FX Trading Today is run by one person: me, Timo. I test brokers with my own money from a live account, and I check licences and legal entities against official sources. Each review shows where its test account is registered and which entity serves it, because payment methods and protections depend on that.
What this means for you: each review shows the country its test account is registered in. If you live in that country, the test results describe what you are likely to experience. If you live elsewhere, rely on the verified entity and licence information for your country, and treat payment results as a reference, not a guarantee.
| Label | What it means | Example |
| Tested | I did it myself from a live test account, with a date and masked evidence. The country the account is registered in is shown on each Test Evidence page | e.g. “Domestic bank transfer deposit credited in 5 minutes, tested 8 Oct 2026” |
| Verified at source | Checked on an official source on a stated date: the regulator’s register, the broker’s legal documents or client agreement | e.g. “Licence status checked on the regulator’s public register on 8 Oct 2026” |
| Broker-stated | Published by the broker but not tested or independently verified by me. Always linked and dated | e.g. “Minimum deposit for the Standard account: $50, per the broker’s website, 8 Oct 2026” |
| Not tested | I have not tested this. Shown so nothing is implied | e.g. “USDT withdrawals: not tested” |
Examples are illustrative. Actual results, sources and dates appear on each review and Test Evidence page.
What is my research process?
Ten stages, in order. A broker does not receive a score until stages 1–7 are complete for its test account.
01
Broker selection
I prioritise brokers by what traders in Southeast Asia search for, not by commercial relationships.
Research queue
02
Legal entity identification
For my test account, I take the entity from the client agreement shown during sign-up. For other countries, I use the broker’s published legal documents.
Entity map
03
Regulatory verification
I look the entity up on the regulator’s own register and match name, licence number, status and permissions. I record the date of each check.
Licence record
04
Account opening
I open a live account and complete the same verification as any client. The country the account is registered in is shown on each Test Evidence page.
KYC record
05
Trading condition analysis
I record spreads and commissions on [EUR/USD and XAU/USD] across 3 sessions, with dates and times.
Cost log
06
Deposit testing
At least 1 deposit through each payment method I test, timed from payment to credit, with fees.
Deposit records
07
Withdrawal testing
At least 1 withdrawal back to the same method, timed from request to funds received, with fees.
Withdrawal records
08
Scope check
I label every fact as Tested, Verified at source, Broker-stated or Not tested. Test results apply only to the country of the test account; for other countries I publish verified entity and licence information without test results or scores.
Scope check
09
Self-review
Before publishing, I check every claim against its evidence using a fixed checklist: source, date, label and masked data. Readers can report errors, and confirmed corrections are logged.
Self-review
10
Publication
The review, score and masked evidence go live together, with test dates shown.
Published review
How do I cover other countries?
I cannot open accounts as a resident of every country. Each broker has one score, based on my test account, and every review shows the country that account is registered in and the entity that serves it. I do not publish separate scores for other countries.
For other countries, I add information I can verify at the source, each with the date I checked it:
- Whether residents are accepted, according to the broker’s client agreement or legal documents
- Which legal entity and regulator serve that country
- The licence status on the regulator’s own register
- Warnings published by that country’s regulator, if any
- Which payment methods the broker lists for that country
If I cannot verify something, the review says so instead of guessing.
How is the score calculated?
Each broker gets one score out of 5, based on my test account. Every review shows the country that account is registered in and the entity that serves it. If a different entity serves your country, regulation and payment conditions may differ.
| Category | Weight | What we measure | Evidence used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation and client protection | 30% | The entity serving my test account, its licence, permissions and client protections, checked on official registers | Register lookups, client agreement |
| Deposits and withdrawals | 25% | Speed, fees and problems with the payment methods I tested, domestic and international | Deposit and withdrawal records |
| Trading costs | 20% | Spreads and commissions on EUR/USD and XAU/USD, plus swaps | Cost logs from 3 sessions |
| Platforms and tools | 15% | Platform versions, stability, order types and tools I used | Platform test notes |
| Customer support | 10% | Response time and accuracy of answers to scripted questions, including language options | Chat transcripts |
Score = sum of (category score x weight). A broker with incomplete tests shows “Pending” instead of a partial score.
different markets.
The overall score is rounded down to one decimal place.
How do I rank brokers in “best” lists?
“Best” lists only include brokers I have tested. Brokers are ordered by score, and each entry states what it is best for, based on my test results. A broker cannot pay to be included or to move up.
What does every review include?
- Pros and cons based on my own tests, not copied from the broker.
- Alternatives: how the broker compares with other brokers I have tested.
- The test date, the last-checked date and a change log.
Evidence standards
What counts as evidence
- Screenshots of payment confirmations and platform balances
- Transaction records from the bank or payment provider
- Timestamps for every step, recorded in local time
- Register lookups saved on the date of verification
What we always mask
- Account numbers and trading account IDs
- Names of account holders and bank staff
- Bank details and card numbers
- Identity documents and transaction identifiers
Editorial independence
No paid rankings. Brokers cannot pay for a review, a higher score or a position in any list or comparison table.
How we make money. We may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through some links. Those links are labelled wherever they appear.
Our commitment
Commercial relationships do not determine ratings or research conclusions.
If a broker we have an agreement with performs poorly in testing, the review says so.
How do I use AI tools?
I use AI tools to help with research planning, structure and language editing. All test results, scores and conclusions come from my own tests and checks, and I review every page before it is published.
Update process
Broker conditions change. Every review shows its last reviewed date and a dated log of changes.
| Trigger | What we do | Target timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled review | Full retest of costs, payments and support | Every 6 months |
| Cost check | Re-measure spreads and commissions | Quarterly |
| Licence or entity change | Re-verify the regulatory chain and flag the review | Within 5 working days |
| Reader report of a failed withdrawal | Investigate and, if confirmed, retest | Within 10 working days |
| Factual error | Correct and log the change at the end of the review | Within 2 working days |
Draft policy. Timelines are proposed targets.