SmartSTP Broker Review 2024

By Onose Enaholo - Updated 29 August 2024
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Fact Checked

SmartSTP is an online trading platform offering services to people that want to focus on trading without worrying about infrastructure or tools. The platform offers robust trading terminals, good spreads, customized trading accounts, qualified support staff, a wide range of assets, and a healthy leverage facility.

The platform is also legally compliant as it holds a license from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Mauritius.

Despite the broker’s impressive offering and compliance, is it a good trading partner for you? Our review helps answer this question as we explore the platform’s inner workings, unpack its offerings, and highlight its pros and cons.

Table of Contents

5 Steps to Sign Up to SmartSTP

To create a SmartSTP account, follow the steps below.

1. Open an Account

Register for an account by clicking the “Open Account” button at the top right of the homepage and filling out the form with your name, email, phone number, and password. You must be over 18 to open a personal account.

2. Provide Information

You’ll need to provide more information to fill out your profile. This stage should be easy as the required details are usually available.

3. Fill a Questionnaire

The questionnaire is built to gauge your experience and risk appetite as a trader or investor. This will help the company provide more custom services for the type of trader that you are.

4. Deposit Funds

Next, you’ll need to deposit funds into your account using either credit cards, SWIFT transfers, or SEPA payments to access the live market.

5. Documentation

Lastly, you’ll need to submit KYC documents. A government ID and a utility bill showing your address should suffice.

Pros & Cons of SmartSTP

Pros

  • Streamlined platform, no clutter
  • Zero-fee structure
  • Wide enough CFD collection (350+)
  • Powerful proprietary trading platform
  • Narrow spreads
  • Multiple account types for various types of traders
  • Supports hedging
  • Live and email support on weekdays

Cons

  • Funding methods are limited
  • No MT4 and MT5 integration

What is SmartSTP?

SmartSTP is a broker and trading platform that offers access to six major markets, namely equities, cryptocurrency, commodities, forex, indices, and metals through a robust trading terminal.

The broker is owned by a parent company, MRL Investments, with offices in Mauritius and Cyprus. It prioritizes flexibility, transparency, knowledge, and support and achieves this by running a platform that provides all the tools, instruments, and information traders need to maximize success.

SmartSTP also emphasizes compliance and is licensed by Mauritius’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) with license number GB21027168.

How Does SmaertSTP Work?

SmartSTP provides end-to-end brokerage and trading services for all types of traders, a process that begins with opening a new account. Each new account holder must pass KYC to access the live markets; this is in line with the company’s KYC and AML guidelines.

During the signup process, you will be asked to choose the base currency for your account; the options are USD and EUR. Once you do so and complete verification, you will be granted immediate access to the forex, indices, cryptocurrency, stocks, commodities, and metals markets.

The platform offers four account types: silver, gold, platinum, and Islamic accounts. Ideally, new traders are encouraged to use the silver account and work their way up until they get to the platinum account, which is geared towards experienced traders. However, users are free to select the account they want.

All accounts come with a 200x leverage facility and access to over 350 instruments, all of which are Contracts for Differences (CFDs), which are financial derivatives that track the prices of assets they represent.

Essentially, they move like their underlying assets and can be traded in their place. Because of CFDs, SmartSTP can offer leverage and keep trading fees low.

All trading on SmartSTP is done through the proprietary trading platform, WebTrader, built to work on any modern browser, whether computer or mobile.

SmartSTP Key Features and Offerings

Commodity Trading

With SmartSTP, you can trade CFDs of major commodities like Brent crude barrels, natural gas, gold, silver, wheat, corn, and more with low spreads (from 0.060) and high leverage (up to 1:50).

For more information, visit the site’s commodity trading section.

SmartSTP Trading

For equity traders, SmartSTP offers CFDs for popular companies like Microsoft, Boeing, Netflix, Apple, and more. You can also trade select stocks from other countries with 1:10 leverage and lot sizes as small as 0.01; simply search to see if the CFD is available.

For more information, visit the stock market page.

Forex trading

SmartSTP offers access to CFDs of currency pairs on the international market. The wide range includes major pairs like EURUSD, crosses like GBPJPY, and even exotics like USDSEK.

You can trade these pairs with leverage up to 1:200, low spreads, and a minimum lot size of 0.01.

For more information, visit the forex trading page.

Cryptocurrency Trading 

SmartSTP crypto CFDs allow you to speculate on the price movements of your favorite cryptos without the hassle of owning or storing them. You can also trade these CFDs with leverage and cutting-edge tools.

Spreads start from 0.02 pips for cryptos like XRP and can go up to 124 pips for Bitcoin. For more information, visit the cryptocurrency trading page.

Indices Trading

With SmartSTP, you can trade CFDs for stock indices from various countries and markets like the Nasdaq 100, FTSE 100, Dow Jones, the French CAC40, and more with 1:50 leverage and trade sizes as small as 0.01.

For a complete list of instruments, visit the indices trading page.

Metals Trading

If precious metals are your preferred instrument, you can trade them as CFDs on Equiity’s platform with 1:50 leverage and position sizes as small as 0.01 lot. The options range from popular ones like Gold and Silver to Palladium, Copper, Platinum, and more.For more information, visit the metals trading page.

Factors to Consider Before Using SmartSTP

Security

Before using SmartSTP, you must ensure the broker is technologically and financially secure. The ideal technological situation is the implementation of SLL encryption and various industry-standard technologies for information security.

For financial security, brokers must not co-mingle user and company funds but must keep users’ funds in segregated accounts.

While we do not have intricate details about the technologies that SmartSTP uses to protect its system, the fact that it holds a license from the FSB indicates that it adheres to industry standards of technological security and fund segregation.

Licenses

Before using SmartSTP, ensure it is licensed to operate in your region. SmartSTP holds licenses from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Mauritius and is registered with regulators in Cyprus.

Trading Costs

Overall trading costs include spreads, commissions, and even deposit and withdrawal fees. SmartSTP has made strides in keeping its trading fees low by offering small spreads on CFDs of major assets. However, note that spreads often change with market volatility, especially for exotic assets.

Funding fees can be a bit expensive, however, as the payment methods supported are credit cards (known to charge at the higher end of the curve), SWIFT transfers (also charges at the higher end of the curve), and SEPA payments (which are cheap but not generally available outside Europe).

Nonetheless, what SmartSTP lacks in funding options, it makes up for with zero commissions.

Asset List

With over 350 CFDs available, SmartSTP provides enough markets for traders to profit from, which is the ideal scenario. Multiple assets should also be available under each category, and SmartSTP lists several assets for each market.

Customer Service

SmartSTP provides customer support through live chat and email 24 hours a day on weekdays. Live chat is usually the faster channel as agents are on standby to attend to queries during work hours.

Trading Tools and Platforms

Most traders are only as good as their tools, so a suitable platform must offer trading tools that Increase tracers’ chances of success. SmartSTP is not lacking in this regard as the broker offers a proprietary web trader that works on laptops and mobile browsers with tools and indicators to help aid analysis.

However, we did not see mention of integrations with the popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms

SmartSTP Supported Cryptocurrencies

For crypto-focused traders, SmartSTP supports a robust list of cryptocurrencies, some of which include:

We must mention that SmartSTP does not currently support deposits or withdrawals using these cryptos.

SmartSTP Platform and Tools

Trading Accounts

SmartSTP offers four trading accounts that offer various benefits. They include

Silver Account

The Silver account is a great option for people just starting trading (i.e., beginners). It offers leverage of up to 1:200 for FX, 1:50 for metals, indices, and commodities, 1:10 for equities, and 1:5 for cryptos. Spreads are usually small (starting from 2.5 pips on instruments like FX), and dedicated support is available for all account holders.

For more information, visit the silver account page.

Gold Account

The Gold account is geared towards more experienced traders and comes with all the benefits of the Silver account and its leverage tiers. Its perks include spreads that are 25% of those of the silver account, faster trade speeds, a dedicated account manager (in addition to dedicated customer support), swap discounts 25% lower than those of the silver account, and educational webinars and videos.

For more information, visit the gold account page.

Platinum Account

The Platinum account is the highest regular account type with the most discounts, smallest spreads, and the highest priority support. However, leverage facilities remain in line with the other accounts.

Some perks include news alerts for important macroeconomic events and releases and swap discounts 50% lower than those of the silver account.

Islamic Account

Islamic accounts are for Muslim users who abide by Sharia law, which does not allow for interest payments. Hence, the account does not charge interest for overnight positions or swap fees. Visit the Islamic account page for more information.

Trading Platform

SmartSTP uses a proprietary browser-based trading platform called WebTrader, which works with most modern browsers on laptops and mobile devices. The platform has dynamic order types like limit orders and stop losses, fast execution speed, rich analytical tools, and in-platform live support.

SmartSTP Fees and Costs

SmartSTP does not charge fees for deposits, withdrawals, account maintenance, or trade execution. The service makes money by adding a markup to the spreads of various instruments, but this doesn’t affect users’ trading experiences.

However, to begin trading, a minimum deposit of $250 is required.

How Does SmartSTP Compare to Other Apps?

SmartSTP isn’t the only online trading service on the market offering access to multiple assets; however, it stands out with its fee-free structure and simple interface.

We like how the platform keeps noise and distractions (which can sometimes come as unnecessary features) to a minimum, allowing us to focus on trading. Nonetheless, the table below shows how SmartSTP stacks up against other platforms.

Features SmartSTP XTB Exness
Spreads From 0.1 pip From 1 pip From 0.1 pip
Commissions No No Yes, on Raw accounts
Minimum deposit $250 None $200
Deposit fee No None No
Withdrawal fee No None No
Inactivity fee No €10/month after 1 year No
Funding methods 3 3 4
Negative balance protection Yes Yes Yes
MT5 No No Yes
MT4 No No Yes
TradingView No No Yes
Tradable assets 350+ 2,200+ 200+
Leverage 1:200 1:500 1:2000
cTrader No No No
Proprietary platform Yes Yes Yes

Is SmartSTP Safe?

SmartSTP is a safe trading service because it implements industry-standard security measures and ensures users undergo KYC procedures per the latest AML guidelines.

The license it holds from CySEC also bolsters its safety rating as these agencies require service providers to adhere to high security, financial, and regulatory standards.

Reasons to Use SmartSTP

Proprietary Trading Platform

Proprietary platforms are usually custom-made and can be built to offer better performance than open-source counterparts. As such, SmartSTP’s proprietary trading platform boasts of fast trade execution speeds, which is helpful for scalpers and other short-term traders.

The platform also provides dynamic order types and innovative indicators to aid traders on their journey to profitability.

Streamlined Interface

SmartSTP’s online platform is built to help traders focus on the most important thing: trading. Unnecessary integrations do not bog down the interface, and because of this, it is light enough to run on any modern browser in real-time.

Low Cost

SmartSTP does not charge trading fees, funding fees, or account maintenance fees. As such, it is one of the cheapest services on the market. While it requires a $250 minimum deposit, this fund goes into trading, not paying for account activation or any such charges.

Also, the minimum limit does not apply to withdrawals as users can withdraw as little or as much as their chosen payment provider will allow.

Customer Support

SmartSTP’s customer service staff can assist you with account-related issues through live chat and email. They also have an in-platform chat feature that allows you to seek assistance while on the trading platform, cutting down the time needed to get help.

Final Thoughts on SmartSTP

SmartSTP is an online trading service that provides the tools, access, and leverage traders need to become profitable in the market.

The platform keeps fees low by implementing a zero-fee structure where functions like deposits, withdrawals, and trading are not chargeable; however, a markup is added to the bid and ask spread of the instruments listed.

The platform offers four account types, three of which are geared towards traders with varying experience levels, and the fourth is an Islamic account. These accounts have a maximum leverage of 1:200 for FX, 1:50 for metals, indices, and commodities, 1:10 for shares, and 1:5 for cryptos.

To begin trading, open an account, pass KYC, and deposit at least $250 using a credit card, SWIFT wire, or SEPA payment.

Finally, SmartSTP is a fully licensed financial services provider in Mauritius (FSC) and Cyprus (CySEC).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SmartSTP a safe broker to trade with?
Yes. SmartSTP is a safe broker to trade with as it implements industry-standard security measures and is legally compliant, holding a license from the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC).
What’s the minimum deposit to open an SmartSTP account?
The minimum deposit to open an SmartSTP account is $250 through either credit cards, SWIFT transfers, or SEPA payments. If your native currency is not USD or EUR, a credit card payment may be most suitable because of the automatic conversion.
Does SmartSTP offer a demo account?
Yes, SmartSTP offers demo accounts that allow users to trade with virtual funds in real market conditions.