XM Review 2023
The forex world is a highly competitive industry with a large number of impressive brokers. Many of these brokers compete with one another by developing better educational resources, more competitive rates, and better service. One broker that seems to thrive under such competitive conditions is XM.
XM is one of the best respected and highly reputed brokers in the world since it has excellent customer service, brilliant educational resources, and highly competitive rates. XM also happens to be one of the few beginner-friendly platforms, which makes it a great choice for most traders. Check out our following review to find out if you’re one of them.
Regulation and Security
The better regulated a broker is, the more likely you are to be free from potential fraud or other problems. Most forex brokers are regulated by international financial institutions. XM also adheres to such regulations and is one of the most heavily regulated brokers in the industry.
As an international broker, XM is regulated by four financial authorities:
- CySEC: Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
- ASIC: Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- IFSC: Belize International Financial Services Commission
- DFSA: Dubai Financial Services Authority
As such, XM is highly regulated by international authorities, and the broker’s record has been one of compliance with international financial authorities. For these reasons, it’s a good choice if you value adherence to financial regulations.
They are also registered for outward passporting by the FCA (one of the strictest regulators in the world).
Is XM available worldwide?
Yes, XM is an international forex broker that’s available in more than 190 countries–mostly in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Some of XM Broker’s major markets are the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Thailand, and South Africa.
With a market of over 190 countries, XM is among the largest international brokers in the world. Similar to most other brokers, XM is not available in the United States, Canada and Israel.
CHECK YOUR NATION’S ELIGIBILITY
Supported platforms
Like most other brokers, XM does not have its own proprietary desktop platform. Instead, XM gives users a choice between the industry leading MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. It also operates a smartphone app for mobile trading.
Mobile apps/web
The XM smartphone app is available for iOS, Android, and the Windows mobile operating system. The smartphone app is easy-to-use and convenient. XM’s mobile app also comes with a decent set of features, but many traders have reported in the past that they feel the app lacks certain features. Yet, it’s still a perfectly functional mobile trading platform.
MT4
XM allows trading on MetaTrader 4 (MT4) for customers who prefer the traditional approach to forex trading. You can access the MT4 directly over at XM. You’re allowed up-to 128 trading accounts with a single master login.
MT5
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the more advanced version of MT4, so it comes with ECN and STP style execution. It also comes with a more advanced set of technical analysis tools than the previous MT4.
In short, XM is available on a good mix of mobile and desktop platforms. It’s mobile app is functional, and it’s available on MT4 and MT5, which is always appreciated. You can get a brief real-time experience of the web trading platforms by heading over to their official website or by clicking here.
Account types
XM offers 5 main different types of accounts to its customers along with extra options including demo and swap-free/Islamic conditions, although it depends on your location in regards to what accounts will be available to you:
The Standard and Micro Accounts
These two accounts are extremely similar with leverages up to 1:1000, $5 minimum deposits, spreads as low as 1 pip, and no commissions. The only major difference is that with the Micro account 1 lot = 1,000 units of base currency (also known as a micro lot). Whereas with the Standard account 1 lot = 100,000 units of base currency (also known as a standard lot).
XM Zero Account
The XM Zero account is an ECN-type account that has spreads as low as 0 pips, but it has commission charges on all trades. These commission charges are $3.50 for each standard lot (1.00 lot size) traded. The XM Zero account also has a minimum deposit of $5, and it supports base currencies of USD, EUR, and JPY.
XM Ultra Low Account
XM provides an ultra-low account that provides distinctive and exceptional trading conditions. This account offers a maximum of 300 positions opened at the one time and a maximum leverage of 1:888. The Ultra-Low Account also has a minimum lot size of 0.01 and a minimum deposit of $5.
Shares Account
The Shares account is specifically for shares trading, so it has a high $10,000 minimum deposit requirement with USD as the only supported base currency. The Shares account doesn’t have any leverage, and spreads are determined on the underlying exchange.
Of these five accounts, the XM Zero, XM Ultra Low, and the Shares account aren’t available to all of XM entities.
Demo Account
XM provides demo accounts for new traders to practice trading without any risks. The demo accounts start with $100,000 of virtual funds and have no expiry dates, but it automatically closes after being inactive for 90 days. The demo accounts are a great learning tool for anyone who wants to better understand the platform before committing money to it.
Islamic and Swap Free Accounts
The Islamic or swap-free accounts are for Muslim traders. This account has no overnight swap fees to help support your trading journey. Once you have opened an account, you can simply contact your personal account manager or email their back office requesting that your account be transferred to a swap-free group due to religious beliefs. They also have live chat available should you ever need a helping hand.
Signing Up
XM has a relatively fast sign-up process that involves entering your personal details, including your name, address, phone number, etc. Next, you’ll select your preferred trading platform, account type, base currency, and desired leverage.
Afterwards, you’ll provide information on your financial knowledge and verify your identity and address with your national ID and utility bill or bank statement respectively. You can log into their official website or click here to start the application process.
Overall, it’s a fast and easy sign-up process that only takes a few minutes to fill in all the information.
Deposit and withdrawals
The minimum deposit size is $5, and you can make deposits through multiple payment methods, including bank wire, bank cards, and eWallets. XM accepts payment through Mastercard, Visa, Visa Electron, Maestro, Diners Club International, UnionPay, XM card, Skrill, Neteller, Web Money, and bank wire transfers. The broker also has no charges on deposits or withdrawals using Neteller, Skrill and all major credit cards (including Visa , Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro and China UnionPay).
You can make deposits in any currency, and XM will automatically convert the sum into your base currency. Deposits to an XM trading account are instant for all payment methods except bank transfers, which may take as many as 5 business days to process.
XM, thankfully, doesn’t charge any withdrawal fees except a $20 fee for bank transfers of less than $200. The withdrawals take 24 hours to process unless it’s done by bank transfer, which may again take as many as 5 business days to process.
Commissions and fees
XM offers a variable spreads to traders worldwide. Their spreads start from 0.0 pips and the average spread for EUR/USD we encountered during increased volatility was 0.8 pips.
XM are very transparent when it comes to the fees and commissions that they charge. Commission is only charged on the Zero and Ultra Low accounts.
Available leverage
XM provides leverage that scales from 1:1 to 1:1000 (depending on your location). XM does not change margin requirements over the week, nor does it change overnight.
Analysis and Education
XM has generally good educational credentials with its demo accounts being especially great for beginners. Additionally, you can also learn from the other great educational resources, including webinars and videos offered by the broker.
The broker offers multiple platform tutorials and educational videos that explain forex trading and offer information on how to use the platform. These are high quality videos that provide valuable information for traders. Most of XM’s educational content is also in video-format which may or may not be a plus for you depending on your learning style.
XM even offers live training sessions both online and offline for customers. Its current educational library is also extremely expansive and contains large amounts of content for customers.
XM has some of the best educational resources overall. It’s developed a very comprehensive library of resources to help customers. For that reason, this is one of the best brokers for people who value high-quality educational content.
DISCOVER XM’S EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Customer service
XM has a fast and multilingual customer service that you can access with emails, a dedicated phone line, and a live chat feature. XM’s customer service is known for providing excellent support and quick response times with their support being available in over 29 languages.
Live chat
You can access XM’s live chat feature through both its app and website. It’s live chat feature is relatively quick, and you can get responses within as quickly as 30 seconds.
Emails
XM has an excellent email support service with many traders reporting they received answers as fast as 15 minutes. The average response times during their office hours we found ranged between 15 minutes to 7 hours for email support.
Phone
XM has a fast response time of fewer than five minutes. One of the best features of its phone support is that it’s available in multiple different languages. Overall, XM is one of the best brokers in terms of customer service.
Reputation amongst Traders
XM has a good reputation among traders because it offers a high quality service. They have been operating for over 13 years, and it’s especially gained a high reputation for its customer service, where they have won many related awards including ‘Best Broker in Customer Service’ by FX168 and ‘Best Customer Experience – Global’ by The European Magazine. In fact, it’s received a double AA grade support rating for its customer service. It’s also won many other industry awards over the previous 13 years.
Few brokers have achieved the same reputation for high quality service as much as XM. So, if you’re concerned with only working with the most reputable brokers, XM is an excellent choice for you.
Can beginners trade with XM?
Yes, XM is a beginner-friendly broker who offers many account choices to help support new traders. XM web platform also has excellent features for beginners, including a clear fee report system, a high degree of customizability, and order customization. XM also offers a highly customizable and user-friendly MetaTrader Suite.
Another beginner-friendly feature of XM is its comprehensive research center, which has many articles, charts, and trading signals. The rest of its educational content is also very useful for beginners since it contains significant financial knowledge.
Lastly, it has excellent customer service, so beginners can easily access XM if they need help. For these reasons, XM is among the most user friendly forex brokers and a great choice for you if you’re new to the forex world.
Summing Up
XM is an excellent industry-leading forex trader that provides exceptionally high-quality service. XM has extremely useful demo accounts for teaching beginners how to properly trade before they invest. XM is available on its own mobile app along with industry leading platforms including MT4 and MT5.
Being an experienced international broker, XM has one of the industry’s best customer service along with a competitive financial framework. For these reasons, XM is also among the most user-friendly brokers in the world. All these strengths make XM one of the best brokers in the world, especially for beginners.
