How to Open a Forex Account in 5 Minutes - Step by Step Procedure

To Open a Live Forex Account you can go to an online Forex broker website and OPEN AN ACCOUNT. Once you go to the Forex broker of your choice and select this option of opening an account, you will then have to fill some online forms - the step by step process of filling these forms is explained in this article. If you fill the forms correctly and follow the account opening procedure explained below you can have your account opened within 5 minutes.

With this online trading account you can trade the following: Forex, Gold, Silver, Oil, CFDs, Futures and Stock Indices.

How a Forex Live Account looks like

 

Step by Step Procedure of How to Open an Online Forex Trading Account

To open this live trading Forex account, a trader has to fill some online forms provided by a Forex broker. The account opening online form can be obtained from your online currency broker.

 

The process of opening a real Forex trading account is one where your broker will also require you to upload the following accompanying documents:

 

What Documents Are Needed To Open An Online Forex Trading Account

1. Proof of ID - Color copy of ID card or Passport - A color copy of valid passport or other official identification document issued by authorities (e.g. driver's license, identity card, etc). The identification document must contain the client's full name, an issue or expiry date, the client's place and date of birth or tax identification number and the client's signature.

2. Proof of Residence - Color copy of utility bill - A recent utility bill (e.g. electricity, gas, water, phone, oil, Internet and/or cable TV connection, bank account statement) dated within the last 6 months and confirming your registered address (physical residential address not post office address).

 

You can use your mobile phone to take pictures of these documents and upload them directly from your phone(this is the best option). Alternatively use your digital camera, upload the pictures to your computer then upload the saved documents to your account

 

To Find where to upload these documents look for the option "Upload Documents" - this option is shown below. Please note after opening your account it will not get validated until you have completed uploading these supporting documents.

 

Please note if you do not upload the above documents your account will not be validated - Make sure you upload the above documents to get your account validated. More than 50% of all new traders do not succeed in opening their Forex account because they fail to upload the required accompanying documents. If you correctly upload all the required documents then your account will be validated and you can start trading with your account within 5 minutes. Just take a color picture of these two documents with your smart phone and upload these directly to your Forex broker website using your mobile phone browser.

Where To Upload Documents on The Forex Account

Once you have filled the account opening forms that your broker will have provided you with, you will get access to the following trader cabinet: This will now be your Forex account.

The "Upload Documents" Button is shown below:

Complete The Account Opening Procedure by Validating Forex Account - Last Step is Uploading The Required Account Opening Documents as Shown Above.

Once you complete uploading the correct documents on the "Account Verification" Tab shown above, your account will reflect as Validated and you can then start trading on this account.

This process may seem simple but more than 50% of all new traders do not succeed in opening their Forex account because they fail to upload the required accompanying documents.

Why is a Copy of ID and Utility Bill with My Name Required?

These documents are required by your Forex broker to safeguard against money laundering. AML, or Anti Money Laundering Regulations require that all brokers ask proof of ID and Residence with your name so as to verify that you are a citizen of the country you claim you are from as well as a Utility Bill that shows your exact location where you reside, that way you cannot come up with some fake identity or fake residence to use for money laundering.

All regulated Forex brokers must comply with this requirement before opening a trading account for a new client.

 

Once your online currency broker receives these online account opening application forms plus the above documents, your application will be processed and you will be assigned a login number and a password for the live Forex trading account.

 

Once your uploaded documents are approved by your broker - your account will then be validated. Your login details will be sent to your email address. An example of a validated account is shown below:

 

This is KYC - Know Your Client, its more of a legal requirement than a mere formality, your broker must follow this policy and try to do everything to know who their client is, in order to safeguard against any money laundering activity.

 

You can then use your details to log into your MetaTrader 4 platform and start trading on this validated account. You can also use the same login details to login to your trader cabinet on the Forex broker website. On the trader cabinet you can deposit money, withdraw money and view trading reports of your Forex broker account.

 

Trader Cabinet

The FX account trader cabinet is a client area where once a trader opens a live account, then they can login to this trader cabinet and do the following operations; deposit money, withdraw money, generate trade reports, upload documents and get to view the balance of their trading transactions as shown below.

Verified Forex Account - Opening a Forex Account Procedure

 

Bonus on Deposit and Loyalty Bonus

50% deposit bonus up to $500 dollars and

20% deposit bonus up to $5,000 dollars bonus is given on opening an account.

 

Members Area - Loyalty Points

Trader cabinet area for obtaining loyalty trading points for lots traded. Loyalty points can then be used as addition credit balance for placing trades.

(New) Loyalty bonus points are given for every lot transacted

For every lot you trade you get up to 20 XMP loyalty points, 20 XMP points divide by 3 equals $6.67 credit bonus for every lot that you trade.

20 XMP is for traders who have opened an account with XM for 90 days and have been trading for the 90 days, a trader must make a minimum of 1 trade transaction every month to qualify for the XMP loyalty points - All traders start at 10XMP, after the first month they move to 13XMP, after the second month they move to 16XMP and after 90 days move to 20XMP.

 

Up To $6.67 Dollars Bonus for Every Lot Traded

Forex Trading Account Members Area - Loyalty Points

 

Traders Cabinet Members Area for Making Deposits and Withdraws Request

Withdraw and deposit options provided from within the traders cabinet where traders can deposit and make withdraws from the various options provided, for example; Credit Card, Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Bank Wire Transfer, MoneyGram and Western Union money transfer methods as shown below.

Forex Trading Accounts Members Area - Withdraw and Deposit Options

 

With this account you can also order a Debit card for only $10 dollars and with this Debit card you can withdraw the money in your account at any time from any ATM in the world using these cards.

Open a Forex Trading Account That Has a Debit Card

 

Open a live account - As you complete this learn Forex course, open an account early as it only takes a few minutes to open and validate your account early.

 

About Trading With a Regulated Forex Broker - Choosing A Broker Guide

Forex broker regulation is the most sought after qualification by currency traders when it comes to selecting an online Forex trading broker to open an account with. Regulation is what makes a Forex broker to be considered as a reliable Forex broker, When it comes to XM, this online European Forex broker is regulated and licensed in 12 countries; 10 European countries and in Australia and UK. The Forex broker regulation licenses are shown below and any other additional regulation information can be found on XM Regulation Webpage.

 

Regulation and Licenses

1. Cyprus

Licensed and Regulated in the EU by MIFID, It is also regulated by Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission, its License Number is CySEC 120/10.

2. Australia

Regulated in Australia by ASIC, under license number AFSL 443670 - ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission)

3. UK - United Kingdom

Registered with the FSA in UK, under registration number 538324 - FSA (Financial Services Authority)

4. Germany

In Germany, Registered with BaFIN under registration number 124161 - BaFin (Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht)

5. Spain

In Spain, Registered with CNMV under registration number 2010157773 - CNMV (Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores)

6. Hungary

In Hungary, Registered with PSZAF Penzugyi Szervezetek Allami Felugyelete, Registration No: K0005633

7. Italy

In Italy, Registered with CONSOB - Commissione Nazionale per la Societa e la Borsa, Registration No: 3046

8. France

In France, Registered with ACP - Autorite de Controle Prudentiel, Registration No: 73640

9. Netherlands

In Netherlands, Registered with AFM - AFM (Autoriteit Financiele Markten)

10. Sweden

In Sweden, Registered with FI - FI (Finansinspektionen)

11. Finland

In Finland, Registered with FIN - FIN (Finanssivalvonta Finansinspektionen)

12. Poland

In Poland, Registered with KNF (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego)

New Australia Regulation License - XM is now regulated in Australia by ASIC

 

Owned by Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd. Trading Point of Financial Instruments is a European Union Forex Trading Brokerage Firm Registered in Cyprus and UK and Australia and licensed and regulated in the above countries.

Where is XM Based

XM Head Office Address: 12 Richard & Verengaria Street, Araouzos Castle Court, 3rd Floor 3042 Limassol, Cyprus.

UK Office:

Citypoint Building, 1 Ropemaker Street, EC2Y 9HT London, UK.

Australia Office:

Regus Sydney Macquarie House Level 13, 167 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.

 

XM is committed to full business transparency when it comes to Forex trading and this is reflected in the way it operates its financial services in compliance with the regulatory authorities that it is registered and licensed with. XM provides its services according to strict financial standards specified by its chief financial regulator - Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission CySEC. License Number is CySEC 120/10, and in addition has full Authorization from The EU under MIFID.

 

External Audit - By KPMG
In order to ensure transparency and integrity of financial operations, XM is audited by one of the global auditors, KPMG. As an external auditor, KPMG audits the books and financial records of this Forex trading broker annually to further ensure financial transactions transparency and integrity.

 

Safe Banking - Safety of Funds

At XM, every precaution is made to safeguard clients' funds which are held in segregated bank accounts with tier 1 investment grade banks such as Barclays. Moreover, XM is fully regulated and clients' funds are insured up to EUR 20,000 through the investor Compensation Fund Protection Scheme. What this means is that in the unlikely event of company insolvency then you can claim your deposit from this investor compensation fund up to Euro 20,000.

Instant Market Execution, No Requotes Execution Policy which aims at giving customers reasonable spreads while at the same time coupled with the no requotes execution method. XM has 100% execution rate of orders with these orders having execution time of less than 1 second (No-Requotes Policy).

 

Forex Spreads

The spread is 1.7 Pips for XM Standard Account for the Major currency pairs; the spread is the same for all account types. XM has multiple liquidity providers to offer the most appropriate possible spreads and liquidity to traders at all times

 

You can also choose between fixed spread and variable spread. This broker offers 5 points price quotes which allows for tighter spread and accurate price quoting.

 

Forex Account Types

Micro Account - To open Micro Forex account, $100 minimum balance, 1.7 pips spread on majors, Leverage 1:500

For this account you can trade Micro lots as well as Nano lots and Pico lots. Traders looking for micro Forex brokers or micro lot Forex brokers can open this account.

Mini Account - To open Mini Forex account, $1,000 minimum balance, 1.7 pips spread on majors, Leverage 1:200. Traders looking for mini Forex brokers or mini lot Forex brokers can open this account

Standard Account - To open Standard Forex account, $10,000 minimum balance, 1.7 pips spread on majors, Leverage 1:100

As a note, you can also trade mini lots on the standard account, just select 0.1 Lots instead of the full lot - 1 lot.

Executive Account - To open Executive Forex account, $100,000 minimum balance, 1.7 pips spread on majors, Leverage 1:100

As a note, you can also trade mini lots on the executive account, just select 0.1 Lots instead of the full lot - 1 lot.

 

XM Zero Account - This account provides spreads as low as 0.1 for traders looking for a low spread Forex broker. (For this account there is an additional commission of $10 per lot on top of the spreads). This account is suited for high frequency traders such as scalpers and EA traders looking to save on the spreads. This is the account for high frequency EA automated trading strategies and traders who look for less than 1 pip forex broker. However, note there is the additional $10 fee commission per lot.

 

Islamic Forex Accounts

Islamic accounts are swap free, meaning there is no paying/receiving of interest. This account is suited for traders looking for Islamic Forex brokers.

 

Deposit/Withdraw Funds

Clients have a secure members area on their website once they have opened an account, in this client area or cabinet you can deposit/withdraw your money at any time. By clicking my account and then clicking deposit button then fill the details, for withdraw just click my account and then the withdraw button. Withdraw Requests are also processed on the same business day and receipt of funds is issued within the same day making XM the most reliable Forex broker online.

 

XM does not charge deposit fees or withdraw fees when you want to withdraw your money or make a deposit. With some online Forex brokers this fees is about 3%, you want to avoid such FX brokers, because if you deposit $1000 dollars minus the deposit fees your balance will start at $970. If you deposit 10,000 dollars then you will start with $9,700 minus the 3% deposit fees, you can see why you will want to avoid those brokers that charge deposit and withdraw fees. With XM you deposit $10, 000 you balance is $10,000. You can see why you want to open an account with a zero fees for deposit/withdraw.

Payment Protection and Data Security - Credit Card Data Protection

Please note that XM does not receive and/or store any personal credit card or payment information. All transactions are processed and protected by Level 1 PCI-DSS Certified Independent International Payment Gateways.

 

What Instruments are available for trading on XM

• Forex Currencies
• CFD's
• Equity Indices or Stock Indices
• Precious Metals - Silver and Gold
• Energies - Crude Oil
• Online Stocks

Trade Forex, Gold, Stock Indices, Energies, CFDs and Online Stocks

Withdraw With a MasterCard

Traders can now withdraw their profits instantly from their Forex trading account using MasterCard ATMs world wide.

MasterCard - Debit Card

 

Secure Clients' Area

Should you open an XM Account this is exactly how it looks like.

Trader Cabinet - Open FX Trading Account

 

Members Area - Currency Trader Cabinet

 

No Requotes Policy

The No-requotes policy means this Forex broker does not requote the traders as this is a no dealing desk Forex broker, the execution accesses inter bank network meaning they have a variety of liquidity providers to take up the orders instantly form this network of banks. This broker follows a no re-quotes policy for its clients making it the fx broker for traders looking for a non dealing desk Forex broker and a No-Requotes Policy Online Forex Broker.

 

Client Money Protection

Segregated accounts - Client money is held in segregated bank accounts, which means client money is banked in a different account other than the company account. This is good because the client money cannot be used by the broker except for client dealing purposes. Good Forex brokers keep client money in a segregated account because this ensures transparency to clients and customers when it comes to their funds.

 

Regulation - being a regulated Forex broker ensures client money protection because the currency trading broker has to adhere to strict financial Guidelines, In addition Cyprus Exchange Securities and Exchange commission and MIFID requires that member brokers to be part of "The Investor Compensation Fund" that guarantees every client deposit is insured up to Euros 20,000.

 

XM is a member of the Investor Compensation Fund, the Investor Compensation Fund is a fund set up by the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) for all clients of the Cyprus Investment Firms. The purpose of this Investor Compensation Fund is to secure the claims of all retail clients of the members through the payment of compensation. This provides the client with a form of insurance for their funds: up to a maximum of 20,000 Euros. What this means is that in the unlikely event of company insolvency then you can claim your deposit from this investor compensation fund up to Euro 20,000.

 

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (known as "MiFID") is an EU law that provides harmonized regulation and safe-practice benchmarks for investment services across the 40 member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), In order to be MiFID compliant, Brokers must adhere to strict regulatory guidelines.

 

XM Keeps clients' deposits in segregated bank accounts separate from company funds, these funds are held by custodian banks in tier 1 Investment Grade banking institutions like Barclays bank which are secure global banks with the lowest credit risk/high credit rating. This means clients deposits cannot be touched by the company or their liquidity providers.

 

XM also provides negative balance protection meaning unlike other currency brokers where traders can make losses of more capital than they invest, traders cannot lose more than what they invest when it comes to XM - thanks to the automated risk protection safeguards that ensures traders cannot lose more than they invest. This is what is known as Negative Balance Protection.

XM system monitors funds transactions for risk management to ensure no negative balance, this protects clients from any losses above their original investments.

 

The company also ensures high operation standards by submitting financial reports to the Cysec Financial Regulatory Authority as well as to the company's financial auditor, KPMG

 

The above client money protection policies makes XM the reliable Forex broker online.

 

Security and Reliability

Another thing that makes XM one of the most reliable Forex broker is the security encryption of their Forex trading software. XM Forex trading software is designed with high standards in terms of security, privacy, reliability and integrity.

 

Information is encrypted using High Grade Encryption (TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA, 128 bit keys) 128 bit keys, which means no third party can access information, the server is secure, data is backed up in more than one location, and also uses two different server firms Located away from each other meaning there is absolute no down time, currency traders always have access to the servers and can trade anytime from anywhere in the world.

 

XM provides transaction security by the use of information encryption methods that guarantee security of these transactions and safeguard clients’ privacy through the Secure Socket Layer, SSL technology method, otherwise known as https:

HTTPS: High Grade Encryption (TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA, 128 bit keys) Security

 

Forex Education

Free education tools are provided to traders on their website to learn Forex: You can learn one or two things by visiting the Learning Education Center. XM also conducts Forex Seminars.

New: Seminars 2014

New Seminars around the world in 2014 are provided for trader education making XM one of the initiatives of this broker when it comes to providing Forex trading education to traders from all over the world, for a list of previous and upcoming seminars visit: Seminars Schedule.

 

When it come to Forex education and Forex seminars XM is one of the leading Forex brokers with over 120 countries and cities visited and training seminars held to educate FX traders.

For traders looking for seminars organized by Forex brokers they can attend Forex seminars organized by XM.

Market Open Times

Market Open Times - Opens on Sunday Afternoon and Closes on Friday Afternoon US Market Time: Sunday 22:05 GMT to Friday 21:50 GMT

 

Company Review - Forex Broker Review

XM is a next generation investment firm enabling investors from 196 countries around the world to trade Forex, precious metals, stock indices, and energies. XM is one of the leading Forex brokers in the world with over 1,000,000 real Forex accounts opened from over 196 countries.

 

From the founding of the company in 2009, XM has been committed to providing fair and transparent trading conditions for all clients irrespective of their capital worth. Traders enjoy the no requotes execution available anywhere, bolstered by a strict no requotes and no rejections policy.