BDSwiss Review

BDSwiss platforms and tools

   

    

Is BDSwiss UK regulated?

Yes, BDSwiss holds several regulatory licenses across the globe, including in the United Kingdom (U.K.) with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, BDSwiss’ services are temporarily on hold in the U.K., due to a restriction put in place by the regulator that prevents BDSwiss from accepting U.K. residents (at least for the time being).

That being said, BDSwiss holds multiple regulatory licenses throughout the EU, including from Cyprus where it is authorized by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). It is also regulated as a Tied Agent under its German entity, and is passported across the EU (and outside of the EU into Switzerland). The brand also holds an offshore regulatory license from the island nation of Mauritius.

What is the minimum deposit for BDSwiss?

The minimum deposit at BDSwiss will vary depending on your chosen account type. The broker’s VIP account requires a $3,000 minimum deposit and its Raw account requires $5,000, while the Classic account’s minimum first deposit of $100 (or currency equivalent) may vary depending on your country of residence and if you were referred by a third party.

What happened with BDSwiss in the UK?

In May of 2021, the FCA cited BDSwiss for prohibited marketing practices originating from certain of its affiliates and social media influencers, and required that the broker halt doing business in the U.K. and refrain from marketing to U.K. residents until a number of outstanding items are rectified by the broker, as per the FCA announcement.

In a nutshell, the FCA has imposed rules which restrict the marketing and sale of CFDs to retail consumers, and the FCA believes that BDSwiss – via some of its affiliates – broke those rules.

BDSwiss partnered with affiliates that marketed referrals to retail traders, and in the process they largely referred them to BDSwiss’ overseas firms that don’t provide FCA protections. Essentially, this means that U.K. consumers were being encouraged to open accounts with a broker they associated with the FCA, but did not receive the protections that should be afforded by an FCA-regulated broker.

According to the FCA, “almost 99% of them were referred to the Overseas Firms, meaning the clients did not benefit from the protections afforded to consumers dealing with an authorized firm.” Additionally, BDSwiss’ affiliates marketed trading signal providers, and in doing so they “frequently fail(ed) to mention that the underlying financial instruments being recommended are CFDs.”

Post-Brexit note: Leading up to Brexit, many brokers in the EU that were previously passported under MiFiD in countries such as the U.K. had to either obtain a full registration with the U.K. post-Brexit, or operate under a Temporary Permission Regime (TPR) to give them time to become regulated or exit the U.K. altogether. BDSwiss is still operating under the TPR in the U.K.

2022 Review Methodology

For our 2022 Forex Broker Review we assessed, rated, and ranked 39 international forex brokers over a three-month time period resulting in over 50,000 words of published research.

Each broker was graded on 113 different variables, including our proprietary Trust Score algorithm. This innovative scoring system ranks the level of trustworthiness for each broker based on factors such as licenses, regulation and corporate structure. Read about Trust Score here.

As part of our annual review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones and complete an in-depth data profile, which we hand-checked for accuracy.

Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.