the platform directly from its website.
This is the software itself:
Apart from that, after you register you need to fill in some personal details in order for your account to be verified. The broker states that “you will be contacted by telephone by our team no later than 30 minutes after completing all the documents on the website. The verification process only takes approximately 10 minutes”, so bear this in mind.
MagnetFX Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
MagnetFX | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
FBS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FXTM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
On its website MagnetFX claims to offer a small range of trading instruments among which are forex, silver, gold, oil and indices. This doesn’t sound very impressive to be honest. In addition, you can choose between 20 forex pairs, which is an average size as well.
MagnetFX Spreads and cost of trading
MagnetFX | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Spread EURUSD | 2 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.1 |
Spread GBPUSD | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Spread USDJPY | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
On its website MagnetFX claims to provide three account types – Magneto, Electro and Elastico, however nothing more is mentioned about the three of them. The broker also states that you can benefit from low spreads and gives an example with three forex pairs. The EURUSD spread is said to be from 0.5 pips, while the GBPUSD – from 0.5 pips and USDJPY – from 0.5 as well.
After we opened its trading software however, things turned out to be quite different. There we saw spreads from 2 pips for EURUSD, 2.2 pips for GBPUSD and 2.1 pips for USDJPY. As you see there is a significant dissimilarity between its promises and the actual volume of spread. This fact doesn’t speak very well about this firm’s reliability so be on guard just in case. Not to mention that a spread of more than 2 pips will definitely come with higher trading costs and will be quite disadvantageous for sure.
On top of that, bear in mind that MagnetFX mentions that there are “low commissions”, but doesn’t specify exactly how much they are. So eventually it can turn out not only that you will trade with high spreads, but that there are going to be some commissions ahead, a.k.a additional costs.
MagnetFX Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
MagnetFX broker | 400:1 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
UK regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | ❌ | 10:1 | 10:1 |
EU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
AU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
US regulated brokers | 50:1 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
The leverage this broker offers is said to be 1:400. It’s true that there aren’t any leverage restrictions in Indonesia, but still this amount seems quite risky. In fact it’s not recommended for retail traders exactly because of the associated risks of failure. For this reason a lot of the countries that regulate forex brokerage activities had decided to limit the leverage – for example 1:30 in the UK and the EU and 1:50 in the US.
MagnetFX Deposit and withdrawal methods
Deposit time | Withdrawal time | Fee | |
Bank transfer | 10 min. | 10 min. | No |
The deposit methods with MagnetFX are the traditional for this country’s local bank transfers. After we registered there was a BCA bank payment method available.
This broker claims that there are no fees for deposits and withdrawals. It also mentions that the deposit takes approximately 10 minutes.
In its Frequently Asked Questions however we stumbled upon some additional information which seemed quite curious. Here’s what this broker has to say regarding its transaction commissions – “We charge a transaction commission at the close of each order, deducting it from your equity. The value starts from $3 per lot, depending on the account type and the exact amount will be calculated in proportion to the order volume”. All in all keep your eyes open and look out for any unexpected fees and taxes!
MagnetFX Minimum deposit
MagnetFX | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Minimum deposit | $65 | $5 | $10 | $5 |
The minimum deposit with this broker is said to be 10,000 IDR which is equal to 65 USD at the moment of writing. As a whole this amount doesn’t seem a lot at all. As a matter of fact most reputable brokers tend to ask for around 250 USD for regular accounts and around 10 USD for micro accounts.
MagnetFX Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
MagnetFX | No | No | No |
UK regulated brokers | No | No | No |
EU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
AU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
US regulated brokers | No | No | No |
MagnetFX claims that there are no fees upon withdrawal requests, as we mentioned already. In fact most genuine brokers don’t usually ask for a fee in order to withdraw your funds either.
Apart from that, MagnetFX also states that there are no restrictions when it comes to the amount you wish to withdraw.
Unlike legitimate brokers, scammers tend to ask for high fees upon every withdrawal request (usually around 20%) and set a minimum volume you can withdraw as well. So if you come across such requirements be sure that this is a fraud!