XTB Review – Online Trading Platform

XTB is a multi-asset broker and financial online trading platform founded in 2002. In its 19 years of growth XTB now offers forex trading, cryptocurrency CFDs, and CFDs trading to retail investors. XTB has a main head office in Poland and a global broker. The Polish entity of XTB, X-Trade Brokers DM SA, has been listed publicly. Often it is a time-consuming process to find a suitable financial broker that coincides with your needs. XTB makes this process easy for you.

In this review, we will assess how XTB proves itself to be a well-functioning multi-asset broker for traders in 2021.

Regulation:

Xtb is regulated by reputable organizations such as FCA, CySEC e.t.c. and has offices in 13 countries. Regulatory authorities give protection to traders for their entities like reimbursement schemes that help clients to regain investment in case brokers become insolvent.

The brokers have to comply with the rules and criteria set by recognized international authorities for their license approval. This procedure ensures secure trading and protects investments. License approval and financial regulation are important for trading platforms. Below are the international authorities that regulate XTB.

• FCA ( financial conduct authority)
• CySEC (Cyprus Security and exchange commission)
• Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego
• Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores
• IFSC (International financial services commission) 
• KPWiG (Polish Securities and Exchange Commission )

Available financial instruments:

Following are the financial instruments at XTB:

Currency pairs (forex):

You can get access to more than 50 currency pairs by trading with XTB along with the lowest spread of 0.2 pips on a professional account with high leverage of 1:30 (for European and UK clients). For international clients, leverage is 1:500. 

Commodities:

More than 20 commodities are available for trading such as sugar, gold, coffee, silver, and more. You can get leverage up to 1:20 and 1:500 for international users by trading commodities. 

Indices:

Xtb gives access to 18 major stock markets that include some of the highest liquid in the world. You can trade indices with the leverage of up to 1:30 and 1:200 for international clients. Indices are traded as CFDs so you can go short or long with your trades. 

You can get access to the markets of China, Spain, Germany, Australia, the USA, the UK, Hong Kong, the EU, Japan along with Norway, the Netherland, and more for trading indices.

ETF:

Xtb gives access to 140 major ETFs in the markets. You can get leverage of up to 1:5 by trading ETFs and you can hedge your investment risk by using ETFs. 

For international clients, leverage is up to 1:10 for ETF trading. 

Stocks and shares:

Trading stocks and shares with skilling provides numerous opportunities for diversification due to global market access. In the case of share CFDs, XTB gives access to 1854 listed companies for international clients. These companies contain the biggest names such as google, visa, Tesla, Apple, zoom, Walmart, and more. 

You can get leverage of up to 1:30 by trading stocks and shares. 

Cryptocurrencies:

You can trade 25 cryptocurrency pairs with XTB and get leverage of up to 1:2. For international users, leverage is up to 1:5 for trading cryptocurrency.

Account types:

Xtb offers three different types of accounts such as standard, pro, and Islamic. 

Standard account 

It gives access to over 1500 financial instruments and leverage of up to 1:500. You can create an account for free without paying a commission on commodities, forex, and indices. Xtb charges 0.8% on CFDs and ETF. 

Islamic accounts 

It gives free swaps and a $10 commission, but no access to cryptocurrencies or cash stocks.  

All of these accounts come with the negative balance protection for forex and CFD trading. Protection is applicable only when accounts of European retail investors lose money. The broker does not give protection to non-European countries.

Opening an account:

To open an account at XTB, you need to click on the “create account” button from the website. XTB will ask you for a little information including your name, national insurance number, and phone number. After that, you will have to enter your address and postal code. Proceeding further, you can choose a trading platform, currency, account type, and language of your choice. 

You will have to answer basic questions such as net worth occupation, annual income, source of funding, your experience in trading, expected trading volume annually. 

After giving the necessary information, XTB will ask you to activate the account. For activating your account, you should pass the account verification process by uploading your proof of residence and ID. 

Take a clear picture of your Identity card and recently paid utility bill showing your address. Upload these documents on XTB through your cell phone. 

Trading platforms:

XTB offers four trading platforms, each having special features. The trading platforms are as following: 

The xStation 5 trading: 

xStation 5 provides an excellent experience for mobile, web, tablet as well as Android and iOS. The main features of this platform include heat mapping, sentiment analysis (shows the percentage of clients that are short or long per instrument), and a versatile stock screener.

xStation 5 charting: 

Besides its responsive and modern design, it also has several features that make it worthy. For example, the chart includes the countdown timer, which shows the time remaining in each candlestick. In total, this platform has 37 technical indicators and 29 drawing tools for your ease.  

xStation 5 innovation: 

This platform has an innovative feature “investment basket” that allows you to make a thematic basket of different symbols, and then execute all of them by placing a single order in just one click. Due to this feature, XTB won an award in 2021 for the best new tool. 

XTB guide video explanation

Fees

Fees and spreads depend on the account type that you choose and the market you select for trading. The fee structure is as follows:

XTB Standard account:

This account is commission-free, but the spreads begin from 0.9 pips. The main expense of trade is divided into spreads. 

Islamic account:

It is a regular account without any fees in the interest form, followed by the sharia law. Islamic accounts get a $10 commission with spreads beginning from 0.7 pips per lot. 

Non-trading fees:

It includes charges that are not directly linked with trading, such as inactivity fees or withdrawal fees. XTB charges no account fee, no deposit fee but, €10 monthly fee if you stay inactive for one year. 

Deposit and withdrawal fees:

XTB does not charge any deposit fees if you do deposit through bank transfer or debit/credit card deposit. The platform charges a 2% fee if you use an electronic wallet such as skrill or Paypal, which is high.

XTB charges no withdrawal fees if the amount is above $100. The only method to withdraw your money is by bank transfer. You would have to pay high withdrawal fees e.g. $20 for withdrawing money below $100. 

XTB Minimum Deposit:

There is no minimum deposit requirement and you can deposit whatever amount you wish. 

Bonus and Promotions :

You can get a 50% welcome bonus on depositing at least $100. Bonus is only applicable for non-European/UK users under the entity regulated by IFSC Belize. Generally, 50% of your first deposited amount will be added to your account by trading 15% of your first deposit. The bonus will be transferred within 60 days. 

Payment methods: 

Different payment methods are used by XTB. Along with bank transfer and debit/credit card, electronic wallet deposit methods are also accepted. Electronic wallet deposit options are as follows.

• Neteller
• Paypal
• Paysafe (Skrill)
• Maestro
• Mastercard
• Visa
• Wire transfer

The availability of different payment methods is based on your country of residence.

Summary: 

XTB provides a well-balanced experience of trading as a multi-asset broker regulated by numerous major financial authorities, therefore considered as a reliable broker. 

Besides quality service, XBT is a powerful platform with several offerings for clients. You will enjoy a long-term relationship with durable cooperation from the platform. Simply put, XTB offers more benefits than usual brokers that attract client's attention.