HighTopFX is a forex broker that has a very questionable reputation. I was unable to obtain their legal paperwork due to some kind of technical problem. In addition to that, this broker’s website (hightopfx.com) is riddled with glitches and other types of technological issues.
It seems as if the people running this firm don’t care about their clients at all, which is usually a sign of a scam. What’s worse is that the website (hightopfx.com) doesn’t give any contact information about the brokers. It reduces the reliability of HighTopFX considerably.
License and Guidelines for Using HighTopFX
The fact that this broker does not provide its customers with any essential information is the most alarming thing about it. It is a significant red flag pointing to the possibility that HighTopFX is a scam. They make no reference to the company’s address, nor do they provide a phone number or other means of communication.
The only piece of information that can be found about them is that they have their headquarters in Australia and have been in business since 2009. HighTopFX makes the claim that it is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is the government agency in charge of regulating the financial sector in Australia.
However, when I searched for “HighTopFX” in the ASIC register, I was unable to find any information about the company. This indicates that HighTopFX has been dishonest regarding its licensing and is, in fact, an unlicensed business. They are trying to hide the fact that they are an unlicensed broker by telling lies to all of their customers.
You should avoid doing business with brokers who lack appropriate licensing and oversight. There are a lot of cons operating in the foreign exchange market, which is why there are financial authorities in several regions such as the United States and Europe. To guarantee that forex brokers (and other similar service providers) do not operate in a manner that is detrimental to the interests of their customers, these regulators set stringent limits and laws on the industry.
On the other hand, unregulated and unlicensed businesses would not be required to adhere to those rules. They are able to act in a manner that is detrimental to your interests (such as stealing your data) and still walk away unscathed.
In addition to this, regulators such as the FCA provide insurance indemnity in the event that the broker is found guilty of stealing their customers’ money. For instance, in the event that your money is stolen by an FCA-regulated broker, the FCA may compensate you for up to £85,000. Unregulated brokerage firms do not provide their customers with such services. Trading in forex with an unregulated broker is not something I would suggest for a number of reasons, including this one.
HighTopFX Trading Conditions
You should always check the trading conditions of a forex broker before doing business with them. Let’s see what are trading conditions of this broker:
A good thing I noticed about this broker was that it offers the MetaTrader 4 platform to its clients. Almost all reputed forex brokers use these platforms because they offer a ton of features. MT4 lets you use a code base with custom scripting and automate your trades. Considering that it has been in the industry since 2005 and has become an industry leader, I was glad to see them offering this platform.
However, many shady brokers try to use the positive reputation of MetaTrader platforms to appear reliable. And it seems to me that HighTopFX is using this tactic as well.
Minimum Deposit
The minimum deposit requirement with HighTopFX is 1000 AUD (Australian Dollar). This is nearly eight times more than the industry average of 100 USD. It’s obvious that HighTopFX is a very greedy and fishy broker.
Many forex scams keep their initial deposit requirement high which allows them to grab a lot of funds immediately. Such brokers are aware of their pathetic services and so, they don’t give you a chance to test out their services beforehand. Instead, they force you to make a big financial commitment. In case you decide to discontinue availing of their services, they will steal the huge deposit you had made.
It’s a common strategy among shady forex brokers and that’s why I don’t recommend trading with HighTopFX.
Leverage and Spreads
The minimum leverage you can get with HighTopFX is 1:100. It is quite a high ratio by industry standards. However, that’s not all, their highest leverage can go up to 1:400!
High leverage is usually a sign of a scam. This is why financial regulators restrict their brokers on how much leverage they can offer to their clients. For example, the UK-based regulator FCA doesn’t allow its brokers to offer a leverage ratio higher than 1:30.
High leverage ratios can wipe out all of your earnings and even put you in debt quickly. They are very risky, especially if you’re a beginner.
Due to a technical glitch, I was unable to create a live account when utilizing the website of HighTopFX.com. It is most definitely not a positive indicator, and it makes them appear to be less trustworthy.
On the other hand, I was able to test out their sample account, and the spread on the EUR/USD pair was only 0.3 pips, which is really quite remarkable. However, there is no way to determine for certain whether or not they also provide this spread for their live trading accounts.
Payment Options and Fees Available at HighTopFX
Various Methods of Transactions
Users of HighTopFX have access to a very limited and unusual selection of deposit choices. When funding your trading account with this broker, the only payment methods that are acceptable are EFT, UnionPay, and AliPay. The standard methods of payment, such as credit and debit cards, as well as electronic wallets, were nowhere to be seen.
Please be aware that due to the numerous flaws that are present on their website, I was unable to verify whether or not their claimed deposit methods are indeed true. The fact that it kept happening raised the broker’s suspicions about the client.
Additionally, you should avoid making deposits of funds into your trading account using techniques that you are not comfortable with. Because the chargeback policies of each service provider are different, doing so can result in you losing the money you’ve worked so hard to earn.
HighTopFX does not provide a lot of information on its fees on its website. In point of fact, all that is said about their withdrawal costs is that they amount to thirty Australian Dollars (AUD) and that they apply to each additional withdrawal request. On the other hand, they fail to specify the typical maximum number of withdrawal requests that a user has access to.
However, despite my best efforts, I was unable to confirm the assertion that they handle withdrawal requests within three business days of receiving the request.
The information that HighTopFX offers regarding their costs is extremely ambiguous. They fail to provide any information on a dormant or inactivity fee, which raises suspicions about them. If a broker conceals such information from you, you should avoid working with them since it provides them with the opportunity to steal your money under the guise of arbitrary charges.
Extra Benefits That Can Be Obtained
There is no information provided by HighTopFX regarding the bonuses that are currently being offered. It is not obvious whether they currently conduct promotions or whether they have any plans to run promotions in the future.
Is HighTopFX a Fraud Organization? Definitely
Scams come in a wide variety of forms, and there are many of them operating in the foreign exchange market. A common tactic employed by con artists is to phone you unexpectedly and tell you that you are qualified to receive a prize at random. Some people would post advertisements on the internet claiming to give lucrative deposit bonuses or simple ways to make money.
It is not difficult to set up a sham website and populate it with false information. These con artists also prey on dealers with little to no experience. In most cases, these brokers do their business from offshore locations such as the Commonwealth of Dominica or Saint Vincent. They do business from these regions since those regions do not have financial regulations on the level of the United States or the United Kingdom. Because of this, they do not need to comply with any stringent rules and are able to effortlessly steal the money belonging to their consumers without fear of incurring any legal ramifications.
Before you begin trading with a broker, you should always make sure you have read and understood their regulations and terms and conditions.
The Wrap-Up of the HighTopFX Evaluation
The website of HighTopFX is horrible and is riddled with several errors and problems of a technical nature. They don’t supply you with any important information and the only way to get in touch with them is through their email address.
It is abundantly evident that this broker is not a dependable service provider because it has lied about having a license. Avoiding this broker is the best way to guarantee the security of both your money and your data.
There are several cons operating in the foreign exchange market, including HighTopFX. And their numbers continue to increase. The most effective method for combating these cons is to disseminate accurate information regarding them, as this will cause their schemes to collapse before they have even begun.
Please forward this article to any of your friends or acquaintances who express an interest in foreign exchange trading. They ought to be aware of the facts concerning con artists like that.
