Swissquote Review: Reliable Broker or Scam?

Part of the Swissquote Holding group, Swissquote is a company listed on the Zurich stock exchange. With its many strengths, Swissquote stands out from its competitors in several ways. To find out more, read our Swissquote review of its offering below: is it a trustworthy broker this year? We tell you everything.

Who Is Swissquote?

A broker that has now been operating for around twenty years, Swissquote is today one of the largest online banks and brokers in Switzerland. Part of the Swissquote Holding group, it is both publicly listed and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA. Specializing mainly in Forex trading, Swissquote has a presence in several countries around the world, with offices in many cities such as Hong Kong, Dubai, London and Malta.

On related topics, our “Dukascopy vs Swissquote” and “Best Scalping Broker” articles are a useful complement to this one.

Swissquote Key Facts

Here is all the key information about the broker and the services it offers its clients:

Swissquote: ECN Broker or Market Maker?

Swissquote is first and foremost a market maker. As a result, it offers fairly attractive account opening conditions and lower fees than ECN brokers. Swissquote does not offer trading on ECN accounts.

Financial Instruments Offered by Swissquote

A well-known broker, Swissquote offers its clients a range of financial instruments to trade:

• Forex: 80 currency pairs
• Commodity CFDs: 12
• Index CFDs: 26
• Bond CFDs: 3
• Options: 6
• Futures: 6
• ETFs: 1,400

Even though Swissquote offers its clients a wide choice of instruments, it remains average, especially compared with its competitors. Forex trading at Swissquote is not very attractive because of its overly wide spreads. So if you are looking for a good forex broker with better spreads, you are better off turning to a broker such as Vantage.

Swissquote Leverage

The leverage offered on the trading platform depends on the client’s status. For a retail trader, maximum leverage is set at 1:100. For a professional trader, it is set at 1:400.

Is Swissquote Trustworthy?

Judging by its regulation and services, Swissquote is a reliable broker. However, customer reviews show that some users have complained about customer service being unavailable and about pricing that remains unattractive compared with the competition. So if you want to trade with a more cost-effective and reliable provider, the best alternative is Vantage, with its quality customer service and welcome bonus.

Swissquote Scams? Our Review

Based on the reviews we have gathered on Swissquote, the broker has a fairly good reputation among traders. No particular mention of trading scams is linked to Swissquote. It is a reliable broker and one of the leading trading providers in Switzerland.

Is Swissquote an AMF-Regulated Broker?

Swissquote is not one of the brokers regulated by the AMF. However, it is recognized and regulated by several market authorities, which makes it a 100% reliable broker.

Does Swissquote France Exist?

It is worth knowing that Swissquote has no company in France. And since it is not an AMF-regulated broker, it is not authorized to offer its services in France. It nevertheless accepts French traders, and French traders’ reviews of Swissquote are fairly positive.

Swissquote Regulation

A publicly listed investment firm, Swissquote is regulated by several financial market regulators, such as the FCA in the United Kingdom, the Swiss federal authority FINMA, the DFSA in Dubai, the SFC in Hong Kong and the MAS in Singapore. Even though it is not an AMF-regulated broker, Swissquote is just as reliable as Vantage, AvaTrade, Axi or eToro, and Swissquote reviews confirm the broker’s reliability.

How Are Client Funds Protected?

To protect its clients’ funds, Swissquote has put specific measures in place, such as:

• segregated accounts: client funds are held in accounts separate from the broker’s own,
• negative balance protection,
• holding client funds with credible and reliable banks.

How Is Client Data Protected?

As with its clients’ funds, the broker also guarantees the protection of their data by securing its systems, encrypting financial information and verifying clients’ identity before they can access their accounts.

Swissquote Deposits and Withdrawals

For deposits, Swissquote accepts three payment methods: e-banking, bank card and China UnionPay.

For withdrawals, the trader must fill in a withdrawal request form and send it within 3 days. Otherwise, the request will be refused for security reasons. Fees may apply to withdrawals depending on the amount or the currency used.

What Trading Accounts Does Swissquote Offer?

Swissquote offers its clients a wide choice of accounts to suit their needs and trader profiles:

Demo Account

For trading beginners, the demo account lets them trade in conditions similar to the real market but with virtual funds, so there is no risk of losing their capital. For professional traders, it is a handy tool for getting an idea of what the platform has to offer.

Standard Account

Swissquote’s basic account, the Standard account, suits professional traders as well as beginners. It offers instant order execution and charges no commission.

Premium Account

This is the most popular of the various account types offered by Swissquote. With a minimum deposit of $1,000, it lets traders trade without any commission. Instant execution of trading orders is another advantage of this account type.

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Professional Account

Designed for experienced traders and businesses, the Professional account offers very attractive spreads for deposits of more than $50,000.

However, one of the negative points raised in reviews of Swissquote Bank is how difficult it is to open an account. Even though you can open a Swiss account online through the platform, the process remains rather tedious. To get an account up and running as quickly as possible, we suggest brokers such as Vantage, Axi or eToro.

Swissquote Fees

Reviews of Swissquote’s fees remain fairly average, whether on forex, ETFs or stocks. In addition to withdrawal fees, the broker also charges other costs such as commissions, spreads and swaps. Swissquote’s trading rates only become attractive for large positions. So if you want competitive trading fees, you are better off turning to brokers such as AvaTrade or Axi.

Swissquote Trading Platforms

The broker offers its traders three platform options:

• MetaTrader 4
• MetaTrader 5
• As well as MetaTrader Master Edition: a more advanced version of MetaTrader developed by Swissquote, with more analysis tools and technical indicators.
• Advanced Trader: available on desktop, mobile and web, this is Swissquote’s own platform for Forex trading. It offers many technical indicators as well as a chart pattern recognition tool.

Even though Swissquote offers its clients the standard platforms as well as its own trading platform, it still lags behind the competition. For example, Vantage, the best alternative, offers its traders a wide choice of platforms: MetaTrader 4 and 5, WebTrader MT4 and MT5, the Vantage mobile app, plus ZuluTrade, MyFXBook AutoTrade and DupliTrade.

Swissquote Analysis Tools

The broker has a wide range of analysis tools, technical indicators and news feeds, as well as charting tools. It also gives traders access to a personalized and innovative account manager to manage their investments. Reviews of Swissquote’s robo-advisor are fairly positive.

Here are the tools the broker offers its traders:

• Autochartist and analysis and charting tools
• Robo-advisor
• Technical indicators
• Information tools: live order book, Currency Exchange, alerts

However, even though the tools on offer are very interesting, Swissquote does not yet outdo competitors such as Vantage with its SmartTrader tools package.

Swissquote Education

When it comes to education, Swissquote has excellent content with detailed videos and webinars. The broker also offers a 30-day demo account so that beginners can try trading on the platform before opening an account in Switzerland. However, the educational offering is fairly limited, especially for beginners: there is no training in French, only a few French tutorials on how to use the platform.

Slippage and Order Execution

To give its traders an excellent experience, the broker offers very good execution quality on trading orders. However, traders regret the absence of guaranteed orders.

Swissquote Customer Service Reviews

According to reviews, customer service remains Swissquote’s weakest point. Many clients have complained that customer service is unavailable and also lacks competence, especially on technical questions.

How to Contact Swissquote

To reach customer service, traders can choose phone support or use the live chat on the broker’s website. However, the service is not always available, which is very frustrating for traders. Among the brokers with the most satisfactory customer service, we recommend Vantage and Axi.

Swissquote vs Other Brokers

To find the right broker, there is nothing better than a comparison to discover which one best suits your needs and trader profile. Here is a comparison between Swissquote and several other brokers.

Swissquote vs Vantage

Even though Swissquote is one of the best Swiss brokers for Forex trading, it does not yet surpass Vantage on several fronts. Vantage has many positive reviews in terms of customer service, trading fees and available platforms.

Swissquote vs eToro

eToro beats Swissquote on several points. Very easy to use and a leader in copy trading, eToro lets its traders learn from the best investors on more than 2,300 instruments. Even though both brokers offer copy trading, eToro outperforms Swissquote as an international leader.

Swissquote vs BDSwiss

Overall, these two brokers are on an equal footing, although each wins on certain points. For example, while Swissquote requires a minimum deposit of $1,000, BDSwiss requires a lower amount of $500. On another point, such as the safety of client funds, Swissquote comes out ahead by offering segregated accounts, which is not the case with BDSwiss.

Swissquote vs XTB

Based on our comparison, XTB is a better broker than Swissquote. A multi-asset broker recognized in several countries, XTB offers quality customer service and an excellent trading experience thanks to its xStation 5 trading platform.

Swissquote vs Axi

Recognized by traders all over the world, Axi is a much better broker than Swissquote. Thanks to its regulation, attractive fees and the fact that it has no minimum deposit, it is one of the best brokers around today.

Swissquote vs XM

According to our comparison, Swissquote has several considerable advantages over XM. However, if you want very low spreads, XM is a much better alternative.

The factors to consider when comparing brokers include regulation, trading accounts, platforms and the quality of customer service.

Summary: Swissquote Pros and Cons

Despite its strengths, it is not one of the brokers we recommend. We suggest turning to Vantage instead.

Is Swissquote the Best Forex Broker?

So even though Swissquote is one of the best investment firms in Switzerland, there are several areas where it could improve. The broker lags behind its European competitors in terms of trading fees, trading tools, customer service and education. The best alternative when it comes to forex brokers remains Vantage. Judging by customer reviews, this broker offers quality services for trading safely. Its forex welcome bonus for newcomers is also very popular with traders. And its customer service is available, attentive and competent.

If you have already traded with Swissquote, feel free to share your experience in the comments!