Plus500

Traders will be trading under the subsidiary, Plus500SG Pte Ltd, which is regulated and authorised by the MAS.  The MAS is a well-respected regulator and provides strict regulatory oversight over its brokers. All brokers are supervised and audited for their performance, and are required to provide periodic audit reports to the concerned authorities.  MAS regulated brokers are also required to hold their client funds in segregated client accounts. 

In compliance with the rules set out by the MAS, Plus500 is regularly assessed by external auditors, segregates client funds from its operating capital,  restricts maximum leverage to 200:1 for Forex trading, and provides negative balance protection, which means that traders can never lose more money than they have in their trading accounts.

While the additional protection offered by the MAS regulation is welcome, some Indian traders may find the low leverage levels restrictive.   

Plus500 does not highlight any industry recognition it has received, but it has won numerous awards for its services over the years.

Considering the strict regulatory oversight, the long track history, and the fact that it is listed on a public stock exchange, we deem Plus500 a trustworthy and safe CFD provider.

The account-opening process at Plus500 is easy, hassle-free, and fully digital.

Indian traders are not eligible to open an account at Plus500.

Creating an account is straightforward, the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready within one day.

How to open an account at Plus500:

1. First, click on “Start Trading.”
2. Plus500’s intake form requires clients to fill in their personal details (including name, country of residence, email address, birth date, and level of education). 
3. Plus500 requires individuals to submit a copy of their National ID or Passport with the signature page, as well as a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement.  For your convenience, you can also use Plus500’s mobile apps to upload your documents.
4. Documents can be scanned or sent through as a high-quality digital camera picture.
5. We advise you to read Plus500’s risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

Once all the documents have been received, the account will be ready for trading within one day.  

Overall, Plus500’s account opening process is fast, hassle-free, and fully digital compared to other similar brokers.

The range and depth of assets available to trade are impressive and much more than is normally seen at other similar brokers and it excels in its Forex offering.

The trading costs are built into the spread, which is variable and gets wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility. 

The average cost of trading one lot of EUR/USD is 8 USD, which is around the average charged by other similar market maker brokers. The minimum deposit is also reasonable, at 100 USD, putting it well within the reach of most traders. 

We opened and tested Plus500’s Retail and Demo accounts:

Retail Account

A market maker, Plus500’s retail account is commission-free and has spreads that start at 0.8 pips on the EUR/USD, which are average compared to most other CFD providers.  Maximum leverage is up to 200:1, and the minimum deposit requirement is reasonable, at 100 USD.  Trading is only offered on the Plus500 proprietary platform, which is limited compared to most other brokers but traders can choose between a wide range of tradable assets, including over 70 Forex pairs and indices, ETFs, commodities, share CFDs, cryptocurrencies, and currency indices.  

Demo Account

The demo account allows traders to practice trading and get used to the Plus500 platform before depositing real money. The Plus500 platform is different from that of other CFD providers, so it is advisable that new clients take the time to get comfortable with the platform before committing to a deposit. While many traders enjoy the clean design of the Plus500 platform, others may prefer a more traditional layout.  Demo accounts do not expire and are loaded with virtual funds that can be topped up by request.

Overall, although Plus500 only offers a single live account, its trading costs, low deposit requirements, and wide range of assets make it appealing to both beginners and experienced traders alike.

Available on iOS and Android, Plus500’s mobile app offers all the same functionality as the web-based platform and is similarly user-friendly and uncomplicated.  It allows traders to open and close positions and has the same indicators and charts.

**For illustrative purposes only**

Unlike most CFD providers, Plus500 only offers its proprietary trading platform. This could be a concern as most similar providers also offer MetaTrader 4 or 5 in conjunction with any first-party software.

The Plus500 web trader is web-based and offers a streamlined trading experience, appealing to traders who want to avoid the complexity of third-party platforms.  The platform looks fantastic, is very easy to use, and has a solid reputation in the trading community. Exceptionally, it is available in over 30 languages.

The simple interface allows users to create watchlists, analyze charts, place and monitor trades.  Technical analysis charts offer more than 100 technical indicators available in multiple timeframes.  Traders can set automated price and percentage alerts that will inform them when a certain price has been reached or when a price has increased or decreased by a chosen percentage. Traders can also view trader sentiment and set alerts to inform them when a predefined percentage of traders are buying or selling an instrument. All of these alerts can also be sent via email and SMS.

However, unlike platforms such as MT4 and MT5, the Plus500 platform is not customisable, and traders who are used to setting up their own charts over a bespoke workspace will be disappointed.  In addition, the platform does not offer the execution speeds of the Metatrader platforms, nor does it offer algorithmic trading.  

Another disadvantage of using the Plus500 platform versus third-party platforms is that none of the trading tools available on the Metatrader can be integrated directly into the Plus500 platform.  Additionally, traders who use third-party platforms such as the Metatrader suite can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker.

Overall, Plus500’s platform is a good choice for beginner traders because of its simple and intuitive interface, but compared to third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5, it lacks the execution speeds and doesn’t allow for automated trading via expert advisors or other trading algorithms.

A well-regulated CFD provider, Plus500 ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. As such, all non-profit funds are returned to the original deposit source. No matter your deposit method, the withdrawal of all profits must be made by bank transfer to a bank account in your name.

Deposit and withdrawals methods include Credit Card, PayPal, Skrill, and bank transfers.

Deposits and withdrawals are generally commission-free, though a 10 USD withdrawal fee is charged after more than five withdrawals have been made in a single month. Withdrawals via bank transfer may also incur a 6 USD charge. Please check with Plus500 customer service to see if your bank will incur a transfer charge.

Plus500 also requires a minimum withdrawal amount of 50 USD for Skrill, Neteller, and Paypal and 100 USD for bank transfers and credit cards. Withdrawals below this amount incur a 10 USD fee.  Withdrawals are processed in 1-3 days, which is about average for the industry. 

Base Currencies

Plus500 offers 15 base currencies, which is a much wider range than is available at other CFD providers, but accounts are not denominated in INR.  

The base currencies available at Plus500 include USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, AUD, JPY, PLN, HUF, CZK, CAD, TRY, SEK, NOK, ZAR, and SGD. 

Plus500 charges a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different from the currency of your account.  The Currency Conversion Fee is up to 0.7% of the trade’s realised net profit and loss, which is higher than fees charged by other CFD providers.  

Plus500 offers several bonuses.  Each bonus has conditions for eligibility and availability for trading and/or withdrawal, such as certain minimum trading volumes (represented by Trader Points), within a specified time period. From time to time, Plus500 may offer additional bonus promotions, which are offered to clients based on certain predefined criteria and at Plus500’s sole discretion. If a client is eligible to receive such a bonus, a message with the bonus details will appear in their Plus500 Account.

Plus500’s trading tools include unique risk management tools, some of which come at an extra cost.  However, unlike other similar CFD providers, it does not offer any additional sentiment indicators or analytics services such Autochartist or Trading Central, and the proprietary platform also does not integrate with any third-party tools. See below for more details on the various tools:

The risk management tools include:

• ‘Close at Profit’ [Stop Limit] or ‘Close at Loss’ [Stop loss] rates:  These orders allow you to set a specific rate at which your position will close, in order to protect your profit, in the case of Close at Profit order or minimise your loss, in the case of Close at Loss order. Traders can access this tool for free.   
• Guaranteed Stop: Adding a Guaranteed Stop order to your trading position puts an absolute limit on your potential loss. Even if the price of the instrument moves significantly against you, your position will automatically be closed at the specified price, with no risk of Slippage. Guaranteed Stop is only available for some instruments.  If an instrument supports the Guaranteed Stop order, a checkbox will be available for use in the platform (after you select the ‘Close at Loss’ checkbox). Traders are charged a spread markup for using this tool.
• Trailing Stop: Placing a Trailing Stop order helps you lock in a certain amount of profits. When you open a position or pending order with a Trailing Stop, it will remain open as long as its price moves in your favour, but will automatically close if its price changes direction by a specified amount of pips. This tool is available free of charge.

Plus500’s market analysis materials are limited in scope compared to other similar CFD providers, but the materials are curated by Plus500’s in-house team.  

Plus500 offers a good selection of market analysis materials written by an in-house research team.  These include a Market Insights blog and an Economic Calendar.  The Market News is updated daily, providing traders with good insight into various market events.  The materials are well-written and useful, but the articles are short.   Plus500’s Economic Calendar has filters that can select for company or macro-events.

Overall, while the market analysis provided is updated daily, the materials are brief and limited compared to most other large international CFD providers.  Plus500 should consider partnering with some third-party providers to offer more useful market analysis.

Many other CFD providers offer courses, videos, e-books, quizzes, and more to help clients learn about the markets in which they are investing, but this is not the case at Plus500.

Plus500’s educational materials include a set of Trader’s Guides covering topics such as ‘What is CFD Trading,’ ‘Slippage When opening a Position,’ and more.  It also provides a set of ‘how-to’ videos to learn more about online trading with Plus500’s platform.  All videos are accompanied by an article on the respective topic.

Overall, the education section could be improved with a greater variety of materials in addition to providing sections for beginner and more experienced traders.  Beginner traders would also benefit greatly from being able to attend webinars on CFD trading basics and risk management. 

Plus500 offers 24/7 customer support via email, online chat, and WhatsApp message in 31 different languages. This is a much higher level of service than is commonly available.  The only way customer support could be improved is by offering phone support for more complex queries and troubleshooting.

For the purposes of this review, we found the live chat support responsive and polite, but uninformed.