PaxForex Review
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Trading Platforms
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Education & Research
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Pricing
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Security
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Tools and Features
Summary
PaxForex is an offshore online forex broker operated by Laino Group Limited. This platform includes forex trading, stocks, and trading CFDs on a variety of assets. Additionally, PaxForex facilitates access to financial markets, ensures that all users execute their trades with no delay and low spreads, and provides access to 24/5 multilingual customer service. Get all the in-depth details on this forex broker by reading our complete PaxForex review.
Pros
- Access to MetaTrader 4 with excellent trading conditions and fast execution
- Instant payment methods
- No trading fees other than spreads
- Multiple customer support channels
- Demo account available
- Trading forex, stocks, and indices come with low spreads
- Low-cost trading accounts for professional traders
- High leverage of 1:500 is allowed (but comes with very high risk)
- Paxforex team is available 24/5 for support
- Multiple payment methods available, including bank transfer
Cons
- Untrustworthy illegal trading charges in the U.S
- Unregulated by any financial services authority
Are you looking for a low-cost broker? Whether you are a beginner searching for a way to start trading, or you already have experience, choosing the best broker on the market should be at the top of your to-do list.
In the PaxForex review below, we’ll discuss the main strengths and weaknesses of this broker, providing an insight into its main features and costs. Keep reading this PaxForex review to find out if it is what you need to become a successful trader!
About PaxForex
Laino Group Limited operates PaxForex, an offshore online forex broker registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is a rather small company with experience in forex trading, stocks, and trading CFDs on a variety of assets.
The company takes pride in its ability to facilitate access to the financial markets and ensure that all clients execute their trades with no delay and low spreads, and have access to 24/5 multilingual customer service.
Next, we’ll start our PaxForex review with a discussion of its main features.
PaxForex Features
These sections will cover the main features of this broker, starting with the most important ones: trading platforms available and account types.
Paxforex Trading Platform
Offering forex trading and other assets, PaxForex provides access to two trading platforms: AllPips and MetaTrader 4. AllPips is a simple, intuitive web trader, but it lacks customization and features, which will limit both beginners and advanced traders in terms of trading opportunities. Most likely, the trading conditions will not be satisfactory for demanding traders.
Nonetheless, most traders will be interested in opening an MT4 account, which is an award-winning trading platform used by forex traders all around the world. It is available as downloadable software, but also on your mobile phone or directly in your browser (known as WebTrader).
MetaTrader 4 is a common trading platform among forex brokers, thanks to its stellar trading conditions. Some of the main features of this trading platform include:
- Multiple trading charts and technical indicators ideal for the forex market
- Easy to execute nearly any trading strategy available
- Multiple trading orders available, including stop-loss or trailing stop-loss
- Expert advisors (for automated trading)
- Trading signals available
Regardless of the chosen platform, traders may buy and sell the main trading instruments: forex, stocks, indices, and spot metals (gold and silver).
It’s important to note that MT4 is mainly used for forex trading. MetaTrader 5 is often a common choice for stocks and multi-asset trading, but PaxForex doesn’t provide you with the ability to open an MT5 account.
Thus, if your strategy is based on stocks and trading instruments other than forex, you may want to choose a more flexible broker, such as AvaTrade or Plus500, both of them regulated and with access to a wide range of assets. However, they are both market makers, so costs may be higher, depending on your needs and strategy (but they do not charge any commissions either).
Trading Account Types
Regardless of the chosen trading platform, PaxForex provides access to four types of forex trading accounts. The right trading account for you depends, mostly, on your budget. The main account types are:
- Cent account with a minimum deposit of $10 and 0.0001 minimum lot size
- Mini account with a minimum deposit of $100 and 0.01 minimum lot size
- Standard account with a minimum deposit of $2,000 and 0.01 minimum lot size (also allows you to trade shares)
- VIP account with a minimum deposit of $10,000 and 0.01 minimum lot size (shares trading and priority execution included, although this may not mean instant execution)
The cent account is available only in USD, while the rest of the retail investor accounts have a choice of three base currencies: USD, EUR, or GBP, depending on what’s more advantageous to you.
All accounts have a maximum leverage limit of 1:500, allow you to trade gold and silver, and have a variable margin call (55% for the cent account and 10% for the other types of accounts).
VPS is available for an extra charge of $25 per month for all accounts, except for the VIP account. Finally, the standard account and VIP account come with a personal account manager.
There is also an option to open an Islamic account, but only for the mini, standard, and VIP accounts. This means that you do not need to pay the swap fee (interest rate), but rather cover a commission based on the financial instrument traded and the number of lots.
Education & Research
There are multiple sources of information on the PaxForex website. Some of the main trading tools, market analysis, and educational resources are:
- A forex trading course for beginners, split into 10 parts that focus on basic forex knowledge
- PaxForex blog where you can find multiple forecasts and currency trading news, but articles are very infrequent
- Daily forex technical analysis with daily articles on currency news
- Fundamental analysis of stocks and currencies
- Economic calendar
Overall, the education and research section is richer than those offered by many other forex brokers, such as Turnkey. However, there may still be room for improvement, such as updating the PaxForex blog more often or even partnering with other firms to provide more guidance and high-quality market information and analysis. One such example is TioMarkets, which partnered with Trading Central to provide access to high-quality market analysis and trading ideas.
Safety and Regulations
PaxForex is an unregulated broker, so it is not licensed by any authority, which means that Paxforex traders are at a high risk of losing money rapidly. Money management skills are a must when trading complex instruments like forex and CFDs (you can lose money when trading CFDs, especially when you use leverage).
Also, its reputation was affected in 2020, as the company operating PaxForex was charged by CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) with offering illegal leveraged transactions. In the U.S., all brokers that provide contracts regarding Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin, gold and silver, must be registered with CFTC.
Before choosing PaxForex as your broker and opening a forex account, make sure you understand that signing up with an unregulated broker means that your capital is at risk – much more than with a regulated broker.
PaxForex Fees
Perhaps the most important trading cost regarding PaxForex is the spread (there are no commissions for trade, except for Islamic accounts). The spread starts from:
- 2.4 for the cent account
- 1.4 for the mini account
- 0.4 for the standard account
- 0.4 for the VIP account
As briefly mentioned above, traders who want to use a VPS (Virtual Private Server) must pay an extra $25 per month if they don’t have a VIP account. Some other brokers, like Hankotrade, however, provide VPS at no extra charge for its retail investor accounts.
Also, the minimum deposit starts at $10 for the mini account but is as high as $10,000 for the VIP account (ideal for professional traders).
Regarding payment methods, there are multiple options, and these come with variable fees (charged by the payment processor, not PaxForex). Some of the main ones are:
- Neteller with a minimum deposit of $10 and fees from 3.2% to 3.7%
- Credit or debit cards with a minimum deposit of $15 with a variable fee (depends on your country of residence)
- Perfect Money with a $10 minimum deposit and 0% fees
- Bank transfers come with a variable commission (depending on your bank and bank account)
It’s important to note that this online broker will cover the deposit fees on your behalf if the minimum payments are at least $300. The only exception is the bank transfers, whose commission depends on your bank, there is a minimum deposit of $100, and they take the longest time to be added to your trading account: 3-5 days depending on your bank.
Regarding withdrawals, there are processed only during business days (no weekends or holidays). PaxForex charges you 5.5% (or a minimum of $10, whichever is higher) when withdrawing funds to your credit or debit card.
The minimum withdrawal, time, and fees depend on your chosen payment method. For instance, Neteller does not have any fee, and it takes 1 working day to process the withdrawal, but Skrill charges you from 1% up to 3,9% + $0.35.
PaxForex Customer Service
The PaxForex team provides 24/5 multilingual customer support via different channels, including live chat, call-back requests, Skype, email, and telephone. Overall, the variety of channels is satisfying, so that you can choose your preferred method based on your query and urgency. This is rare among other brokers, which often only provide live chat and email.
Who Is PaxForex Best For?
PaxForex is best for traders with lots of experience who want to achieve their investment objectives while keeping costs low. As an unregulated broker, it comes with a high risk compared to other authorized brokers, so you need to consider your strategy carefully before you invest money.
The variety of trading accounts offers benefits to traders with high capital, as the more money you can invest, the lower your costs will be. Nonetheless, PaxForex’s offering should be taken with a grain of salt, particularly due to its tainted reputation in the U.S. For more security, new traders may surely want to sign up with MetaTrader 4 rather than AllPips, as MT4 is more transparent, has numerous features available, and is trustworthy.
New traders may be attracted by the mini account, but they should still keep in mind that investor accounts lose money easily when using derivatives (like CFDs) and leverage. A good strategy to lower the high risk should be defined before placing orders to potentially limit the losses in case the market goes against you. When trading CFDs, it’s important to remember that losing money rapidly is always a possibility.
How Does PaxForex Compare?
Overall, PaxForex has an average offering. Some of the most important benefits are its low-cost trading and the educational section. However, Fortrade excels in both these categories and is regulated, too, unlike PaxForex.
The ability to open a standard or VIP account and benefit from an experienced personal account manager is a huge advantage for clients with high capital but not enough experience or time to trade.
Nonetheless, as mentioned above, depositing a large amount of money with an unregulated broker like PaxForex should be considered thoroughly. The losses can be virtually unlimited, especially when using leverage. One main advantage of choosing a regulated broker like F.P. Markets or Fortrade is that they offer negative balance protection, which limits your losses.
FAQ: PaxForex
Are PaxForex retail investor accounts safe?
PaxForex is not regulated by any financial services authority. However, the broker does list a few measures of security, such as keeping funds in segregated accounts and using encryption to keep all data private. However, it’s important to do your due diligence before signing up with any broker.
Does PaxForex have a demo account?
Yes, you can open a PaxForex demo account. This is highly recommended, so you become familiar with all the features and costs before depositing your hard-earned cash.
Can you trade cryptocurrency on PaxForex?
As of this writing, PaxForex does not list cryptocurrency as one of the available asset classes. You can still trade forex (major, minor, and exotic forex pairs), stocks, indices, and spot metals.
In which countries is PaxForex available?
PaxForex is an offshore forex and CFD broker available in many countries, including Europe, the U.K., and Australia. To be on the safe side, always check your local law and regulations, particularly regarding trading CFDs, before opening an account with a broker.
Final Verdict: PaxForex Review
In this PaxForex review, we have discussed its main features, trading conditions, and costs, and compared it with other well-established brokers. Overall, PaxForex lacks regulation, which could expose you to very high risks, unlike regulated brokers like AvaTrade or F.P. Markets.
The educational section is satisfactory, while the trading costs are some of the lowest in the industry, but it may be best if you are a seasoned trader who knows how to minimize risks and craft a foolproof strategy. It’s always a good idea to open a demo account first to see if it’s the right broker for you.