IC Markets

Regulatory Overview: Founded in 2007, IC Markets is a globally recognised forex and CFD broker, authorised and regulated by several reputable financial authorities, including:

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 335692)
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) – IC Markets (EU) Ltd (License No. 362/18)
• Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) – IC Markets Ltd (License No. SIA-F214)
• Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles – Raw Trading Ltd (License No. SD018)
• Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya – IC Markets Kenya Ltd (License No. 199)

Regulation for South African Traders: IC Markets is not licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa. South African traders are typically onboarded under IC Markets Ltd in The Bahamas or Raw Trading Ltd in Seychelles. These entities are regulated by offshore authorities (SCB and FSA), which do not offer the same level of investor protection as the FSCA or other top-tier regulators like ASIC or CySEC.

Client Protection Measures: Although IC Markets is not FSCA-regulated, the broker applies several safeguards to protect its clients’ funds and trading environment:

• Segregation of Funds: Client funds are kept in segregated accounts with top-tier banks, separate from company operational funds.
• Negative Balance Protection: IC Markets offers negative balance protection under most regulatory frameworks, ensuring clients cannot lose more than their account balance.
• Strict Compliance Controls: The broker conducts regular audits and complies with anti-money laundering (AML) policies across all its regulated entities.

However, South African traders are not covered by any local investor compensation scheme. Trading with offshore-regulated entities means reduced legal recourse, so proper risk management and due diligence are essential.

Overview: IC Markets provides South African traders with access to over 2,000 CFD instruments across a variety of global markets. With competitive leverage and the flexibility to go long or short, South African clients can trade a diverse range of asset classes via the MetaTrader and cTrader platforms.

• Forex (up to 1:500): South African traders can trade over 60 currency pairs, including majors like EUR/USD and GBP/USD, minors such as AUD/CHF and EUR/NZD, and exotic pairs like USD/ZAR and EUR/ZAR.
• Indices (up to 1:200): Includes major global indices such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, FTSE 100, DAX 40, and ASX 200, allowing traders to speculate on stock market performance without owning underlying assets.
• Commodities (up to 1:500 on metals, 1:200 on energies): Trade CFDs on gold, silver, oil (WTI, Brent), natural gas, and soft commodities like coffee and cocoa.
• Shares (up to 1:20): Access over 2,100 share CFDs from the US, UK, Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong. South African-listed shares are not currently available.
• Cryptocurrencies (up to 1:5): South African clients can trade popular crypto CFDs such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple with 24/7 market access.
• Futures (up to 1:200): Includes CFD products based on global futures contracts across indices, commodities, and energies.
• Bonds (up to 1:200): Trade CFDs on key government bonds such as US 10-Year T-Note and German Bunds.

South African clients are typically onboarded under IC Markets Ltd (Bahamas) or Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles), which allows for higher leverage levels than would be permitted under FSCA regulation. However, traders should be aware that these offshore entities do not offer ZAR-denominated accounts, and all trades are settled in USD.

We found IC Markets excels in its account opening process.  It is straightforward and hassle-free, and accounts are generally ready for trading within a day. All South African residents are eligible to open an account at IC Markets as long as they meet the minimum deposit requirement of 200 USD for each account. The five-step account opening process is fully digital and accounts are generally ready for trading in one day. 

IC Markets offers two main account types for South African traders: the Standard Account and the Raw Spread Account. Trading costs are significantly lower than most other brokers, particularly on the Raw Spread Account.

IC Markets Standard Account

This commission-free account is best suited for beginner traders who prefer a simplified fee structure. Trading costs are built into the spread, which averages around 1.1 pips on the EUR/USD. While this account is available on MT4, MT5, and cTrader, it does not support TradingView integration.

IC Markets Raw Spread Account (MT4/MT5)

Designed for more experienced traders, the Raw Spread Account on MetaTrader 4 and 5 offers ultra-tight spreads starting from 0.0 pips, with an average spread of around 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD. A commission of $3.50 per lot per side ($7.00 round turn) is charged. If your account base currency is not in USD, commissions are adjusted according to the prevailing exchange rate. This version of the Raw Spread Account does not support TradingView integration.

IC Markets Raw Spread Account (cTrader + TradingView)

The Raw Spread Account on cTrader provides the same institutional-grade spreads as MetaTrader, starting from 0.0 pips, with average spreads around 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD. However, commissions are lower — at just $3.00 per lot per side ($6.00 round turn), fixed in USD. This is the only IC Markets account that supports direct integration with TradingView, allowing traders to execute orders directly from TradingView charts using their IC Markets cTrader login.

High Volume Traders

IC Markets does not currently operate a formal high volume trader program. However, high-volume traders may be eligible for custom commission discounts or complimentary VPS hosting by contacting IC Markets’ customer support directly.

Demo Account

IC Markets offers free demo accounts on all trading platforms. Demo accounts remain active for 30 days unless linked to a live trading account. South African traders can use demo accounts on MT4, MT5, or cTrader to test strategies under live market conditions. Demo access via TradingView is not currently supported — all TradingView trades are executed via linked cTrader accounts.

All of IC Markets’ trading platforms are available on both Android and iOS mobile devices and tablets. Beginner traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to desktop trading platforms, including reduced timeframes and fewer charting options.  

TradingView

TradingView is not only a trading platform with detailed information to help you make trading decisions: it also includes one of the biggest social trading communities, with plenty of EAs (Expert Advisors) that beginner traders, or those too busy to trade manually, will appreciate. 

There’s a lot you can achieve with TradingView, but these are just a few of its advantages:

• Unmatched charting capabilities, suitable for beginners and advanced traders
• Large social trading community of more than 50 million users
• The ability to design your own indicators and strategies using TradingView’s Pine Script
  programming language
• The option to validate trading ideas using TradingView’s bar-by-bar replay function
• Wide selection of fundamental data
• Real-time global news coverage

On the whole, the toolbox is sophisticated yet simple to use and allows traders to analyse the fast-moving global financial markets with accuracy.

cTrader App

cTrader is one of our favourite trading platforms, and IC Markets is one of a handful of brokers that supports it. It is one of the most beginner-friendly third-party trading platforms available, with a modern interface, integrated educational content, and innovative risk-management features. The cTrader mobile app offers the best features available on the desktop version including the complete range of order types, trade analysis, and watchlists. 

Additionally, the costs on IC Markets’ cTrader Raw Spread Account are lower than those on the other two accounts.  

MT4 and MT5 Apps

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is still undoubtedly the world’s most popular trading platform for forex traders due to its ease of use, feature-rich environment, and automated trading ability.  The newer version of the MetaTrader platform suite, MT5 is being adopted by more traders all the time.  MT5 incorporates all of the key features of MT4 and an optimised environment for EA trading. 

The IC Markets MT4 and MT5 apps allow traders to work from anywhere, with nine timeframes, 30 indicators, and interactive currency charts. Functionality to close and modify existing orders, calculate profit/loss in real-time, and tick chart trading further assists traders while on the move.

Overall, IC Markets’ mobile apps are user-friendly and well-designed, and offer most of the features available on the desktop versions.

IC Markets offers South African traders access to four professional-grade trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), cTrader, and TradingView. All platforms are available on desktop, web, and mobile devices and come equipped with powerful charting tools, one-click trading, and automated trading capabilities.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

MT4 remains a popular choice for South African traders due to its user-friendly interface and support for Expert Advisors (EAs). It features 30 built-in indicators, nine timeframes, and advanced order management tools. The Raw Spread and Standard accounts are both available on MT4.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5)

MT5 offers several upgrades over MT4, including additional timeframes, built-in economic calendar, and support for netting and hedging. It’s particularly well-suited for traders who want to access more asset classes such as shares and bonds. Both account types are supported on MT5.

cTrader

Known for its clean interface and fast order execution, cTrader is a preferred platform for scalpers and high-frequency traders. It features level II pricing, detachable charts, and advanced risk management tools. Only the Standard and Raw Spread accounts are supported, and this is the only platform that integrates with TradingView.

TradingView Integration

South African traders using the cTrader Raw Spread Account can connect their IC Markets account directly to TradingView. This integration allows for:

• Order execution directly from TradingView’s charting interface
• Access to 400+ built-in indicators and thousands of community-created scripts
• Real-time syncing of trades, account balance, and history between cTrader and TradingView

To activate TradingView integration, traders must log in via the Trading Panel on TradingView, select IC Markets (cTrader), and use their cTrader credentials.

Trading Tools

IC Markets offers a number of useful trading tools, including a free VPS service, MAM/PAMM accounts, Training Central, and advanced MT4 trading tools. Zulutrade, myfxbook Autotrade, and Autochartist are available through the IC Markets’ partner programme, but there is an extra cost associated with using these services.  See below for more: 

VPS

IC Markets offers a VPS service through three providers, namely ForexVPs.net, Beeks FX VPS, and New York City Servers.  All services are available as a monthly subscription, but IC Markets will cover the costs if a client’s trading volume exceeds 15 lots (round turn) per month.  

VPS hosting allows traders to run automated algorithmic strategies, including expert advisors 24 hours a day 7 days a week on a virtual machine. VPS services have the advantage of never suffering connectivity issues and have extremely low latency due to their proximity to major international exchanges. 

MAM/PAMM Accounts

IC Markets offers an account management service to its clients which allows account managers to trade on their behalf.  In order to perform this service, bespoke technology or software is required, also known as MAM/PAMM.  The MAM software communicates all allocation settings directly with the IC Markets MetaTrader 4 server.    

MAM stands for Multi-Account Manager which permits a range of customisable ways to sub-allocate trades.  PAMM stands for Percentage Allocation Module Manager which means investors can be part of a set of sub-accounts that are traded together by a money manager or trader who has permission from clients to trade on their accounts.  Account Managers take a portion of the profits generated by the trades. 

Managed accounts are great for beginner traders who have limited experience with trading.

MT4 Advanced Trading Tools

IC Markets offers 20 exclusive trading tools that are available on the MT4 platform.  The MT4 Advanced Trading Tools help traders manage their risk, control all trades from a single terminal and view the correlations between currency pairs and other CFDs. The full set of tools include sophisticated alarms and broadcast facilities, a correlation matrix, a sentiment trader, a session map, and up-to-date market data and functions, among others. 

Myfxbook Autotrade

Myfxbook Autotrade is one of the most popular copy trading platforms on the market. This service allows you to copy the trades of any system you select directly into your IC Markets MetaTrader 4 account.  Autotrade charges a 0.6 pip spread mark up on all account options, which is relatively expensive. 

One of the benefits of using the Myfxbook Autotrade copy trading platform is its functionality.  It offers multiple copy trading modes and there is no limit on the number of Strategy Providers that can be followed.  

On the whole, copy trading is useful for traders who are interested in the financial markets but lack the experience and knowledge. 

Zulutrade

Zulutrade, a third-party platform, is a peer-to-peer social trading application where traders can choose among thousands of registered traders from 192 countries.  Traders are ranked using “ZuluRank” according to a number of different metrics, including their overall performance, stability, maturity, exposure, and minimum equity required. 

In order to use this service, traders will have to pay a total of a 2.2 pip mark-up on the spread, which is relatively high.  

Autochartist

Autochartist is an automated analysis tool offered through IC Markets’ partnership programme, so there is an additional cost for using the service.  Traders will have to contact customer support for more details regarding these costs.  

Autochartist monitors 250+ CFDs 24 hours a day and automatically alerts traders on key trading opportunities and forming trends with the highest probability of hitting the forecast price.  Some of Autochartist’s key features are:

• Chart pattern recognition
• Fibonacci pattern recognition
• Key level analysis
• Pattern quality indication

Overall, Autochartist is one of the best technical analysis tools on the market.  

Trading Central

Trading Central is available to clients who register a live account.  A third-party tool, Trading Central’s professional analysts use the most advanced technical analysis tools in the industry to curate relevant information. This tool essentially supports traders without the technical know-how in making trading decisions.  Trading Central is one of the most popular trading tools available and provides excellent market analysis, and IC Markets does well to offer this service to its clients.

Trading Tools Comparison

Broker

Economic Calendar

Autochartist

Trading Central

Trading View

Free VPS

VPS services are usually offered free with a minimum trade volume, otherwise a monthly subscription fee will apply. VPS services are usually hosted by third-party companies.

IC Markets

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Pepperstone

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

FP Markets

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

In line with Anti-Money Laundering rules, IC Markets does not process payments to third-party accounts. All withdrawal requests from a trading account will be funded to a bank account or source in the trader’s name.   

Trading Account Currencies: IC Markets offers trading in ten base currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHG, KHD, and CAD. While South African traders may be disappointed that IC Markets does not offer accounts denominated in ZAR, they have the option of opening multiple accounts with different base currencies to avoid paying conversion fees.  The wide range of base currencies available at IC Markets makes this possible. 

Deposits and Withdrawals: IC Markets offers a range of account funding and deposit methods, including bank transfer, debit cards/credit cards, and various eWallets.  Deposits are free on all funding methods and are processed immediately, or within 12 hours, except broker-to-broker transfers, which may take up to five days.  

Withdrawals received before noon AEST/AEDT are processed the same day and IC Markets does not charge any additional withdrawal fees, except on international bank wire transfers.  Other fees may apply depending on the payment method:

• Credit/debit card withdrawals – No withdrawal fees, but it can take up to five days to reach your account.
• Domestic Bank Wire Transfers – These do not incur any processing fees and will typically reach your local Australian bank account the following working day.
• International bank transfers – A withdrawal fee of 20 AUD or another currency equivalent will be charged by IC Market’s bank.  Withdrawals may take up to 14 days to be processed.
• eWallet (Paypal/Neteller/Skrill) withdrawals: No fees are charged for withdrawals, and they are instant.

With a full library of course material, independent market analysis, and webinars, IC Markets offers new traders a comprehensive education on Forex trading.  

IC Markets provides an extensive free education hub open to everyone, whether they have an account with IC Markets or not. Unlike other brokers, where educational material is often unstructured, IC Markets offers a selection of blog posts connected by topics.  Furthermore, it is obvious that IC Markets has invested heavily in educating traders of all experience levels. The principal elements of the education area are:

• Forex Basics
• Technical Analysis
• Fundamental Analysis
• Risk Management
• Trading Psychology
• Trading Plan

Instructional videos are available to help new clients set up trading software. Videos cover topics like How to Download a Demo Account, How to Use The One Click Trade Manager, How to Hedge an Order in MetaTrader 4, and Using the Trade Terminal.  Videos also cover useful other topics such as technical analysis and risk management.  

IC Markets also offers a set of previously recorded webinars hosted by knowledgeable educators who have a clear command of their expertise. The webinars principally cover technical analysis areas like Patterns, Fibonacci in Trading, Trading Candlesticks, and Fading and Scalping. There are also additional sessions on Market Structure, Market Dynamics, and Professional Trader Psychology. 

Overall, IC Markets’ education section is well-structured and in-depth and caters to traders of all experience levels.

IC Markets provides a daily, updated market analysis blog featuring all the latest market movements.  It also provides daily technical analysis articles and fundamental analysis articles that provide an in-depth look at the most popular tradable instruments.   

Clients who register an account will also gain access to Trading Central analysis. Trading Central is an independent company tool recommended for new traders wanting to learn technical analysis or those that want an independent opinion on their trades. 

Overall, IC Markets’ market analysis section is good, but it could improve its market analysis materials by providing more comprehensive and multi-format content.

IC Markets has a dedicated support department operating 24/7 via live chat, email, and phone. Live chat and phone support can assist with any general questions and queries, however, queries addressed to specific departments such as the accounts department are only available via email.   Additionally, it provides a comprehensive FAQ section providing relevant answers to the most commonly asked questions.  

Support is available in multiple languages, including Arabic, Ukraine, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, English, Greek, Romanian, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Czech. 

For the purposes of this review, we found the customer support polite, responsive, and knowledgeable – they were able to answer most of our questions.