FBS

FBS is a broker that attracts many investors who have started forex trading. It offers extraordinarily competitive trading conditions. There are types of accounts that can be suitable for almost every investor type. Whether you are a long-term investor or a scalper, it does not matter.

FBS was founded in 2009. Actually, I can say it’s pretty old in the forex world. However, recently, it has become a very popular forex broker. FBS has strengthened its position, especially in Asian countries.

FBS offers its services for more than 13 years already and has over 16 million active traders. The official website has about 2 million visitors per month. In addition, they also open a website in a country that has a special domain in the countries where they operate.

Bonus and promotional campaigns are held quite often. I think it’s one of the most generous forex brokers on the bonus campaigns. XM and AvaTrade are also brokers that offer as good a bonus as FBS Forex. Is the FBS a good broker? In this FBS Forex Broker review, you will find detailed information about FBS account types and demo accounts, spreads, leverage and bonus campaigns.

FBS Regulation and Licences

The first and foremost criterion to consider when choosing a forex broker to trade within the big vast market of the biggest capital in the world is regulation where I’ve dedicated this whole section of the FBS broker review to discuss all the information you’ll need to know before starting a real live account with FBS.

Regulations in the hue market called the forex and CFDs trading is the main pillar that makes or breaks the name of the broker and so it’s quite known how important it is to obtain a license from a big name in the financial regulatory section.

Watchdogs make sure to audit the behaviour and the processing of the brokers under special rules and terms to ensure the safety of funds to the traders as well as the presence of a compensation scheme at some financial regulators. However, not all regulators and financial watchdogs are of a strict nature or reputable presence in the market. Some regulators are extra flexible in terms of audit and control. Big names like ASIC of Australia and FCA of the UK are examples of the strictest regulators in the market where it’s no easy task to acquire their licenses or adhere to their terms.

FBS is a legitimate Forex broker regulated by the International Financial Services Commission, license IFSC/000102/198, which makes it a trustworthy and reliable broker.

FBS forex broker is regulated by the watchdog: IFSC in Belize. Why is FBS not licensed by FCA? They generally answer this question: The FCA license has a strict policy. When offering forex trading to many countries, it is more convenient to use more flexible licenses.

The IFSC has fairly liberal control over brokers. And despite that type of control offered, and even though it’s not as strict as I wished to mention in this FBS broker review, it’s a better option than not having any kind of regulation no license at all.

Account Types and Spreads in FBS

FBS is offering a very competitive variety of FBS account types that, for sure, will match the diversity of client trading styles with the broker. The area of the FBS broker review is where I’ll discuss the FBS account types offered by FBS as well as break down all the information about the minimum deposit, leverage and spreads and trading conditions of each account.

6 FBS account types are offered through FBS which is broken down as follows:

The Standard account: with $100 as the minimum deposit for this FBS account type, the standard account offers a spread range of 0.5 pips. With the maximum leverage offered of 1:3000 and the micro lot being the minimum lot volume and 500 lots as the maximum volume that can be used for trading. No commissions are applied on transactions on this account type in addition to the possibility of having 200 open positions and pending orders as the maximum amount to be obtained. The standard account can be used on both MT4 and MT5. The standard account fits better the expert market players who want to get higher in the forex market and trading.

The Cent account: with only $1 as the minimum deposit amount needed for funding this FBS account type, the cent account offers spreads of 1.0 pips and the maximum leverage offered is 1:1000. The minimum lot volume is also the micro lot and the maximum is 1000 cent lots. No commission is applied and you can have 200 as the maximum open or pending orders with this account. The cent account is more suitable for forex beginners who still want to make small successes in the forex market.

The Micro account: suitable best for traders who calculate their profits, the micro account offers a very appealing minimum deposit of $5 and fixed spreads of 3.0 pips. A maximum leverage of 1:3000 is offered and 500 is the maximum traded volume. No commissions are applied.

The Zero Spread account: with $500 as the minimum deposit and fixed spreads at 0 pips, the zero spread account is mainly designed for those who prefer trading at the fastest speed. The maximum leverage offered on this FBS account type is 1:3000 and 500 is the maximum traded volume. A commission is applied of $20 per lot.

The ECN account: the minimum deposit for this account type is $1000 yet the spreads here are -1 pips. The ECN account is the only account offered that allows the minimum traded volume to be the mini lot and the maximum traded volume is 500 lots. The leverage offered here is 1:500 and a $6 commission is applied on transactions via this account. No limits are applied to the amount of open or pending orders. The ECN account is best suitable for traders who use ECN technologies while trading.

The Crypto account: for those traders who want to trade cryptos with low spreads, this account is the best for them. With $1 as a minimum deposit and floating spreads start from 1.0 pips. A leverage of 1:5 is applied and a commission of 0.05% for opening and 0.05% for closing positions is presented.

The option for a demo account is available with all account types where traders get to try out the features of the account risk-free and without jeopardizing their own money.

All FBS account types, except ECN and Crypto, support swap-free trading which is also called the Islamic account where no swaps are applied on the buy and sell transactions which fit traders following the Islamic belief.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods in FBS

This area of the FBS broker review is where I’ll explain to you all the details about the deposit and withdrawal channels that can be used when trading with real FBS account types.

Funding methods are as follows:

Via Visa card: the deposit is done instantly and no commission is added, USD and EUR are the base currencies for this method.

E-wallets: like Neteller and Skrill where no commissions are applied and both take place immediately as well as having USD and EUR as the acceptable currencies. Sticpay where 2.5% + $0.3 commission is applied and also takes an instant processing time yet only USD is acceptable using this e-wallet option. Perfect Money is also offered where both USD and EUR are accepted as the base currencies and a commission may apply to the current payment system. It also takes an instant time frame to process.

Withdrawals take place via the same channels yet each one has a different amount of commission and processing time and I’ll break them down in this FBS broker review. They are as follows:

Visa card: charges $1 as a commission and d15-20 min as processing time.

E-wallets: Neteller has a 2% commission of a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $30 to be applied on withdrawals, and the processing time is 15-20 mins or a maximum of 48 hours. Skrill has a 1%+$0.32 commission and a processing time the same as the one in Neteller. Sticpay has 2.5%+$0.3 added as a commission and the same processing time as the other e-wallet options. Perfect Money offers 0.50% as a commission and also 15-20 mins as a time frame.

My take on the funding channels is the lack of variety that’s needed in such a vast market like the forex and CFDs trading, while other brokers provide way more options and even include cryptocurrencies deposit and withdrawal, such options are absent from FBS.

FBS Bonus and Promotions

There are different types of bonuses offered by the broker which attract many traders from all over the world. And in this FBS bonus account review, I’ll show the different types of bonuses and their accounts offered by the broker.

FBS has recently presented a new bonus that s called the level-up bonus which allows you to get $140 for free on your account and to start trading with them. All you need to do is to open a Level Up Bonus account and get $70 free in FBS Personal Area and $140 free in the FBS Personal Area app.

Another type of bonus offered by the broker is a 100% deposit bonus which has no expiry date means it last all year round. All you need to do to get this bonus is to fund your account and then get the 100% bonus and double your deposit.

The third type of bonus is the cashback bonus where you can make a profit when trading and get cashback for every trade. Trade your favourite instruments and get Cashback every time and for every order. Right on the next day. The cashback is calculated from trades of a 5-lot volume of any instrument.

in the past there was another type of bonus called the no deposit bonus that I was going to view under the FBS no deposit bonus review, yet, this type of bonus has been taken out from the platform of the broker and now FBS is offering different types of bonuses that I’ve mentioned earlier.

Trading Instruments

FBS offers a good variety of trading tools, coming from their awareness of the crucially of having a mixture of trading tools within the traders’ portfolios that can be added to those interested in real FBS account types.

These trading instruments include:

Forex: where you can trade majors, minors and exotic pairs of currencies with competitive spreads and swap options. Swap Free option is not available for trading on “Forex Exotic”, Indices instruments, Energies and Cryptocurrencies.

Metals: precious metals like gold and silver are available for trade against the USD where you can profit on price speculation and go long and short and still make a profit in both cases. Precious metals are considered a safe haven for traders since you can trade without paying for owning the metal itself.

Indices: AU200, DE30, JP225, UK100, HK50, US500, S&P500 and more are all offered for trading indices which would allow you to choose, if you think the index will rise, you can open a buy position, and if you think the price will fall you can open a sell position. Indices are generally driven by the news (e.g. earning reports), political issues, and global economic situations.

Energies: oil and natural gas are the most famous and well-known examples of energies to be traded within the forex market. You can trade two primary brands of crude oil with FBS: WTI and Brent.

Stocks: where you can trade with 1:1000 as the maximum leverage for the stocks, fast market execution, transparent prices and more favourable trading terms. You can trade the stocks of big companies from all over the world that include Alibaba, Tesla, BMW, AT&T, Coca-cola, eBay and more.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more are examples of the crypto available for trade with the crypto account when trading with FBS. With a leverage e offered on crypto trading of 1:5 and the presence of 100+ crypto assets to give you more chances in the markets.

Conclusion

Despite having some negative sides to the broker and the characteristic they offer, there are also some positive points that were mentioned throughout this FBS broker review that is worth strengthening.

Even though the broker is regulated by the FSC of Beliz, it’s not one of the strongest ones in the market which means the strictness of the big regulators like ASIC isn’t present with FBS.

Multiple FBS account types are offered, with six accounts to be exact, where each offers different trading conditions and different minimum deposits. The least amount minimum deposit present in the account types is $1 which applies to the sent account. The maximum leverage presented by the broker is 1:3000 which is a high leverage in the forex market.

Trading with high leverage is great for expert and algorithmic traders, maybe, yet in general, high leverage can be a double-edged weapon that needs a lot of thought before jumping into it. High leverage can make both your profits and losses high so be careful.

Different trading instruments are offered which means a great option for portfolio diversification for the traders which is a great plus point for FBS.

Funding channels are one of the main points the broker isn’t at a higher rank on my list. Very limited deposit and withdrawal options are offered which makes it a bit difficult to have many options. Neither bank transfer nor crypto payments are allowed as a funding method which is a great con considering the great variety other brokers offer to their clients.