Is Dukascopy Regulated? Is it safe? - TU Expert review
License is the most important document you have to consider when choosing a broker. Many traders, who would like to start working with Dukascopy try to check whether it is regulated. Traders Union experts have already done that. In this article, you will learn whether Dukascopy is regulated, what regulatory authorities supervise the broker and whether it is safe to work with the company in general.
Short summary about the broker Dukascopy
The company has been founded on 2 November 2004 in Geneva by Andre and Veronika Duka, Swiss nationals residing in Geneva who still own 99% of the company. Dukascopy Bank is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA both as a bank and a securities firm. Dukascopy Bank provides a wide range of free financial information and other attractive resources through its website, Dukascopy TV online television, Freeserv products and its active online Dukascopy community counting over 130'000 members. Deposit insurance protects the credit balances of private and corporate clients in the event of a bank or securities firm's bankruptcy. This guarantee is regulated by law. Dukascopy has an insurance fund with up to CHF 100 000 coverage per client and institution.
| 💰 Account currency: | USD, CHF, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CZK, DKK, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, CNH, SEK, SGD, TRY, XAU and ZAR |
|---|---|
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | USD 100 for Dukascopy Europe and USD 1000 for Dukascopy Bank |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | From 1:1 to 1:200 on weekdays/ from 1:1 to 1:20 on weekends |
| 💱 Spread: | From 0.1 pips for EUR/USD |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Over 1200 trading instruments on CFD, currency pair, commodities, stocks and cryptocurrency |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | 100%/200% |
Pros and cons of Dukascopy
👍 Advantages of trading with Dukascopy:
•Attractive trading conditions;
•regulated by FINMA;
•19 years in the market;
•deposit protection up to CHF 100 000 per client;
•online account opening with video identification;
•large liquidity pool- 20+ banks;
•ECN trading technology;
•low spreads - from 0,1 pips on EUR/USD;
•instant order execution;
•wide range of free financial information and other attractive resources through its website, Dukascopy TV online television;
•wide variety of trading platforms, JForex, MT4, Forex mobile;
•manual and automated trading and trading directly form the chart;
•hedging and scalping allowed;
•sliggage control;
•swap free accounts upon request;
•250 indicators and chart studies and automated trading historical tester;
•wide range of trading orders: MIT, limit orders, eco and TP/SL orders;
•high-quality customer service- 24/7 customer support available in 12 languages;
•up to 100% deposit bonus.
👎 Disadvantages of Dukascopy:
•leverage up-to 1:200;
•higher trading commissions for Islamic account traders;
•each account is given a deposit limit based on the information provided at the account opening;
•impossible to open new positions on weekends.
Why is it important to work with a regulated broker?
License is a document that certifies that a broker operates legally and guarantees fulfillment of its obligations to the traders. A financial license is issued by a financial regulatory authority of a country (the National Bank) or a specialized authority (for example, Securities Commission, Futures Trading Commission, etc.). It is important to choose licensed brokers for the following reasons:
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A license guarantees that the broker operates in compliance with the rules of the financial regulator that issued the document.
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In order to obtain the license, a broker must comply with certain requirements, for example, the size of the authorized capital or personnel qualification. It is simply not lucrative for scammers to comply with such requirements.
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A broker’s license provides access to real markets, and you can be sure that the quotes are real and up-to-date.
The best option is to work with a broker that holds the license of the jurisdiction, where the trader resides. You can also choose a company with a financial license of another reliable jurisdiction, for example, the U.S. or the European Union.
Is Dukascopy Regulated? Broker’s license
Security (Protection for Investors)
The Dukascopy brokerage is regulated by FINMA, the Swiss financial market regulator. Dukascopy Bank's subsidiaries in Japan and Europe are regulated by JFSA (No.2408) and FCMC, respectively.
Each of the regulators imposes several requirements on the brokerage company, non-compliance leads to revocation of the license. Since 2004, Dukascopy has been closely monitoring compliance with all regulations and rules and is subject to periodic internal and external audits on compliance with Swiss legislation.
In addition, the company provides its clients with deposit insurance up to 100 thousand Swiss francs. Protection of clients is guaranteed by the agreement concluded with the broker on the protection of deposits, which in Switzerland is mandatory for companies providing financial services.
👍 Advantages
- The presence of regulations governing the relationship between the brokerage company and its clients.
- Protection of client funds up to CHF 100,000
- All the information on accreditation and other documents regulating the broker's activity is available on the website.
👎 Disadvantages
- Part of the documentation is available only in English
Brokerage fees
Broker’s regulation is the most important choice criterion. However, before you start working with the broker, it is also important to analyze its commissions and fees. TU analysts have studied the commissions and fees charged by Dukascopy, which you can see below.
The experts at the Traders Union inspected Dukascopy to check for both trading and non-trading commissions. Trading commissions mean spreads set by the broker, non-trading commissions mean account funding or withdrawal fees.
| Account type | Spread (minimum value) | Withdrawal commission |
| Live FX | $22.5 | No |
Brokers that are similar to Dukascopy
Many brokers operate legally, obtaining relevant licenses and permissions. However, when choosing a broker, it is important to compare their trading conditions. TU experts have prepared a comparative analysis of Dukascopy conditions with its closest competitors.
Comparison of Dukascopy with other Brokers
| Dukascopy | RoboForex | Pocket Option | Exness | Eightcap | Tickmill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
MobileTrading, WebTrader, JForex, Java |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
Pocket Option, MT5, MT4 |
Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader5, MetaTrader4 |
MT4, MT5 |
MT4, MT5, Tickmill Mobile App |
Min deposit |
$100 |
$10 |
$5 |
$10 |
$100 |
$100 |
Leverage |
From 1:30 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:30 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Spread |
From 0.1 points |
From 0 points |
From 1.2 point |
From 1 point |
From 0 points |
From 0 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
$30 |
Cent accounts |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Dukascopy Bank is a Swiss innovative online bank based in Geneva, Switzerland, providing Internet based and mobile trading services (with focus on foreign exchange, bullion, CFD and binaries), banking and other financial services through proprietary technological solutions.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
Pocket Option offers a wide range of trading instruments and copy trading services. It constantly improves its service quality and expands the list of assets and trading platforms. The broker is suitable even for novice traders without significant capital due to the low initial deposit. Experienced traders who work with CFDs and binary options can also use Pocket Option’s services.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
Eightcap has favorable working conditions due to a large choice of instruments, tight spreads, high leverage, and no withdrawal fees. Integration with popular trading platforms and basic deposit/withdrawal options greatly facilitates work with the broker and reduces the entry threshold. In addition to comfortable conditions and low financial costs, traders get free educational materials and special services for technical analysis. Some solutions, like Capitalise.ai, have no constructive counterparts. A relative disadvantage is the absence of opportunities for passive income. Also, the broker works only with CFDs, so other groups of trading instruments are not available.
Tickmill is a suitable broker for both professional traders and novices. The company is good for robotic trading as well as for short-term strategies.
Conclusions
Dukascopy is a quite reliable broker for trading. Dukascopy operates on the license of a reliable jurisdiction and its operation is regularly monitored. However, the company does not offer the best trading conditions compared to competitors. You can choose this broker and not worry about the safety of your funds, but there are better options in terms of trading conditions.
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FAQ
How difficult is it to obtain a brokerage license?
The procedure for obtaining a license differs depending on the jurisdiction, but it is very difficult and expensive to get the document in a reliable jurisdiction. This is why only reliable brokers obtain licenses.
Why is it not recommended to work with offshore brokers?
Offshore brokers have to meet minimum requirements for obtaining a license and reporting, which is why often scammers get such licenses.
Can an offshore broker be reliable?
Yes, although there are not many of such brokers. There are brokers with a good reputation, but with an offshore license. You still need to be very cautious when working with such companies.
How do I check a broker’s reputation?
In order to check a broker’s reputation, you need to read user reviews. However, it is recommended to only use independent websites for that.
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Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.