Great Avatar pic, Jimmy.
I haven’t used Oanda, but I will give them a look. I started with FXCM because the GUI looked good. When I used FXCM, I found the order execution varies between instantly and about 15 minutes. In this volatile market, its’ mandatory you have a platform that executes instantly.
I’ve only used FXCM so far so this is the only 1 I can comment on. The trading platform is very easy to learn but now that I’ve been on it for a few months & continue to learn, I’d like a little more customization than it offers. Everything has gone smoothly & I haven’t had any major issues. I like that I can place my stop & limit @ the same time as my order. Order execution has always been instantaneous. Never any delay. The spreads seem pretty consistent & ok. I’ve talked to the same guy in CS multiple times & YES, (just like all the other brokers) they want your $$$ & NO they aren’t the friendliest people ever (they are in NY after all) but no major issues & he has been very helpful/knowledgeable. I was told by FXCM that they are NOT a dealing desk broker so I’m not sure where other folk’s info is coming from. Either he lied or they changed recently or people are getting incorrect info. That’s it. Hope this helps b/c finding the right broker is a difficult challenge. After all, it is our hard earned $$$
FXCM is large however I would go with an ECN that is reputable. FXCM has been around for awhile, so there are negative comments. I can’t say how good they are now.
In my opinion oanda is best cause there are many trader here
I have had an OANDA account for the last 8 months and not only are their withdrawals very slow they’re also at this point in time refusing to process the withdrawal request for the rest of my deposited funds.
To elaborate, with OANDA if you deposit with a particular source account you MUST withdrawal with the same account. If the depositing account was closed after you funded you’ll need to contact your bank for a document stating the account is closed (read, OANDA doesn’t trust you). All’s good and well until you’re bank refuses to cooperate due to their “policy”. I’m now to the point of looking for a lawyer to get the funds out of my account.
Also, I had countless issues with their MT4 client while I was using my account, constant slips, MT4 client crashes 2-3 times a day.
I’d avoid OANDA until they get their business in order.
That does not sound like a problem with Oanda but more a problem with your bank. All brokers will only send money back to the account that deposited it for security reasons. There a lot of identity theft out here so thats to cover them and you. Your bank on the other hand should give you something to verify the account is closed to you.
Sorry to hear about Odana. I had always heard them to be the best, second to MB Trading. FXCM is large, but I’ve heard bad things about customer service.
I’ll agree, there are two problems here, the one with my bank and the other with OANDA. When you sign up for an account I verified my identity using forms, SSN, etc. Why is this now not an option when I try to withdrawal? That is the problem, I can verify my identity all day and they will not allow it.
Another issue is that I even told the OANDA representative that they could send a check to the address listed when I opened my account and verified my identity and they still refused.
Depositing and withdrawing from the same source is standard procedure in retail FX. However, taking a long time (how long?) to withdraw is bad. A bank wire takes about a week. If you have a card, that should take less.
I’m not so sure about it being standard procedure (as I had no issues with another broker that’s split stocks and FX) but I’ll take your word for that. However there must be provisions in place for when one cannot withdrawal to the same source. At any rate my issue was resolved with them after speaking with a support supervisor and getting a statement notarized.
This hassle along with slow execution times and random reboots of their MT4 platform is enough for me to move on.
Edit:
I’ve said a lot of bad things about OANDA so I figured I’d express some of what I liked about them. They do have good spreads a majority of the time and the amount of different funding options are nice as well. Their website has some interesting tools and fxUnity is great for those just starting with basket trading.
If they could tone down their policy some and fix their MT4 platform issues I’d consider using them again.
Hi 21club,
I’m sorry to hear this. As FXCM’s Online Ambassador to BabyPips, I am responsible for answering questions about FXCM’s service on this forum. If you know someone who is unhappy with our service, please direct them to me. They can post a question in the Broker Aid Station or email me at <[email protected]>. I would like to offer my assistance to them. Also, we are always looking for ways to improve our service and would appreciate their feedback.
Jason
in my opinion, I have been with FXCM for few years and found them good at some level. Their customer service is good compared to other brokers, but trading on their platform is horrible. Sometimes you get a very wide spread reaches 10 pips or could be worse than that… I remember when the crush happen in 2008, rollover fees were so scary and spreads OMG!! since then I started thinking to move to another honest broker. FXCM is tricky they know how to cheat you on their MT4 and believe it or not, they prices are sometimes different by 2 pips from the real market. They also have high slippage and sometimes their servers are down for no reason… I rate them 2.5/5
On the other hand, I have been with Forex.com Gain Capital and guess what!! no complain so far… spreads are amazing, re-quotes barely seen, no weird spikes, no spreads widening even during news, customer service is good, and minimum deposit is very good compared to other brokers…
for me I see that Forex.com is away much better than FXCM… and honestly, it is somehow insulting to compare between both with my respect.
Regards,
Steve
I just got burned by OANDA. From what I see, their prices for the most part reflect real world prices. However, if they see an opportunity to take out a lot of stop loses they will do it, even though the real world prices didn’t hit those prices and had quote some distance to go. This use to not be their policy, but time’s change. Perhaps OANDA’s business is going down hill and they need to do this to stay afloat.
BTW, I’m new to this forum, and really just joined more because I feel that folks need to know about this. Here’s a chat with OANDA:
General Info
Chat start time Feb 7, 2014 9:11:59 AM EST
Chat end time Feb 7, 2014 9:48:53 AM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:36:53
Operator Sherrie
Chat Transcript
info: You are now chatting with ‘Sherrie’
Sherrie: Hello. How may I assist you?
Michael: Hello. I’m looking at the stop loss that was hit with my USD/JPY Trade. And when I compared it with the charting system that I used, it looks like it should not have hit. Also, I compared other brookers and their prices didn’t breach my stop loss.
Sherrie: Okay do you use the fxTrade or MT4 platform?
Michael: Yes.
Sherrie: Which one
Sherrie: For your security, before I can continue I will have to ask you your security question.
Michael: I have MT4 which I used for alerts but not for trading, and I trade using the java fxtrade platform.
Sherrie: Thank you
Sherrie: One moment please while I investigate
Sherrie: On MT4 at the candle at 8:30 should have reached a low of 101.357
Sherrie: Your stop loss is set at 101.401
Sherrie: The bid price has dipped below your Stop loss price
Michael: Yes, I know. However no other dealer that I can find or quote went as low as Oanda’s. Does Oanda make the market swing lower to pick up stop losses? Or does Oanda’s prices reflect what the market prices are?
Sherrie: We provide our price based on what our liquidity provider provide us
Sherrie: During volatile times, such as this morning
Michael: BTW, Tradingview.com and Forexfactory.com is what brought my attendtion to this.
Sherrie: There could be spread widening
Sherrie: We don’t stop hunt, as we don’t trade against our client, taking client out will not benefit us in any way
Michael: Well, can you reverse the stop loss action? Or should I just post my charts, this chat, and the pricing data on various web sites and let your the market judge along with drawing my account and seeking another dealer. I’ve read that Oanda is reasonable about this, but your comments do not seem reasonable. I thought Oanda’s prices represented market prices.
Sherrie: It’s a valid pricing, thus we can’t reverse the stop loss action.
Sherrie: As you maybe already aware, forex market is not centralized, there’s not One price as in the stock market.
Sherrie: Prices among brokers should be around the same ball park, however, there’s no guarantee that all brokers should have the same the price.
Sherrie: It’s well possible that one broker’s price a bit lower or higher than other brokers.
Michael: Ok. Well then Oanda “valid” price was the lowest of any dealer that I can find. Perhaps I need to find a dealer who’s prices don’t swing as wide as Oanda’s. Anyhow, I’ll take this to the Forum boards and see if I am out of line or of Oanda just burned my trade and a lot of others.
Sherrie: I’m sorry that how you feel about this pricing, however, you may do just what you described if that’s what you wish.
Michael: Yep. And the market will decide if Oanda get’s to continue the practice of lowering their quotes in order to hunt stop loses.
Sherrie: We don’t stop hunt, we are fully regulated, any such practice will have severe repercussions on us.
Michael: Thanks for reminding me of that. I’ll file a complaint while I am at it.
Michael: Check out and you will see why I am not really to happy with Oanda.
Sherrie: Again like I’ve explained, we don’t guarantee that our pricing will be identical with other brokers. It’s unfortunate that you’ve been stopped out, however, this is a valid pricing
Michael: Ok. Well I see that you have dug in your heals and I am sure Oanda is doing this with it’s other customers and this is why other dealers are in business. I’ll file my complaints and post my charts showing pricing along with this chat. I’m sorry we couldn’t work this out
I have been Oanda sg for 3-4 yrs. So far, I have had instances where their wide spreads during news releases took out my stop, but I just count that as an infrequent occurrence. Just yesterday (22 Feb, at 0930 GMT or 5.30pm S’pore time, there was a news release affecting GBP. I was in a long GBPJPY trade and my stop was about 70 pips away from the price. I monitor alpari uk, fxcm and oanda prices. To my aghast, oanda’s spread widened so much that my stop at 170.018 was taken out, where as lowest on alpari uk was 170.11, and fxcm was 170.076. I checked oanda price on their mt4 ios platform and showed that the lowest was 170.006, therefore taking out my stop. This is definitely not a once off occurrence. I emailed them to voice my displeasure but I know they will not do anything about it. Thus I will no longer trade actively with Oanda for their unfairly wide spreads during news releases, and search for another broker. I am moving to the UK soon and am thinking of FXCM UK or Forex.com.
For me i prefer to invest with FXCM. they have good support and trusted
GCI trading is good, so far with me. It’s only my own lack of skill issue, nothing with their service affected me.
do you all have any experience with gci like the negative ones? pls do advice me as well. many thanks!
OANDA yesterday had a outrage during Fed Yellen testimonial. It was down an hr before causing many people to be unable to close position. My own shorts ran from positive to negative as I was unable to close as the platform frozed from 10pm(GMT+8) onwards. Their explanation: ISP problem, your losses u pay. Great service great reliability indeed. They have been pretty good until they had thios fiasco which make me review their credibility and integrity. Total shrinking from responsibility,
Sorry for your loss buddy. I experienced that outage too, considering other brokers now in case such incidents occur again.
IMO, fxcm is good broker…
but Oanda is the best!
Hi Amrbsk,
I’m glad you like FXCM. We are always looking to improve our service. Was there any particular reason you preferred that other broker?