For this Dukascopy review, we have opened an ECN account with the broker and deposited over €4,000.
We traded the popular instrument in each market to get the real spreads and placed a total of 15 trades.
We also reached out to customer support to solve the issues we faced.
Finally, we withdrew our funds to see if there are any issues with the withdrawal process.
What is Dukascopy?
Dukascopy is Switzerland-headquartered forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, which also offers banking service. It was founded in 2004 and has offices in Riga, Kyiv, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai and Tokyo.
Dukascopy offers trading services with forex, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and stock CFDs instruments. It is regulated in Switzerland, Japan and Latvia.
Some of the highlights of Dukascopy are:
| 🗺️ Authorised & Regulated in | Japan, Switzerland, Latvia |
| 🛡️ Is Dukascopy safe | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 0.8 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | $100 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | Depends on the payment method |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | MT4, JForex |
| 📈 Markets offered | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies |
| 📉 Number of Products | 750 (depends on the jurisdiction) |
Licenses and Regulations
Dukascopy holds 3 regulatory licenses.
The broker is regulated in Switzerland, Japan, and Latvia.
The full list of Dukascopy licenses is below:
| Legal entity | Registered in | Regulator | License number | Accepting clients from | Compensation scheme amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dukascopy Japan KK | Japan | Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) | 1587 | Japan | No compensation scheme |
| Dukascopy Bank SA | Switzerland | Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) | Registration | Global | CHF 100,000 |
| Dukascopy Europe IBS AS | Latvia | Latvian Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC) | 40003344762 | European Union | EUR 20,000 |
Is Dukascopy Safe?
Yes, Dukascopy is a safe broker.
The broker is regulated in three jurisdictions, and all are deemed to be reputed regulators. Additionally, Switzerland’s FINMA and Latvia’s FCMC offer compensation schemes of CHF 100,000 and EUR 20,000, respectively.
For our tests, we opened an account with Dukascopy Europe IBS AS, which is regulated by FCMC in Latvia.
Dukascopy Fees and Commissions
Dukascopy fees are built into spreads. The broker also charges commissions for opening and closing trades.
Spreads on our trades were lower than the industry average benchmark for forex, indices, and commodities.
| Net Deposit or Equity (in USD equivalent) | Traded Volume for 30 days (in USD equivalent) | Currencies (1 USD round lot) | Metals & CFD (1 USD round lot) |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 5,000 | < 5 million | 9 | 12.5 |
| ≥5,000 | ≥5 million | 8.6 | 11.9 |
| ≥10’000 | ≥10 million | 8 | 11 |
| ≥25’000 | ≥25 million | 7 | 9.5 |
| ≥50’000 | ≥50 million | 5.6 | 7.4 |
| ≥250’000 | ≥250 million | 5.2 | 6.8 |
| ≥500’000 | ≥500 million | 5 | 6.5 |
| ≥1’000’000 | ≥1 billion | 4.8 | 6.2 |
| ≥5’000’000 | ≥5 billion | 4.4 | 5.6 |
| ≥10’000’000 | ≥10 billion | 4 | 5 |
Spread Charged in Our Trades
For our tests, we have chosen popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get a picture of the average spread.
Spreads for our trades varied within a broad range for forex but remained narrow for other asset classes.
Details of our trades are shown below the table.
| Markets | Instruments | 1st trade | 2nd trade | 3rd trade | Avg. spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | EUR/USD | 2 | 0.25 | 0.15 | 0.8 |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.17 | 1.21 | 1.23 | 1.2 |
| Stocks | Apple | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.97 |
| Commodities | Gold | 3.21 | 3.7 | 3.52 | 3.48 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | 69.1 | 75 | 66.4 | 70.17 |
Our testing finds that average spreads forex are much lower than the industry average, and the trend remains the same for indices and commodities.
However, spreads on stocks and cryptocurrencies are on the higher side.
| Markets | Instruments | Avg. spread charged in our trades | Industry avg. spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | EUR/USD | 0.8 | 1.16 |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.2 | 1.65 |
| Stocks | Apple | 1.97 | 1.75 |
| Commodities | Gold | 3.48 | 3.53 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | 70.17 | 72.81 |
Other Fees
Dukascopy charges hefty non-trading fees. The broker charges a fee for each deposit and withdrawal request.
Deposit and withdrawal fees charged by Dukascopy:
| Method | Deposit Fee | Withdrawal Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfers | Free | CHF 2.3 for payments in CHF in Switzerland or CHF 15 EUR 2.3 for SEPA payments or EUR 20 / USD 50 / GBP 15 / AUD 30 / CAD 30 / CNY 150 / CZK 500 / DKK 150 / HKD 180 / HUF 5500 / ILS 70 / JPY 2500 / MXN 350 / NOK 180 / NZD 30 / PLN 80 / RON 80 / RUB 1800 / SEK 170 / SGD 30 / TRY 65 / ZAR 280 |
| Bank Transfers to Crypto Exchange | NA | EUR 50 / CHF 50 or 0.5% from the amount (whichever is higher) |
| Debit/Credit Card | 1.2% for transactions in EUR, GBP or CHF 1.5% for transactions in NOK, CZK, PLN or SEK 2% for transactions in USD 2.3% for transactions in RUB, JPY and CAD | 1.5 EUR + 2.5% (or currency equivalent) |
| Skrill | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Neteller | 1 EUR or 2.5% | 1 EUR or 2.5% |
| Bitcoins, Ether, Tether | Free | USD 30 |
Dukascopy does not have any account maintenance fee, but it charges a minimum of CHF 500 on inactive accounts every six months.
Account Types
Dukascopy offers two account types to retail traders.
| Forex ECN Account | Forex MT4 Account | |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Platforms | JForex | MetaTrader 4 |
| Account Currency | USD / CHF / EUR / GBP / AUD / CAD / CNH / CZK / DKK / HKD / HUF / ILS / JPY / NOK / PLN / RON / RUB / SEK / SGD | USD / CHF / EUR / GBP / PLN |
| Minimum deposit | $/€/£ 100 | $/€/£ 1,000 |
| Commission | $35 per million | $10 per million |
| Order execution | Market Execution | Market Execution |
| Spread | From 1 | From 1 |
Dukascopy also offers the following accounts:
- Swap-free Islamic account
- Institutional account
- Managed account
- PAMM account
Account Opening
Our overall experience of opening a new account with Dukascopy was overall positive.
We opened a Forex/CFD Trading account for our tests under the Latvia-regulated entity.
The process of registration of a new Dukascopy account:
- Enter personal details like first name, last name, date of birth, country of birth, and citizenship.
- Enter the full residential address.
- Enter email address, mobile number, phone, and fax.
- Provide professional details like employment status, company name, company city, company country, company activity, position, employed since, company website. Declared if you are a politically exposed person.
- Provide financial details including estimated annual income, estimated wealth, and source of assets.
- Finally, select the preferred language, account manager, and some other basic details.
We submitted the following documents to verify our Dukascopy account:
- Copy of national identification (both front and back)
- Copy of passport
The registration process took around 9 minutes.
Our account was registered on Februaryr 4, 2023, and approved on February 5, 2023.
Traders need to download the 911 Dukascopy App to finish the verification process with a short video call.
Our overall account opening experience was smooth and quick.
Deposit and Withdrawal
Deposits and withdrawals on Dukascopy are easy and fast.
However, the broker charges hefty deposit and withdrawal fees.
Dukascopy Minimum Deposit
Minimum deposit on Dukascopy depends on the account type.
- Forex ECN Account: $/€/£ 100
- Forex MT4 Accounts: $/€/£ 1000
Deposit
Dukascopy allows deposits using bank transfers, credit and debit cards, and other online wallets like Skrill, and Neteller. It also takes deposits in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether.
Europe Dukascopy Bank Review
Traders can also open account with Dukascopy Bank, get Dukascopy card with multicurrency option and use it for instant and free transfer of money to or from the account.
We tested the deposit process on Dukascopy using a debit card, Skrill, and Neteller.
Details of our fund deposits are shown in the below table.
| Payment Method | Submitted Date | Funded Account Date | Funding Time | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debit card | 2023-02-24 | 2023-02-24 | Instant | 1.2% |
| Skrill | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | Instant | 2.5% |
| Neteller | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | Instant | 2.5% |
Dukascopy Withdrawal
Dukascopy allows withdrawals with bank transfers, credit and debit cards, online wallets, and other methods that are supported for deposits.
We faced some minor setbacks with our Dukascopy withdrawals.
Our first deposit request was not processed. When we contacted the support, they told us that did not receive the withdrawal request.
We tried to withdraw EUR 3,000 on our debit card, but Dukascopy has a withdrawal limit of EUR 2,000 on that. So, we ended up raising two withdrawal requests on our debit card.
Details of our withdrawal requests are in the table below.
| Payment Method | Submitted Date | Fund Released Date | Fund Arrived Date | Withdrawal Time | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debit card | 2023-02-25 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Debit card | 2023-03-01 | 2023-03-01 | 2023-03-02 | 1 working day | 2.5% |
| Debit card | 2023-03-03 | 2023-03-03 | 2023-03-05 | 1 working day | 2.5% |
| Skrill | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | Instant | 2.5% |
| Neteller | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | 2023-02-25 | Instant | 2.5% |
Markets and Products
Dukascopy offers CFDs trading services with forex, indices, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. It also offers trading services with binary options.
The Japanese entity of Dukascopy only offers trading services with FX pairs.
The list of Dukascopy’s offerings are:
| Markets | Instruments |
|---|---|
| Forex | 57 |
| Indices | 19 |
| Stocks | 658 |
| Commodities | 13 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 3 |
The markets and the number of offered instruments will depend on the account jurisdiction.
Trading Conditions
Dukascopy offers excellent trading conditions. It allows hedging and scalping strategies. Traders can also change leverage levels.
| Trading Method | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Hedging | Yes |
| Scalping | Yes |
| Change Leverage | Yes |
Leverage
Leverages offered by the various entities of Dukascopy are detailed below:
| Markets | Dukascopy Japan KK | Dukascopy Bank SA | Dukascopy Europe IBS AS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Currency Pairs | 25:1 | 200:1 | 30:1 |
| Non-Major Currency Pairs | 10:1 | 10:1 | 20:1 |
| Gold | 10:1 | 50:1 | 20:1 |
| Other Commodities (except Gold) | NA | 30:1 | 30:1 |
| Indices | 10:1 | 50:1 | 30:1 |
| Stocks | NA | 10:1 | 5:1 |
| Cryptocurrencies | NA | 3:1 | 2:1 |
Trading Platform
Dukascopy offers the two trading platforms:
- JForex (Proprietary Platform)
- MetaTrader 4 (Standard third-party platform developed by MetaQuotes Software)
We executed our trades on the JForex platform.
Dukascopy MT4
Bonus
Dukascopy offers several forex bonus programs for clients under the Dukascopy Bank SA.
Equity Bonus
Traders on Dukascopy can get a 10% Bonus of the account equity for self trading accounts.
| Entity | Dukascopy Bank SA |
| Account type | Dukascopy ECN (JForex) account |
| Maximum payout | 50,000 USD |
| Required traded volume | 1. The required traded volume is equal to 30,000 multiplied by the total account equity (including the Bonus amount), The required traded volume should be reached before the deadline — 1 year since receiving of the Bonus. 2. Clients can apply for a Bonus during 30 days since their last credit on their account. |
Discount Program
Traders on Dukascopy can get a 20% discount on volume trading commissions.
| Entity | Dukascopy Bank SA |
| Account type | Dukascopy ECN (JForex) account |
| Maximum payout | NA |
| Required traded volume | 1. The required traded volume is equal to 30,000 multiplied by the account equity at the time the Discount application is submitted. 2. Traders cannot withdraw any amount from their account for 1 year. |
Research and Tools
Dukascopy offers a decent set of market research and analysis tools
Tools offered by the broker include:
- Charting tools
- Trading ideas
- FX trading signals
- Technical and fundamental analysis
- Economic calendar
- Newsfeed
Dukascopy also runs Dukascopy TV, which provides details videos on market news and analysis.
Education
Dukascopy does have a dedicated educational center. It only offers basic guides on the trading instruments and a ‘community’ for the traders.
Customer Service
Dukascopy offers excellent customer support.
Traders can contact the broker via:
- Live chat
- Phone
The support staff is available 24/7.
Our experience with Dukascopy customer support was positive.
| Contact method | Question | Response Time | Quality of reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | Asked about trading conditions, minimum deposits, and spreads | 1 minute | Clear and direct |
| Asked about trading account approval and withdrawal issues | 23 minutes | Clear and direct |
We recommend traders to connect the broker either o live chat or email.
The broker also has a detailed FAQ section for frequently faced issues.
Conclusion
Our overall experience with Dukascopy was positive.
The spreads charged on our forex trades were lower than the industry average and the execution speed was also fast. Spreads on stock CFDs, however, were on the higher side.
Dukascopy allows hedging and scalping, making it an excellent environment for running all kind of trading strategies.
Deposit and withdrawal speeds were also impressive. However, the broker charges a hefty fee for almost all kinds of deposit and withdrawal methods, which is a downside.
The customer support was also excellent. All our requests were answered quickly and clearly.
We recommend Dukascopy to traders who want to open an ECN account and run EA and other trading strategies.
We recommend Dukascopy for traders who are
- Experienced traders
- Beginners
- ECN trading
- Run Scalping
- Hedging
- Commission based trading
- EAs trading
- Trading through MT4
Dukascopy might not be a fit if you are
- Real Stock / Futures Trading