Fubon

Fubon (fubon.net) is an offshore broker registered in Belize, offering suspicious trading conditions. Should you invest in it? Read the review to find out.

The parent company of the broker, FUBON GLOBAL INC, is regulated by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC). We checked with the official records, and found the parent company in the IFSC's data of regulated entities. The regulator's main goal is to promote Belize as a financial offshore center while also providing the appropriate regulatory measures to support said endeavor.  Please note that, Belize has, over the years, become a reasonable location for forex brokers, yet is still is a home to many shady ones, so there may be offbeat aspects of Fubon.

The registration process required of us copies of ID documents, which is a good thing. All legit brokers require IDs before opening a live account. However, there was no demo account option, which means that we were not able to access a trading platform, nor a client dashboard. Furthermore, the legal documents that were offered as downloadable files were completely broken, redirecting us to an error page. We were able to find a privacy policy, information security, and a safety of funds subpages, but they were far less exiting than one would expect from a fully licensed broker. The fact of the missing terms and conditions, or any other binding document, certainly distances users from Fubon in a bad way. What' s more, is that some sections on the site seem unfinished, as if no one supervised them.

Anyway, the broker offers three account types, yet does not reveal the spread values (fixed or fluid), except in the Account Introduction page where it drops a minimum spread of 1.5 pips. The leverage is capped at 1:100. In the way of assests there are forex pairs, commodities, and and indices; a shallow choice for any trader.

The website is available in English and Chinese.

FUBON LOGIN

There seems to be an MT4 platform, which is always a good thing, since this terminal is on top of its game. This platform holds the popularity title for many a reason: advanced charting tools, custom indicators, Expert Advisors and more. MT4’s VPS allow for seamless automated trading at all times, uninterrupted by computer failures, sudden power cuts or connectivity issues.

The professional account type has a $40 commission per 1 million per side, which account for $4 per side per one standard lot. This means that any spread with the Pro ECN account, no matter how low or high, is increased by 0.8 pips.
The VIP account has also a fee structure, but the broker has chosen not to disclose the exact commission.

FUBON MINIMUM DEPOSIT

According to the Account Comparison page, the minimum deposit is $300 for the standard account, $3000 for the ECN one, and $50 000 for the VIP.

The same page gives us two depositing methods: Wire Transfer and Credit Card. While the Deposit Mode subsection adds to that number Skrill and Debit Cards. Add to that the ChinaUnionPay option as indicated in the Deposit and Withdrawal section, and what you get is confusion. This type of inconsistency, especially where payments are concerned is worrying even for a regulated broker.

Only payment by bank take taker up to 7 days. All other payment methods process deposit instantly.

The base currencies are USD, EUR, GBP.

There are  depositing fee issued by Fubon, according to the Deposit and Withdrawal section. There it is said that European Union debit card and Maestro  users will be issued a 0.35% charge. The same page claims that debit/credit cards are issued a 1.6% fee. The information is confusing, making no clear point what it fees and what it doesn't. This is yet another red flag for Fubon.

However, the payment methods themselves might launch transfer fees, so we urge users to be on the lookout for that.

FUBON WITHDRAWAL TIME AND FEES

The Deposit and Withdrawal section indicates that there are four means of withdrawing: Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, and China UnionPay.

All methods process the withdrawal request within 1 day.

There are no fees attached to withdrawals. However, if a user wishes to withdraw without trades, he/she will be levied a 2.6% charge.

It does not mention any minimum withdrawal amounts.

BOTTOM LINE

With all said it's not a surprise that we do not recommend Fubon as your broker. The payment inconsistencies, the missing terms and conditions, the offshore regulation all add up to a package that can lead to the loss of money. Until Fubon fixes itself, try some other legitimate broker.