ZFX Review 2022

Trust

ZFX has two entities to choose from, although most retail traders will likely use the Seychelles entity. Keep in mind that FSA (Seychelles) is a Tier 3 regulator, which means you will have a lower level of protection than Tier 1 and Tier 2 regulators.

ZFX Regulations

ZFX operates under two entities:

• Zeal Capital Market (UK) Limited is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We rate FCA as a Tier 1 regulator.
• Zeal Capital Market (Seychelles) Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority Seychelles (FSA). We rate FSA as a Tier 3 regulator.

Is ZFX Safe to Trade With?

The broker has been on the market for more than 5 years. You can choose between, which shows that ZFX is a stable operation. Its entities that are regulated by a Tier 1 regulator (FCA) and a Tier 3 regulator (FSA Seychelles). Keep in mind that the Tier 3 regulator does not offer you the best protection that could be found in the marketplace. For example, FSA does not provide a compensation scheme to traders.

Why is It Important to Know Where Your Broker Subsidiary (Entity) is Regulated?

Each regulator has its own requirements for brokers, which may differ materially. For example, the clients of the Zeal Capital Market (UK) Limited will benefit from the oversight of FCA, which offers a compensation scheme of up to GBP 85,000.

At the same time, FCA limits the leverage that can be offered to a client, so traders interested in getting access to higher leverage should consider this. Clients who want to use high leverage should choose the Zeal Capital Market (Seychelles) entity, which provides leverage of up to 1:2000 for the Mini Trading Account and leverage of up to 1:500 for the Standard STP and ECN Trading Accounts.

It is important to note that leverage is a double-edged sword whichthat increases your risks, so use it wisely.

Regulators may also demand the broker to segregate the funds of the firm and the funds of its clients. This is important because when a broker has financial problems, and its client’s funds are held separately, they will not be impacted by the broker’s problems. In the ZFX case, both entities offer segregated accounts, which boostboosts the trader’s protection from adverse events.

Traders should also focus on the negative balance protection, which means that clients cannot find themselves in a situation where they lose more money than they have in their account. accounts. ZFX offers negative balance protection in both entities.

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the Trust category we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focused on how long the broker has been in business, the size of the company and how transparent they are in terms of information being readily available.

In 2017, ZFX was officially established in the UK. In the next few years, the company established an Asia-Pacific Division, opened several branches in the region, and performed several technical mergers with Russian companies. The company’s website did not provide any details about these mergers.

The broker’s website provides a comparison table so that traders can choose between the three trading accounts that can be opened with the Zeal Capital Market (Seychelles) Limited. We had to contact the support in the chat to learn about the commissions for the ECN Trading Account.

ZFX website also outlines the instruments that can be traded, contract specifications, and applicable leverage. Interestingly, the three crypto instruments that are available via MT4 are not indicated on the website.

According to our research, ZFX has shown a medium level of transparency. The company provides enough details on its accounts and fees, but some things (like commissions for the ECN Trading Account) demanded work on our part. In addition, ZFX press releases are incredibly short, so it is hard to fully understand the company’s development. The company’s history is an important part of the evaluation of any broker as it allows traders to understand how the company developed and whether it may have had any material problems along the way. Without this knowledge, it is hard to fully understand the stability of a broker.

In summary, our findings indicate that ZFX can be regarded as having an average level of trust and stability due to the following factors:

• FCA-regulated entity and FSA-regulated entity.
• More than 5 years in business.
• The company’s website offers sufficient transparency on fees.
• ZFX could have provided more information on its business development, especially on technical mergers with unnamed companies.

Fees

Fees are one of the key factors that impact the choice of a broker, as they have a direct impact on the trader’s success. When looking at the specific fees, you should always focus on the instruments you plan to trade. The “average” numbers are not that important for you as an individual trader, and you must search for a broker that offers the best options for your needs.

ZFX Trading Fees

In this review, we tested the Standard STP Trading Account. ZFX charges spreads, swap/rollover fees, and commissions (for ECN Trading Account). Spreads are variable in nature and depend on the liquidity situation at any given point in time, while swap fees could be found in the MT4 trading platform. Commissions for the ECN Trading Account are $7 per lot.

ZFX Spreads

We tested the spread on the ZFX Standard STP Trading Account during the London open at 8 am UK time and just after the US open at 2.45 pm K time. These are the most actively traded times.

Swap Fees

Are ZFX Trading Fees Good?

ZFX trading fees are mostly average, although they differ from one instrument to another. For example, GBP/JPY spread is low, while the average spread for WTI oil is high. It should be noted that spreads depend on the current situation in the market and often increase when the instrument is volatile, which was the case for oil when this report was written. In this light, traders should always evaluate the spreads at the moment they make a trading decision. When using the ECN Trading Account, spreads will be minimal (from 0.2), but the trader will be charged a commission of $7 per lot.

Non-Trading Fees

ZFX has no deposit, withdrawal or account closing fees. The broker also has no inactivity fees, so your account will not be charged in case you do not trade.

Platforms and Tools

ZFX Desktop and Web Platforms

ZFX offers the MT4 platform for Windows and Mac. The broker does not provide any web platform despite the fact that MT4 has a web-based version. This is an inconvenience for those traders who want to use various PCs for work.

General Ease of Use

MT4 is a very popular trading platform that suits beginners and advanced traders alike. While beginners may have some work to do to get accustomed to the platform, the information is readily available on the web, both in text and video forms, so those willing to study trading will face no material problems with MT4.

Charts

MT4 is a very popular trading platform that suits beginners and advanced traders alike. While beginners may have some work to do to get accustomed to the platform, the information is readily available on the web, both in text and video forms, so those who are willing to study trading will face no material problems with MT4.

Charts

MT4 offers:

•  51 indicators
• 31 drawing tools
• 9 timeframes

Both beginners and advanced traders will have plenty of options to choose from when developing their trading strategy.

Indicators include:

• Trend indicators
• Oscillators
• Volumes
• Bill Williams
• Custom indicators

Available time frames include 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, daily, weekly, and monthly. Some platforms offer a wider range of timeframes, but the number of timeframes provided by MT4 is more than sufficient enough for practical purposes.

MT4 also supports objects:

• Lines
• Channels
• Gann Tools
• Fibonacci Tools
• Shapes
• Arrows

Please note that there are no Elliott Waves, which is an important indicator for many pro-level traders. This indicator could be purchased from third parties.
Each chart could be displayed as a bar chart, a candlesticks chart, and a line chart. While candlesticks are generally more popular among traders as there is an abundance of candlesticks patterns used to make trading decisions, other types of charts also have their fans.

In general, MT4 charts are easy to configure even for novice traders after some prep work, and they surely have enough options for advanced traders who could also download and install additional indicators in case they need them.

Orders

MT4 provides access to main order types that you will need when trading:

• A market order is used to buy or sell the instrument at the current marketplace. This order is used when a trader wants to establish a position as fast as possible. Typically, the use of this order is necessary when the price of the instrument begins to move fast. The main risk of this order is that you pay a spread, which is the difference between the bid price and the ask price.
• A limit order is used to buy or sell the instrument at a preset price, or better. This order is used when the trader wants to establish a position at a certain level and is not willing to pay current market prices. Using limit orders is a good way to control risks, because the trader controls the price that will be paid. In case of a fast breakout, the limit order may be used as an “upgraded” market order, when the limit price is placed above the current market price.
• Stop-loss order is used to exit the position when the price moves incorrectly. This order is triggered when the price reaches a specified price point.
• A trailing stop order is used to set a stop order that will move in case the open position trends in the right direction. This order is used to protect a trader’s profits in case the market direction reverses.

ZFX Mobile App

General Ease of Use

The MT4 mobile app is rather easy to use. It provides charts, quotes, account balance info, economic calendar, news, and other tools to provide traders with an opportunity to make informed trading decisions.

Devices

ZFX offers the MT4 versions for Android and iOS.

Charts

MT4 mobile app offers:

• 30 technical indicators
• 24 drawing tools
• 9 timeframes
• 3 chart types

This selection of options is more than sufficient enough for mobile-based trading. Typically, the mobile app is used when the trader does not have access to the desktop platform but needs to monitor the market and open positions. While the app is useful in certain circumstances, it cannot beat the speed of work that could be achieved using the desktop platform, which is the main solution for active trading.

Orders

In an MT4 mobile app, you can set market orders, limit orders and stop orders. Trailing stops are not available on mobile trading terminals.

Tradable Instruments

What are CFDs?

CFDs (Contracts for Differences) are financial instruments that allow traders to bet on securities without owning the underlying securities. The key advantage of CFDs is the access to significant leverage, which is typically not available when trading other instruments. In this light, CFDs are very popular in short-term trading.

What Can You Trade with ZFX?

• 64 forex pairs. The list of available instruments includes traditional favourites like EUR/USD and GBP/USD and more exotic options.
• 10 commodities. ZFX allows you to bet on the direction of the following commodities: Gold, WTI Oil spot, Brent Oil spot, Silver, Copper, Natural Gas, Palladium, Platinum, WTI Oil futures, and Brent Oil futures.
• 35 stocks. The list includes actively traded names like Amazon, Boeing, and Tesla, which trade in US markets.
• 15 indices. ZFX provides access to CFDs on major indices like S&P 500 and Dow Jones.
• 3 cryptocurrencies. The shortlist includes BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and LTC/USD.

In the tables below, you can see a selection highlighting the variety of instruments available via Zeal Capital Market:

To sum it up, ZFX’s offering is strong in the commodity and indices section. The number of available forex pairs is fairly average for the industry. The number of stock CFDs is limited, so ZFX may not be the optimal choice if you are interested in these instruments. The offering in the crypto segment is limited, and the broker does not even highlight it on its website – the available crypto options may be found in MT4.

Customer Support

Customer support is an important part of doing business with any broker, as traders sometimes need swift answers to their questions, especially in times of market volatility.

While the company provides a comparative table for its three trading accounts, we had to contact the support to find the commissions for the ECN Trading Account. Interestingly, the support asked for the MT4 account number to continue the conversation, so potential clients may have to open at least a demo account to get prompt responses in the support chat on the company’s website.

We have contacted the  ZFX support several times, and available support agents were quickly responding to our questions. In general, the company’s support services left a favorable impression.

ZFX Customer Support Test

In our rating, we tested the ZFX chat support, which required us to provide the number of our MT4 account on one occasion. No such details were demanded in other contacts with the support team. The initial response to our query was swift, but the specialist in the chat was not able to answer the question, so he switched us to another specialist, who was able to answer the question regarding ECN Trading Account commissions.

Deposit and Withdrawal

The minimum deposit amount is at least $50. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees on the ZFX side. However, traders should keep in mind that their bank or payment system may charge fees for transactions.

The minimum withdrawal amount is 100 RMB, which is converted to the US. Dollars (about $15). Note that withdrawals from the trading account are made to the original payment method used to deposit. Please also note that the “amount you can withdraw to the original payment method cannot exceed the amount you deposited”. ZFX adds: “Supposing you made a profit from your trading, you must withdraw the excess amount to your bank account.”

ZFX Deposits

ZFX Withdrawals

Account Types and Terms

Why is Choosing the Right Account Type Important?

An account is a tool that you will use for your trading, and the tool must meet your needs. Typically, the trader will focus on the base currency options, contract size, commission and fees, the number of pending orders/positions, and the size of the minimum deposit.

What Account Types does ZFX Offer?

What is CFD Leverage?

CFD Leverage allows you to avoid paying the full value of the position. Instead, you pay a deposit, which is called margin, while the remaining funds are borrowed.

Under the Standard STP Trading Account, for instance, you will only have to deposit only 1/30500 of the value of your position if you use a leverage of 1:500. Leverage significantly increases your profits. However, traders should keep in mind that leverage is a double-edged sword, so potential losses are increased as well.

ZFX Account Opening Process

• Step 1: Click on the “Open a Live Trading Account” on the accounts page.
• Step 2: Register with ZFX, providing your name and surname, phone number, and email. You will be sent a verification code and you will also create a password.
• Step 3: Provide additional personal information in compliance with the KYC and AML rules.
• Step 4: Deposit funds to your account.
• Step 5: Download the MT4 trading platform and begin to trade.

ZFX Demo Accounts and Features

ZFX provides an opportunity to test trading via the MT4 trading platform with the help of a demo trading account. To get access to the demo account, go to the above-mentioned accounts page and choose “Open a Demo Trading Account”. You will need to provide your name, surname, phone number, and email to get started to receive the verification code. The process is very simple and fast, so you will soon get to trading.

Please note that your trading experience will differ when you use a demo account compared to a real-money account. The key driver for this difference is human psychology – traders are under pressure when real money is at stake. In this light, your performance at a demo account will not necessarily indicate what you will get at a real money account. In addition, you could develop a careless attitude towards risk, which is dangerous in trading.

It’s a good idea to use the demo account to get accustomed to the trading platform, test orders, etc., but spending too much time playing with the demo could be dangerous for your future trading.

ZFX Supported Countries

As per the company’s terms and conditions, ZFX does not accept US citizens or US residents due to SEC rules.

Research

Content

On its website, ZFX provides a market outlook and market news. Both sections were outdated at the time of writing this report.

Research Tools

The only research tool that is available on the company’s website is the economic calendar, whose presence is standard for any broker.

Education

A typical article about an instrument includes a discussion of historical price movements and key drivers. Commodities, main forex pairs, indices and ten stocks are covered in this section. Traders can also read about the basics of CFD trading. Several basic MT4 guides and a discussion of technical indicators can also be found in the Academy section.

The Bottom Line

ZFX is a broker that is focused on the Asian market. Clients from this area will benefit from the ability to transfer funds in local currencies from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Interestingly, the broker does not offer an Islamic Account even though most of Malaysia and Indonesia’s populations are Muslims.

Traders can open an account with two entities: Zeal Capital Market (UK) Limited, which FCA regulates, and Zeal Capital Market (Seychelles), which FSA regulates. We rate FCA as a Tier 1 regulator, which means it offers strong protections for traders. FSA is rated as a Tier 3 regulator, so traders who choose to open an account with the FSA-regulated entity will have less protection.

The broker could be an interesting choice for traders searching for more options on commodity and indices CFDs. In the forex section, the range of the instruments provided by ZFX is fairly standard, while the collection of stock CFDs is small.

ZFX will not be the easiest choice for beginners as it provides minimal research and education support. At the same time, the minimal deposit is just $50, so novice traders would have the opportunity to test their skills without committing too much money. The broker offers an FCA-regulated entity for pro-level traders, which will be an important factor for this group of clients as FCA offers a compensation scheme of up to £85,000.

FAQ