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As of 2019, the trading site XM.com have over 1.5 million clients from nearly 200 different countries. The trading site is owned by the XM Group, which in turn is a part of Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Limited.
An appealing feature for novice hobby traders is the fact that you only need to deposit $5 to get started with a real-money Micro Account or Standard Account here, which distinguishes XM.com from all those trading sites where you have to deposit several hundreds of dollar to get going. If you want to open a Zero Account however, a minimum deposit of $100 is required.
The cost system is transparent and easy to grasp, as XM prides themselves on their “no hidden fees or hidden commissions” policy. Commission is only charged for Zero Accounts, and all account types are free from transaction fees.
As a member of XM.com you get access to plenty of educational information, analysis tools, and tracking tools. Also, XM generously provide their clients with a complimentary VPN service.
A downside with XM.com is that customer support is unavailble during the weekends. Also, some traders will prefer to sign up with a broker that offers auto trading.
Short facts about XM
- Website: https://www.xm.com/
- Minimum deposit: $/€/£ 5
- Minimum trade: 0.1 micro lot
- Instruments: Equity, Futues, FX, Cryptocurrency, CFD
- MT4 integration: Yes
- Mobile trading: Yes, for iOS, Android and Windows
- Auto trading: No
- Trade signals: Yes
- Demo account: Yes
- Islamic account: Yes
Contracts for Difference
FTSE spread: 1.5 pts var
GBP/USD spread: 2.1 var
Oil spread: 0.05 var
Stocks spread: 0.1% var
Forex
EUR/USD spread: 1.6 pips var
EUR/GBP spread: 2 pips var
GBP/USD spread: 2.1 pips var
Cryptocurrency
You can trade in five different cryptocurrencies at XM.com:
- BTC
- BCH
- ETH
- LTC
- XRP
The spread is 1% for BTC and 2% for ETH.
Regulation
XM.com and the parent company XM Group are regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
The XM Group is based in London, UK.
Through its various subdivisions, XM also holds licenses from The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The XM trading platform
When you have signed up with XM, you can use the well-known trading platforms MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5. These platforms are utilized by a wide range of trading sites, so you might alreayd be familiar with them.
Trading on mobile devices
MetaTrader4 (MT4) and MetaTrader5 (MT5) mobile apps are available for Android and iOS, so you can trade on smartphones and tablets.
Assets / Markets
Examples of asset types / markets:
- Forex
- Cryptocurrency
- Stocks
- Commodities, including precious metals
- Energies
- Equity index
Spreads & Commission
The spreads and commissions will vary depending on which type of account you have.
The minimum spread is 0.1 pips, and this is true for all account types. Also, the average spread for EUR/USD is 0.1 pips for all accounts.
Commission is only charged for Zero Accounts.
Leverage
How much leverage you can use will vary, chiefly depending on the instrument and geogrpahical location.
For some instruments, it is just 2:1. The highest possible leverage for standard traders within the European Union is 30:1, because of the trader protection laws applicable there. Outside the EU, some instruments/markets are available with up to 500:1 leverage.
Margin requirements are constant throughout the week. This distinguishes XM from the many trading sites where margin requirements widen at night and/or during the weekend.
XM account types
There are four different acccount types available. Regardless of account type, you will be allowed to have up to 200 opening/pending positions.
Micro account
Perfect for the small-scale trader.
1 micro lot is 1,000 units of the base currency.
Available base currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, AUD, HUF and PLN
Required initial deposit: 5 USD (or equivalent)
Standard account
1 standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency.
Available base currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, AUD, HUF and PLN
Required initial deposit: 5 USD (or equivalent)
Zero account
For the Zero Account, only USD and EUR are available as base currency, and the required initial deposit is 10 USD (or equivalent). Just as with the standard account, 1 lot is 100,000 units of the base currency.
The Zero Account is the only account type where XM charges commissions.
Demo account
This is an account with you trade with play-money. No deposit required. It’s a great way of learning how to use the platform and see if you like what XM has to offer. A demo account can also be used to try out various trading strategies before you start risking your own heard-earned cash.
When you ceate a demo account, it will come with 100,000 USD in play-money.
There are no time limits for how long you can use your demo account.
Virtual private server
XM offers a free Virtual Private Server (VPS) service that they claim increases the speed of trades.
Opening hours
Trading can be done at XM online 24 hours a day.
Phone trading is available from Sunday 22:05 GMT to Friday 21:50 GMT.
Transactions
Deposits can be made through several different credit cards and e-wallets, and it is also possible to do a bank transfer or wire transfer. XM does not charge a deposit fee. Deposits can be made in pretty much any currency, but the money will be automatically converted into the base currency that you selected when opening your account.
XM usually process withdrawal requests within 24 hours. They do no charge withdrawal fees.
Customer support
Phone support: +44 2031501500
Email support: support@xm.co.uk
Live chat: You can access the live chat support from the contact page of the official XM site
Excluded countries
Examples of excluded countries are the USA, Canada, Israel, Iran, and Belgium. Traders can not use XM from these counries.