Editor’s Verdict
Overview
Review
Headquarters | United States |
|---|---|
Year Established | 2005 |
US Persons Accepted? |
Take even a cursory glance at FX Club’s website, and you’ll understand why this Forex broker is one of the most popular brokers not just for US traders, but for Forex traders in 120 countries worldwide. In addition to having an intuitive website and multiple user-friendly trading platforms, FX Club, which is also known as Forex Club, is registered with the CTFC and is a member of the NFA. We’ve put FX Club to the test and evaluated their trading platform, ease of use, customer service and more. Read our comprehensive FX Club review to see if FX Club is right for you.
General Information
Founded in: 2005 Headquarters: New York Maximum leverage: 50:1 Minimum deposit: $200 (with ExpressFX platform) Minimum deal size: 1,000 (with ExpressFX platform) Languages available: English, Chinese (Simplified), Russian
Trading Platform
Unlike some Forex brokers like OANDA that offer a singular trading platform to meet the needs of all Forex traders, FX Club offers three distinct trading platforms, each of which is designed to cater to a different type of trader. The company’s ExpressFX is ideal for new Forex traders who want to take advantage of a lower minimum deposit, a commission refund for non-profitable trade executions (some restrictions apply) and zero spreads. The Rumus platform serves experienced traders and those who rely upon technical analysis, by offering over 50 indicators and oscillators, a customizable user-interface and web access for traders who feel compelled to be connected at all times.
ExpressFX Trading Platform (click image to enlarge)
It is the ActTrader platform, however, that FX Club touts as its tour de force. Designed for traders with minimal experience as well as those who trade Forex for a living, ActTrader is FX Club’s only trading platform that offers auto trading capabilities, customized applications for iPhone and Android and no dealing desk trade executions.
ActTrader Platform (click image to enlarge)
FX Club offers free $50,000 demo accounts for each of its trading platforms, so that if you’re not sure which one is best for you, you can test them out. Traders who are interested in taking advantage of FX Club’s mobile trading applications should note that only the Rumus and ActTrader platforms support mobile trading. It is worth noting that while traders can change FX Club platforms at any time, a new registration will be required.
Features
FX Club offers a range of features that is on par with those offered by other top Forex brokers such as Ava FX. It’s important to note, however, that not all features are available with every trading platform, so if you have specific features that you prefer, you may want to choose the platform that offers your preferred features or trading tools. Some of our favorite tools include:
ExpressFX:
- Ability to practice on weekends when the markets are closed, to improve your trading skills
- Explanation of each step to make new traders feel extremely comfortable
- Autochartist tool to track emerging trends
ActTrader:
- No dealing desk execution
- Trading Central which offers trading signals based on complex, real-time analyses
- Mobile trading for most cellular phones
- Designated iPhone and Android platforms
- Useful economic calendar
- Autochartist tool to track emerging trends
Rumus:
- Audible alerts ensure you won’t miss critical updates
- Over 50 charts and oscillators for those who rely on technical information
- Custom trend analysis
- Autochartist tool to track emerging trends
Customer Service
Traders needing assistance from FX Club’s staff can receive direct responses 24/5 via phone, chat and email. We tested all three of these services and were extremely pleased with the results. Although it took the team about 10 hours to answer our email, we were satisfied that they responded to our inquiry succinctly and courteously.
Email from FX Club (click image to enlarge)
Our experiences with the company’s chat and phone services were dramatically faster, with the wait time for chat assistance under one minute in several tests, and the hold time for phone support being equally prompt. This service dramatically differed from other Forex brokers such as iFOREX, whose customer service team was, for all intents and purposes, entirely unresponsive.
Our Chat with FX Club (click image to enlarge)
For those who wish to find answers about Forex trading independently, FX Club offers an excellent Forex education center which includes videos, ebooks, webinars and other materials that are meant to help traders of all levels improve their trading skills. Finally, we were surprised to see that FX Club offers free training seminars in New York City on weekends and some weekdays. Although we haven’t (yet) attended one of these seminars, they sound both interesting and useful for those who want to get a better grasp of the Forex industry and of all that FX Club has to offer.
Ease of Use
After viewing FX Club’s neat homepage, we weren’t surprised to find that both registering for and using FX Club’s services were extremely easy. Registering for the free demo accounts is a simple, one-step process, and practice trading can begin instantly. Registration for a real account is a four-step process, but it’s quite straightforward and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Because FX Club is registered with the CTFC, users are also asked to confirm that you’ve read several pages of disclaimers and other industry information before opening a real account. Although it is possible to accept and agree without reading the information, it’s a good idea to browse the provided materials to become a well-informed Forex trader.
Once your FX Club registration is complete, you’ll be able to begin trading immediately. The easiest way to begin is to download the trading platform of your choice, which requires little more than approving the action when prompted to do so. We were especially impressed with the ExpressFX platform which makes trading pleasurable and understandable for first time users. Interestingly, ExpressFX transforms simple Forex transactions into multi-step processes so that new traders will understand exactly what they are doing and how their decisions may impact their finances regarding both profits and losses. While this elongated process should be considered annoying, we found it rather comforting, as the platform eliminates uncertainty for those who are unfamiliar with the trading process.
ExpressFX trade execution (click image to enlarge)
ExpressFX trade execution confirmation (click image to enlarge)
The ActTrader trading platform also provided a straightforward experience, though it did not provide the ‘hand-holding’ features that are the hallmark of the ExpressFX platform. ActTrade’s user interface is neither too busy nor too overwhelming, as tabbed browsing allows traders to see only the information that they want without being distracted by other information. Buttons that have both text and images enable users to know exactly how to execute desired trading moves without reading any of the user guides or welcome tutorials that are found in many other trading platforms.
Lastly, we found that FX Club offers multiple payment options, which makes it easy to fund your Forex trading account in the way that’s most comfortable for you. Payment methods include credit card, MoneyBookers, online check, wire transfer, money order and via AlertPay services. Unfortunately, PayPal is not an acceptable form of payment, but we were willing to overlook this inconvenience because so many other payment options are available.