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100 brokers measured in South Africabroker data checked 27.08.2026
IC Markets logoIC MarketsSouth African clients are onboarded under the OFFSHORE entity Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles) - the 'IC Markets Global' brand - or IC Markets Ltd…

IC Markets in South Africa — review, licence and costs

Written and checked by the Lantern Review editorial team · how we score ·  score recalculated 01.10.2026
through an offshore entityAccepts residents of South AfricaOpened by IC Markets (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, FSCA licence SD018, register checked 08.07.2026

Score (6 of 6 axes scored)

4.122.0–5.0

ranked against full-basis brokers

  • Reviews25%90
  • Round-turn cost20%87.5
  • Safety20%10
  • Payouts15%80
  • Track record10%95
  • Platforms10%70

Numbered by weight: axis 1 counts for most.

2 + 3 × 0.707 = 4.12 · axes on 0–100, total on 2.0–5.0

Key facts (6 facts)

Onboarding entity
South African clients are onboarded under the OFFSHORE entity Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles) - the 'IC Markets Global' brand - or IC Markets Ltd (Bahamas); NOT the ASIC (Australia) or CySEC (EU) entities. Confirm the exact entity on the client agreement at signup.
Founded
2007
Retail leverage
500ZA
Round turn
7.5 USDZA
Currencies
IC Markets does NOT offer a ZAR base-currency account for South Africans. Accounts are USD-denominated (among other majors), so ZAR deposits are converted to USD by the client's bank/payment provider - a ~2-3% conversion cost typically applies on funding and withdrawal. As of the review.
Swap-free account
yes

Licence check

Raw Trading Ltd is authorised by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a Securities Dealer, Licence No. SD018 (an offshore, mid-tier regulator). IC Markets is NOT authorised by South Africa's FSCA and does not appear on the FSCA FSP register.
SD018
Number listed on the registerchecked 08.07.2026fsca.co.za
Open an account with IC Markets

The broker's own website. Not a partner link — we earn nothing from it.

Screenshot of the IC Markets website
IC Markets's own site, captured for this review (07.10.2026)

Who actually onboards you

Entity that onboards South Africa residents
South African clients are onboarded under the OFFSHORE entity Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles) - the 'IC Markets Global' brand - or IC Markets Ltd (Bahamas); NOT the ASIC (Australia) or CySEC (EU) entities. Confirm the exact entity on the client agreement at signup.
Local standing
Offshore for SA clients (Seychelles FSA / Bahamas). No FSCA (local) authorisation, and no statutory investor-compensation scheme - unlike the CySEC EU arm which carries up to EUR 20,000 ICF cover that SA clients do NOT get. Client funds are held in segregated accounts per broker policy. As of the review; verify the entity and licence on the FSCA register and the client agreement.
Licence as the register states it
Raw Trading Ltd is authorised by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a Securities Dealer, Licence No. SD018 (an offshore, mid-tier regulator). IC Markets is NOT authorised by South Africa's FSCA and does not appear on the FSCA FSP register.
Leverage for this entity
The offshore (Seychelles) entity offers high leverage - commonly up to 1:500 on forex for retail; crypto CFDs up to 1:200. Not capped by a local SA regulator (no FSCA retail leverage cap). As of the review; verify the current maximum with the broker.
The firm behind it
Founded in 2007, headquartered in Sydney, Australia; one of the largest true-ECN/raw-spread forex and CFD brokers by trading volume. Operates multiple regulated entities (ASIC Australia, CySEC EU, Seychelles FSA, Bahamas).
What we hold against it
At the time of review the FSCA has NOT placed IC Markets on a public warning list, and mainstream industry sources do not flag it as fraudulent. The main caveat for SA clients is regulatory: they are served by the offshore entity, so FSCA/ASIC/CySEC protections do not apply. Verify current warning status on the FSCA site.

Leverage by entity

The licence belongs to the firm; a leverage figure belongs to one entity. Only the entity that onboards South African residents enters the score.

Offshore entity · onboards youSouth African clients are onboarded under the OFFSHORE entity Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles) - the 'IC Markets Global' brand - or IC Markets Ltd (Bahamas); NOT the ASIC (Australia) or CySEC (EU) entities. Confirm the exact entity on the client agreement at signup.Offshore entity · FSCA licence SD018
1:500ZA
South Africa median, local entities: 1:50 · 18 of 20 statedApplies to you

Scale from 1:10 to 1:3000, logarithmic.

Client protection

  • Local entity onboards youOffshore for SA clients (Seychelles FSA / Bahamas). No FSCA (local) authorisation, and no statutory investor-compensation scheme - unlike the CySEC EU arm which carries up to EUR 20,000 ICF cover that SA clients do NOT get. Client funds are held in segregated accounts per broker policy. As of the review; verify the entity and licence on the FSCA register and the client agreement.
  • Regulator warning on filenone found

— means the broker does not state it in any source we captured. It is not read as “no protection” and it is not scored.

Price against South Africa market median(priced from 80 of 103)

Round turn, 1 lot EURUSD, spread plus commission, USD
IC Markets, raw spread plus commission7.5
South Africa median, all 80 priced7
South Africa median, the 58 priced on the raw spread plus commission6.75

Medians run over the 80 of 103 brokers that publish a price for South Africa, never over the whole base. A spread without its commission is not a price and is not counted.

Accounts

Account types the broker names for this country: Three: Standard (spread-only, no commission), Raw Spread MT4/MT5 (near-zero spread + commission), Raw Spread cTrader (near-zero spread + lower commission). Minimum deposit for all: USD 200 (~ZAR 3, 757 at the time of review). The figures below are the broker's own and do not differ by account in any source we captured.

Swap-free account terms

Terms read from the account page on 01.10.2026. The cap on open positions is not published.

Where IC Markets sits in the South Africa base(103 brokers)

Round-turn cost, USD (80 of 103 priced)

14<5
5010
915
620
125
030
0>30

Median 7 USD · range 1-20 · this broker 7.5 USD · 23 of 103 brokers do not publish it

Minimum deposit, USD (49 of 103 priced)

42<200
5400
1600
0800
1>800

Median 50 USD · range 0-1000 · this broker 200 USD · 54 of 103 brokers do not publish it

Retail leverage (72 of 103 with a South Africa figure)

49<1k
142k
43k
44k
1>4k

Median 1:500 · range 20-5000 · this broker 1:500 · 31 of 103 brokers do not publish it

Withdrawal time published (103 brokers)

6of 100
Published, hours6not published38IC Markets is one of the 6

Payouts

Identical for every row: Deposit, h 24 · Fee, USD 0 · Min, USD 50.

Deposit and withdrawal methods (8 methods · 0 local rails)

Methods for SA clients: bank/wire transfer, credit/debit card (Visa/Mastercard), Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, UnionPay, BPAY, FasaPay, POLi.

  • Wire transfer
  • Debit card
  • Skrill
  • Neteller
  • PayPal
  • FasaPay
  • E-wallet deposits usually instant
  • Wires 1-3 business days
Account currency
IC Markets does NOT offer a ZAR base-currency account for South Africans. Accounts are USD-denominated (among other majors), so ZAR deposits are converted to USD by the client's bank/payment provider - a ~2-3% conversion cost typically applies on funding and withdrawal. As of the review.
Fee declared
8 of 8 methods
Withdrawal back to
the funding method

Where it does not serve(5 countries)

United States of AmericaCanadaNew ZealandIranNorth Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)

From the client agreement, clause 2.3. A country missing from a translated page is not read as “served”.

Platforms and markets(6 platforms)

  • MetaTrader 4
  • MetaTrader 5
  • cTrader
ClassCountMin spread
MetaTrader 4—1
MetaTrader 5—1
cTrader—1
Forex pairs61+—
Shares2100+—
Indices20+—

184 further account types are named by their brokers but publish none of these figures, so they are not in the comparison: IC Markets Raw Spread MT4/MT5, IC Markets Raw Spread cTrader, Eightcap Standard, Eightcap Raw, Fusion Markets Classic account, Pepperstone Standard and 178 more.

Identical for every row: Leverage 500 ZA.

Reviews(1 platform · 25% of the score)

4.8/ 5
Trustpilot rating
—
reviews
02.10.2026
snapshot, 2026
SnapshotRatingReviews
02.10.20264.8—

Share of reviewers in South Africa: — The platform does not publish it.

Pros and cons(4 for and 5 against, each tied to a figure on this page)

For
  • Withdrawal in 24 h, one of 86 of 103 brokers here that publish a time
  • Swap-free account available
  • Track record 95 of 100, its strongest of 6 scored axes
  • 3 platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader
Against
  • Round turn 7.5 USD on the raw + commission basis, over the South Africa median 7
  • No South Africa authorisation on file: the entity that onboards you is licensed elsewhere
  • Min deposit 200 USD, over the South Africa median 50
  • The published 1:500 comes from the group's offshore entity, not from the South Africa one
  • Safety 10 of 100, its weakest of 6 scored axes

Alternatives in South Africa(6 of 103 scored in South Africa)

3.97
Pepperstone
Licensed elsewhere
Round turn, USD
7ZA
Min deposit, USD
200ZA
Leverage
400ZA
Rank in this country
#30
3.84
GO Markets
Licensed elsewhere
Round turn, USD
6ZA
Min deposit, USD
200ZA
Leverage
500ZA
Rank in this country
#37
3.82
Orbex
Licensed elsewhere
Round turn, USD
8ZA
Min deposit, USD
100ZA
Leverage
500ZA
Rank in this country
#40
3.38
Equiti
Licensed elsewhere
Round turn, USD
8ZA
Min deposit, USD
500ZA
Leverage
500ZA
Rank in this country
#61
3.21
BDSwiss
Licensed elsewhere
Round turn, USD
10ZA
Min deposit, USD
10 groupZA
Leverage
2000 group
Rank in this country
#64
4.27
AvaTrade
Locally licensed
Round turn, USD
9ZA
Min deposit, USD
100ZA
Leverage
400ZA
Rank in this country
#9

"group" marks a figure the broker publishes for the group rather than for this country. It is shown because the broker states it, and it is not ranked, averaged or used to sort.

Methodology(6 axes · formula v1.0)

Score = 2 + 3 × weighted mean of six axes scored 0–100. Range 2.0–5.0. An axis without data drops out and the remaining weights are renormalised; it is never scored zero or estimated. Group-wide figures never enter a South Africa score. Full methodology

AxisWeightWhat is measuredIC Markets
Reviews25%Rating, volume and recency on one public review platform90
Round-turn cost20%Round turn on 1 lot EURUSD: spread plus commission, against the country median88
Safety20%Local authorisation, the entity that onboards you, any regulator warning10
Payouts15%Published withdrawal time, fees and the methods available in the country80
Track record10%Years since the firm was founded, from its own filings95
Platforms10%Which trading platforms the broker confirms for this country70

FAQ

Does IC Markets accept residents of South Africa?
No. Offshore for SA clients (Seychelles FSA / Bahamas). No FSCA (local) authorisation, and no statutory investor-compensation scheme - unlike the CySEC EU arm which carries up to EUR 20,000 ICF cover that SA clients do NOT get. Client funds are held in segregated accounts per broker policy. As of the review; verify the entity and licence on the FSCA register and the client agreement. Onboarding entity: South African clients are onboarded under the OFFSHORE entity Raw Trading Ltd (Seychelles) - the 'IC Markets Global' brand - or IC Markets Ltd (Bahamas); NOT the ASIC (Australia) or CySEC (EU) entities. Confirm the exact entity on the client agreement at signup.
Is IC Markets licensed to serve clients in South Africa?
Raw Trading Ltd is authorised by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a Securities Dealer, Licence No. SD018 (an offshore, mid-tier regulator). IC Markets is NOT authorised by South Africa's FSCA and does not appear on the FSCA FSP register. Checked on 08.07.2026.
How much does one round turn cost at IC Markets?
About 7.5 USD per standard lot on EUR/USD. The median across brokers measured for South Africa is 7.0 USD.
What leverage does IC Markets offer to retail clients in South Africa?
Up to 1:500. The offshore (Seychelles) entity offers high leverage - commonly up to 1:500 on forex for retail; crypto CFDs up to 1:200.
Which trading platforms does IC Markets support?
MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader. Instruments: 61 forex pairs; 25 index CFDs (from 0.4 points, commission-free, 24/5); commodities (energy, agriculture, metals); cryptocurrency CFDs (leverage up to 1:200); 2,500+ share CFDs across ASX, NYSE, NASDAQ, Tokyo and European exchanges.
How can I withdraw money from IC Markets in South Africa?
Methods for SA clients: bank/wire transfer, credit/debit card (Visa/Mastercard), Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, UnionPay, BPAY, FasaPay, POLi. No direct ZAR Instant-EFT (Ozow/Capitec Pay) rail confirmed - SA-specific local EFT support should be checked in the live client portal. Card/e-wallet deposits usually instant; wires 1-3 business days.
What account types does IC Markets offer?
Three: Standard (spread-only, no commission), Raw Spread MT4/MT5 (near-zero spread + commission), Raw Spread cTrader (near-zero spread + lower commission). Minimum deposit for all: USD 200 (~ZAR 3,757 at the time of review).
Does IC Markets offer a swap-free (Islamic) account?
Yes. IC Markets offers a swap-free (Islamic) account to South Africa residents.

Taxes for a South African resident(1 rule)

  • SARS taxes residents on worldwide income.https://icmarkets.com/company/regulation

Not tax advice. Check with SARS.

Verified · Sources

Verified01.10.2026
next review 01.01.2027