Plus500 Broker Review

FSAS Regulation: Malaysians will be onboarded through Plus500SEY LTD, regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles:

Safety Features: Unfortunately, the FSAS has a light touch when it comes to regulating Forex CFD providers, and consumers are not afforded the same protection as that of reputable regulatory bodies such as the FCA.  However, Plus500’s Malaysian clients can be sure that their funds will be kept in segregated bank accounts. And although Plus500 does not provide automatic negative balance protection, if a trader’s equity falls below the maintenance margin requirement for an open position, their trades will be closed. This is known as a Margin Call.  

Plus500 is also listed on the London Stock Exchange, further burnishing its credentials as a safe broker.

We found the account-opening process at Plus500 straightforward and our account was ready for trading within one day.

We tested the account opening process, which took approximately 10 minutes to complete, and once our documentation had been submitted, our accounts were ready for trading on the same day. 

How to open an account at Plus500:

1. First, we clicked on the “Start Trading” button.
2. We were then required to fill in our personal details (including name, date of birth, country of residence, and physical address). 
3. Next, we were asked to complete a short form to help Plus500 assess the state of our finances and trading knowledge. While most CFD providers don’t include this step in the account-opening process, it is a responsible move in an industry that is often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection.
4. Plus500 required us to submit a copy of our 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. 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. 

Our application was approved within 24 hours. 

Overall, we found the account-opening process quick and convenient compared to other similar CFD providers.

Plus500’s account has a minimum deposit requirement of only 100 USD, making it accessible to most traders. Although the CFD trading account is commission-free, spreads start at only 0.8 pips* on the EUR/USD, which is tighter than other similar CFD providers. Most other good CFD providers have an average spread of 0.9 pips (EUR/USD). 

*spreads correct as of 09:00 GMT on 20/06/2022.

Account Trading Costs:

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. 

Trading Account Currencies: When we opened our account, we noticed that the Plus500 client portal allows you to choose from a large range of base currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, AUD, JPY, PLN, HUF, CZK, CAD, TRY, SEK, NOK, ZAR, and SGD. However, because we were depositing funds from a bank account based in MYR into a USD-based trading account, we were charged a currency conversion fee on both our deposit and our withdrawal. Plus500’s currency conversion Fee is up to 0.7% of the trade’s realised net profit and loss, which is higher than the currency conversion fees charged by other CFD providers.  

Deposits and Withdrawals: We found that deposits and withdrawals can be made securely at Plus500 using major debit cards and credit cards (including Visa and MasterCard), bank wire transfer, and Skrill. See below for details on the payment methods:

Although deposits and withdrawals are generally commission-free, Plus500 requires a minimum withdrawal amount of 100 USD for Skrill and credit cards; and 300 USD for bank transfers. Withdrawals below this amount incur a fee of 10 USD, which is relatively expensive.  

See below for a complete list of payment options and withdrawal times:

Easy to Use: We found that the platform 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. 

Platform Features: As you can see below, the simple interface allows users to create watchlists (or favourites), analyze charts, and place and monitor trades.  Additionally, technical analysis charts offer more than 100 technical indicators available in multiple timeframes:

Alert: You can also set automated price and percentage alerts that will inform you when a certain price has been reached or when a price has increased or decreased by a chosen percentage. Another great feature of the platform is that you can view trader sentiment and set alerts to inform you when a predefined percentage of traders are buying or selling an instrument. All of these alerts can also be sent via email and SMS:

Functionality: We found that like the mobile trading platform, the web-based platform is similarly user-friendly and uncomplicated. It also has the same functionality, including the ability to make deposits and withdrawals, set alerts, view trader sentiment, analyse charts, place and monitor trades, and access over 100 technical indicators:

No Automated Trading: We found that Plus500 provides a superior trading experience compared to other similar CFD providers, but, 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.  

Overall, we enjoyed using Plus500’s trading platform because of its intuitive interface and excellent support. However, 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.

We found that although Plus500’s market research is written by an in-house research team, it is not as comprehensive as what is available at other CFD providers. The materials include a Market Insights blog and an Economic Calendar.  The Market News is updated daily, providing traders with insight into various market events.  The materials are well-written and useful, but the articles are short. However, we liked the fact that Plus500’s Economic Calendar has filters that can select for company or macro-events:

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 analytics services such as 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.

Overall, while the market analysis provided is updated daily, we found the materials brief and limited compared to most other large international CFD providers.  It also provides a limited range of trading tools to help traders make trading decisions, but its risk management tools are excellent. Plus500 should consider partnering with some third-party providers to offer a more comprehensive market analysis.   

Trading Tools Comparison:

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 we advise that new clients take the time to get comfortable with the platform before committing to a deposit. While we enjoyed the clean design of the Plus500 platform, some traders 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, we think that the education section could be improved with a greater variety of materials in addition to providing sections for more experienced traders.  Traders would also benefit greatly from being able to attend webinars on CFD trading basics and risk management. 

Education Comparison:

Plus500 offers 24/7 customer support via email, online chat, and WhatsApp messages in 31 different languages, but unfortunately not Malay. This is a much higher level of service than we usually find at other CFD providers. The only way we think customer support could be improved is by offering phone support for more complex queries and troubleshooting.

For the purposes of the review, we tested the live chat service. We found the live chat agents were knowledgeable and responsive.  They also provided links and extra reading material where appropriate.