CFD Platform Plus500: Is It a Scam or a Regular Platform?

CFD trading has become a popular trading instrument amongst the global trading community because of the profit opportunities it provides. Individuals interested in CFD trading can do so if they just quickly conduct a google search, which will retrieve a multitude of professional CFD brokerage sites. However, many of these brokers seem legitimate from above but are in fact, scams and frauds.

Plus500 Website

Overview:

• Minimum Deposit: $100
• Maximum Leverage: 1:30 (T&Cs apply)
• Tradable Assets: over 2800
• Regulated by: Plus500AU Pty Ltd. is Authorised Financial Service Provider (#47546) in South Africa
• Demo Account: Yes

Note: CFD Service. Your capital is at risk

Although an overwhelming number of brokers advertised on the net are fraudulent, there is still an overwhelming demand for CFD trading services online. For those who don’t know, CFDs are a kind of derivative product that allows traders to speculate on instruments like shares, indices, commodities,and forex, without having ownership of the underlying asset. 

Plus500 is one such project that is heavily talked about in trading circles around the world. It’s a reputed CFD platform that offers a universal leveraged CFD trading experience, coupled with trademark functions and a good performance track record. It offers its comprehensive product line to clients in more than 50 countries. It was also one of the first brokers in the world to introduce a Bitcoin CFD product back in 2013.

However, many people have typed in the search query “Plus500 Scam” in various trading forums, indicating that a group of traders have some concerns about its legitimacy. This article aims to address and inspect these concerns by looking through its features, regulations and how it works. It is natural for some individuals to be concerned because of the prevalence of fraudulent brokers in the online trading market.

Signs of a scam

There has been an overwhelming number of entities masquerading as legitimate CFD platforms in the online space. Many of them entice newcomers and novice traders into signing up for their services after which they get trapped. To prevent yourself from getting involved with a scam CFD broker, be on the lookout for the following signs of a scam.

1. Unrealistic promises in advertisements: The first thing you will notice that these scam sites normally promote their services with false statements. CFD trading can be profitable but it depends on a variety of factors and no single software can accurately produce profits all the time. Any broker claiming otherwise need to be scrutinised as there are high chances that they are frauds.
2. Unnecessary regulations during withdrawals: Most reputed CFD platforms make sure that their withdrawal process is as transparent as ever, such as those found in Plus500. However, one of the hallmark traits of a scam platform is to present hurdles and ask for unnecessary documents when withdrawing your amount. In actuality, these are all excuses to stall the customer from withdrawing their money. A lot of times, scam brokers can block users from withdrawing their money after which the client can consider legal action.
3. No risk warning: There is always a degree of risk when trading any kind of instrument and trading CFDs aren’t any different. If you encounter online ads that don’t include a risk warning, stay away from them. Almost all of them end up as frauds.
4. Non-Regulated: Finally, fraudulent entities that pose as legitimate CFD platforms often fail to disclose the regulatory bodies they are under. This mainly because they are unregulated or are regulated by an irrelevant regulatory authority. Clients should always focus on the regulations of their platforms before they begin trading with them.

Is Plus500 a scam?

We've discussed the tell-tale signs of a scam CFD platform above, but the question remains, Is Plus 500 a scam? The short answer is no, as Plus500 displays too many characteristics of a reliable, reputable, and legitimate platform to be considered a scam.

Plus500 is originally an Israel-based platform which has since grown in size and amassed a formidable customer base that spans across the world. It is a CFD-only platform which offers more than 2800 CFD trading instruments and a proprietary platform called WebTrader. Compared to some of its peers, it is one of the most effective and low-cost platforms which has a user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate platform.

Is Plus500 real?

As mentioned before Plus500 displays all the signs of a legitimate and reliable platform. To prove this, we will have to take a deep dive into the broker’s formation, regulations, and licensing.

• Plus500 formation: The company behind Plus500 wasfounded back in 2008 by a group of 6 Technion - Israel Institute of Technology students: Shimon Sofer, Gal Haber, Alon Gonen, Elad Ben-Izhak, Shlomi Weizmann,and Omer Elazari. Over the years the broker has become a global company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Currently, Plus500 has offices in London, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Singapore, and Limassol.
• Plus500 Regulation and licensing: Plus500 is regulated by the financial authorities of three major countries like South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The details are as follows.
  • Plus500AU Pty Ltd with ACN 153301681;
  • Licensed as Authorised Financial Services Provider in South Africa, FSP #47546
  • FMA in New Zealand, FSP #486026
  • ASIC in Australia, AFSL #41772

Note: CFD Service. Your capital is at risk

Frequently Asked Questions

Despite some traders complaining online, Plus500 displays all the characteristics of a reputed broker. With a customer base stretching across the world, a proprietary, licensed platform,and regulated by some of the major regulatory authorities in the world, brokers can rest assured that they will get a reliable and effective broker when they join Plus500.

It usually takes 3 to 7 business days for completing withdrawals and receiving funds in your bank account from Plus500. This of course depends on what payment method you use, and the processing time taken by the third-party remitter. From Plus500’s side, they complete withdrawal request processing within 1 to 3 business days, which is the time required to perform security checks related to account verification. All the factors mentioned above point towards Plus500 being a broker that you can trust while you conduct CFD trading on various markets.