14 min read
In this article8
- EC Markets review: the basic profile
- Is EC Markets trustworthy? Four licences, and your actual entity
- Check the EC Markets licence yourself
- Three account types and how they change your cost
- The 38 USD/lot figure applies to exactly one case
- Who EC Markets suits, and who it does not
- Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
EC Markets is one of the rare brokers where the question “which entity signs my contract” has a reasonably clear answer instead of requiring guesswork. The broker publishes four licences, including a UK FCA one — yet most international clients, Vietnamese clients included, contract with a different entity altogether. This EC Markets review leads with that, then moves to cost, because the reverse order makes people compare the wrong things.
Last updated: 30 September 2026.
- EC Markets at a glance
- Four licences, and your actual entity
- Check the EC Markets licence yourself
- Three account types and how they change your cost
- The 38 USD/lot figure applies to exactly one case
- Who EC Markets suits, and who it does not
- Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
EC Markets review: the basic profile
EC Markets was founded in 2012, headquartered in London, with further offices in Limassol and Dubai. It operates an ECN model, supports MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, and offers forex, indices, oil, metals and crypto CFDs.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Brand headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Other offices | Limassol, Dubai |
| Platforms | MT4, MT5 |
| Model | ECN |
| Products | Forex, indices, oil, metals, crypto CFDs |
| Rebate cycle | Daily |
One small but easily missed point: EC Markets offers crypto only as CFDs, with no spot trading. You trade the price difference and never own a coin. How the two markets differ is covered in Forex versus crypto.
Is EC Markets trustworthy? Four licences, and your actual entity
| Regulator | Country | Licence number | Entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCA | United Kingdom | 571881 | UK entity |
| ASIC | Australia | 414198 | EC Markets Financial Limited |
| FSCA | South Africa | 51886 | EC Markets Financial Limited |
| FSC | Mauritius | GB21200130 | EC Markets Limited — serves most international clients |
Read the last row carefully. EC Markets Limited, FSC Mauritius licence GB21200130, is the entity that serves most international clients. If you are in Vietnam and open an account through the international site, this is very likely the company you contract with — not the FCA-regulated London entity the homepage mentions first.
This deserves saying out loud rather than burying, because it determines three concrete things: which regulator you complain to in a dispute, the standard under which your money is segregated from the firm’s own, and whether you fall under any compensation scheme if the broker fails. FSC Mauritius is a genuine regulator with a searchable register, but its investor-protection framework is not the FCA’s.
Why “London headquarters” means less than you think
A headquarters address is marketing information, not legal information. A group can be based in London, register the entity serving international clients in Mauritius, and both are entirely lawful. What determines your rights is the company name in the client agreement, not the address in the footer. This holds for every broker, not just EC Markets — see Which forex broker is trustworthy: the better question to ask.
Check the EC Markets licence yourself
- Open the client agreement at signup. Find the company name — EC Markets Limited or something else.
- If it is EC Markets Limited: search GB21200130 on the FSC Mauritius register.
- If it is the UK entity: search 571881 at register.fca.org.uk and check the permitted activities.
- If it is EC Markets Financial Limited: search 414198 on ASIC Connect or 51886 at fsca.co.za.
- Compare the register entry with the name in your agreement. Only an exact match makes that licence yours.
A side-by-side licence table for all eight brokers is in Licences of eight forex brokers.
Three account types and how they change your cost
EC Markets has three main account groups: standard STD, a Cent variant for small balances, and low-spread ECN-UV. Choosing between them does not only change your spread — it changes your rebate, and the gap here is unusually large.
| Product | Account | Rebate | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metals (XAUUSD, XAGUSD) | STD-PXX (spread +2 pips) | 38 USD / lot | Daily |
| Forex, indices, oil | STD-PXX (spread +2 pips) | 28 USD / lot | Daily |
| All products | ECN-UV (low spread) | 2.5 USD / lot | Daily |
The gap between 38 USD and 2.5 USD per lot is more than fifteenfold. Do not read that as one account being better: ECN-UV pays a low rebate because its spread is low, while STD-PXX pays a high one because its spread already carries 2 extra pips. You are not receiving money from nowhere — you are receiving back part of what you paid.
The 38 USD/lot figure applies to exactly one case
The 38 USD/lot headline is real. But it holds only when two conditions are true at once: you trade metals, and you use the STD-PXX account with 2 pips of markup. Change either condition and the number changes:
- STD-PXX but trading EUR/USD instead of gold: 28 USD/lot.
- Trading gold but on ECN-UV: 2.5 USD/lot.
The signup link itself also comes in three markup levels — normal spread pays 18 USD/lot, +1 pip pays 28 USD/lot, +2 pips pays 38 USD/lot. The bigger the number, the wider the spread you pay. The correct comparison is not “which broker pays most” but “after adding spread and subtracting the rebate, what does one lot cost me”.
We worked that trade-off through in EC Markets rebates: 38 USD/lot and what it costs you. Why picking a broker by the highest rebate is a common mistake is in this article.
Who EC Markets suits, and who it does not
Suits: high-volume gold and silver traders, since that is where the rebate peaks; traders who already calculate net cost and understand they are trading spread for rebate; EA users and scalpers who want an ECN model on MT4/MT5.
Does not suit: complete beginners — EC Markets has a thinner Vietnamese-language community and documentation than the largest brokers, so troubleshooting is harder; anyone wanting spot crypto, since only CFDs are offered; anyone who wants tier-one regulatory cover on their own account, because an international account most likely sits with the Mauritius entity.
Frequently asked questions
Does EC Markets really hold an FCA licence
Yes, number 571881, verifiable on the FCA register. But it belongs to the UK entity, while international clients usually contract with EC Markets Limited under the FSC Mauritius licence. Both facts are true at once; you need to know which group you are in.
Does the 38 USD/lot rebate apply to every product
No. Only to metals on the STD-PXX account with 2 pips of markup. Forex, indices and oil on that same account pay 28 USD/lot; ECN-UV pays 2.5 USD/lot.
Do rebates worsen my trading conditions
On the no-markup option, no — the rebate comes from partner commission and never touches spread or leverage. On a markup option, yes, and that is precisely why the rebate figure is higher. Full analysis in Do rebates make your spread worse.
Which platforms does EC Markets use
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. The differences and which to choose are in MT4 versus MT5.
Conclusion
EC Markets is an ECN broker operating since 2012, with a broad and verifiable licence record across four regulators. Its genuine strength is the metals rebate — the highest among the eight brokers we track. The thing to keep a clear head about sits right next to it: the 38 USD/lot figure applies only to metals on a 2-pip markup account, and the entity signing your contract is most likely EC Markets Limited in Mauritius rather than the FCA-regulated London company.
Both are verifiable before you deposit anything: read the client agreement to identify your entity, and check the per-product rebate table to see which figure actually applies to how you trade. Full profile and current terms on the EC Markets broker page.
This content is informational. It is not investment advice and not a promise of returns. Leveraged forex and CFD trading carries a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all invested capital. Figures come from the broker’s published materials at the time of the update and may change — verify them before opening an account.
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