IC Markets UK - Is It a Good Broker in 2024?

Your capital is at risk.
Up to 75.93% of the broker’s non-professional clients incur losses when trading CFDs.

Share this:
Editorial Note: While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for How We Make Money. None of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer.

IC Markets is one of the most renowned forex and CFD brokers in the world, offering trading solutions for experienced traders and those who are new to the forex market. When using IC Markets, clients gain access to cutting-edge trading platforms and superior liquidity.

The broker offers some of the lowest trading fees on the market, thanks to its electronic communication network (ECN) structure. In addition to its low fees, IC Markets also offers plenty of educational tools, favorable trading conditions, and several financial instruments.

Given all of these features, is IC Markets a good broker for clients in the UK? Let’s find out in this IC Markets UK review.

IC Markets UK: General Information

As reflected in the table below, IC Markets supports several currencies, including the British pound sterling (GBP). You’ll also notice that the platform offers high leverage, narrow spreads, and various currency pairs to trade. To open an IC Markets account, you need a minimum of $200 deposited.

  • 💰 Account currency:

    USD, AUD, GBP, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD, CAD, HKD, BTC


  • 🚀 Minimum deposit:

    $200


  • ⚖️ Leverage:

    From 1:1 to 1:30


  • 💱 Spread:

    From 0


  • 🔧 Instruments:

    60 currency pairs, futures, CFDs on indices, commodities, metals, stocks and bonds


  • 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out:

    100% / 50%


IC Markets UK Pros and Cons

👍 Pros

Favorable trading conditions and fast order execution

Offers negative balance protection in the EU

High leverage, narrow spreads, and low fees

Excellent educational resources

A wide range of trading instruments

Supports the GBP

👎 Cons

Higher minimum deposit than some brokers

Withdrawals can take a while

IC Markets UK Review

IC Markets is a safe and reliable global broker that caters to all traders regardless of their experience level or knowledge. The broker offers analytical trading materials, educational tools, various account types, and many trading instruments.

Each of these features combines to make a comprehensive platform that suits traders with different needs, including UK clients.

Trading Conditions

IC Markets offers some of the most favorable trading conditions on the market. That’s because it’s an ECN broker, which means it doesn’t use a no-dealing desk (NDD) and other forms of trade interventions between the trader and the market.

This essentially means that there’s no middle man. Therefore, an ECN connects major brokers and individual traders so they can trade directly between themselves, and then, passing the orders to the liquidity providers.

As an ECN broker, IC Markets is able to offer faster order execution at more favorable prices and tighter spreads, thanks to its many liquidity providers.

Educational Tools

What sets IC Markets from many other forex brokers in the industry is that it offers a wide range of educational materials that are suitable for traders of all levels. These materials include tutorial videos, technical analysis reports, informational tools, webinars, and more.

IC Markets caters to all traders, from educational materials for beginners to help them learn the ropes to advanced trading tools that help give established traders a competitive advantage.

Account Types

IC Markets offers two types of MetaTrader accounts: the Standard account and the Raw Spreads account. These accounts are available in multiple currencies, including GBP for clients in the UK.

And for Muslim traders who follow Sharia law, IC Markets offers a swap-free or Islamic account. Plus, if you’re a beginner trader, you can open a demo account so that you can actively trade but won’t have to risk losing real money.

Trading Instruments

IC Markets gives UK clients access to the most popular and liquid markets across the world. Below are the major trading instruments the broker has to offer:

Forex CFD (60+ currency pairs)

Indices CFD

Commodities CFD

Stocks CFD

Bonds CFD

Crypto CFD

Futures CFD

Is IC Markets UK Regulated? Is This Сompany Safe?

IC Markets is regulated by various financial authorities, including:

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA)

Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB)

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)

Unfortunately, IC Markets isn’t regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, the broker still has an excellent reputation and is regulated by top-tier authorities in other jurisdictions.

If you’re a British client, you’ll be onboarded through IC Markets’ Seychelles-based entity, regulated by the Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles. Keep in mind that this financial authority has little regulatory oversight.

You may feel more at ease that IC Markets offers a few security features to keep your funds safe, including segregated accounts. Instead of storing your funds on the platform, IC Markets puts your money into a separate banking account to show that they don’t intend to misappropriate your funds in any way. Your funds are also insured in case anything bad happens.

You may also gain peace of mind knowing that the broker offers negative balance protection, which prevents your account from going below zero if the value of a trade exceeds how much money you have in your trading account.

IC Markets UK: Fees

IC Markets doesn’t charge commissions on its Standard account. However, it does apply a spread markup of 1 pip above the Raw inter-bank prices received from their liquidity providers. On the Raw Spread account, IC Markets charges a commission of GBP 5.00 per standard lot round turn.

Summary: Is IC Markets UK a Good Broker?

Overall, IC Markets is a trustworthy and reliable forex broker to work with. It’s available to UK clients, supports British currency, and offers negative balance protection to clients in the European Union (EU). In addition, IC Markets offers low fees, tight spreads, and high leverage, combining to create the most favorable trading conditions possible.

FAQ

What are IC Markets’ trading conditions?

IC Markets’ main goal is to offer its traders the lowest spreads and fastest execution possible, with its ECN model.

Is IC Markets an ECN/STP broker or a Market Maker?

IC Markets is an ECN broker, which means trades are conducted directly with liquidity providers, allowing for faster execution of trades.

How long does it take to withdraw on IC Markets?

Depending on the method of withdrawal, it can take up to 10 business days to get your money.

What is maximum leverage in IC?

IC Markets offers accounts with up to 1:500 leverage, allowing traders to increase their returns.

Team that worked on the article

Mikhail Vnuchkov
Author at Traders Union

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.

The area of responsibility of Mikhail includes covering the news of currency and stock markets, fact checking, updating and editing the content published on the Traders Union website. He successfully analyzes complex financial issues and explains their meaning in simple and understandable language for ordinary people. Mikhail generates content that provides full contact with the readers.

Mikhail’s motto: Learn something new and share your experience – never stop!

Olga Shendetskaya
Author and editor at Traders Union

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.

Olga has extensive experience in writing and editing articles about the specifics of working in the Forex market, cryptocurrency market, stock exchanges and also in the segment of financial investment in general. This level of expertise allows Olga to create unique and comprehensive articles, describing complex investment mechanisms in a simple and accessible way for traders of any level.

Olga’s motto: Do well and you’ll be well!