Plus500
Not Bad 9/10
  • Plus500

  • Regulated:  CySEC, FCA, ASIC
Broker Name: Plus500
Platform(s): CFD, Crypto, FX
Founded: 2008
Bonus: Top Global Broker
Spreads: Very Low
Leverage: Average
Regulated: CySEC, FCA, ASIC
Demo Account: Yes
Minimum Deposit: 100
US Traders: Not Accepted
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Plus500 Review

by Martin Kay

Why Plus500 Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words

This is truly a global broker, with an active presence and full regulation. That alone should be enough reason why Plus500 doesn’t suck but on top, we can add very tight spreads, mobile trading platforms with advanced features such as free email and push notifications on market events, guaranteed stops and alerts on price movements, as well as Negative Balance Protection.

 

Why Plus500 Sucks In 50 Words

United States residents are side-lined once again because Plus500 doesn’t allow said traders to join and use their services… Of course, this won’t affect people from other parts of the world, but ThatSucks for US traders.

 

Is Plus500 A Scam?

No! And I should leave it at that but for the sake of argument, let’s stop and think for a second: how can a company that’s supervised by so many financial watchdogs be a scam? And how can a company that’s been active since 2008 be a scam? Scam brokers only “survive” for a year or two (maybe more in some isolated cases) but Plus500 is going strong for more than 10 years, so I don’t see how such a company can be considered a scam. Of course, you should do some investigating on your own before committing real money but I think you will reach the same conclusion we did: Plus500 is NOT a scam!

 

Should I Open An Account With Plus500?

Plus500 is a very well-known, respected, and fully regulated broker that offers CFDs on Shares, Indices, Forex, and Cryptocurrencies. The website is owned and operated by Plus500CY Ltd, a company regulated by the Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission (CySEC), with licence number 250/14.

Plus500CY Ltd is a subsidiary of Plus500 Ltd, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for Listed Companies, and headquartered in Haifa. The services of the broker are offered in many parts of the world through various other subsidiaries, all regulated by their respective financial authorities:

  • Plus500UK Ltd is authorised by the British FCA (reference number 509909)
  • Plus500AU Pty Ltd is licenced by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) with ACN 153 301 681. They also hold licences from FMA in New Zealand and FSCA in South Africa.
  • Plus500SEY Ltd is regulated and authorised by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (Licence No. SD039)
  • Plus500SG Pte Ltd has been issued a capital markets services license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (License No. CMS100648-1)

It doesn’t take long for anyone visiting Plus500’s website to understand this is a highly professional venue, which focuses on offering the best possible trading conditions in a highly supervised environment. The platform is proprietary and web-based, so they’ve decided not to go for the ever-popular Meta Trader 4 or 5, which at first I thought it was going to be a disadvantage. However, the platform is so easy to use and intuitive, that I had a change of mind in less than half an hour of using it. Trading instruments have a dedicated economic calendar right on the platform, so you are always aware of the upcoming releases that could influence the respective market, spreads are clearly displayed, and charts have all the needed technical indicators. One thing I disliked was the chart size, which is set by default to about half of the screen; however, I later realized there’s a button to make charts full-screen, so you can focus on technical analysis without any other distractions.

The minimum sum to open an account is 100 USD and Plus500 doesn’t have a tiered account structure. In other words, you will get the best possible trading conditions if you deposit the minimum or if you deposit 10,000 USD.

Education is delivered in the form of tutorials and explanations about using the different types of orders and features of the platform, so you won’t find webinars, e-books, or video courses. This is not necessarily a disadvantage, just something to be aware of.

To sum it all up, Plus500 is a great choice if you are looking to switch from your current broker or looking for your very first trading partner. They don’t have aggressive marketing, which means you will not be constantly pestered with phone calls and requests to add more funds, and more importantly, Plus500 is highly regulated so you know your money is in safe hands.

Plus500CY Ltd has a registered address at 169-171 Arch. Makarios III Avenue, Cedars Oasis Tower, Floor 1, 3027, Limassol, Cyprus. Plus500UK Ltd has a registered office at 8 Angel Court, Copthall Avenue, London EC2R 7HJ, UNITED KINGDOM. Plus500AU Pty Ltd has a registered office in SYDNEY, NSW 2000. The broker can be contacted at phone +4402038761641, via live chat, WhatsApp, and via online contact form.

 

Plus500 Complaints

Trading is inherently risky and losses are something normal in this business but people don’t always cope well with them. With a long time in business, Plus500 has had its share of unhappy clients, some claiming their accounts have been frozen or that they couldn’t close trades when in profit. Others have complained about Plus500’s scalping policy – trades that are opened and closed within 2 minutes are considered scalping and this is frowned upon by Plus500.

Also, it must be noted that their online ratings vary a lot, depending on where you look: for example on FXEmpire they are rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers, and on ForexPeaceArmy they are rated below 2 stars (out of 5). So, take everything with a pinch of salt and form your own opinion about this broker.

 

Plus500 Regulatory Warnings And Announcements

04.12.2009: The Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission (CySEC) has warned that Plus500 wasn’t granted a licence to operate and that it wasn’t registered with them. Later on, Plus500 became licensed by CySEC in 2014. See warning here.

26.10.2012: The British FCA fined Plus500 £205,128 for breaches of SUP 17 and PRIN 3. For more information, see fine here.

19.04.2017: The Belgian FSMA ordered the shutdown of the Belgian website of Plus500 (plus500.be). The regulator also ordered all branches of the broker to stop providing services in Belgium. See official FSMA document here.

 

Plus500 Withdrawal

The usual processing time is one business day but it may take longer (up to 3 days) for certain methods and depending on the payment processor’s timeframes. Plus500 offers 5 free withdrawals per month and if you want to withdraw more than that, you will be charged a 10 USD fee. The available methods are PayPal, Skrill, credit cards, and wire transfers; e-wallets carry a minimum of 50 USD per transaction, while cards and wire require a minimum of 100 USD. If you want to withdraw less, you can do so but will be charged a 10 USD fee.

 

Plus500 Extras

In 2015, Plus500 became the official sponsor of Atlético de Madrid and later, an official partner of the Brumbies (2019 Super Rugby Australian Conference Champions). And if you are not into ball sports, some of the more trading-oriented features are Negative Balance Protection, free and very easy to get Demo account, an economic calendar as well as an earnings calendar, and last but not least, plenty of regulation.

 
 

Plus500 Overall Ratings

User Friendliness 18/20

The website is easy to navigate, with information that’s translated into 32 languages. The trading platform is web-based, functional, and intuitive, demo accounts are available, as well as mobile trading platforms. Unfortunately, US clients are not accepted.

 

Range Of Markets, Spreads And Leverage 18/20

Plus500 offers literally hundreds of tradable assets from all the major classes: indices, shares, commodities, ETFs, currencies, and cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tron, NEO, IOTA, Stellar, EOS, etc.). Spreads are incredibly tight (0.8 pips for EUR USD and around 36 USD for Bitcoin/USD) but are floating so they can widen according to market conditions. Forex leverage for retail clients goes up to 1:30 (higher for Professional clients) and cryptocurrency leverage is 1:2. Australian clients can benefit from trading Bonuses as well as higher leverage (1:300).

 

Fees And Support 17/20

The first 5 withdrawals per month are free but if you want more than that, you will have to pay $10 per withdrawal. It’s not a high fee so it’s not a deal-breaker and besides, I believe most people won’t need more than 5 withdrawals. Another fee is tied to inactivity: if you haven’t logged into your trading account for 3 months, you will pay $10 for each passing month without activity. Again, not a lot but you should be aware of it. If you wish to withdraw less than their recommended minimum (see next section), you will have to pay a $10 fee. Live chat was very fast to respond and answered all my questions without fuss or beating around the bush.

 

Deposits And Withdrawals 18/20

The methods are credit/debit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, and Skrill (more methods may become available depending on your region). The minimum deposit amount is 100 USD for cards and e-wallets and 500 USD for bank transfers. The minimum withdrawal amount is $50 for PayPal and Skrill and $100 for cards and bank transfers. Processing time for withdrawals is usually one business day but additional time will pass until the money reaches you, depending on the method used.

 

Extras 16/20

Plus500 is a sponsor of Atlético de Madrid and has an active partnership with the Brumbies Rugby team. As special features, they offer an economic and earnings calendar, tons of technical indicators, very tight spreads, Negative Balance Protection, and Guaranteed Stops.

 

Plus500 Overall Rating (87) + Regulated (+3) = 90/100