IC Markets is a leading ECN brokerage with a global footprint, which offers solutions for traders of all skill levels and employing various strategies and trading styles – from scalping to swing and position trading.
In the current broker review, we will pay attention to the key aspects of IC Markets, which you may consider before deciding whether to trade with this brokerage. IC Markets’ page on Trustpilot’s website enjoys a high number of positive reviews, with the broker’s aggregated score being 4.8/5. Of the 46,810 customer reviews submitted by IC Markets clients in August 2025, 91% gave the broker a 5-star rating, while only 3% gave the brand 1 star.
| IC Markets Summary | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2007 |
| Minimum Deposit | $200 |
| Tradable Instruments | Forex CFDs, Commodity CFDs, Index CFDs, Bond CFDs, Crypto CFDs, Stock CFDs, Futures CFDs |
| Open an Account | How to Open an Account at IC Markets |
| Trading Costs | Spreads, Fees, and Commissions at IC Markets |
Key Pros and Cons
Let us first provide a quick snapshot of IC Markets’ advantages and disadvantages.
Key Pros
- Deep interbank liquidity and raw pricing
- True ECN execution with no dealing desk intervention
- No fees on deposits and withdrawals and no inactivity fee
- Good selection of account types, including Zero Spread accounts
- Good selection of trading platforms and comprehensive trading tools
- Leverage of up to 1:500 available
- Great customer support and other services
Key Cons
- No FCA regulation
- No US, Canadian and Japanese clients
- Negative Balance Protection available only for Australian and EU clients
Company Information
IC Markets was established in 2007 by a team of experts with over 20 years of experience in derivative markets. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the brokerage was founded with the vision of ensuring fair and transparent access to the Forex market for active traders, while bringing solutions that were previously available only to professionals and institutional investors to retail traders across the globe.
IC Markets Group is comprised of the following entities with their respective regulated offices:
- International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, regulated by the ASIC; office address: Suite 2, Level 6, 50 Carrington Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia;
- IC Markets (EU) Ltd, regulated by the CySEC; office address: 86 Franklinou Roosvelt, 4th floor, Office 401, 3011 Omonoia, Limassol, Cyprus
- Raw Trading Ltd, regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority; office address: Eden House, Floor 1, Eden Island, Mahe, Seychelles;
- IC Markets Ltd, regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas; office address: Unit 3B, Western Business Centre, Western Road, New Providence, Bahamas.
- IC Markets (KE) Ltd, regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya; office address: No. 6, 5th Floor, Top Plazza, Kindaruma Road Nairobi, Kenya.
With over 200,000 active clients worldwide, IC Markets is one of the largest Forex and CFD providers by trading volume globally, according to Finance Magnates Q2 2020 Intelligence Report. As of April 2024, the broker reported $1.64 trillion in global trading volume.
Still, we should note that the Australian brokerage does not accept clients from particular countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, North Korea, and Iran.
Why Trade with IC Markets?
Now, let us provide a quick list of the key features that we like about IC Markets.
| Aspect | What we like |
|---|---|
| Regulation | Reputable and secure broker, regulated by the ASIC, the CySEC, the FSA of the Seychelles, and other international authorities |
| Pricing | Ultra-low spreads and competitive commissions |
| Execution | Impeccable order execution based on cutting-edge ECN technology, ensuring no dealing desk intervention, no requotes and minimized risk of slippage. In other words, the best possible conditions for scalping and automated trading strategies. |
| Trading | Diverse selection of tradable asset classes, including currency pairs, commodities, stock CFDs, stock indices, cryptocurrencies and bonds. There are also no restrictions on trade orders and no limits on trade sizes. |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView. Advanced trading tools included. |
| Customer Support | Professional, 24/7 support service via several channels |
Regulation
IC Markets is a multi-regulated forex and CFD provider. In Australia, its home market, it complies with strict regulatory standards of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is a top-tier industry regulator.
In the EU, it is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which is a Tier 2 regulator, or less stringent, for example, than the ASIC, the FCA or FINMA.
Additionally, IC Markets’ operations in other parts of the globe are handled by a corporate entity that is licensed and regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, which can be considered as rather loose.
A breakdown of the various regulation regimes is presented below.
| Region | Entity | Authority | License | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd | Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | AFS License No. 335692 | |
| EU | IC Markets (EU) Ltd | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | License No: 362/18 | |
| Internationally | IC Markets Ltd | Securities Commission of The Bahamas | License No: SIA-F214 | |
| Internationally | Raw Trading Ltd | Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) | License No: SD018 | |
| Kenya | IC Markets (KE) Ltd | Capital Markets Authority (CMA) | License No: 199 | |
We can say that the broker’s regulation is good, holding licenses from some tier-1 regulators like the CySEC and ASIC. That ensures a negative balance protection, investor compensation, and riks-assessment through leverage caps for traders registered under the CySEC and ASIC entities.
The lack of FCA regulation, however, means that UK clients will not be able to receive compensation of up to GBP 85,000 from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in an event of broker insolvency. However, under the CySEC regulation, EU clients will be compensated by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for an amount of up to EUR 20,000, if IC Markets’ EU arm fails to meet its financial obligations.
Meanwhile, the lack of a CFTC regulation means that IC Markets cannot provide online trading services to clients based in the United States.
We should also note that the broker does not accept clients from several other countries, including Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Japan and Iran.
Regulation
- Multi-jurisdiction regulation helps to develop trust
- CySEC regulation translates into EUR 20,000 compensation per covered client
- FSA regulation translates into higher leverage allowed – up to 1:500
KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing
Signing up with IC Markets turned out to be quite fast and effortless process. The entire procedure took us less than 10 minutes, while our live account was verified within 24 hours. We can say that it was a rather standard procedure, the steps of which can be presented as follows:
- Contact Details – country of residence, first and last name, email address and telephone number;
- Some Personal Details – date of birth and address;
- Choosing an account type – individual, joint or corporate;
- Configuring the trading account – choosing a trading platform, an account type (Standard or Raw Spread) and a base account currency;
- Trading suitability and security settings – Providing information about your trading experience and selecting a security question. The secret answer to that question will be used by the brokerage to verify your identity when contacting it via phone, email or live chat;
- Accepting broker’s terms and policies – Declaration that you have read and agree with all the legal documentation of IC Markets, including Terms and Conditions, Order Execution Policy, Privacy Policy and Risk Disclosure Notice;
- Account verification – Providing proof of ID (Passport, or National ID card, or Driver’s License) and proof of residency (utility bill, or bank account statement), which IC Markets will have to verify.
Once you have filled the profile form and uploaded your identifying documentation, you will have to wait until the brokerage verifies your account. The procedure takes one business day. Once the review is complete, you can fund your account and begin trading.
We should note that IC Markets will also conduct a suitability test, where you will be asked to provide info about your employment and income as well as trading knowledge and experience.