WesternFX

WesternFX is a forex and CFD broker founded by experienced traders who were frustrated by the inadequacies of the existing brokers. So, they decided to set up a model brokerage firm to revolutionize the brokerage industry. Though incorporated and regulated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, WesternFX has its headquarters located in Toronto, Canada.

The broker sources its pricing and liquidity from the top rated liquidity providers which is made up of the major international banks, big investment firms, etc. WesternFX uses straight through processing (STP) brokerage model and will never trade against its clients, rather, it forwards all client orders to the liquidity providers for onward execution.

The modern MT5 trading platform is available for trading and analysis. Traders are provided with tools like market news, analysis, calculators, economic calendar and some other trading aids.

Security and Regulation

WesternFX is the trading name of ‘Western Group Inc.’ which is a financial services firm incorporated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (FSA-SVG).

WesternFX says that security of clients’ funds is very important to its brokerage. So, all deposits are kept in segregated bank accounts which are maintained with only the biggest banks. Also, its Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations are strictly followed to ensure that its brokerage is not used to hide or move ill-gotten wealth.

Furthermore, its website and trading platforms are secured through ‘secured socket layer’ (SSL) technology. This encrypts all data that is transmitted to and from the servers to ward off internet hackers whose aim is to steal clients’ identity, credit card details, login credentials, etc.  

Trading instruments

WesternFX clients can trade the following assets:

• 34 currency pairs
• 5 Metals and energies
• 10 stocks
• 6 indices

Account opening

If you are ready open an account with WesternFX, then you only need a few minutes to do that. Just click the ‘Live account’ button to display the live account opening form. Enter your personal information, contact info, choose a password and click ‘Register’.

You will be required to login to your registered email and click on the link from WesternFX to verify your email. Now, you can login to the trader’s room where you can verify your account, make deposits, download the trading platform and do a whole lot of things.

Traders from USA and Canada are not allowed to register.

Deposits and Withdrawals

WesternFX does not add its own fees when clients make deposits. Some withdrawal methods are free while some attract fees. The broker allows payment through a number of methods as listed below:

Credit/Debit cards: Visa, UnionPay and MasterCard are the main cards accepted. It may take up to one hour or less before a card deposit reflects in the trader’s account. But, card withdrawals take 2-7 working days. The applicable fees depend on the card processors.

Bank Wire transfers: The exact charges and time required to complete the funds transfer depends on the banks involved. Generally, it takes 2-7 working days for the transferred funds to reflect in the client’s trading account.

Online payment gateways: The payment options accepted are Neteller, Perfect Money and FasaPay. There are no deposit fees and withdrawal charges. Deposits are instantly credited to the clients’ account but withdrawals take 1-3 working days to complete.

Cryptocurrencies: The accepted crypto coins are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash coin, Litecoin, Monero and Ripple. Cryptos can be used for both deposits and withdrawals.

Fees and account types

WesternFX offers multiple account types which depends on the trader’s capital and services required. Only floating spreads are available and all accounts holders trade on the MT5 trading platform. Accounts are denominated in USD and EUR. Here are the account types:

Standard account

Only $25 is required to open a standard account. The spreads start from 1.4 pips while the maximum leverage is 1:500. No commissions are charged and there are no swap fees.

Prime account

A minimum of $10,000 is required to open this account. The account features are similar to that of the standard account, except that account holders get a dedicated account manager. Minimum spread and leverage remains at 1.4 pips and 1:500 respectively.

VIP account

A minimum of $20,000 is needed to open a VIP account which comes with a dedicated account manager. The spreads start from 0.9 pips but commissions are charged. The maximum leverage is 1:100. VIP account holders get no bonuses; swap fees are applicable.

ECN account

The least amount that qualifies a trader to own an ECN account is $250. The spreads start from 0.2 pips and leverage is up to 1:100. Commissions are charged and swap fees are charged for overnight positions. Dedicated account managers are not assigned to ECN account holders.

Zero spread

$500 is the smallest sum required to open this account type. The spreads start from 0.1 pips and the maximum leverage is 1:100. Swap fees and commissions per trade are applicable. Dedicated account managers are assigned to each account holder.

Demo account

Anyone can easily register for this practice account and receive the login details almost immediately. It is free because the account is preloaded with virtual money which can be used for trading practice or perfecting a strategy.

Trading platforms

The only platform available to WesternFX clients is the MT5.

MetaTrader (MT5)

Launched in 2010 by MetaQuotes software corp.; the MT5 is a powerful trading platform built to replace the already successful MT4 platform. The WesternFX MT5 is available as windows desktop application, MAC OS desktop application, android and iOS apps. MT5 comes with powerful features such as:

• Fully customizable and user friendly interface.  
• Charts that can be displayed on over 21 timeframes.
• Comes with 38 inbuilt technical indicators but more can be added through plugin apps.
• 6 pending orders and risk management order types such as stop loss and take profit.
• An integrated economic calendar.
• Supports the development of plugin apps through the MQL5 programming language. Plugin apps extend the features of the platform.
• Supports automated trading through the use of Expert Advisors (EAs) which are trading robots that open and close trades without human intervention.

Education

In the area trader education, WesternFX has a few short articles on forex trading. The article mostly deals with basic topics for beginner traders. There is also a forex eBook titled ‘Become a successful trader with WesternFX.com’. Trading analysis eBook is available on request for only clients that have a live account that is funded with at least $100.

Trading tools

Economic Calendar

This important tool gives the dates and times of important events that impact the forex market. It can be customized to suit your preferences.

Market Summary

Every day, WesternFX presents a review of the market movement of the trading instruments. Arrows are used to show the summary of the price directions.

Fundamental analysis

Short articles presenting fundamental analysis on selected instruments comes up daily.

Calculators

Traders can make use of the Deal size calculator, Pivot Calculator and Fibonacci calculator. These calculators are handy when planning a trade or during analysis.  

Customer Support

Do you need help with anything? Perhaps, you have a question; feel free to contact the WesternFX client support desk anytime and on any day. You can fill the ‘Contact WesternFX’ form on the website and the support team will get back to you within 24 hours. You can also send an email or call their phone lines. But, the fastest way to reach the client support team is to use the live chat link on the website to initiate a live chatting session with a support representative. Also, you can chat with them on Skype. Issues can promptly be resolved via live chats.

On social media, WesternFX is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Bonus and Promotions

20% Rescue bonus

This bonus is awarded to every deposit above $50 and it is capped at $2,000 for each client. It is given at the discretion of the broker. Terms and conditions apply.

30% Withdrawable bonus

This bonus is only applicable on deposits above $250 and the maximum bonus is $2,000 per client. The bonus can only be withdrawn if you trade up to 10% of your account balance in lots. For example, if your balance is $2,000 and you receive a bonus of $600 making your account balance $2,600. To withdraw the $600 bonus, you must trade 10% of $2,600 = 260 lots.

Live Contest

WesternFX maintains a ranking every month for its traders. The top 10 gainers are listed and the award goes to the top gainer of the month.

Summary

WesternFX is a forex brokerage firm that strives to provide a conducive trading environment for its global clients. The broker is regulated by the FSA SVG and the standard regulatory practices like KYC, clients’ fund segregation, best execution policy, are all maintained.

Account creation is fast and can be completed in a jiffy. Different types of accounts are available for traders to choose from. Funding options are many; bank transfers, credit cards, electronic currencies and up to 6 popular cryptocurrencies are accepted. All trades can be placed on the sophisticated MT5 trading platform which is available on multiple devices.

But, the number of trading instruments available on WesternFX trading platforms is small especially when you compare with that of competing brokers. New traders are supported with trading articles and eBooks but this is inadequate because the training is not enough to transform a complete newbie to a knowledgeable professional. WesternFX trails other top brokers in this aspect as some of them have robust and comprehensive academies categorized according to traders’ experience level. Also, the analysis provided is not comprehensive and there are no signals or social trading platform. Another drawback is its regulation, many industry experts frown at offshore regulators. Therefore, they warn traders to avoid them because they are inferior to the more popular regulators like FCA, CySEC, ASIC, etc.

WesternFX has the slogan ‘Share success, join the best and reach the unreachable’. Though, the brokerage has its shortcomings, overall, it can be regarded as a standard forex broker with high potentials for improvement.