Broker Review

Pepperstone Review: What Makes Them Stand Out From Other Brokers?

Last Updated: August 8, 2022

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Author

Linda de Beer

Risk Warning: Your Capital is at Risk.

Pepperstone is an online forex, spread betting, and CFD broker with more than 300,000 clients in 170+ countries.

Pepperstone clients can trade CFDs on forex, shares, indices, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and currency indices across three popular trading platforms.

Traders can choose the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, or cTrader platforms via desktop or mobile, allowing clients to trade anywhere.

Pepperstone was one of the first online brokers to introduce a “No Deal Desk” model. The purpose is to eliminate conflicts of interest by giving clients direct access to liquidity sources in the interbank markets. However, as of October 2021, Pepperstone changed its interest rate structure in which rates are determined by new spread benchmarks.

If Pepperstone is not available in , see our broker reviews for an alternative choice.

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Key Pepperstone Features 

Pros and Cons of Pepperstone

Pepperstone is one of the largest forex brokers in the world.

The company’s founders set out to create a seamless trading experience through low-cost spreads, fast execution speeds, and reliable support services.

Here are some of the pros and cons to consider when you’re considering opening an account with Pepperstone.

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Is Pepperstone a Trustworthy Broker?

The Pepperstone Group is well-established, with offices in Melbourne, London, Cyprus, Germany, Africa, Dubai, and The Bahamas..

The Markets in Financial Directive (MiFID) allows the company to operate as a regulated entity throughout the European Union.

Pepperstone is also licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).

Pepperstone GmbH is regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin), while Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited is licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

In August, 2020, Pepperstone launched commercial operations in Cyprus after receiving a license from the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC).

Pepperstone Trading Products

Pepperstone clients can trade over 1200 instruments over a range of asset classes including forex and commodities, stocks, ETFs, crypto and indices CFDs.

CFDs allow traders to speculate on the price of assets without owning them in their accounts.

The following are the products offered for trading with the two types of accounts (please see the account section of this review).

Important notice: Spreadbetting is only available to UK and Ireland residents.

Forex Trading With Pepperstone

Pepperstone offers over 60 currency pairs, including majors, minors, and exotics, to trade.

Commodities Offered By Pepperstone

Traders with a Pepperstone account have access to CFD trading on 20 commodity instruments. These include soft commodities like cocoa and orange juice as well as energy and metal pairs traded against the US dollar, the Euro, or the Australian dollar.

What Share CFDs Does Pepperstone Offer?

Over 900 top shares CFDs are available to trade with Pepperstone. These share CFDs have a 20% margin rate for retail traders.

Pepperstone Index CFDs

Pepperstone clients have access to a wide range of global markets through 25 major index CFDs.

Cryptocurrency CFD Trading With Pepperstone

The list of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade with Pepperstone isn’t big (17 Cryptocurrencies + 3 Crypto Baskets), though the major ones are available including:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ethereum
• Dash
• Litecoin

Please Note: Availability subject to regulations. Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to UK retail traders.

Currency Index CFDs

Pepperstone offers three currency index CFDs. Previously, Pepperstone only offered the US Dollar Index, the most traded currency index, and perceived as a benchmark for the value of the USD.

The three currency index CFDs on the Pepperstone platform are:

• USDX – US Dollar Index
• EURX – Euro Index
• JPYX – Japanese Yen Index

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Where Does Pepperstone Operate?

Pepperstone serves clients in 170+ countries across the globe.

Pepperstone only offers spread betting to residents of the UK and Ireland on FX, indices, and commodities.

Restricted Countries

Languages

The Pepperstone website and web platform is available in 15 languages.

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Pepperstone Account Types

Pepperstone’s two main account types are a Standard account or a Razor account.

Qualifying clients may apply for a Professional account. The broker also offers an option to open an Islamic account that is Sharia-compliant. The latter is designed for traders who cannot receive or pay swaps for religious reasons.

Key Differences Between Standard and Razor Accounts

One of the main differences between Pepperstone’s Standard and Razor accounts is the commission charged.

While no commissions are charged on standard accounts, commissions are charged on standard lots traded for Razor accounts.

See spreads and fees below for more details.

Pepperstone Demo Account

Traders can practice strategies or familiarize themselves with the trading platform by way of a demo account, which is funded with up to $50,000 in virtual money.

Demo accounts are quick and easy to apply for without opening a funded Razor or Standard account. You must simply provide your email address and a password.

While the demo trial lasts for 30 days, once traders have a live account, the demo can be re-requested.

The drawbacks of the Pepperstone demo account are that it expires after 30-days and is limited to 50 trades at a time. On the plus side, it’s possible to open more than one demo account at a time.

Clients with live funded accounts may also ask for their demo accounts to be set to non-expiry.

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Pepperstone Account Requirements

When you click on the red “Open live account” button on the Pepperstone website, the broker asks you to enter your name, email address, and select a password.

There is also an option to register with Google or Facebook.

You’ll receive an email to confirm your account and continue the application process.

Pepperstone asks some questions about your employment, financial status, and trading experience. You must also confirm that you have read their order execution policy, risk disclosure policy, and terms and conditions.

How To Verify Your Identity With Pepperstone

To verify your identity, you can choose electronic or manual verification. Where electronic verification is not possible, two types of ID documents are requested:

1. Photo ID like passport, driver’s license, or national ID card
2. Secondary ID like a bank or utility statement showing your full name and address and not older than three months

These documents can easily be uploaded by taking a photo of them with your smartphone.

Pepperstone aims to verify accounts within 4-8 hours after receiving the correct ID documents.

Pepperstone Customer Support

If you have trouble uploading documents or with the application process in general, you can send an email to [email protected] or try the live chat support.

For any account problems or questions, Pepperstone’s customer support is available 24/5. Clients can contact them by local or international phone, email, or live chat. There is also an online contact form to fill out. They have committed to keeping the response time under 24 hours.

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Deposits and Withdrawals

This section explains the deposit and withdrawals requirements and process to trade with Pepperstone.

Deposits

To start trading, Pepperstone requires a minimum deposit of £200 or 200 units of other base currencies. To deposit money, log into the secure client area of your account, click on Funds, and then click Add Funds.

Peppertone’s funding methods depend on the region where the trader is located. Here are the funding methods for regions as per the regulators responsible for the jurisdiction:

• ASIC: Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Poli, Bpay, Union Pay and Bank Transfer
• FCA: Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Bank Transfer
• DFSA: Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Bank Transfer
• SCB: Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Poli, Bpay, Union Pay and Bank Transfer
• BAFIN: Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Bank Transfer
• CYSEC: Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Bank Transfer
• CMA: Visa, MasterCard, Bank Wire, PayPal, MPSEA

Pepperstone clients must adhere to margin requirements.

What Are Pepperstone’s Margin Requirements?

Margin is the amount of money required in your account to open a trade.

You can calculate margin using the current market quote of the base currency vs USD, the volume requested, and the leverage level you have selected when opening your account.

Pepperstone’s leverages vary by region, based on which regulatory jurisdiction the country falls under. Here’s a breakdown of max leverages on the respective categories under each regulatory jurisdiction:

Withdrawals

All the withdrawal options (similar to the funding options above) are listed under the Withdraw Funds tab after clicking on Funds in the secure client area.

Some important information about withdrawals:

• Funds can only be returned to a bank account in the same name.
• It usually takes 3-5 days for withdrawals by bank wire transfer to reach your account.
• While Pepperstone doesn’t levy charges for withdrawals, they do pass international telegraphic transfer (TT) fees from their bank to the client.
• Withdrawals by credit card are allowed up to the sum of deposits made by credit card. For amounts exceeding a card’s deposits, a different withdrawal method must be used.
• If a credit card withdrawal is processed within 60 days from the day of a deposit, the refund is paid into the same credit card.

Pepperstone Spreads and Fees

Here’s a summary of Pepperstone’s spreads for retail traders in .

Spreads

The underlying financial instrument and the type of account determine the spreads that traders pay with Pepperstone.

Below are the lists of minimum and maximum spreads (forex, commodities, cryptocurrency, and index CFDs) on Razor and Standard accounts on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView.

Note: The spreads were correct at the time of publication, but always check against current spreads on the Pepperstone website.

Commissions Per Account Type

• Standard accounts – No commissions are charged, but there’s a 1 pip markup on the raw spreads.
• Razor accounts – Traders with Razor accounts pay commissions on forex trades. Trades on MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 are based on the account currency and lot size. Commissions on cTrader add up to 7 units of the base currency per lot of the forex pair being traded.

Overnight Funding Fees

Pepperstone clients pay to hold a position on equity CFDs, commodities, and share CFDs open overnight. This fee was made up of the standard regional interest rates for the underlying product, plus or minus the broker’s fixed charge of 2.5%.

As of October 2021, overnight funding, as well as spread adjustments, are calculated by factoring in Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs).

ARRs For Each Currency At Pepperstone

Each currency has its own ARR, and in turn, a spread adjustment percentage is used to calculate interest rates on overnight funding and general spreads for Pepperstone clients.

The ARR categories are:

	Current benchmark	ARR
GBP	GBP LIBOR	SONIA
USD	USD LIBOR	SOFR
EUR	EUR LIBOR	ESTR
CHF	CHF LIBOR	SARON
JPY	JPY LIBOR	TONA
SGD	SIBOR	SORA

The new spread adjustment percentages and time-frames look as follows:

	Tenor	Spread Adjustment %
GBP	1 Month	0.0326
USD	1 Month	0.11448
EUR	1 Month	0.0456
CHF	1 Month	-0.0571
JPY	1 Month	-0.02923

No Deposit Or Withdrawal Charges

• Deposits and Withdrawals – Pepperstone doesn’t charge for deposits or withdrawals, but this doesn’t mean clients won’t incur bank charges. Consult your financial institution if you’re unsure about such fees.
• Inactivity Fee – No inactivity fees are charged but accounts are temporarily archived if they’re not used for three months. However, they are easily reactivated by contacting the broker’s support department.

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Pepperstone Trading Platforms

Pepperstone offers traders four platforms for trading forex and CFDs. These are:

• MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
• MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
• cTrader
• TradingView

MetaTrader 4 Platform Review

The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform’s interface makes it a popular choice among traders of all skill levels. It’s free to download for use with both Pepperstone’s live account as well as their demo account.

Benefits of Using MT4

• The platform comes with 85 preinstalled indicators for better insights into market trends
• 28 Smart Trader Tools, including expert advisors and indicators, to help you learn and optimize your trading experience
• Automated trading for uninterrupted 24/5 trading
• Multiple real-time chart setups for better control over your positions

This is the layout of the MT4 dashboard:

Under the Market Watch panel, you will see that Pepperstone gives you access to all the trading instruments the broker offers.

Below the Market Watch panel is the Navigator section that gives you access to customized technical indicators, Expert Advisor tools, and scripts for automated trading.

MT4 Charting And Alerts Menu

In the middle and right you will find the Chart Window – the technical and charting section of the platform that opens with four charts.

At the bottom of the screen, you will find the Terminal Window Panel, which contains a mailbox, an alert tab, a journal tab, and other features for tracking trading.

MetaTrader 5 Platform Review

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is a newer version of MT4 and appeals to those looking for additional features and more in-depth analysis.

Benefits of Using MT5

• 21 timeframes compared to MT4’s 9
• The use of stop limits to set a limit order
• Inbuilt community chat and email system
• Access to stock CFDs on UK companies

cTrader Platform Review

The cTrader platform allows traders to integrate its functions with cAlgo and create automated trading tools:

Traders can either download the desktop version or log in to the web version of cTrader. Combined with the suite of algorithmic trading tools, cTrader offers a powerful platform for social and automated trading.

Mobile Trading With Pepperstone

With an increased emphasis on trading on-the-go, Pepperstone clients have full access to the mobile versions of all three available trading platforms.

All three mobile apps for Pepperstone — MT4, MT5, and cTrader — are free to download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

MT4 Mobile App Review

The MT4 app for iOS and Android allows you to control your Pepperstone account, analyze the market, and trade with the tap of a finger while on the go.

Key MT4 app features include:

• Full set of trade orders, including pending orders
• High-performance charts with a customizable color scheme
• Orders, trading history, and other relevant account details displayed in an information window
• Chat functionality, including the creation of group chats and channels
• Interactive real-time price charts with zoom and scroll options
• 30 popular technical indicators, 24 analytical objects, and 9 timeframes

MT5 Mobile App Review

While the MT5 app shares many of the same features as the MT4 app, MT5 is a popular choice for mobile online trading among traders with a diverse portfolio.

It allows for fast switching between financial instruments, the receiving of real-time quotes, and all types of trade execution.

Here are just some of the features Pepperstone clients can expect from it:

• Level 2 prices with up to 32 quotes
• Visualization of pending order prices on trade levels, including SL and TP values on charts
• Chat with other registered traders in the MQL5 community
• Bars, doji candlesticks, and broken line charts for strategic trading of forex and CFDs

cTrader Mobile App Review

The Pepperstone cTrader app is fast, responsive, and gives you access to the same information on order execution and trading events as on its desktop version.

Sign-up and login are not only possible with your cTrader ID, but also with Facebook and Google. Other features include:

• Customizable settings to make the platform work best for your on-the-go trading requirements
• 26 time frames
• More than 50 indicators
• 4 types of charts – candlestick, bar, line, dots
• Price alerts
• QuickTrade mode for one-tap trading
• Trade statistics to review your strategy and performance

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How Is Pepperstone Regulated?

The Pepperstone Group, with offices in Melbourne, Cyprus, and London, operating as the following regulated entities:

• Pepperstone Group Limited (registered in Australia)
• Pepperstone Limited (registered in England & Wales)
• Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited (registered in Dubai)
• Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited (registered in Kenya)
• Pepperstone EU Limted (registered in Cyprus)

They are registered with six major international regulatory bodies that oblige them to meet strict requirements.

• Pepperstone Australia – Licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia
• Pepperstone UK – Licensed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in England and Wales
• Pepperstone UAE – Licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in Dubai
• Pepperstone Markets Limited – Licensed by Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya
• Pepperstone Markets – Licensed by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB)
• Pepperstone GmbH – Licensed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) in Germany

The Markets in Financial Directive (MiFID) allows the company to operate as a regulated entity throughout the European Union.

In August 2020, Pepperstone EU Limited was granted a license by the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC).

It’s important to note that different regulatory and financial protections apply depending on whether you’re trading with the UK or Australian business.

Pepperstone Company History

Pepperstone was founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, by Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport.

“Frustrated by delayed executions, expensive prices, and poor customer support, we set out to provide traders around the world with superior technology, low-cost spreads, and a genuine commitment to helping them master the trade.”

Pepperstone Founders

Over the last few years the firm has grown to be a major player in the online forex brokerage industry.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Pepperstone since October 2017 is Tamas Szabo. He has been a key figure in successfully developing retail forex and CFD trading in the Australasian region since 2007.

Andrew Defina has been CFO of Pepperstone since 2014, while Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport continue to serve as directors on the Pepperstone Board.

Key Pepperstone Takeaways

As one of the fastest growing online brokers, Pepperstone offers their clients a professional trading experience with access to an increasing list of instruments to trade.

Traders enjoy the protection offered by the broker’s registration with more than five major international regulatory bodies.

The opportunity to choose between and trade on multiple platforms like MetaTrader and cTrader rounds Pepperstone’s offering off nicely.

FAQs

What type of broker is Pepperstone?

Pepperstone is an online forex and CFD broker. The company also offers spread betting to clients in the UK and Ireland. Clients can trade CFDs on shares, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and currency indices. Pepperstone offers both desktop and mobile trading apps. Pepperstone does not offer crypto derivatives to UK clients, nor CFDs to US clients.

Is Pepperstone a good broker?

Pepperstone has grown to be one of the largest online forex brokers since its founding in 2010. The company is regulated by ASIC (Australia) and FCA (UK), CySEC (EU), and offers clients access to more than 1200 instruments for spreadbetting, forex, and CFDs.

What is the minimum deposit for Pepperstone?

The minimum deposit required to start trading with a Pepperstone Standard of Razor account is $200 (or 200 units of other base currencies). You can fund your account via bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, POLi, BPay, Neteller, Skrill, or Union Pay.

Does Pepperstone have negative balance protection?

Clients of Pepperstone Limited (UK/Europe), which is regulated by the FCA, CySEC, ASIC, and DFSA are covered by negative balance protection. However, clients of Pepperstone Group Limited (Australia), which is regulated by ASIC, are not guaranteed negative balance protection.

How do I fund my Pepperstone account?

Pepperstone accepts a variety of funding options. These include Visa/Master Card, bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Union Pay, Neteller, BPay, POLi and MPESA. (Note these vary by country/regulator) The minimum deposit amount is £200 (or 200 units of your base currency). Withdrawals are posted to the original funding method.

Does Pepperstone offer bonuses?

ESMA regulations prohibit CFD brokers from offering bonuses to retail investors in Europe to encourage CFD trading (or a greater volume of trading), including signup bonuses or fee rebates.

However, Pepperstone has a refer-a-friend program that rewards clients who invite their friends or family to trade with them. If such persons fund their new account with more than £1,000 and continue to trade at least five standard FX lots, the referrer is rewarded with a £100 deposit into his or her trading account.

Does Pepperstone have educational and analysis tools?

The Pepperstone website has a dedicated education section with resources like articles, videos, guides, and courses. The material covers basic trading concepts as well as expert-level guidance. Traders can also sign up for webinars.

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Credits: Original review written by Lawrence Pines. Major updates in August 2022 with contributions from the Commodity.com editorial team.