Pepperstone Review 2024

3 Steps to Sign Up on Pepperstone

1. Click Sign-up: Get started by entering your email and choosing a password for your account. You will then need to complete a standard online application, which will include some of your personal information, such as your date of birth and personal details.

2. Confirm your ID: To satisfy KYC and AML requirements, Pepperstone will require the trader’s ID and proof of residency. Since it is regulated by some strict regulatory authorities, traders can trust the broker with their documents and personal information to not share with third parties.

3. Fund and Trade: Once your account is approved, you can choose any of the funding methods to fund your account and start trading. We recommend using the demo account features to familiarise yourself with the platform and the available features before trading with your own capital.

History of Pepperstone

Back in 2010, the founders noticed the frustration traders would face while trading on online Forex platforms. From slow execution speeds and excessive spreads to subpar customer support, online Forex trading could be a tedious ordeal. Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport decided to pour their years of experience in Forex trading and technology to provide a Forex solution to overcome these problems. This led to the formation of Pepperstone in 2010.

Since its inception, it has been dedicated to overcoming the drawbacks of other forex trading platforms by offering low-cost spreads, excellent customer support, fast execution speeds, and superior technology. Over the years, it has reached its goal by amassing more than 300,000 retail trading accounts with around $12.55 billion of daily trades.

Despite the success, the team shows commitment to continuous growth by improving their services and creating their own solutions to make online trading easier. With a vision to make forex trading more accessible for individual retail investors, the platform is on its way to becoming one of the top online forex traders in the world.

Regulation and Security

As an Australian broker, Pepperstone was first regulated and authorised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on October 27, 2010. Being under the ASIC allows traders to be protected from damages by the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration or CDDA.

Since it caters to EEA and UK traders, it was also regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on May 8, 2015. The FCA is one of the prime regulators in the global financial landscape. Being authorised and regulated by FCA allows traders to be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or FSCS for up to £85,000. Quite recently in 2020, Pepperstone also received a forex license from the DFSA in Dubai. This allows the forex broker to offer services in Dubai and the residents of other Gulf co-operation states. In total, Pepperstone carry 7 licenses from; CySEC, BaFIN, ASIC, FCA, DFSa, CMA, SCB.

The client’s funds are fully segregated at both entities in Tier 1 banks. The broker fully complies with regulatory requirements and follows stringent Anti-money Laundering and KYC requirements.

Is Pepperstone Safe?

Pepperstone is committed to providing a safe and secure trading solution and its commitment to safety is proved by regulatory licenses from major authorities including FCA and ASIC. Clients’ funds are kept secure in segregated tier-1 bank accounts, such as the National Australia Bank and Barclays in the UK. The broker goes through intensive audits and possesses professional indemnity insurance with Lloyds of London.

Reputation

It is a well-reputed forex broker that is rapidly growing in terms of its customer base and services. It is operational in more than 172+ countries where it is highly regulated by relevant authorities and compliant with standards such as KYC and AML.

Its growing user base is a good indication of its good reputation all over the world. It continues to grow and improve its services to make forex trading more accessible and convenient for people worldwide.

Is Pepperstone for Me?

With so many options in the market today, choosing an online broker can be a challenge. Users are perplexed about whether the platform meets their unique requirements. For beginners, the concerns are amplified due to their potentially limited knowledge of online trading. They want to know if the platform is beginner-friendly and what kind of educational resources it offers. On the other hand, veterans are eager to know if the platform has the relevant functionality and control they require to maximize their returns.

I’m a Beginner

CFDs are complex instruments associated with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Before getting into CFD trading you should make sure you can withstand the risk and know the ins and outs of CFD trading.

With that being said, it does provide beginners with a host of learning opportunities, and educational resources to get started. The website has a dedicated section for educational articles, videos, guides, and courses to introduce you to the world of Forex trading.

Through these resources, beginners can learn the fundamentals of trading, learn how to use the platform, and utilise successful trading strategies or create their own.

I’m an Expert

For experts, the platform makes time-consuming tasks easier through a comprehensive set of tools such as AutoChartist and Smart Trader Tool packages. Apart from that, it is compatible with the two most popular trading platforms in the world, MetaTrader, TradingView and cTrader, which makes it great for advanced and beginner users alike.

With its rich educational resources and advanced automated features, this online broker is fit for both experts and beginners.

What Are the Benefits of Trading Crypto CFDs in Pepperstone?

Pepperstone stands out among a lot of other online trading platforms due to its dedication to providing exactly what the customers want. The broker satisfies traders with fast, low-cost, and convenient Forex trading.

It meets these challenges of Forex trading with its years of Forex trading experience and high-speed trading. This is topped by its compatibility with the world-renowned platforms cTrader, MT5, TradingView and MetaTrader 4.

Furthermore, it is known for its low spreads and high liquidity levels offered to clients at all levels including retailer traders. It even offers spreads as low as 0 pips. Such offerings were previously only for banks, hedge funds, and other institutional clients. However, true to its vision, it aims to provide institutional-grade trading to individual traders as well. This opens a new avenue for retail traders of all sizes. It offers a minimum account size of $200 AUD only which means that almost anyone can get started with it.

It is dedicated to creating new and improved solutions that will aid online trading and continues to develop useful tools for online traders including mobile applications, advanced analytics, and a proprietary client area. Traders working on the platform are also impressed with its excellent customer support and safety and regulatory measures.

Fees and Costs

Most of the fees are derived from low commissions and tight spreads to create a low-cost trading environment. The broker offers a competitive trading fee as compared to other online brokers on the market. For its Razor accounts, the average spread for EUR/USD currency pair is as low as 0.24 pips with a small commission of €7. Meanwhile, the standard account has a spread of 0.84 pips for the same currency pair and has no commissions.

It offers swap rates on overnight positions on all accounts, except Islamic accounts that provide full transparency when it comes to trading costs. Unlike other brokers who usually omit such information, Pepperstone ensures transparency by informing traders on how to access swap rates for each instrument.

Payment Methods and Limits

Accepted Deposit Methods

• Visa
• Mastercard
• POLi
• Bank transfer
• BPay
• PayPal
• Neteller
• Skrill
• Union Pay
• PayID
• MPESA

Minimum Deposit and Withdrawal Limits

• A minimum deposit of $200 AUD
• When you have open trades on your account, you can only withdraw up to 90% of your free margin.

Performance Features and Functionality

Pepperstone provides three unique features that create an exceptional trading environment for beginners and advanced users alike. These include the Smart Trader Tools, the cTrader Automate, and the diverse range of social trading partnerships. All these services allow the platform to elevate user performance and provide one of the best trading environments.

Smart Trader Tools

This upgrade package comes with 28 plugins for the Meta Trader 4 and 5 trading platforms. These plugins transform MT4 from a basic trading platform to an advanced one with solid trade execution, portfolio management, and enhanced risk management. This is a much-needed addition to the basic offerings of other brokers that lack upgrades and cutting-edge technology.

cTrader Automate

Pepperstone offers this feature as a part of the cTrader platform, which allows traders to create automated trading solutions and develop customized indicators. This tool is ideal for companies and traders who don’t have an existing solution to the MT4 infrastructure. cTrader is also tailored for the optimization of strategies and back-testing.

Social Trading

Pepperstone focuses on social trading and automated trading solutions. Automated trading solutions are provided through the Smart trader tools and the cTrader automate, whereas the social trading aspect is fulfilled through their partnership with the top five social trading platforms. The platform offers traders to choose between ZuluTrade, Mirror Trader, MetaTrader Signals, Myfxbook, and DupliTrade.

Trading Platforms

Pepperstone offers three of the most popular trading platforms in the world, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the ECN-LIKE platform cTrader. All these platforms support automated trading solutions but MT4 excels at this. Fintech companies and financial firms have spent hundreds of millions on developing trading solutions on the MT4 infrastructure. It is advanced enough to offer back-testing and many other additional add-ons.

cTrader is a primary trading platform in the ECN sector and Pepperstone has also invested in this popular platform. cTrader may even be a superior choice compared to MT’s fundamental models. However, upgraded MT4 is capable of creating more sophisticated trading solutions.

In addition to all that, the platform offers Smart Trader Tools for MT4/MT5, TradingView and cTrader Automate for cTrader. These additional features enhance the utility of the trading platforms and provide a much better trading experience.

Educational Resources

The platform provides a comprehensive section of educational resources which includes everything from the fundamental mechanics of online trading to more advanced advice. The educational section on the website includes trading guides on different topics, free of cost webinars targeting all skill levels and resources for learning forex trading. The section on Forex trading contains seven categories and provides an in-depth understanding of it. New traders on the platform will benefit from these well-explained and organized resources available on the website.

Trading Options

The trading platform offers its clients the ability to trade over 1200 instruments over different asset classes such as CFDs in crypto, commodities, ETFs, FX, shares and indices.

Here are the products offered for trading:

• Forex: It offers more than 61 currency pairs for trading. This includes majors, minors, and exotics
• Commodities: Traders can perform CFD trading on 15 commodities including soft commodities and energy and metal pairs for USD, Euro, and AUD
• Share CFDs: It offers more than over 900 shares from AU, US, DE, UK, HK
• Index CFDs: Traders can access a wide spectrum of global markets through 25 major index CFDs
• Cryptocurrency CFDs: It offers most major cryptocurrency CFDs for trading. This includes Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash, and Litecoin and over 100 ETFs

Account Types

Edge Standard Account

Edge standard accounts have a commission of $0 and offer institutional level STP spreads. Some of the top features of this account include:

• The liquidity from 22 banks
• Trading through MetaTrader 4 and MT5
• Negative balance protection
• Interbank spreads starting at 1 pip

Edge Razor Account

The edge razor account provides spreads from 0 pips and a commission of $3.50 AUD. Some other features include:

• Raw interbank direct pricing spreads
• Average EUR/USD spread is from 0 to 0.8 pips
• The commission of $3.50 is applied per 100,000 traded
• Minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and maximum trade size is 100 lots
• Leverage is up to 500:1
• Minimum opening balance: $200 AUD
• Base Currencies: AUD, USD, GBP, JPY, EUR, CAD, NZD, CHF, SGD, and HKD
• Offers scalping, hedging, and EAs

Edge Swap-Free Account

This type of account is made for traders who cannot pay or receive swaps. Some of its features include:

• Interest-free with $0 commissions and have STP spreads
• Base Currencies: USD, AUD, EUR, and SGD.
• Minimum opening balance: $200 AUD
• Average EUR/USD spread is from 1 to 1.2 pips
• Minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and maximum trade size is 100 lots
• Offers scalping, hedging, and EAs.
• Pepperstone makes an admin charge if you hold a trade for two days

Edge Active Traders Account

This account is targeted towards institutional traders. Some of its features include:

• Spreads starting at 0 pips. Contact for pricing details
• Active traders can earn cash rebates for forex trades and save up to 43% on commissions. Rebates depend on the trading volume and are paid daily
• Active traders can also make Qantas Points through the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program. Other benefits include priority client support, complimentary VPS hosting for automated strategies, and access to insights and reports

Pepperstone also offers a demo account.

Final Thoughts

Pepperstone is one of the fastest growing online brokers with a special dedication to providing a professional trading experience to traders at all levels. The broker has managed to build a good reputation for itself with an ever-increasing client base and a host of features that make forex trading more accessible for all.

The Australian broker is also quite diverse when it comes to the types of accounts offered and allows the trading of 90 asset types with a focus on Forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrency CFDs. With a low minimum deposit of $200, it is quite ideal for beginner and advanced traders alike.

The broker fulfils its promise of providing tight spreads, low commissions, fast execution speeds, and a stellar customer service experience. The wide range of trading options and instruments available, as well as compatibility with cutting-edge trading platforms, such as MetaTrader, TradingView and cTrader, make Pepperstone one of the best options for forex traders today.