XM doesn’t charge trading fees for transactions, and it doesn’t assess commission fees, except for users with a Zero account, designed for professional traders. In that case, there is a $3.50 commission for each $100,000 traded, and ‘Bid/Ask’ spreads begin at zero. For Micro and Standard accounts, there are competitive spreads, but no specific trading fees or commissions. XM has always rated highly for providing a low-cost trading environment.
XM goes out of its way to ensure fee/spread transparency on its website. Comprehensive tables are provided for forex currency pairs, precious metals, stocks, indices, commodities, and energies.
The average spread daily for the heavily traded EUR/USD currency pair is 1.7 pips. Be advised that some global exchanges have individual pricing policies, which may result in a minor charge outside of XM’s control.
An example of one of these spread tables for gold and silver follows below:
There are no hidden XM broker fees. Forex positions held overnight will incur rollover fees, which is an industry standard to offset the differing interest rate policies for the forex pairs involved.
Leverage is also free at trading levels depending on your country of residence, your choice, and the balance of free margin in your account, based on formulas maintained by XM to protect against risk. Leverage can magnify both gains and losses.
Caution is advised, but there is also Negative Balance Protection at no additional cost with XM, meaning users cannot lose more than they deposited with this broker.
XM allows you to choose between nine base currencies for your account, which can easily be changed.
Your base currency is important because, if you were to trade an asset on an exchange in another currency, when you closed the position, the funds would have to be converted back to your base currency by XM. Some traders may regard these charges as trading fees, but XM does use its inter-bank trading price to make the conversion.
At XM, there are no broker charges for depositing funds to your trading account, with one exception. Wire transfers can involve significant fees from intermediary banks for originating and handling the transaction. XM will pick up these fees, if the deposit is at least $200 or its comparable amount in another currency.
There is a minimum deposit amount of $5, or its equivalent in another currency. You can deposit money in any currency to your account, but if it is not your base currency, XM will convert the funds at its current inter-bank rate.
XM also offers several different deposit payment methods. It supports the basic bank transfer and credit/debit card payment methods, but also many other regional and local electronic payment services.
Be advised that these intermediaries may charge fees of their own, which are not within the control of XM, and may also cause delays. Check with your bank to determine the choice of payment method that is best for you.
Brokers only make money when you trade, and it has become an industry standard that brokers encourage trading by imposing inactivity or dormancy fees when there is an extended period of no trading. XM does charge inactivity fees. These are assessed after a period of 90 days if there hasn’t been a trade, deposit, withdrawal, transfer or additional account registration activity.
Any promotional bonuses or credits outstanding will be removed from the account, and a fee of $5 will be taken each month until the account balance reaches zero.
XM does not charge fees for withdrawals, though the same caveats apply as with deposits. Keep in mind that your credentials, in accordance with international law, must be verified before a withdrawal request can be processed. Once validated, withdrawal requests are processed within 24 hours. However, payment intermediaries may add delays outside of the broker’s control.
