HOME REVIEWS DUKASCOPY In 1998, mathematician Dr. Andre Duka founded Dukascopy Trading Technologies Corp, which led to the development of the Dukascopy trading platform in 1999. Together with his partner, Veronika Makarova, Dr. Duka founded Dukascopy in 2004 as a Swiss brokerage house in Geneva. After the development of the Swiss FX Marketplace in 2006, which is an eco-system supporting traders with the firm’s apps and platform infrastructure, Dukascopy acquired a Swiss banking license in 2010 and launched Dukascopy Bank. In 2011, the brand acquired an EU brokerage license in Latvia, giving it passports throughout Europe under MiFID from its Dukascopy Europe entity, in addition to its Swiss Bank offering. In Asia, Dukascopy K. K. is a Type-1 licensed broker in Japan where it caters to the local marketplace regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) and is a member of the Financial Futures Association of Japan (FFAJ). The Dukascopy group today offers forex and CFD traders competitive pricing and access to 64 forex pairs and 357 CFD markets on its proprietary JForex platform suite, which supports algorithmic trading and is compatible across nearly all operating systems and devices. Trust Score Trading with a forex broker traders can trust is crucial to success. Unfortunately, forex fraud and scams are common in the industry. Here at ForexBrokers.com, we maintain the largest independent regulatory database available on the web. Using 28 different variables, we have created a proprietary 1-100 score (the higher the better) of overall trustworthiness, which we call the Trust Score. Here is our trust summary of Dukascopy. Dukascopy Trust Score 86 Year Founded 2004 Publicly-Traded Company (Listed) No Regulated in Major Hub Yes Regulated in Emerging Hub Yes Authorised in the European Union Yes CFTC Registered (USA) No FCA Regulated (UK) Yes IIROC Authorised (Canada) No FINMA Authorised (Switzerland) Yes ASIC Authorised (Australia) No SFC Authorised (Hong Kong) No MAS Authorised (Singapore) No FSA Authorised (Japan) Yes FMA Authorised (New Zealand) No CySEC Authorised (Cyprus) No Offering of Investments The following table summarizes the different investment products available to Dukascopy. Dukascopy Minimum Initial Deposit $100.00 Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) 64 CFDs - Total Offered 357 Exchange Traded Securities: US No Exchange Traded Securities: International No Cryptocurrency traded as actual No Cryptocurrency traded as CFD No Commissions & Fees Dukascopy offers one account type for FX trading under its Forex ECN account, where the execution method can vary between agency and dealing desk. While the spreads are the same for all clients in the ECN account, the added commission rates you pay will vary depending on your trading volume, balance, and net deposits. Using average spreads of 0.32 pips on the EUR/USD for the US trading session during the month of February 2018, combined with the default commission rate of 0.70 pips round turn, the all-in cost equates to 1.02 pips and is comparable to other brokers with commission-based pricing, such as Saxo Bank. Dukascopy Bank average spreads Dukascopy’s competitive spreads, alongside its active trader pricing program, helped it finish Best in Class, Active Trading, in our 2018 Review. Dukascopy’s competitive spreads, alongside its active trader pricing program, helped it finish Best in Class, Active Trading, in our 2018 Review. Traders can open the ECN account either with Dukascopy Europe or Dukascopy Bank in Switzerland. The main difference between these two entities, besides regulatory jurisdictions, is that the former can be done with as little as $100, while the latter requires $5,000 – unless you are a Swiss resident, in which case, the minimum drops to $1,000. In terms of all-in cost of trading, Dukascopy competes near the top among forex brokers that support automated trading and active trading programs such as FXCM, Forex.com, and Pepperstone. Dukascopy Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard 0.92 All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active 0.42 Active Trader or Premium/VIP Yes Customer Service For our 2018 Forex Review, 129 customer service phone tests were conducted over three months. The data collected is institutional grade. On average, three questions were asked for each test. To score each test, the tests were divided into three separate groups and scores were given for the time taken to connect with each support representative and the ability of each representative to professionally (and thoroughly) answer each question. A Net Promoter Score was also given for the overall experience. Results: Average Connection Time: <1 minute Average Net Promoter Score: 5.66 / 10 Average Professionalism Score: 2.9 / 10 Overall Score: 5.3 / 10 Ranking: 29th (43 brokers) Research Dukascopy offers a diverse range of research tools in its JForex3 platform for desktop, web, and mobile, including streaming market news, a live economic calendar with consensus forecasts, market sentiment indicators, and other research tools that help investors make educated trade decisions. In 2017, Dukascopy further boosted its research offering by integrating a variety of additional market content into its web and mobile trading platforms. Dukascopy TV, the broker’s focal point for research content generation, is a fully staffed professional TV studio in Geneva that broadcasts news from in-house reporters who conduct interviews and market analysis. Not only is the content relevant and insightful; it is also professionally created and educational, making it beneficial for all clients, regardless of skill set. Dukascopy TV Research Other research tools include pattern analysis and automated trading systems within the charting experience. In 2017, Dukascopy further boosted its research offering by integrating a variety of additional market content into its web and mobile trading platforms. Dukascopy Daily Market Commentary Yes Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) Yes AutoChartist No Trading Central (Recognia) No Delkos Research No Acuity Trading No Social Trading / Copy-Trading Yes Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs Yes Client Webinars Yes Client Webinars (Archived) Yes Videos - Beginner Trading Videos Yes Economic Calendar Yes Calendar Includes Forecasts No Economic News Sentiment Yes Trade Ideas - Backtesting Yes Platforms & Tools Dukascopy’s flagship platform is JForex3, a desktop and web-based platform that supports both Windows and Mac. While the broker does support a third-party bridge for clients to access the widely popular MetaTrader4 (MT4) platform, its main focus is on JForex. To learn more about MT4, read our MetaTrader guide. For this review, I focused on JForex3. Dukascopy JForex3 Desktop platform MacOS It’s also fantastic for technical traders, offering 313 indicators with the ability to also import custom indicators. Starting with the desktop version running on Mac OS High Sierra, the JForex 3 platform is rich with trading tools and easy to use. It’s also fantastic for technical traders, offering 313 indicators with the ability to also import custom indicators. It’s worth noting first that Dukascopy’s JForex3 platform competes well with the MetaTrader, as it supports algorithmic trading, custom indicators, and also provides cloud storage for clients who require a VPN to run their trading systems on a 24-hour basis. One subtle feature I appreciate is Dukascopy outlines an extensive list of notes whenever the platform is updated, showing what changes and improvements were made from the prior version. Dukascopy Bank depth chart indicator For charting, Dukascopy added over 30 new indicators to the JForex3 desktop platform in 2017, bringing the total available from 277 last year to just over 300. This is more than nearly all other brokers we have reviewed, with the exception being the 366 indicators found on the thinkorswim platform by TD Ameritrade. Another nice design feature is seen when hovering over an indicator, which will reveal a preview of how it looks on the chart. This feature is especially useful when scanning through all 300+ indicators and deciding which ones to use. Dukascopy JForex3 Deskstop charting indicators Whether using any of the 24 different drawing tools or adding and customizing indicators, I found charting to be a seamless and enjoyable experience. Yet another example of how the JForex3 platform shines can be seen each time an additional trend line is drawn. Every new trend line added automatically has a new color applied to keep viewability crisp and clean. This is in comparison to most other platforms where the color must be changed manually afterwards. If that isn’t enough, Dukascopy even introduced the ability to add an indicator on another indicator (i.e. overlay a moving average on top of volume). All in all, traders passionate about technical analysis will appreciate the rich user experience provided by JForex3. All in all, traders passionate about technical analysis will appreciate the rich user experience provided by JForex3. Oh, and Dukascopy also offers a signals market for social copy trading. Dukascopy Bank social copy trading signals ranking Moving to the web-based version of JForex3, the platform is not as robust as the desktop version, although Dukascopy has made significant improvements since our review last year. In 2018, the platform looks more modern and provides a more seamless experience. Dukascopy Bank JForex3 web platform While I was pleased to see the web platform become more responsive as the broker shifted away from its outdated flash-based version, I did encounter some limitations as Java is required. Moving completely to HTML5 would further enhance Dukascopy’s web platform. That said, charts did run smoothly, and it’s clear the web version has made considerable progress since our last review. Dukascopy Bank JForex3 web plaform charts Lastly, Dukascopy also provides an app store with hundreds of apps that traders can use with the JForex3 platform suite. Dukascopy Bank JForex App store web Overall, it’s clear that Dukascopy understands trading technology and provides traders the tools they need to succeed. While most forex traders prefer MetaTrader 4 to a proprietary platform built in house, JForex3 stands on its own and competes with the best on the market. Dukascopy finished Best in Class for Platforms & Tools in 2018. Dukascopy Virtual Trading (Demo) Yes Desktop Platform (Windows) Yes Desktop Platform (Mac) Yes Web Platform Yes Social Trading / Copy-Trading Yes Proprietary Yes MetaTrader4 (MT4) Yes MetaTrader5 (MT5) No cTrader No Currenex No ZuluTrade No MirrorTrader No Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) 31 Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) 51 Watchlists - Total Fields 7 Order Type - Trailing Stop Yes Mobile Trading Among several mobile apps developed by Dukascopy, I focused my testing on its main SWFX Trader mobile trading app available for Android and iOS devices. During tests on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ Edge – there were several premium features that immediately stood out in the app, including integrated market signals and patterns alongside a pivot point tool. SWFX Trader also has robust charting with several customizable parameters and alerts that can easily be added from the same screen. Dukascopy Bank JForex3 SWFX Mobile App Android Charting operated seamlessly and was rich with options such as a list of 47 technical indicators – which is above the industry average for mobile trading. Additional strongpoints in the app include the level-two quotes and several related order types, including conditional and bid offer orders, which can be used when placing a trade. Dukascopy Bank JForex3 SWFX Mobile App Android Charting indicators In the research domain, the SWFX Trader mobile app has an impressive range of useful tools, including several different pre-defined screens and a clean, customizable view of marker movers, which can be refined across four time frames ranging from hourly to monthly. There is also a pattern-recognition tool for trading ideas, organized neatly next to the other research categories. Overall, Dukascopy Bank finished best in class in the mobile trading category for our 2018 review. Dukascopy Bank JForex3 SWFX Mobile App Android Pattern recognition research Dukascopy Android App Yes Apple iOS App Yes Charting - Draw Trend Lines Yes Charting - Can Turn Horizontally Yes Charting - Technical Studies/Indicators 30 Watch List Syncing No Trading - Forex Yes Trading - CFDs Yes Alerts - Basic Fields Yes Final Thoughts Dukascopy Bank is a great choice for highly experienced traders, as the broker has competitive rates for active traders and provides a Swiss Bank that can be established with only a $5,000 deposit. Meanwhile, investors can also become a client through Dukascopy Europe with only a $100 minimum deposit. Dukascopy does a good job of providing fx traders with plenty of resources for research, for example Dukascopy TV, alongside a diverse range of services within the SWFX online community. That said, customer service is one area where the broker could improve to further boost its premium range of services.