Dukascopy Review 2023

Trust

Dukascopy Regulations

In our reviews, we examine the licenses and regulations of each entity operated by a broker. This allows us to compare their different levels of protection. We rank licenses by various regulatory bodies on a three-tier system, where Tier-1 licensing indicates the highest level of regulation.

This is what I discovered about Dukascopy’s several entities:

• Dukascopy Bank S.A. is licensed and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) both as a bank and as a securities firm. We rank FINMA as a Tier-1 regulator.
• Dukascopy Europe IBS AS is licensed and regulated by the Bank of Latvia, which we rank as a Tier-1 regulator on our system.
• Dukascopy Japan K.K. is licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) under licensing number 3010401095833. We rank JFSA as a Tier-1 regulator.

We have summarized the most essential aspects of Dukascopy in terms of regulation and safety in the table below:

Why is it Important to Know Where Your Broker’s Subsidiaries are Regulated?

Brokers operate multiple entities because it allows them to serve clients worldwide. But licenses obtained by regulators in different jurisdictions do not always entail the same degree of protection. Some regulators mandate compliance with the strictest financial frameworks, whereas others are less rigid. That is why traders need to familiarize themselves with the safety mechanisms ensured by the entity they want to open an account with beforehand.

Here is what you need to be looking for in a broker in terms of safety mechanisms:

• Segregation of client funds. Keeping client funds in segregated bank accounts from the ones used for the broker’s corporate capital negates the risk of accounting errors. All of Dukascopy’s entities comply with this requirement.
• Negative balance protection. This safety mechanism removes the risk of trading losses exceeding the account balance. In other words, the losses you incur from trading are capped at the amount you have put in your trading account. Dukascopy Europe is the only entity that ensures negative balance protection.
• Compensation scheme. A compensation scheme protects traders against the broker’s liabilities in the unlikely event that the company becomes insolvent. Clients of Dukascopy Bank S.A. are covered up to CHF 100,000 under esisuisse. Clients of Dukascopy Europe IBS AS are ensured under the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for up to EUR 20,000. Dukascopy Japan K.K. does not have a compensation scheme.
• Maximum leverage. Capping the maximum leverage limits the maximum market exposure to retail traders. The higher the leverage, the higher the potential profits and potential losses. Under FINMA, Dukascopy Bank S.A. affords a maximum leverage of 1:200. The Bank of Latvia operates under MiFID 2, which is why the maximum retail leverage with Dukascopy Europe IBS AS is capped at 1:30. Finally, the maximum retail leverage with Dukascopy Japan K.K. is 1:25.

Is Dukascopy Safe to Trade With?

Dukascopy can be considered among the safest brokers in Europe. It adheres to all major safety requirements and holds licenses from some of the most trusted financial regulators in the industry.

PKF is Dukascopy’s internal auditor, while KPMG is the statutory auditor of the bank. These regular audits ensure that Dukascopy continues to maintain the highest standards.

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, how big the company is, and how transparent it is in terms of readily available information.

After my thorough research of Dukascopy’s website and legal documents, I found the bank extremely stable and transparent. One indication of this is its clear corporate structure, which allows clients of the company to familiarize themselves with the board of directors and executive team of Dukascopy.

Financial reports are published twice a year. Dukascopy also provides one transparent price feed for all traders without exception, regardless of account size or trading strategy. I also appreciated that spread rates are available for all instruments on the JForex platform, unlike MetaTrader. All information pertaining to Dukascopy’s costs and fees is freely available on the website.

What I found very useful is that Dukascopy provides comprehensive historical price feed data for strategy development and back-test. It means traders can research price action going back months and even years to develop comprehensive trading strategies. Additionally, keeping historical price feed data underscores Dukascopy’s transparency and reduces the risk of price manipulation.

In summary, my research indicates that Dukascopy can be regarded as having a very high trust level and stability due to the following factors:

• Has three Tier-1 regulations
• Is regularly audited
• Adheres to the strictest safety requirements
• Is extremely transparent

Fees

Dukascopy’s Trading Fees

Dukascopy’s Spreads

I tested Dukascopy’s spreads during the most actively traded times – the London open at 8:00 a.m. GMT and just after the U.S. open at 2:45 p.m. GMT. The test was conducted on 4 August 2023.

Broken down by asset class and compared to the industry average, Duksacopy offers low spreads on FX pairs and CFD shares, low-to-high spreads on commodities, average spreads on indices, and high spreads on cryptocurrencies. I thus concluded that it is most advantageous to trade FX pairs and CFD shares with Dukascopy.

Also, notice that the recorded spreads were, for the most part, the same during the AM and PM sessions. This is demonstrative of Dukascopy’s access to deep liquidity.

Dukascopy’s Swaps

A swap fee is a trader’s cost for holding an open position overnight because of changing interest rates. Swap long refers to the charge deductible or credit receivable for holding a buy position open overnight. In turn, swap short relates to the charges/credits deductible or receivable for holding a selling position open overnight.

The values listed below are for one full contract (100,000 units) of the base currency.

Dukascopy charges above-average swaps, though this can also be partially explained by heightened volatility at the time of my review. It is also worth pointing out that the broker permits swap-free trading via its Islamic accounts.

Dukascopy’s Commissions

Unlike most brokers, Dukascopy does not have a fixed round-turn commission. Instead, the commission depends on the account balance and traded volume, as shown below. But I determined that even in the worst-case scenario where the equity is below $5000 and traded volume is less than $5 million, the corresponding commission of $3.5 per lot still does not exceed the industry average.

Dukascopy’s Non-Trading Fees

Dukascopy charges dormant accounts with a maintenance fee of at least CHF 500 but no more than the account balance. Any costs incurred by the broker while attempting to reestablish contact with the client will also be added to the fee.

The broker does not charge deposits, though third-party banking fees may apply. There are different charges for withdrawals depending on the chosen payment method.

Are Dukascopy’s Fees Competitive?

Dukascopy’s fees are widely divergent. Spread rates vary from low to high compared to the industry average. Its commissions are medium at worst and extremely low for accounts above $50,000. There is also a very high inactivity fee, though this shouldn’t be an issue for active traders. As a whole, I would say that Dukascopy’s fees are competitive, but this is subject to what, when, and how much is being traded.

JForex and MT4 Accounts Comparison

To help you better understand the difference between Dukascopy’s JForex and MT4 accounts in terms of trading costs. It illustrates the spreads and commissions I have recorded on the EUR/USD for the two account types. The table shows how much you will have to pay to trade 1 full lot (100,000 units) on the EUR/USD when the pip value of the pair is $10 (spread x pip value + commission).

Мy tests indicate that the value of trade on a JForex account is, on average, twice lower than on MT4. That is so because its volume-based commission is lower than the round-turn MT4 commission.

I thus determined that the JForex account type is better for high-frequency and high-volume trading.

Platforms and Tools

I tested the performance of JForex and was impressed by its wealth of over 300 technical indicators, which is the most I have seen in a retail platform. It is extremely versatile and easy to navigate. Features like one-click trading and the availability of timeframes as low as 1-tick make it possible to scalp with precision.

Meanwhile, two-click trading and complex order types accommodate hedging.

And then, there is Dukascopy’s impressive backlog of historical price feed, which can be used as a reference when constructing trading strategies based on repeatable price action behavior. On a personal note, I used Dukascopy’s data backlog when developing one of my first trading strategies for high-frequency trading years ago, and I found great value in the service.

JForex can also be used for algorithmic trading. Dukascopy offers a FIX API and a JForex API for those interested in superior automated trading. Furthermore, the broker offers a visual strategy tester for those interested in automating their trading more straightforwardly. Dukascopy does not provide VPS hosting.

Finally, I gave a trial run of JForex’s mobile app version and found it equally as easy to use.

Dukascopy’s JForex 4 Dekstop Platform

General Ease of Use

What makes JForex so easy to use is its intuitive and convenient design. Various widgets with trading info can be applied directly to the platform, meaning you do not have to switch between the website and the platform for research. Additionally, there is a very helpful news feed.

Choosing an instrument to trade from Dukascopy’s pool of over 1000 instruments is helped by JForex’s intuitive search engine. You can type an instrument’s ticker in the search bar or look for an instrument from a particular asset class, as shown in the image below.

But if I have to be extra picky, I would say that one slight inconvenience is you cannot scale price action up and down using a laptop’s pad.

Charts

I found JForex’s chart screen advanced and proficient. Price action is clearly discernable on the chart even when populated with several indicators and drawing tools. It is easy to make out key support and resistance levels and potential breakout or breakdown points while keeping the primary focus on existing trends and ranges. My overall impression is that JForex’s charts can support professional-grade technical analyses.

I have broken down the available features that enable the execution of such sophisticated technical analyses:

• 302 technical indicators. The platform incorporates 15 different categories of indicators, such as trend-based, volume-based indicators, oscillators, Bill Williams indicators, overlap studies, and more. These can be applied to study price action behavior and determine the underlying market sentiment. In general, technical indicators are used to gauge where the market is likely to head next. This assortment of 302 technical indicators is the platform’s standout feature to me.
• 41 drawing tools. The platform has simple drawing tools, such as trend lines and channels, and also more complex features like Fibonacci retracement levels, Elliott waves, Gann, pitchforks, and XABCD patterns that are used to study repeatable price patterns. Additionally, these tools can be applied to determine key support and resistance levels and potential breakout or breakdown levels. The assortment of drawing tools is professional-grade.
• 19 timeframes. The greater the number of timeframes, the more intricate examinations that can be carried out across the short-term and long-term. What I found very useful is that you can apply ticks, seconds, and minutes, which accommodates scalping. For comparison, the lowest timeframe on MT4 is 1-minute.
• 5 chart types. Price action can be represented in several ways, such as a line, bars, or candlesticks.

Orders

I have broken down the available order types on JForex below:

• Market orders. Market orders are used for immediate entry at the best possible price. If triggered, they guarantee volume filling, though there could be a discrepancy between the requested price and the price where the order actually gets filled.
• Limit orders. Unlike market orders, limit orders guarantee exact price execution. However, a limit order will not be filled if the price action does not reach the pre-determined execution price.
• Stop orders. They are used to support open positions by limiting the maximum loss that can be incurred if the market turns in the opposite direction. A stop-loss order is placed at a fixed price below or above the spot price. If the market does indeed turn and triggers the stop-loss, it will transform into a market order and get filled at the best possible price.

What I quite liked about placing orders on JForex is that when setting stop-loss and take-profit orders, you can structure these in points, prices, or percentages. This is quite rare in the industry as the norm is to use price deviation.

Dukascopy’s Mobile JForex App

The mobile app affords traders quick and easy access to the market on the go. It is indispensable when you must swiftly adjust your open positions. I checked the usability of the mobile app version of JForex by testing how long it would take me to do just that. In just a few seconds, I could log into my account, go to my open orders, and adjust the parameters (move the stop-loss) of a trade.

Usually, I am pretty skeptical of such apps as they have to be run on low-resolution devices. This means a limited capacity to examine price action behavior. But I am happy to say that I found JForex’s app quite easy to use. It never felt too cumbersome to navigate.

Tradable Instruments

In addition to the industry-standard CFDs and Forex instruments that are available with Dukascopy, the bank also offers binary options on several currency pairs. These are high-risk contracts that are used to speculate on anticipated volatility upsurges and downsurges. You can read more about Dukascopy’s binary options offering here.

Those with an interest in value investment and wealth creation can consider taking advantage of Dukascopy’s various banking services, such as its savings accounts and wealth-generating programs.

What Are CFDs?

Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivatives used to speculate on the price of the underlying without physical delivery. For example, a long position on gold would generate a profit as the price rises or incur a loss as it falls. This is achieved without having to purchase actual bars of gold. One of the biggest advantages of trading CFDs is that traders can get in and out of the market almost instantaneously, thereby catching even minute changes in the price of the derivative.

What Can You Trade With Dukascopy?

I have broken down the available tradable instruments by asset class:

• 61 Currency Pairs
  • Major, Minor, Exotic
• 15 Commodities
  • Metals, Energy, Agriculture
• 1068 CFD Shares
  • UK (102); EU (242); US (611); Asia (84); Other (29)
• 21 Indices
  • Europe, US, Asia, Africa
• 51 ETFs
  • Tech, Retail, Financial
• 18 Cryptocurrencies
  • Major, Minor
• 3 Bonds
  • UK Long Gilt, US T-Bond, Euro Bund

Compared to the broader industry, Dukascopy offers an above-average number of commodities, indices, share CFDs, and ETFs, and an average number of FX pairs and cryptocurrencies.

Customer Support

A great thing about Dukascopy’s customer support is that it is available in 18 different languages. However, a major disadvantage is that sometimes it takes quite a while to get in touch with a representative. Also, despite being quite informative, the FAQ section does not have a search bar which makes it harder to find a solution to a question.

Customer Support Test

When we test a broker’s customer support team, we evaluate the agent’s knowledge of their own website, how long it takes them to respond to questions, and how detailed their answers are.

I conducted my test on the 7 August via live chat, and I reached out to them twice during that day. To start a chat with an agent, click on the red button at the bottom-right corner of the main page. My overall impression is that Dukascopy’s agents are quite slow to respond to even straightforward questions, and their answers are not overly detailed.

When I first started my chat at 8:40 a.m. CET and inquired into the differences between the JForex and MT4 accounts, it took about 20 minutes for an agent to connect. Their answer was terse and general, without providing any supporting links or further clarity. I also did not like the fact that Dukascopy, unlike other brokers, does not display the name of the agent you are communicating with.

I contacted them again several hours later, at 2:18 p.m. CET, and asked about Dukascopy’s average order execution speed. This time it took more than an hour and a half for an agent to respond. In the end, his answer was again extremely rudimentary without going into detail.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Dukascopy Deposit Methods

Dukascopy Withdrawal Methods

The transaction fees you are likely to have to pay vary depending on the payment method you choose and also on your location. For instance, EEA (European Economic Area) bank cards will incur a smaller fee compared to non-EEA cards. More info here.

Account Types

Why is Choosing the Right Account Type Important?

Your account should reflect your goals, needs, and ambitions on the market. You should consider several things, such as whether the account type has a minimum deposit requirement, what its spreads and commissions are, what the execution method is, and more.

What Account Types Does Dukascopy Offer?

I have broken down Dukascopy’s accounts in the table below:

Dukascopy offers two Forex & CFD accounts – JForex and MT4 – and one account for binary options. The latter has zero spreads and commissions, with the only cost being the premium you must pay for executing an option. Whereas the former two differ in the commissions they charge. I assessed the two and found that the volume-based commission on a JForex account is more favorable than the fixed round-turn commission on MT4.

The JForex account is better suited for high-volume (the commission decreases the higher volumes you trade) and high-frequency trading, while binaries can be used for volatility trading. There are no restrictions on the strategies that can be used.

Another advantage of the JForex account is the visual strategy builder, which is unique to the platform with the same name. It helps traders automate their trading fairly easily.

Traders can choose from 24 base currencies, including bullion and three cryptocurrencies. The minimum deposit requirement with the Swiss entity is $1000 and $100 with the EU entity.

Dukascopy’s Execution Model

Dukascopy has developed its own ECN execution model, which supports market execution. To understand market execution, consider the following example:

Suppose you wish to go long 100,000 units (1 lot) on the EUR/USD at 1.07650. You place your buy order, but there is not enough liquidity in the market at that price level, not enough to fill your order. Hence, no trade is opened. The price then climbs to 1.07700, where there is enough liquidity to fill that volume, and your trade is finally executed. If the value of 1 pip is $10, then you would have missed a chance to generate a $50 profit due to this discrepancy (5 pips).

The clear advantage of this model of execution is that with it, you are guaranteed entry, in that your order request will eventually be filled once there is enough liquidity. However, the corresponding disadvantage is that you are exposed to price discrepancies in the form of negative slippage.

In my experience, market execution is better suited for day trading and position trading strategies where volume is important. But it is less so for intraday trading strategies, such as scalping, where precise order filling is more important.

What is CFD Leverage?

The leverage determines a trader’s overall market exposure. When trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs), positions can be opened for a fraction of their value because of the leverage. Essentially, the broker lends the trader money so that the latter can open bigger-sized positions. The leverage multiplies the profits a trader generates from winning positions but also the losses incurred from failed trades.

Dukascopy Account Opening Process

I have summed up the account registration process with Dukascopy in these easy-to-follow steps:

• Step 1. Click the ‘Open Live Trading Account’ button in green at the top of the page.
• Step 2. Fill in your name and email address.
• Step 3. Enter the amount you plan to deposit and choose the account (Individual, Joint, or Corporate).
• Step 4. Enter your personal and contact details.
• Step 5. Provide employment and income information.
• Step 6. Verify your account by uploading proof of address and identity.

What is a Demo Account?

Dukascopy offers demo accounts that introduce traders to the broker’s services and allow them to tweak their strategies in a risk-free environment.

A demo trading account allows traders to practice trading with virtual funds. It simulates real market conditions, enabling both beginners and seasoned traders to test strategies, get acquainted with the trading platform, and understand market dynamics without risking real capital. The market is continually evolving and never static, so it is important to hone your skills in a safe environment. You can set up a demo account for yourself alongside your live CFD account.

Dukascopy Restricted Countries

Dukascopy Bank S.A. does not accept clients from Belgium, Israel, Russian Federation, Canada (including Quebec), and the UK.

Research

Research Tools

I have broken down Dukascopy’s research content by type:

Trading Ideas

The trading ideas include a multi-timeframe analysis (intraday/day), technical and fundamental sections, and are supported by an economic calendar. The charts are informative, price action is thoroughly examined – moving averages are employed, and the key support and resistance levels are outlined. Generally, I found the trading ideas well-balanced and highly informative.

Fundamental Analyses

Dukascopy’s fundamental analyses break down key market events and economic releases. They inform traders on the likely impact they are likely to have on the market, and in particular on a given financial instrument.

News Section

The client portal allows you to search for relevant news by instrument or asset class. This allows the reader to prepare for the likely price reaction to a new development. Another benefit of Dukascopy’s news is that it can be integrated directly into the platform.

Trade Pattern Ideas

Technical traders can make use of Dukascopy’s trade pattern ideas. They underscore currently unfolding setups, such as reversals from major resistances, rebounds from major support levels, and so forth. These are again exhaustive and balanced, giving the reader a clear understanding of what is being written.

Dukascopy TV

I like that Dukascopy provides widgets for TV streaming, which can be applied directly to your web browser. You can access a stream of the latest finance and economics-related videos made by the Dukascopy TV department.

Signal Widget

These vary greatly and can be applied by traders depending on their strategies. For instance, intraday and swing traders can use the ‘Market Signals’ widget to quickly observe currently developing price patterns by instrument.

Quotes Widget

Multiple widgets including live quotes, historical data, intraday movers and shakers, and daily lows and highs. By incorporating these widgets to your browser, you can get timely notifications of currently unfolding trading opportunities as well as carry out research of longer-term developments.

Webinars TV

Available from Dukascopy’s blog, it contains market and financial breakdowns, as well as important insights into the general trading experience.

Education

I have broken down the several types of educational content I was able to find below:

Dukascopy TV

Dukascopy’s educational content is abstract and non-conventional. Where it lacks educational courses, eBooks, articles, and other such, it has its own TV channel. And I believe that newbies can still learn much about trading from the interviews, analyses, and breakdowns regularly streamed online.

Educational Videos

There are a few dozen educational videos available from the Dukascopy TV archive. On the one hand, they are high-value content, covering crucial topics like the psychology of trading. On the other, they are not ordered logically.

The educational videos are not available in a separate category and are instead scattered along with various market breakdowns and other videos. I did not find videos on some trading essentials, such as how to recognize chart patterns, apply trading indicators, read price action, and other.

Additionally, there are more than 15 videos on how to use the JForex 4 platform available from Dukascopy’s blog.

Webinars

Last but not least, Dukascopy has regular webinars and seminars. Past webinars can be accessed via the broker’s YouTube channel. I found those very insightful. It is also great that they are available in different languages. The webinars cover important trading topics, such as how to use Fibonacci retracement levels to study price action behavior.

The Bottom Line

Dukascopy, an online bank member of the Swiss Banking Association, offers a wealth of trading and investment services and delivers the quality one might expect from a Swiss bank. The company was established in 2004, and in the nearly two decades since its foundation, Dukascopy has grown into a well-trusted and globally recognized brand in the trading industry.

My initial positive impression of Dukascopy was just how transparent it is. The three entities operating under the Dukascopy trademark are licensed and regulated by three top-tier regulators (FINMA, JFSA, and the Bank of Latvia). Dukascopy is also regularly audited to ensure compliance with the industry’s strictest safety and regulatory standards in the industry.

Dukascopy offers very low floating spreads (starting from 0.3 pips) and volume-based commissions that get more competitive when trading higher volumes. Its proprietary platform, JForex 4, is sophisticated and extremely versatile. It has one of the broadest collections of technical indicators and drawing tools I have seen on a retail platform.

Additionally, I found Dukascopy’s backlog of historical price feed data and multiple widgets quite useful. When used alongside Dukascopy’s comprehensive research materials, these can help traders gain a deep and well-informed understanding of current market developments and trading opportunities.

If I had to pick some shortcomings of Dukascopy, it would be a lack of tracking for average order execution speeds, considering the company’s size and reputation. Also, they could improve the organization of their educational content and provide more responsive customer support.

My overall impression of Dukascopy is a prevailingly positive one. The broker is ideal for high-frequency and high-volume trading on more than 1000 instruments from multiple markets. Dukascopy is reliable enough to accommodate every need of beginners and versatile enough to satisfy even the most particular needs of seasoned traders.

FAQ