As recently as September 2023, the likelihood of an OctaFX Scam was a hot potato in Malaysia’s financial sector. Involving the country’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and local public figures, the possibility of an OctaFX Scam caused quite the stir in investor circles.
The bone of contention was really in the fact that OctaFX Malaysia, a popular investment platform endorsed by local celebrities Fizo Omar and Wak Doyok, came to be listed under the BNM Financial Consumer Alert List (FCA). The list is continually updated and may be referred to here: FCA list. Matters progressed against OctaFX in Malaysia when in June, it was added to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Investor Alert List.
OctaFX had their piece to say which is discussed in the section below.
Established in 2011 and co-founded by Georgios D. Pantzis (also CEO & General Manager), OctaFX has built a reputation as a reliable and regulated forex and CFD broker. In 2019, it got licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC); a testament to the growing acceptance of OctaFX amongst brokerages in the EU.
Still, the question on: Is OctaFX a Scam remains open ended.
Is OctaFX a Scam or Legit
For those in search of answers to, “Is OctaFX a scam or legit?” will find a mixed bag of opinions from users. The CySEC forex broker license OctaFX is licensed with provides mid-range or tier-2 category jurisdiction. A loosely regulated CFD industry only adds on to the need for OctaFX to be licensed with a regulator affording first-class credibility.
As a CFD broker with a mid-range broker’s license, OctaFX is regarded as high-risk. It is also not a public listed company implying less than regulatory scrutiny. OctaFX may be partly regulated and legit but could do better in providing regulatory protection to its customers across the board.
It’s easy to feel bogged down by details on broker regulations. So, it’s always best practice to read as many verifiable resources as possible. Read this concise: brief but transparent, review explaining a broker’s regulatory status.
From OctaFX’s Perspective
OctaFX has shared their take on brand counterfeiting and let’s consider that. In February 2019, OctaFX posted on their Facebook account addressing a replica website, octa-fx which is presently no longer online. This may or may not be directly related to OctaFX’s listing on BNM’s and SC’s lists, but it offers perspective on the situations that OctaFX Malaysia has had to contend with.
From the same Facebook account OctaFX is clearly responsive to client queries. The same can be said for other OctaFX review sites where they can be seen being responsive to several questions either acknowledging or resolving client questions.
OctaFX Regulatory Implications
In an attempt to answer if OctaFX is a scam or not, it’s necessary to understand that different broker licenses and countries have their own jurisdictions. Does being included in two of Malaysia’s warning lists exclusively make OctaFX a scammer?
Being licensed by the CySEC provides OctaFX with the required regulatory supervision in Europe. However, outside of the continent, countries like Malaysia are onboarded by OctaFX’s non-regulated offshore subsidiary. Therefore, OctaFX Malaysia is not included in the regulatory protection afforded by its CySEC broker license. Additionally, it is not registered with BNM and the SC which makes OctaFX a high-risk, though still legit investment platform. Furthermore, its inclusion in both the BNM FCA and SC Investor Alert Lists makes it more of a difficult choice for a trading platform, especially after OctaFX Malaysia released a statement responding to the matter.
There are a few types of legal jurisdictions when it comes to forex broker licenses. Regulated, partly regulated and unregulated (registered only). This can further be broken down into four categories: top-tier, mid-tier, regulated offshore and offshore registered. While the first three categories may require a broker to be licensed, the last one does not require any licensing but instead brokerage registration. It’s also important to note that brokerages registered offshore are essentially conducting their forex activities in territories (offshore) that do not regulate forex activities.
Steps for Choosing an International Trading Platform
Traders, no matter where they’re located, always have the choice to trade with international brokers and trading platforms. There’s always the burden of deciding which forex broker is best for you, which one is a scam or legit, and there’s also the part where a trader needs to verify if a forex broker meets local regulatory requirements and investor safety standards.
For optimal preventative measures, a few elements need to be considered in a broker: regulation, trustworthiness, and reliability.
Here are some suggestions on necessary steps:
- Comparing Regulatory Frameworks: When running a background check on a broker’s regulatory affiliations and adherence, see to it that the broker is operating within local regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP).
- Cross Verify: Aside from the trading broker itself, it’s always a good idea to also cross verify the financial service providers that they use. Ensure that these are credible and reputable.
- Expert Recommendations: Legal experts and financial advisors know best when it comes to regulatory compliance. Seeking their advice would help make navigating through the legal complexities easier.
- Staying Alert: Scammers are given to sugar coating, including making attractive offers such as high returns in a short time, and attractive bonuses. They also tend to pressure prospective clients into saying yes to offers. Keep these in mind for singling out scammers from the crowd.
- Safekeeping Personal Data: The first rule of thumb is to guard your personal data closely. Don’t readily disclose personal and sensitive information to unknown platforms and third parties.
Is OctaFX Haram
On the legalities of OctaFX, to those whom it is relevant, the question of whether it is haram might arise. In Malaysia, a preacher voiced his opinion on the possibility that it could be haram. If this preacher and particular article’s concern was forex and OctaFX are haram, then perhaps the fact that OctaFX offers an Islamic account is a consolation.
For a better comprehension on what an Islamic Trading account means, this is a good explanation on trading without interest. The link can be found here.
OctaFX adheres to the swap free requirements of riba (interest) being removed from forex trading. Furthermore, it’s offering of an Islamic trading account shows that it caters to traders of the Islamic faith. As much as forex is not haram, OctaFX is also not haram.
OctaFX: Forex Broker and Platform Offerings
OctaFX is a MetaTrader forex and CFD broker offering about 40 forex pairs for forex trading. They offer lesser than 230 tradeable instruments, and among these tradeable instruments are cryptocurrencies. It should be kept in mind that Crypto CFDs are not allowed in the UK.
Additionally, it is a broker that is known to offer bonuses and run contests for demo accounts. Its users report of real cash and not virtual funds. To this end, OctaFX has ensured to fairly reward its clients.
Overall Features
For starters, OctaFX provides two versions of MetaTrader as a trading platform: MetaTrader4 (MT4) and MetaTrader5 (MT5). Both versions of the platform have their upsides and downsides, and more on their differences can be found here. MT4 being the first of the two was released in 2005, making it up to today, still the more user-friendly of the two and recommended for novice traders; it is also more suited to forex trading.
Whereas MT5 which was released half a decade later in 2010, offers in its mix of upgraded features, technical support for traders which is missing in the MT4. MT5 is also considered more adaptable to multiple financial markets. Due to its added trading features, it is recommended for more advanced traders.
The OctaFX MetaTrader trading platform offered supports web, mobile and ECN trading. With this, the trading conditions enabled are scalping, news trading and Expert Advisor (EA) which may be of interest to traders who are keen on short-term trading: scalping, day and swing trading.
Trading Instruments
A well-known forex CFD broker, OctaFX continues to improve its offerings. To date, on top of offering up to 40 forex pairs, if offers about 25 trading instruments for Ethereum, Bitcoin and Litecoin. Additionally, more than 150 financial products are available for Stock indices, Stocks, Oil, Silver, Gold, just to name a few.
An array of deposit methods are offered for funding OctaFX trading accounts: VISA, awepay, Bitcoin, FasaPay, Local Bank Deposits, Local Bank Transfers, Neteller, paytm, Skrill, UnionPay. As for withdrawal means, these are the methods made available: VISA, awepay, Bitcoin, FasaPay, Local Bank Transfers, Neteller, paytm, Skrill, UnionPay.
Copy trading with OctaFX is made possible with their proprietary web and social copy-trading platform. At the time of writing, the OctaFX Copytrading App can be downloaded from Google Play.
OctaFX Copy Trading
The OctaFX Copytrading App offers forex, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies trading. The OctaFX Copytrading service features an infrastructure designed to give full control and ease of access to traders on the go and keen on diversifying their portfolio.
OctaFX Copytrading App
Meant as an app for copy trading, it makes for easy depositing, fast withdrawals, and convenient access to signal providers. The OctaFX Copytrading App was also modelled after the concept of simplicity and practicality, intended to make copy trading more accessible to novice followers in copy trading.
Some of the features boasted in OctaFX Copytrading app are:
- Easy Deposits – Direct deposits in cash, from local banks, credit cards, and international payment systems.
- Signal Provider Visibility – Filter signal providers (SP) according to track record, complete view of SP’s trading strategies, follow SP’s positions, decide risk levels.
- Access to Positions – Follow multiple SPs, track copied SP trades, withdraw anytime, supplement or cancel investment portfolios fully or partially.
Market Insight and Educational Resources
Under OctaFX’s Analysis & Education you will find an abundance of trading resources. Categorised into Traders Tools, Analytics and Education. The daily articles from OctaFX are encompass all the technical and fundamental techniques to support a trader on their trading decision-making.
The OctaFX OC LiveTrader series available on YouTube is more than enough for a trader to stay well-informed and to keep abreast on relevant and the latest trading market insights. The Youtube channel can be accessed here which is made available in several languages: Hindi, Malay, Indonesian and English among others.
In A Nutshell
OctaFX is not a scam. For a forex broker to have lasted since 2011 only means that a degree of acceptance towards OctaFX exists in traders and consumers. Jurisdictive clashes may stand in the way, but so is the case of many forex brokers that make themselves available as international brokers.
FAQs
- Is OctaFX legit or scam?
As a CFD broker with a mid-range broker’s license, OctaFX is regarded as high-risk. It is also not a public listed company implying less than regulatory scrutiny. OctaFX may be partly regulated and legit but could do better in providing regulatory protection to its customers across the board. - Is OctaFX legit in Malaysia?
Being licensed by the CySEC provides OctaFX with the required regulatory supervision in Europe. However, outside of the continent, countries like Malaysia are onboarded by OctaFx’s non-regulated offshore subsidiary. Therefore, Malaysia is not included in the regulatory protection afforded by its CySEC broker license. Additionally, it is not registered with BNM and the SC which makes OctaFX a legit, high-risk investment platform. It is also included in both the BNM FCA and SC Investor Alert Lists. - Does OctaFX really pay?
It is a broker that is known to offer bonuses and run contests for demo accounts. Its users report of real cash and not virtual funds. To this end, OctaFX has ensured to fairly reward its clients.
