GulfFX Review
Why GulfFX Definitely Sucks In 50 Words
If all I’ve just said above is not enough, I can add a clunky trading platform, a so-called Technical Analysis section that looks it was written by a teenager with very bad English skills, and weird mentions of binary options trading (however, they don’t offer this type of trading). The English version of the website is very hard to read because it’s full of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Why GulfFX Might Not Suck In 50 Words
Now here’s a tough one… I honestly don’t know why this brokerage doesn’t suck. Actually, I believe this is the very definition of a broker That Sucks! They call themselves the best in business when in fact they are a clone of a legit company, they can’t write a normal English sentence and they don’t even bother hiring a writer for their website. I am amazed they are still in business.
Is GulfFX A Scam?
All clues we have thus far point towards a positive answer to the Scam question. At the bottom of their pages, they list the name GULF CENTRAL MERCHANT BANK LTD Reference number: 601013, which initially leads everyone to believe this is the owning company. GulfFX, owned by a company/bank with “Gulf” in their name – makes sense, right? Sure, but let’s dig deeper and see if they are regulated.
A quick check on FCA’s website reveals that we are indeed dealing with a fully regulated and authorized firm (FCA firm details). So where’s the catch? Looking at their Terms And Conditions, we found another company name: Trade Your Way Ltd. and there was no mention of Gulf Central Merchant Bank Ltd. Upon deeper research, we found out that GulfFX is actually a clone of GULF CENTRAL MERCHANT BANK LTD, using their name shamelessly and without authorization, trying to pose as a legit company.
The FCA caught wind of this and issued a warning against GulfFX, calling them a clone and further adding: “Fraudsters are using the details of firms we authorize to try to convince people that they work for a genuine, authorized firm…” (see a warning here). So there you have it in FCA’s words: a clone, fraudsters, fake details. Now you tell me if GulfFX is a Scam!
Should I Open An Account With GulfFX?
GulfFX is an unregulated online broker that offers CFD and Forex trading. Launched in 2017 (according to third-party online sources), this broker is owned by Trade Your Way Ltd. and claims to have an office at Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NN, UK (no other address is provided). The broker falsely claims to be regulated by the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
NO! But let’s review them nonetheless. Launched apparently in 2017 (they don’t provide this info so we had to turn to online sources), this brokerage offers Forex trading and CFDs on currency pairs, stocks, indices, and commodities. The platform seems to be built in-house or at least I haven’t seen it before but it’s extremely hard to use and even the most common features were hard to find; they also offer a web version of the same platform (no download required) and mobile apps. Some review sites claim this platform is actually Meta Trader 4, however, having personally used MT4 for more than 7 years, I can safely tell you that GulfFX’s platform is not MT4.
The account structure is how you would expect it from a broker like this: it starts from a low-tier account, called Simple Account (min deposit is $500) and goes up to a Simple Account ($1,000 min deposit), followed by Gold Account ($10,000) and VIP Account ($50,000). There’s no mention about the advantages of a higher-tier account other than some broken English about more “information”, whatever that means. All in all, I don’t see the point of investing 10K USD with such a broker, but then again I don’t see the point of investing even 50 bucks with them, so don’t mind me.
Moving on to the education section, it’s more of the same broken English and weird information, such as “GulfFX market was formed in the year 1970s where Bretton Woods Accord was formed and established after World War II to reestablish the world’s economic state” If you can read that with a straight face, I commend you. Bottom line: stay away from their education section and better yet, stay away from GulfFX entirely.
GulfFX Complaints
With such “stellar” service, it’s no wonder that the Internet is raging with complaints from their clients. The most common complaint is about unauthorized trades opened by account managers but we’ve also found people saying that GulfFX stopped all communications once they asked for a withdrawal. All the more reason to stay away.
GulfFX Regulatory Warnings And Announcements
18/12/2018: The British FCA has warned that GulfFX is not authorized or registered by them and also that GulfFX is fraudulently “cloning” another FCA authorized firm, using their details and information. The authorized firm is Gulf Central Merchant Bank Ltd (reference number 601013). See full FCA warning here.
GulfFX Withdrawals
The available methods are credit cards, wire transfers, Neteller, and Skrill but the minimum sums are not specified. The processing time is 5 business days for bank transfers and unspecified for Skrill and Neteller. There are some weird instructions such as emailing Neteller’s back-office department, confirming that you want to withdraw using Neteller (???). Never heard of such a request but hey, a lot of things are unheard of with this brokerage.
GulfFX Extras
There are many things I could list as extras (and not the “good” kind), but one, in particular, caught my eye: they say that you need to leave your computer running at all times when trading with them so you can monitor your trades and Expert Advisors. This might just be a weird request, without anything else behind it… however, later I noticed they make Team Viewer available for download.
This leads me to think of a hypothetical scenario (emphasis on “hypothetical” because I am not accusing them of anything): at some point, you will be instructed to download said software, which in case you didn’t know, allows remote access to your computer. Couple this with the request to always leave your computer on and just like that, they can access your computer when you sleep, without your knowledge or permission. Call me paranoid, but please make sure you don’t allow people to snoop around your personal stuff.
GulfFX Ratings
User Friendliness 10/20
The website is only available in English and Arabic. I don’t speak Arabic so I can’t say anything about that version but the English one was terrible, full of mistakes that most of the time made it incredibly difficult to understand what I was reading. Demo accounts are available, as well as mobile versions of the platform. The web and downloadable platforms are difficult to use.
Range Of Markets, Spreads And Leverage 10/20
The asset basket is wide enough, including currencies, stocks, indices, and commodities but no cryptocurrency whatsoever, which is weird considering that their homepage shows a huge picture of Bitcoin. The spread is floating so it can widen in volatile trading conditions; the leverage goes up to 100:1.
Fees And Support 10/20
The fees are not specified anywhere but they do inform traders that a transaction fee will be charged by the bank for the transfer. Live chat support is not available and the only choices are to send a message or ask for a callback.
Deposits And Withdrawals 10/20
The minimum deposit is $500, which is huge for a brokerage that is providing fake details on the main page and trying to pose as a legit company. The minimum withdrawal is not specified and the time it takes is 5 business days (according to them). The methods are credit cards, wire transfers, Skrill and Neteller.
Website Extras 5/20
Let’s focus on the obvious extra: GulfFX is using someone else’s credentials and name in order to trick clients into believing they are a regulated brokerage. Some brokerages say they are regulated when they are not and others don’t even mention regulation, but I can count on one hand the brokerages that blatantly lie and clone other companies as GulfFX does.