How we check a broker before ranking it

The first check: can a UAE resident use it

The first question is whether a resident of the UAE can open an account, fund it and withdraw from it without a hidden obstacle. That means checking the accepted funding routes, including local UAE bank transfer, cards and e-wallets, and checking what the broker's own documents say about withdrawal conditions. A broker that cannot be funded and emptied cleanly is not ranked, however good the rest of the page looks.

We also check which entity would serve a UAE client and what licence that entity states. For the broker covered here, the entity is FxPro Global Markets MENA Ltd., and the regulator statement we rely on is that FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA. Leverage is recorded as a cap, not a target: up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts, within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits, varies by instrument.

The limits of our testing

We do not run live money through every broker, and we do not test every account type or every funding route. Our checks are documentary and practical: what the broker publishes, what a UAE resident is told at account opening, and what the platform shows on a demo or read-only basis. Where we have not tested something, the page says so instead of implying a test took place.

Conditions change, and a figure that was correct on the date we read it can be out of date later. That is why every figure is dated and why the reader should confirm it with the broker before acting. If you find a number that no longer matches the broker's documents, write to [email protected] and we will re-check it.

The known limits of this method

The method cannot give a broker's exact cost because no spread, commission, swap or minimum deposit is published here as a number. Costs depend on the account type, the instrument and market conditions at the time of the trade, and those are set by the broker, not by this site. A reader using the calculators gets a raw figure before costs; the amount actually debited or credited will differ once the broker's charges are applied.

The leverage figure is a cap, not a promise of margin efficiency. Up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits is the maximum available in the UAE, and it varies by instrument. The worked margin of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot gold position uses the stated reference price and does not account for price movement, so margin requirements can change as the market moves. The method does not model slippage, gaps or weekend risk.

Regulatory and entity facts are limited to the supplied caveat that FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA. The method does not verify suitability for an individual reader, does not assess tax treatment in the UAE, and does not convert USD figures to AED at a fixed rate. Any AED amount shown depends on the conversion rate at that moment. The method also cannot confirm that a funding method will work for a specific bank or card issuer.

The formula behind each calculator, expressed in words

The pip value calculator multiplies the pip size by the contract size and then by the position size in lots. For gold, one pip is 0.01 and one standard lot is 100 oz, so the pip value in USD is 0.01 × 100 × lots, which equals $1 per pip for a 1.00-lot position. The result is in USD; any AED display depends on the conversion rate at the time and is not fixed by the calculator.

The margin calculator divides the notional position value by the leverage ratio. Notional value is the reference price multiplied by 100 oz and by the number of lots. At the stated reference price of 4275.0 and leverage of 1:500, a 0.10-lot position has a notional value of 4275.0 × 100 × 0.10 = 42,750 USD, and margin is 42,750 ÷ 500 = 85.50 USD, matching the worked figure of about $85.50. Leverage is treated as a cap, not a recommended setting.

The position size calculator works backward from a risk amount: it divides the risk in account currency by the stop distance in pips and then by the pip value per lot. The stop distance is converted to pips using the 0.01 pip size for XAU/USD, and the pip value per lot is $1 as above. The output is the number of lots; the calculator does not add spread, commission or swap, so the final cost at the broker will differ from the raw risk figure.

Where the numbers come from

Every number on this site comes from the broker's own documents, and each figure carries the date it was read. Costs are described by what they consist of, such as the spread, commission and any swap or financing charge, and by what they depend on, such as the instrument and the account type. We do not publish a spread, commission, swap or minimum deposit as a number unless the broker states it and we have read it.

Worked examples use the instrument facts we hold: gold is XAU/USD, one standard lot is 100 oz, one pip is 0.01, and the reference price we use is about 4275.0. At 1:500 on standard forex accounts, within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits, varies by instrument, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin. That figure is an illustration of the margin formula, not a recommendation on position size.

How a broker fact is dated and re-checked

Every broker fact carries the date it was last confirmed against the broker's own published documentation. The date is recorded when a person checks the entity name, platform list, licence caveat or leverage cap, and it is shown alongside the fact so a reader can judge how current it is. A fact without a recent check date is treated as unconfirmed and is not presented as current.

Re-checking happens on a scheduled review and whenever a reader or reviewer flags a possible change. The review compares the site's statement with the broker's page for the same item: for example, whether FxPro Global Markets MENA Ltd. is still the entity serving the UAE, whether MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge are still listed, and whether the FCA, CySEC and FSCA caveat still matches. Leverage is re-checked against the UAE cap wording rather than assumed.

The date is not a guarantee of accuracy between reviews. If the broker changes a term without notice, the site can lag until the next check. That is why the date is shown rather than hidden: a reader can see when the fact was last verified and can confirm it directly with the broker before relying on it. No fact is backdated, and a changed fact replaces the old one rather than sitting beside it.

Where each class of figure on this site originates

Market prices shown on this site come from live XAU/USD data feeds and are referenced to a mid-price near 4275.0; they are not broker quotes. Broker facts such as the FxPro Global Markets MENA Ltd. entity, platform list (MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro Edge), and the FCA, CySEC and FSCA licences come from the broker's own published documentation. Leverage figures reflect the UAE cap of up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits and are not presented as a target.

Cost figures are not published as numbers on this site. Where a cost is discussed, it is described by what it consists of — spread, commission, swap or financing — and by what it depends on, such as instrument, account type and market conditions. No spread, commission, swap or minimum deposit is stated as a specific value because those are set by the broker and vary by account and market. The margin example of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot gold position at 1:500 is a worked illustration using the stated reference price and contract size.

Regulatory statements are limited to the exact caveat supplied: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA. No additional regulatory claims, compensation scheme details or passporting arrangements are added. Funding methods listed are cards (Visa/Mastercard), bank transfer and e-wallets, with local UAE bank transfer supported. Currency references use AED where relevant to UAE readers, but no exchange rate or conversion fee is stated as a number because those depend on the provider and are not part of the supplied facts.

What is deliberately not published and why

Spreads, commissions, swaps and minimum deposits are deliberately not published as numbers because they are set by the broker and vary by account, instrument and market conditions. Publishing a single figure would present a variable cost as a fixed one. Instead, the site names what the cost consists of and what it depends on, so a reader knows to check the broker's current terms rather than rely on a stale number.

Specific leverage ratios other than the stated UAE cap are not published. The only leverage figure used is up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits, and it is framed as a cap, not a setting to aim at. Publishing other ratios would invite readers to treat leverage as a target. The worked margin of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot gold position is an illustration, not a recommendation.

Promotions, bonuses, author names and personal endorsements are not published. No promotional content is invented, and no individual is named as an author because none was supplied. Regulatory claims are limited to the exact caveat that FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA. Funding methods are listed only as cards (Visa/Mastercard), bank transfer, e-wallets and local UAE bank transfer, without adding methods that were not supplied or stating fees as numbers.

Why the live price can differ from a broker quote

The live price on this site is a market data feed reference near 4275.0, while a broker quote is the price at which that broker will execute for your account. The two can differ because the broker applies its own spread, and the spread is not a fixed number published here. The feed shows a mid-market reference; the broker quote shows a buy price and a sell price with the cost built in, so the figures will not match exactly.

Timing and liquidity also separate the two. A feed updates continuously, while a broker quote reflects the liquidity available to that broker at that moment, which can be thinner or faster-moving around news, market open or low-liquidity periods. For gold, with one pip equal to 0.01 and one standard lot equal to 100 oz, a small difference in the quote changes the pip cost of a position, so the gap matters even when it looks minor.

The difference is not a fault in either source. The site does not publish a spread number, so it cannot promise that a broker quote will sit within a certain distance of the feed. A reader comparing the two should treat the feed as a reference and the broker quote as the executable price, and should confirm the current quote on the broker's platform before sizing a trade. Any AED conversion adds a further difference depending on the rate at that time.

What refreshes automatically and what a person reviews

Live XAU/USD prices refresh automatically from the market data feed and are shown near the reference level of 4275.0. These updates are machine-driven and are not individually checked before display. The automatic refresh covers price only; it does not update broker-specific costs, leverage terms or regulatory status, because those are not live-streamed facts and must be confirmed against the broker's documentation.

Broker facts such as the serving entity (FxPro Global Markets MENA Ltd.), the platform list and the licence caveat are reviewed by hand. A person checks them against the broker's published pages before they are added or changed. The UAE leverage cap of up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits is also a reviewed fact, not an automatic feed, and is presented as a cap rather than a setting to aim at.

Calculators run on the formulas described on this page and use the current reference price for margin and pip value. The formulas themselves are fixed and reviewed by hand; only the price input changes automatically. Funding method descriptions — cards, bank transfer, e-wallets and local UAE bank transfer — are hand-reviewed because availability can change without a market data signal. No promotional or bonus content is refreshed automatically because none is published.

What happens when two sources disagree

When two sources disagree, the broker's own published documentation takes precedence for broker facts, and the market data feed takes precedence for the live XAU/USD price. A third-party summary, forum post or comparison site is not used to override the primary source. If the broker's page and the site's current statement differ, the site is corrected to match the broker and the review date is updated.

If the broker's own pages conflict with each other — for example, one page lists a platform and another does not — the fact is treated as unconfirmed and is either removed or described as variable until it can be resolved. The site does not pick the more favourable version. For leverage, the UAE cap of up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits is stated as a cap, and any lower figure shown elsewhere is not averaged or blended into a new number.

For price, a disagreement between the live feed and a broker quote is expected and is not treated as an error. The site shows the feed price near the reference level of 4275.0 and explains that a broker quote can differ. When a disagreement cannot be resolved from primary sources, the site says so plainly and leaves the figure out rather than publishing a guess. No unresolved conflict is smoothed over with an invented number.

How a reader can reproduce any number on this site

Any number on this site can be reproduced by applying the stated formula to the stated inputs. For pip value on gold, use 0.01 × 100 × lots, which gives $1 per pip for 1.00 lot. For margin, multiply the reference price of 4275.0 by 100 oz by the lot size, then divide by the leverage cap of 500. For a 0.10-lot position that gives 42,750 USD notional and 85.50 USD margin, matching the worked figure of about $85.50.

To reproduce a position size, take the risk amount in the account currency, divide it by the stop distance in pips, then divide by the pip value per lot. The stop distance must be converted using the 0.01 pip size for XAU/USD. The result is a raw lot size before spread, commission and swap, so the reader should expect the broker's actual cost to be higher than the raw risk figure. No hidden adjustment is applied.

Broker facts can be reproduced by checking the broker's own documentation for the entity FxPro Global Markets MENA Ltd., the platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, and the licence caveat that FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK), CySEC and FSCA. Leverage can be checked against the UAE cap wording of up to 1:500 on standard forex accounts within DFSA/SCA-compliant limits. If a reader's check differs from the site, the review date shows when the site last confirmed the fact.