This ATC Brokers review found ATC has forex trading using MetaTrader 4 trading platform. Minimum deposits are high ($2000 – $5000) but they are regulated by FCA and NFA making them one of the few forex brokers suitable for UK and US traders.
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ATC Brokers is a MetaTrader 4 trading platform specialist whose key feature is their tight ECN/STP like spreads. We would describe ATC Brokers’ offerings as relatively generic; they offer the essential features needed for trading. This platform offers a range of financial instruments for trading, as well as regulation, making it one of the most popular trading platforms available. Most traders will find these features sufficient.
ATC Brokers is one of the few brokers that offer ECN pricing to forex traders in the UK and US when using the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. Traders in the US, however, will trade spot forex, not CFD forex. ATC brokers are best for serious traders since minimum deposits start at $2,000, which is quite high.
ATC Brokers is a no dealing desk broker, which means quotes are sourced from liquidity brokers such as major banks and financial institutions without intervention from the broker. ATC Brokers connect you with the liquidity providers using STP or ECN style trading execution without price intervention. This is what many brokers with the best spreads do, so in theory, ATC brokers spread should match these brokers, but for whatever reason, their published average spreads don’t compare well.
Every month, we gather the average spreads popular forex brokers list on their website for major currency pairs. The chart below shows the average spreads available for major forex pairs. As you can see, ATC Brokers fare poorly compared to other leading forex brokers with similar style accounts such as Pepperstone, IC Markets and FP Markets for major pairs such as EUR/USD.
Remember, tighter spreads mean fewer costs (as long as commission costs are also low) and the more you trade, the more your costs will be. So it is worthwhile investing in a broker that can offer you the best spreads.
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ECN Broker Spreads
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0.30 | N/A | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.40 | 0.60 | 0.10 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.30 | 0.20 |
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0.14 | 0.25 | 0.02 | 0.27 | 0.17 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.50 | 0.60 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
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0.20 | 0.83 | 0.44 | 0.40 | 0.42 |
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0.24 | N/A | 0.17 | 0.54 | 0.30 |
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0.30 | 0.70 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.30 | 1.10 | 0.10 | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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n/a | 0.30 | n/a | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.77 | 1.41 | 0.44 | 1.13 | 1.23 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 04/01/2024
Account Types With ATC Brokers
When you sign up with ATC Brokers, you’ll choose one of three ECN or STP account types: individual, joint, or corporate. While ATC Brokers does not provide information about trading conditions for each account type, the spreads/fees and leverage are the same for each account.
ATC Brokers trading accounts use ECN or STP like trading, which means commission costs on top of the spread. Commissions are USD 6.00 round-turn commission per standard lot (100,000) however if you prefer to trade with mini lots (10,000) the commission is USD 0.60 per lot round-turn. You can even trade micro-lots (1000) if you wish.
Scalping is permitted, making it a suitable choice for EAs or automation. Hedging is also permitted if you are not in the USA, where it is banned.
Regardless of which account you use, if you live in the United States, you’ll have a minimum deposit of 3,000 USD. Traders in the UK have a minimum deposit of 5,000 USD (about 3600 GBP) while other countries have a minimum deposit of $2000 USD.
It will take a few days for your ATC to process your application. If you’re applying for an individual or joint account, you’ll wait 1-2 days, while corporate accounts can take 3-5 days to complete. Of course, these time frames may change depending on the documentation needed to open an account.
These minimum deposits for opening an account are high, especially compared with other brokers around the globe. Many brokers allow users to open an account for free or with very low minimum deposit amounts.
While traders with these no minimum accounts may still need to deposit more to meet the margin requirements to open a position, ATC Brokers is clearly targeting serious traders. For this reason, ATC Brokers may not be the right choice if you’re just starting Forex trading.
Demo Account
If you want to give the ATC Brokers trading platform a try before signing up for an account, the site offers a demo account. These demo accounts include USD 50,000 in virtual funds and are valid for 60 days unless you sign up for an ATC Brokers account. You can keep your demo account open as long as you have a live trading account on atcbrokers.com.
Demo accounts provide traders full access to the Meta Trader 4 (MT4) platform, which means you’ll be able to test out various types of trades and features beforehand. If you’re new to forex trading, a demo account is a great way to familiarise yourself with various trading aspects.
Swap-Free Account
ATC Brokers does not offer a swap-free account or Islamic account at this point.
Verdict
Brokers can distinguish themselves from competitors with lower trading costs. Unfortunately, ATC Brokers doesn’t appear to fare very well in this aspect.
ATC Brokers has a low trust score of 25 out of 100. Find out which categories they scored low (or high).
Regulation
ATC Brokers are only regulated by The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Traders outside the UK and US will sign with ATC BROKERS LTD. ATC has the following CIMA licence (1448274).
| ATC Brokers Safety | Regulator |
|---|---|
| Tier-1 | |
| Tier-2 | |
| Tier-3 | CIMA |
Reputation
ATC Brokers has been around since 2005, with headquarters in Glendale, California. Despite their years in the industry, they only get around 880 hits on Google searches monthly.
Reviews
Although ATC Brokers has a TrustPilot score of 4.3 out of 5, it’s important to note that it only came from 11 reviews.
Verdict
ATC Brokers is a reliable forex broker but could benefit from updates to improve competitiveness.
ATC Brokers DemoVisit ATC Brokers
ATC Brokers offers around 30+ products, which include forex trading, metals, CFDs, and Contract Specs. Here’s a closer peek at what is involved with each of these options.
Forex
Few people know how much trading volume the forex market does daily. There are more than $6.5 trillion in trades every day. Plus, it’s a significant trading industry since it’s available to anyone in the world no matter where they live. It’s also available Monday-Friday, 24 hours a day.
You can trade 38 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs with ATC Brokers. These include AUD/USD, EUR/USD, EUR/JPY.
If you are trading with ATC Brokers from the United States, you should know that you will be trading spot Forex rather than CFD Forex. All other countries will trade CFDs.
Unfortunately, the range of trading pairs is limited compared to other popular forex trading platforms. Other sites offer nearly double the currency pairs ATC Brokers supports, with many more exotic options. If you need a lot of forex trading choices, you may want to look elsewhere.
Metals
Products on the platform include Gold and Silver, which you can trade against the USD. If you decide to trade in the metals market on the ATC Brokers platform, remember that while it is open from Sunday to Friday, it opens at 10 pm GMT on Sunday and closes at 9 pm GMT on Friday. You can trade metals on ATC brokers with leverage of 50:1 and spreads of 0.07 pips for gold and 0.16 pips for silver.
Something to keep in mind when trading metals on ATC Brokers is that the platform only offers two metals. Gold and Silver are your only options. Palladium, Copper, and Platinum – other very popular metals – are unavailable through ATC Brokers.
Note: Metals are not an option for US traders.
Energies
Like most of its product offerings, ATC Brokers only offers a few energy trading options. Energies are used to diversify portfolios without having actually to own the product itself.
Unfortunately, the only options available through ATC are WTI and Brent Crude oil. It would be nice if the platform offered additional fuel energies, or soft commodities like sugar, corn, or coffee that other brokers often offer.
Note: Energies are not an option for US traders.
Indices
If you’re new to forex trading and want to gain exposure to other countries’ stock markets, trading indices is a great place to start. Unfortunately, ATC Brokers does not offer a very robust lineup. There are no stocks or shares available. Otherwise, you can choose between DAX/EUR, STX/EUR, FTS/GBP, DOW/USD, SPX/USD, NDX/USD, and AUS/AUD.
Note: Indices are not an option for US traders.
Cryptocurrencies
Trading cryptocurrencies is only available for professional account types. Remember that trading crypto through ATC Brokers is not available during the weekend. The traditional crypto exchange is open 24/7, so you’ll lose out in a few days of trading.
However, if you use ATC for crypto trading, you can access popular digital coins like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.
Note: Cryptocurrencies are not an option for US and UK traders.
Verdict
ATC Brokers has a limited number of products on offer compared to other brokers.
ATC Brokers offers its users one of the most popular trading platforms in the industry, MetaTrader4, also known as MT4. The MT4 platform is arguably the most used forex and CFD trading platform in the foreign exchange market. This is largely because of the wide array of features the software offers.
There are two versions of the MT4 platform: Desktop and Mobile. Let’s inspect each.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Desktop Trading Platform
The MT4 desktop platform is the gold standard in forex trading software. The platform is available for both Windows and MacOS (so long as you’re running Mojave (v. 10.14) or earlier), if you use later versions of MacOS, you’ll need to use an emulator or WINE.
New and experienced traders like the MT4 platform because it’s sleek and clean with a stylish interface. There’s not a lot of clutter or confusing information that often intimidates inexperienced traders. However, users can customise their dashboard, adding the tools and trading instruments they need for a pleasant online trading experience.
Traders can quickly and easily view their trading conditions and positions, so they have the information they need when they need it. Users can also automate their trading using EAs, also known as Expert Advisors. There is no shortage of features and trading tools available with the MT4 desktop platform.
Some of the more popular features include:
MT Pro
MT4 also offers an MT Pro version with various features designed to allow users to customise their trade settings while improving their trading experience. With MT Pro, you’ll use a platform that uses your account information to pull your trading data, creating useful and informative reports.
With MT Pro you’ll get features such as:
Mobile App
If you like to know what’s going on with your forex trades while you’re on the go, the MT4 software is available on both iOS and Android devices. No matter where you are, you can view your trades and positions with the MT4 mobile app. It’s perfect for users who spend more time on their mobile devices than desktop computers.
When you use the MT4 mobile app, you’ll get plenty of features, including:
Verdict
While MT4 is a widely used platform, we feel that offering just this single platform can be limiting for most traders.
The minimum deposit at ATC Brokers is $2,000 or equivalent for EUR or GBP. Users can currently only deposit funds in their accounts through either bank wire or UnionPay using either USD or EUR. Unfortunately, the brokerage firm does not accept popular payment methods such as PayPal, ChinaPay, Klarna, or Mastercard. You can’t even use a credit card if you are in the USA and some other countries. This limitation can be seen as a major weakness of the broker. The good news is that there are no fees for depositing funds into your ATC Brokers account.
If you want to withdraw funds, go to your ATC Brokers account and select “Withdraw funds.” Remember that when you remove your funds, ATC charges a withdrawal fee. If you’re using USD, you’ll pay $40; if you’re using EUR, it will run you €30.00.
Verdict
ATC Brokers has a high threshold which may only benefit advanced traders in the long run.
You can contact customer service through chat or email and learn more about trading through the site’s Learn section. ATC could probably do more for its users, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Customer service is an area where ATC Brokers could do better. When using the chat feature, you’re left feeling like your questions weren’t addressed. You’re often directed to a ticketing system that allows you to input your personal information, along with your problem or question.
While ATC does a good job of getting back to you in a timely manner – usually within a few hours – you might still feel like your questions aren’t answered. For example, when asking about the different accounts, the platform responded with leverage options and pushed to set up a call to review their options and features. While that makes things a little more personal, the question was never answered.
However, the site offers an extensive FAQ section, which answers many general questions, giving you plenty of information about the platform. This includes information about pricing, leverage, spreads, and more. If you can’t find the answer through the FAQ section, a form at the bottom of the page lets you send a message to the customer support team. If you prefer not to use the form, you can email the support team directly.
Verdict
ATC Brokers could improve communication by offering additional channels and more responsive service.
ATC Forex offers lessons in forex trading that apply to both experienced and novice traders. Topics in this section cover everything from how to get started trading to information about ECN broker services, trading platforms, and much more. Want to learn more about CFDs or Day Trading? ATC Brokers has you covered.
There’s plenty of information available in the ATC Learn section of the site, but it would be great to see them expand on what they offer. Most topics are just one long page broken up into smaller subsections about forex trading. While some people might learn this way, most people will not keep what they read.
It would be nice if topics were broken up into various levels so users know where to start. Some broker platforms provide more interactive methods for learning about forex trading.
Verdict
With all that said, at least ATC Brokers offers a learning module, which is more than other platforms do for their users.
We would summarise ATC Brokers, offering as relatively generic, they offer the essential features needed for trading. This includes the most popular trading platform and a decent range of financial instruments for trading and regulation.
Traders wanting a richer trading experience will notice what they are missing. For example, the range of financial instruments for trading is quite limited, they only have 38 currency pairs, 9 indices, and no share trading. It would also be nice if they included copy or social trading tools, VPS, and a more extensive education library and market analysis tools.
The other notable limitation is the lack of funding methods – popular methods such as PayPal, Klarna, and Neteller, for example, are unavailable.
ATC brokers are likely to have more appeal to US traders than to traders from other countries. Few brokers regulated by NFA or CFTC offer the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and forex trading. However, note that we are talking about spot fx, not CFD fx for US traders.
Overall, ATC Brokers is a safe and reliable forex broker that could perform a few updates to be more competitive.
The minimum deposit at ATC Brokers varies by region:
ATC Brokers is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and has been in operation since 2005. Despite a low trust score of 25 out of 100, it has a TrustPilot score of 4.3 out of 5 from 11 reviews, suggesting a level of reliability.
Leverage varies by region:
ATC Brokers offers a range of services that could be appealing to Australian forex traders, including access to the MetaTrader 4 platform, a variety of financial instruments, and regulation by reputable authorities. However, there are specific considerations for Australian traders:
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