Beware! Montana Trading 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.
Montana Trading presents itself as an established and regulated forex broker. But careful inspection shows that this website is not trustworthy. Montana Trading is not only not licensed, but has been blacklisted by some financial regulators. Let’s take a detailed look at why it is in your best interest to stay away from this website.
Montana Trading Regulation and safety of funds
Guaranteed Funds | Segregated Accounts | Negative balance protection | |
Montana Trading | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
UK regulated brokers | £85 000 | Yes | Yes |
EU regulated brokers | €20 000 | Yes | Yes |
AU regulated brokers | No | Yes | Yes |
US regulted brokers | Yes | Yes | No |
If a financial services provider is legitimate, you will find on its website clear and detailed information about the company that owns and operates it, where it is based, and what licences it has. Genuine brokers also provide access to a comprehensive set of legal documentation. The availability of such information does not guarantee that it is not false or misleading. But the absence of these elements is very indicative that in all likelihood you are dealing with scammers.
The terms and conditions of the Montana Trading LTD are too brief and do not meet the standards for such legal documentation. The text does not specify the applicable jurisdiction.
The website lists a UK contact address. In order to operate as a forex broker in this jurisdiction, a company must hold the relevant licences from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). But we find no licence in the regulator’s database, but a warning that Montana Trading is not authorised.
In some places on the website a completely different company and brand is mentioned – Olympic Markets Ltd. This is probably an accidental remnant of another project by the same scammers. Such contradictions are typical of low-effort scams.
If you want to trade on financial markets without being scammed, you can turn to some of the legitimate brokers that actually operate from established financial hubs like the UK. These brokers have to meet stringent requirements for financial stability and transparency of operations imposed by the FCA.
They must provide clients with negative balance protection and to participate in a guarantee fund that covers up to GBP 85,000 of a client’s investment should the broker go into insolvency. These brokers are also required to keep their clients’ money segregated from their own operating funds in separate bank accounts.
Montana Trading Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
Montana Trading | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
After registering an account, we get access to a pretty basic web trading platform that doesn’t feature extensive customization options or advanced functionality. We’ve seen the exact same platform being used by multiple fake brokers we’ve encountered. Scammers are using rigged trading software to fool their victims into believing that their money is really being invested and even turning a profit.
While this platform has the basic functionality to place orders, it cannot compare to the capabilities provided by MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). It is no coincidence that these platforms have established themselves as the industry standard. They offer a wide range of features, including a variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.
Montana Trading Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
Montana Trading | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FBS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FXTM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Montana Trading claims to offer trading in all major asset classes, including cryptocurrencies. This represents further evidence that Montana Trading could not possibly be a UK-based broker. The FCA prohibits the trading of crypto derivatives.
Montana Trading Spreads and cost of trading
Montana Trading | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Spread EURUSD | 0.6 | 1.7 | 1 | 1.1 |
Spread GBPUSD | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Spread USDJPY | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
In the trading platform we see a very low spread of 0.6 pips, but according to the description of the account types Montana Trading charges very high commissions of up to 2.5%. This is many times higher than what you would pay with a genuine broker.
Montana Trading Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
Montana Trading | 100:1 | 100:1 | 100:1 | 100:1 | 100:1 |
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 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Montana Trading advertises that it offers leverage up to 1:100. High leverage creates the opportunity for more significant profit, but correspondingly increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses. All leading regulators therefore restrict leverage for retail traders. The FCA, like EU regulators, limits leverage to 1:30 for trading in major currency pairs and even lower levels for more volatile assets.
If you are willing to take the risk of trading with high leverage and benefit from bonuses and promotions, the best option is to invest through an offshore division of an established brand.
Montana Trading Deposit and withdrawal methods
It is not clear what payment methods Montana Trading uses because the deposit menu redirects to an account manager.
Experience has shown that fake brokers routinely advertise conventional payment methods, but actually steer their potential victims towards cryptocurrency transactions. This not only guarantees them anonymity, but also deprives the defrauded of the option to request a refund or chargeback.
Legitimate brokers typically offer clients a wide choice of transparent payment methods, including bank transfer, credit/debit cards and established e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill or Neteller.
Montana Trading Minimum deposit
Montana Trading | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Minimum deposit | £100 | $5 | $10 | $5 |
The minimum deposit required by Montana Trading is 100 GBP. For a significantly lower amount you could open a starter account with many established forex brokers.
Montana Trading Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
Montana Trading | Not specified | 1Not specified | $Not specified |
UK regulated brokers | No | No | No |
EU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
AU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
US regulated brokers | No | No | No |
Since Montana Trading does not provide proper legal documentation, it is unclear what traps the fraudsters may have set. Typically, fake brokers make withdrawing money impossible through huge fees and impossible-to-fulfil traded volume conditions.