Plus500 South Africa – Trading Platform and fees

 

Plus500 is a regulated online CFD provider that has clients from all around the world. They also have many traders from South Africa who use the platform to trade CFD’s.

But why has Plus500 become so popular in South Africa?

To answer that we’ve taken a full look at the CFD provider in this Plus500 review. We’ve examined the CFD provider‘s platform to see what it can offer you and other South African traders.

Key points we’ve looked at include the Plus500 minimum deposit, the platform’s features and how you can withdraw your money.

Let’s get started!

Is Plus500 South Africa Safe

Plus500 is a fully regulated CFD provider and holds regulation licences from many important authorities. 

Plus500 is also licenced by other regulatory bodies like CySEC and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). The company headquarters are in Israel and there are subsidiary offices in the UK, Australia and Cyprus,

For South Africa, Plus500 operates under the subsidiary of Plus500AU Pty Ltd with the office based in Sydney.

By being fully regulated you can be sure that the CFD provider is official and secure to trade with.

Regulation protects you because the authorities make sure that Plus500 must follow strict financial rules. These have been put in place to shield traders from scams and fraud.

For example, regulation rules on withdrawals mean that Plus500 must allow you to withdraw your money when requested.

This is important because unfortunately there’s been cases of illegal and unregulated brokers scamming people. A popular scam is that an illegal broker will not let you withdraw your money. Instead they keep it and simply disappear.

That’s why the only way you can protect yourself is by using a regulated broker, We can confirm that Plus500 is fully regulated and not a scam.

Plus500 South Africa – Key Features

 

To give you a clear overview of the main Plus500 trading features, we have listed the main ones you should know about:

• Plus500 Minimum Deposit: $100 or 1500 ZAR

• Minimum Trade: from 0,01 lots (Plus500 works in lots)

• Leverage: up to 1:30

• Assets: 2000+ (all CFDs)

• CFD Financial Instruments: Forex, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Options, Stocks, ETF’s & Indices

• Plus500 Demo Account: Yes

• Platform: Self developed Plus500 trading platform

• Can my trading account be denominated in ZAR? Yes

• Customer Support: via LiveChat, WhatsApp or Email. No phone support

Looking at this overview, it’s good to see that Plus500 allows South African clients the chance to run their account with ZAR if they wish.

Some brokers only accept USD as the operational currency, so it’s great that this selection has been offered.

This also means that there will be no need for conversion fees where users would have to change convert ZAR into USD.

Regarding leverage, the amount will depend on the selected asset, but the maximum amount for South African customers is 1:30. 

Plus500 South Africa Platform

 

 

Plus500 is known for offering a well-designed and self developed trading platform that is available in 3 formats:

• online WebTrader

• desktop download version

• trading app for iOS & Android devices

By offering 3 platform formats, you can choose one or use a mix of the version that suits you best. We’ve been very impressed with the platform design which is simple to understand and navigate.

The Plus500 trading app is also a great option if you want to trade on the go. It has all the same features as the online platform and some extra ones too.

For example, it’s possible to receive real time trading alerts, which is great if you want to focus on day trading. You can also react quickly to market changes and price movements

The platform also has a good economic calendar where you can follow the key market events. Most importantly there are also risk management tools in place to help you manage your risk. This includes various Stop Losses and a Guaranteed Stop.

Education is the one area where Plus500 could improve as they only have a few trading tutorial videos available at the moment.

However, we’ve been impressed with the platforms features and the 2000+ assets on offer.

Let’s take a closer look at the assets now.

Plus500 South Africa Assets

Compared to many other brokers on the market, Plus500 offers a large range of CFD assets and instruments. With over 2000+ listed, there is a lot for you to choose from.

For example, there have many cryptos listed including Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, they also have some less known ones listed such as IOTA and Monero. Quite a good mix for any trades interested in investing in the crypto market.

There is also a good sized stock selection, including Plus500’s popular cannabis shares folder. Medicinal and legal cannabis companies are a big topic in the market with many business now listed on the stock market. Plus500 was quick to react to the trend by introducing this specialist folder.

One important thing to know is that there is no commission charged by Plus500. Instead the broker is compensated for their services via the Bid/Ask spread.

We found the spreads to be competitive, and the spread varies for each asset. The broker keeps a full list of the assets with their current spread and leverage limits online.

Plus500 South Africa Deposit

 

 

As we’ve briefly mentioned the minimum deposit with Plus500 is 1500 South African Rand, (or $100 USD).

A minimum deposit is required because this is the amount the broker requires you to fund your trading account with. Plus in order to start trading, you’ll need money in your account that you can spend on trades.

It’s easy to make a deposit with Plus500, they accept the following payment methods:

• Credit/Debit cards (MasterCard or Visa)

• Electronic wallets (Skrill or PayPal)

• Bank/Wire transfer

Plus500 does not charge any deposit fees. However if you make a bank/wire transfer, you should be aware that your bank may apply transfer fees, BUT this is charged by the bank and not the broker.

Plus500 South Africa Withdrawal

Because Plus500 is a secure broker, you will be able to withdraw money anytime you wish. The only important thing is that you’ve had your trading account verified.

That’s because for security reasons, the broker will not process the withdrawal unless they’ve verified your identity. This is to prevent fraud and to make sure you are the real owner of the account.

We’ll explain more about verification in a moment, but one great thing about Plus500 is that they don’t charge withdrawal fees.

You’re allowed up to 5 free withdrawals each month. If you go beyond that the broker charges the equivalent of $10 USD for each withdrawal.

Plus500 South Africa – How to open an Account

 

It’s easy to open an account with Plus500 and takes a few minutes to do. You just need to decide whether you want to open a demo account or a real trading account. It’s possible to switch between both versions no matter which one you pick in the end.

Let’s say you pick the real trading account, you’ll then be prompted to provide your email address and to create a password. Once done, you’ll then be able to log in to the platform and access your account.

To begin trading you’ll need to verify your account. From your account you’ll need to upload copies of the following documents:

Proof of address- so a recent utility bill or bank statement showing your current address

Proof of identity- a copy of your passport/driving licence showing your name and d.o.b.

The customer support team will be able to help you with any issues or questions you have about the process. Once the verification steps are complete you’re ready to begin trading.

Plus500 South Africa – conclusion

We’ve been very impressed with Plus500, and we’re satisfied that they’re a fully regulated and secure CFD provider to trade with.

Although their educational features could be better, we were still impressed with the amount of CFD and Forex assets available on the platform. It’s a bigger selection compared to some other leading brokers we have seen.

It’s also great that you can operate your account in ZAR, as this will remove the issue of conversion fees.

The fact that there’s a free Plus500 demo account to use is ideal- especially if you’re new to trading. Mainly because it’s a good way to test the platform out without the obligation to deposit money.

However, we think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the broker and would recommend it.

For more info about South African trading platform follow this link: https://tradingonlineguide.com/best-forex-trading-platform/south-africa/