Dukascopy Review

Review

Dukascopy Bank SA, regulated by FINMA, is a Swiss Forex broker that offers both personal retail Forex trading and binary option accounts. They also have an extensive business to business department and provide partnership opportunities to banks, financial institutions and client referral bonuses.  Dukascopy has been around since 2004 and the company prides itself on the security of its funds, no price manipulations and speedy executions. 

Features

The new Dukascopy landing page is so chock-a-block full of information that while doing this Dukascopy review, I didn’t know where to look first.

In addition to the SWFX - Swiss FX & CFD Marketplace, which is a live price listing of the major currencies, there are dozens of other features to click on and enjoy, including a series of interviews with financial figures, market and industry forecasts, midday snapshots of the markets and much more. 

In addition, there are trading ideas on different currencies and other assets, a timely technical analysis and a choice of market research articles to read. Also on the same page is an update on what is happening at Dukascopy that might be of interest to an investor.

Dukascopy Bank SA offers currency and precious metal trading to retail and institutional clients. It promises equal liquidity and quotes for all clients. All types of trading are allowed, including scalping, there are different trading commissions depending on the account size and monthly traded volume, and deposits are protected by Swiss government in the amount of $100,000 per client.

The accounts at Dukascopy are listed according to the amount of money deposited. The basic account starts with a minimum of $100, the next one, $5000, followed by the $100,000 and $250,000 accounts.

Most of the instruments are traded on a 24 hour basis without interruption, from market opening on Sunday, 21:00 GMT during Summer Time (22:00 GMT during Winter Time) until market close on Friday, 21:00 GMT during Summer Time (22:00 GMT during Winter Time). The following instruments have trading breaks during the trading session.

I was pleased to see that Dukascopy offers a demo account for both Forex and binary option traders. There is also an Islamic account for followers of Sharia laws.

An interesting feature at Dukascopy is the ability for accounts to be opened by simply scanning traders’ passports. Deposits of up to $10,000 can be done in the same way. 

Dukascopy 10 Years Anniversary

Bonuses

The bonuses and promotions at Dukascopy are never ending, though there is a chance that they can change at any moment due to tightening regulation worldwide. Over the years the brokerage has offered different opportunities for traders, from 10% bonuses to 100% bonuses, and we recommend that you check out the site yourself to see what their current offers are.

Live clients are encouraged to share their Dukascopy trading experience with their friends. Should a referred friend become a live trader with Dukascopy Bank, the account holder will enjoy a 100% discount for a future trading commission until the full amount of the discount (100 USD) is reached. The commission discount will be credited on a daily basis starting from the moment the referred friend has performed the first trade.

Promotions at Dukascopy at the time of this review included a monthly competition amongst traders with $16,000 quarterly prizes and the Signal Provider Grand Prix where $11,500 is given out on a quarterly basis to traders who show the best and most consistent trading results for that period. 

The Trader of the Year competition pays out $5000 quarterly to traders with the highest monthly average profitability for at least 6 months and there is a Social (Mirror, Signal) Trading Contest for successful investors who copy trades of the best Signal Providers. $2000 is given out monthly.

There are even more fun contests but they are too numerous to list. However, I can’t help mentioning the Miss Dukascopy contest where girls from all over the world can compete. This competition rates intelligence and knowledge as well as looks and the winner receives a whopping $350,000! Currently the Dukascopy website advertises a contestants’ prize pool of over two million dollars.  

Dukascopy 

Education

Dukascopy offers a series of educational video tutorials that explain the various aspects of its trading platform such as leverage, managed accounts and more. It offers live webinars on a consistent basis in several different languages. Seminars are sometimes available in different parts of the world. When doing this review, there were no scheduled seminars.

Dukascopy TV has about 20 different stations with interesting programs such as Market Glance, Building Blocks, Crash Dummy Dollar and more. The extent of their TV offerings is astounding.  From news to entertainment, music, interviews, and much more, someone interested in the financial world could spend hours just in this section of their website.  Dukascopy also offers others the opportunity to incorporate this section into their own websites.  Dukascopy TV is even accessible in several languages.

Trading Platform

Dukascopy Bank trading platforms provide access to Swiss Forex Marketplace (SWFX). There are several different platforms. All platforms support a wide range of trading orders, such as Market, Limit, Stop, Take Profit, Stop Loss, Stop Limit, Trailing Stop, Place Bid/Offer, OCO, IFD etc. “Slippage Control” functionality, allows controlling maximum price slippage on execution.

There are two trading modes available on the platforms: “Net Position” and “Hedging” mode. “Hedging” mode allows the trader to keep different direction positions for the same trading instrument, with possibility to “Merge” them. “Net position” mode displays all orders for the same currency pair in one position.

Java Platform

The Java platform is designed for manual trading and is organized to simultaneously display all necessary trading information without switching between different windows. In addition, traders can benefit from various technical analysis, market research tools that are integrated into the platform and instant communication with a live trading support team.

JForex platform

The JForex platform is recommended for manual and/or automated trading. This platform is designed for traders interested in automated trading and/or developing and testing trading strategies based on the JAVA programming language. The main functionality and interface of the platform are similar to those of Java platform.

A third party bridge is available for traders wishing to use the popular MT4 platform.

The company also offers a web trading platform with instant market access and mobile platforms for Android, and other smartphones.

The Web Binary Trader is the binary options trading platform offered at Dukascopy and has numerous features of its own including predetermined payouts and risks; in-the-money contracts yield starting from 70% of the paid premium and up to 90%; small trading amounts starting from as low as USD 1 and no commissions or hidden fees.

Trading can be done securely online through one click trade to an unlimited number of accounts. Trading can also be done over the telephone.

Although Dukascopy doesn’t provide direct access to the popular Metatrader4 platform they do allow connectivity to that platform through third party providers. 

Customer Support

Dukascopy Bank SA offers customer service 6 days each week via email and phone. Chat support is available during working hours and users can contact the company via Skype instead of incurring the expense of an international call. I must mention that the Chat screen was somewhat bothersome as it stayed on the whole time I was doing this review and often covered much of the reading material. There was no way to close it.  In addition, through their website, clients can easily submit a call back request and they will receive a call back from the Dukascopy customer service department.

Conclusion

Because of Dukascopy’s banking history, it is able to offer a host of features that are often unavailable with other Forex or binary options brokers.  New traders may be overwhelmed with the different features available upon opening the first page but everything is neatly set up and clearly explained. Both new and experienced traders should have no trouble using this broker.  Customers can benefit greatly from all the information available on the site before they even invest a cent.  All of this information is also available in many different languages to make this one of the most extensive Forex websites in the world. 

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Features

When it comes to features there are few things that can compare to the quantity and quality offered at Dukascopy. There are so many different features that every type of trader is sure to find more than they ever expected from a Forex broker.

The standard features are offered, of course, such as different accounts, educational materials such as webinars and tutorial videos. There are even more features to be excited about with this brokerage company.  . Upon opening the first page of the website, a viewer is almost bombarded with choices and links to all sorts of different information, including interviews with well-known financial figures, a choice of trading ideas, articles on market research, historical data, a company update and much more.  The Dukascopy website is very thorough and seems to be  translated fully into twelve different languages, making it an even greater resource to Forex traders worldwide.

Their website offers many great areas of interest that most brokerage websites do not have. Customers and potential traders can benefit from the company news, currency converter, Dukascopy TV, news archives, Forex history, and more are all accessible within one click.  This is one of the most extensive and detailed Forex brokerage websites on the web.  The breadth of information is useful to new traders and seasoned traders alike.  

Dukascopy’s website includes business to business services and information which is uncommon for a Forex brokerage and can serve as a useful source of information to any business in the industry.  They provide services to businesses who want to partner with them, and a special White Label service to banks and regulated financial institutions who want to offer electronic Forex trading to their clients.

Even the slideshow is more comprehensive than most other brokers provide, with ten different pictures of different aspects of Dukascopy. Bonuses are shown as well as other features using clear and interesting angles.

Most of the features offered by the company are listed in an organized column on the left side of the page and this makes it easy to click on each topic without having to scroll down to the very bottom of the page which is necessary with almost all other brokers.  

The most exciting feature at Dukascopy is, of course, their bonuses and contests which are too numerous to outline. Needless to say, they provide additional income to all account holders in the form of interesting contests and competitions. It is important to note that while the bonuses were still being offered at the time of this Dukascopy review, it is possible that they may be adjusted or cancelled at any time due to tightening regulations for the worldwide Forex industry. 

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Platforms

Dukascopy Bank trading platforms are accessed through the Swiss Forex Marketplace (SWFX). There are several different platforms and they all support a wide range of trading orders such as Market, Limit, Stop, Take Profit, Stop Loss, Stop Limit, Trailing Stop, Place Bid/Offer, OCO, and more.

There are two trading modes available on these platforms: “Net Position” and “Hedging” mode. “Hedging” mode allows the trader to keep different direction positions for the same trading instrument, with possibility to “Merge” them. “Net position” mode displays all orders for the same currency pair in one position.

The Java platform is designed for manual trading and is structured to display all necessary trading information simultaneously without having to switch between different windows. Additionally, traders can benefit from various market research tools such as technical analysis that are integrated into the platform. Instant communication with a live trading support team is also on hand.

The JForex platform is suggested for manual and/or automated trading. It is designed for traders interested in automated trading or developing and testing trading strategies based on the JAVA programming language. The main functionality and interface of the platform are similar to those of Java platform.  The features of this platform include 250 different indicators and chart studies, automated trading on either the user’s computer or the Strategy Server, an automated trading historical tester, plug in support and interfaces in many different languages.  They also provide a cross-platform interface to allow for custom strategies and provide special programming code.  Clients can install JForex with one click for Windows, Mac or Linux.  Dukascopy provides API documentation, a user community and video tutorials.

Some traders prefer to use the popular MT4 platform and this is available through a third party bridge.

Dukascopy also offers various mobile platforms for Android and other mobile devices through the SWFX Marketplace.  The goal of the mobile platform is to have desktop functionality at your fingertips wherever you are. 

Dukascopy’s website platform section provides users with a clear comparison chart for the different platforms so that clients can make educated decisions The basic features are the same but a couple of small things vary between platforms such as “net position mode” and automated trading.

In addition to the above Forex platforms, Dukascopy also offers the Web Binary Trader, a binary options trading platform which has numerous features of its own including predetermined payouts and risks; in-the-money contracts yield starting from 70% of the paid premium and up to 90%; small trading amounts starting from as low as $1.00 and no commissions or hidden fees.

Trading can be done securely online through one click trade to an unlimited number of accounts as well as by telephone to various different locations across the globe. 

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