The company was founded in 1998 and registered in Switzerland, and its headquarters are still located in Geneva. Over the years, the organization has been actively developing and expanding its scale, turning into a large financial group. It includes banking institutions and dealing centers to provide services through a unique ECN trading platform such as SWFX.
The Swiss financial regulator FINMA supervises the broker following the license issued. The company also has several subsidiaries registered in Latvia, Riga, and Tokyo and operating based on state certificates.
Company details
The company provides brokerage services for trading in the forex, binary options, and cryptocurrency markets. Traders have access to 42 currency pairs, 25 deposit currencies, and five account currencies, including the US dollar and the euro, a 1: 100 leverage, a minimum lot of 0.01 units, and a market type of order execution.
ECN account Dukascopy offers several types of deposits for trading: from $100 to $100,000. The Swiss FX trading platform is a feature of the work to enter the SWFX market, which guarantees instant orders and high liquidity of assets.
Regulation
Dukascopy is a Swiss broker regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). We have found FINMA as a strict and trustworthy regulation during our review, and we did not find any information regarding the breach of regulations by Dukascopy. Securities dealers in Switzerland should be licensed as a broker. The best part of the broker is that Dukascopy clients’ funds are protected up to CHF 100,000 if the broker goes bankrupt.
In Europe, it is regulated by the Financial and Capital Market Commission. However, the broker is not regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, but it has a license to operate businesses in Europe, including citizens from the UK.
Based on Dukascopy license documents, clients’ funds are separate from companies’ capital on a segregated account. It also provides negative balance protections confirming that investors do not lose more than their initial investment.
Based on funds safety and balance protection, Dukascopy is a trustworthy broker despite some drawbacks. It does not provide social trading opportunities through its platform nor provides services to some countries, including the US.
Available markets
You can diversify your trading portfolio from FX, stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Forex
- Lots of trading instruments to buy and sell from one place.
- Trading opportunity in MT4 and JForex platform.
- Automated trading in any currency pair.
CFDs trading
- The broker offers trading opportunities in CFDs of six commodities, 19 indices, three bonds, stocks, and ETFs.
- Stock CFDs are available from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, and the USA.
Cryptocurrencies
- Dukascopy offers to trade in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
- The minimum contract size for BTCUSD is 0.01.
- 24/7 trading opportunity.
Binary
- The broker offers binary options trading in 17 currency pairs in the SWFX marketplace.
Account overview
Dukascopy provides trading opportunities in different account types to cover both traders’ and investors’ requirements. Here, you can take trades with the ECN platform or enjoy trading from a sophisticated social trading platform.
Dukascopy forex/CFDs ECN account
The broker offers trading currency pairs and precious metal trading opportunities for retail and institutional traders. Through the Dukascopy ECN account, traders can feel the real professional trading experience as it covers all requirements to be an ECN account.
Other features of the Dukascopy Forex/CFDs ECN account are mentioned below:
- Same liquidity for both retail and institutional traders.
- Supports all types of trading strategy, including news trading, scalping, hedging, etc.
- The account is available on multiple currencies from USD, CHF, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, etc.
- Multiple deposit methods, including Wire transfer and credit/debit cards.
- Clients have the protection of up to CHF 1000 against insolvency risk.
- Lot size starts from 0.01.
- The minimum deposit is $100.
Dukascopy multi-currency account (MCA)
The multi-currency account is suitable for retail traders with wealth below $100,000. This account is applicable for traders all around the world with an innovative solution.
Other features of this account:
- Fund protection up to CHF 100,000.
- 23 available currencies.
- Deposit option through Visa/MasterCard, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Skrill, Neteller, etc.
- Inter-bank exchange rate.
- 24/7 support via live chat and email.
Dukascopy gold account
It is an alternative to purchasing physical gold. Investors are not required to buy gold; instead, they can get attractive exchange rates from the Dukascopy Bank.
Other features:
- Deposit opportunity from multi-currency accounts.
- A custody fee is applicable for XAU accounts.
- Fund protection up to CHF 100,000.
- Investors cant withdraw physical gold; instead, they will receive its equivalent in any currency.
- The account opening requires consultation with the account manager.
Dukascopy managed account
The main aim of the managed account is to appoint a trader on clients’ accounts. Dukascopy provides a unique environment of social trading with the following features:
- Multiple trading orders with stop-losses and limit orders.
- Advanced PAMM account.
- Opportunity to provide individual stop losses.
- Identify traders’ performance with numerous risk management and performance tools.
- ECN liquidity of SWFX.
How to open an account?
To start trading on the Dukascopy Bank SA site, you need to create a personal account.
To do this, follow these steps:
Step 1. Log in to the broker’s website www.dukascopy.com.
Step 2. Click the “Open Live Account” button.
Step 3. Fill out the registration form, indicating the investment amount, user category, and enter personal data in the empty fields.
Step 4. Pass the verification procedure by providing scanned copies of documents prescribed in the user agreement.
Step 5. Top up your account for $ 1000 or more.
Step 6. Start trading.
Deposit and withdrawals
Before trading the selected financial assets, the trader will need to make an initial deposit. To perform a financial transaction, you can use one of the proposed methods:
- Bank transaction.
- By credit card, Visa, or MasterCard.
- Payment card VisaElectron, or Maestro.
Trading on the Dukascopy Bank SA platform is carried out on a single account. When a transaction is completed, the money will be credited to the account within one business day, except for bank transfer, when the application processing lasts up to three days.
In addition, the broker does not charge a commission for depositing or withdrawing funds. However, banking organizations through which financial transactions pass can charge a fee of 1.2 to 2.3%.
It is worth noting that the broker provides a paid service. Respectively, the trader is obliged to pay annually for the company’s services for up to 200 CHF. If there is no activity on the trading account for 365 days, its balance can be reset to zero, and the account can be blocked.
Besides deposits, investors should pay some fees on withdrawal, as shown in the below image. However, there is no charge regarding internal transfers.
How to withdraw?
After the registration procedure and the arrival of documents at the company’s office, you access the trading platform (login/password / PIN).
For withdrawal/replenishment procedures, you must go through the trader’s office.
Login from the site Login -> LIVE Platform -> Entry for traders. The login and password for entering the trader’s office are the same as the trading platform.
Further, in your account, go to the “Cash” section and to withdraw funds, fill out the withdrawal request form by clicking on the Withdraw button.
In the form that opens, indicate the details of your bank SWIFT, address (can be found on the bank’s website), withdrawal amount, and IBAN of the account to which you withdraw money.
As practice shows, the transfer is carried out the next day after the application is submitted, although the regulations indicate 2-3 working days. The funds are usually credited to your bank account on the 3rd day after the transfer. Withdrawal fees will range from $10 to $20. Most likely, this commission is charged by the correspondent bank.
Trading fees
Dukascopy fees are comparatively high as it provides trading with an ECN environment and lots of features, including insurance, gold account, massive trading instruments.
Trading commission
Dukascopy takes $10 per one standard lot trade as a commission. This volume commission is deducted from the account as soon as traders open trades. However, the volume commission rate depends on the deposit amount, equity, and trading volume, as shown in the image below.
Besides, Dukascopy charges an overnight fee to keep trades opening overnight. The rate depends on the trading activity and volume.
SMS notification fee
Besides trading costs, traders have to pay a charge to get notifications through SMS. The SMS service includes a statement by their subscriptions. The SMS charge is EUR 0.07 per SMS and will convert in the case of other deposit currencies.
Non-trading fees
Dukascopy Bank does not charge management fees and commissions on profits. Only volume and overnight commissions are charged for automated execution of trades on the client’s account.
Platform and features
Dukascopy provides MT4 and its proprietary trading platform to cover all trading needs.
Dukascopy MT4 platform
- Account currency: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, PLN
- Margin call level: ≤100%
- Stop out level: ≤50%
- Execution type: market
- Hedging: yes
- Expert advisors: yes
- Trailing stop: yes
Dukascopy JForex3 platform
- Manual and automated trading
- More than 250 indicators and charting tools
- Economic calendars, news, and events
- Automated trading
- Historic tester
- Available on the web and mobile platforms
Features
Besides general features, Dukascopy provides more than a trader should know.
Here we will see some elements that Dukascopy exclusively supplies:
Market news and research
- Trading ideas and forecast based on fundamental and technical analysis
- Exclusive technical & fundamental analysis from Dukascopy experts
- Expert commentary on currency pairs
- Trading articles covering essential updates about the market
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Multiple terminals Financial regulator FINMA The ability to trade on a demo account Tight spreads Round-the-clock technical support A huge selection of currencies for a trading account | Making a payment for opening an account High minimum deposit Lack of training material Scarce choice of methods for financial transactions |
