Scope Markets South Africa Review
Our unbiased review of Scope Markets trading conditions & operations in South Africa
Scope Markets trades against their clients and you loss is their gain, they are a market maker. They widen their spreads in the middle of a trade and cause your stop loss to be hit as a result
Their withdrawal is very fast but their spreads on forex are not too low. Aside that i use them and they are an okay broker.
They are great for trading stocks and futures, they also introduced the iress terminal which is great.
Avoid this broker as it lacks transparency. What they say on their website is not what is applicable when you start trading. Their minimum withdrawal is also very high at 50 USD which makes no sense to me.
Scope Markets holds dual licenses from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya
| 👨 Broker Name | Scope Markets SA PTY. LTD. |
| 👨 Trading Name | Scope Markets |
| 👨 Accepts South African Traders | Yes |
| 👨 CEO | Robert J. Van Eyden |
| 👨 Parent Company | Rostro Group |
| 📅 Year Founded | 2014 |
| ⚖ Regulators | FSCA South Africa |
| ⚖ FSP No. | 47025 |
| ⚖ Authorized ODP | Yes |
| 📈 CFDs | Forex, Commodities, Indices, Shares, Crypto, Futures, Fractional Stocks |
| 📈 Physical Shares | US, UK, Europe |
| 🚀Leverage | 1:1000 |
| 🔎Auditors | - |
| 💻 Platforms | MT5 |
| 📋Account Types | One Account, Scope Invest Account |
| 💰 Minimum Deposit | 500 ZAR (50 USD) |
| 💰 Minimum Withdrawal | nil |
| 💱Base Currency | ZAR, USD |
| 📞Live Support | 24/5 |
| 🏖️ Inactivity Fee | $10 |
| ✅Reason To Trade | |
| ❌Reason To Avoid |
Regulation - 9/10
1. FSCA South Africa Broker License
Scope Markets is in South Africa where the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has granted them an FSP license to operate as a forex broker.
2. CMA Non-Dealing Forex Broker License 123
Scope Markets is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and licensed to operate as a non-dealing forex broker in Kenya.
Under this license, they can offer CFD products so you trade instruments without owning them.
3. Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) Derivative Broker License 143
Scope Markets Kenya is also a Capital Markets Authority (CMA) licensed NSE derivative broker.
Under this CMA license, Scope Markets can offer Nairobi Stock Exchange Derivatives to investors.
| 📍Country | ⚖️Regulator | #️⃣License No. | 📅Date License Issued | 🔒Trust |
| South Africa | FSCA | FSP47025 | 2016 | Medium |
| Kenya | CMA | 123 | 2019 | High |
| Kenya | CMA | 143 | 2019 | High |
Account Types - 5/10
1. One Account
The Scope Markets One Account, is the only CFD trading account type offered to South African traders.
It has a starting deposit of 500 ZAR (around 50 USD) and comes in ZAR & USD account currencies. The stop-out level on this account is 30%, leverage is 1:1000 & you get a dedicated account manager.
2. Scope Invest Account
With a 50 USD minimum deposit, you can open the Scope Invest Account use it to buy & hold real shares as well as fractional shares.
The leverage on the Invest Account is 1:1 stop-out is 30% and you also get a Personal Account Manager.
Account Management - 6/10
Account Currencies
Scope Markets has ZAR account currency for all their account types. USD is also available as an alternative account currency.
Maximum Number of Trading Accounts
At Scope Markets, you can open a maximum of 5 live trading accounts. These accounts can also be used for copy trading as there are no dedicated copy trading accounts at Scope markets.
Editing Leverage
You can edit the leverage on your Scope markets trading account as many times as you want, because there are no limits on how many times you can change leverage.
Negative Balance Protection
Scope Markets Negative Balance Protection ensures your trading account balance never goes into negative.
If by chance your account balance becomes negative, Scope Markets Kenya will refund the negative balance and restore your account balance back to zero.
Account Opening Procedure
Go to the Scope Markets website & click on register.
Fill in your email, phone number & country of residence on the registration page, create a password, then click the signup button.
You will be redirected to your Scope Markets Personal Area which is a dashboard where you are going to create your trading account from.
From your Personal Area, click on Trading Accounts.
You will notice a demo account is automatically created for you but this account is just for practice with fake cash.
To open a real account click on Live Account
Select the account type you wish to open and add an account label which is a nickname for the account & submit.
After creating your new trading account, you need to upload your Kenyan government ID & proof of address before the account is activated for live trading.
Scope Markets Withdrawal & Funding - 5/10
What is the Minimum Deposit for Scope Markets?
The Scope Markets minimum deposit is 500 ZAR (or 50 USD) for the One Account.
The minimum deposit for the Invest Account is 50 USD & with this account you can invest in real stock from various exchanges.
How to Deposit into Scope markets
1. Insta EFT
You can fund your Scope Markets Kenya account by transferring funds from your local bank account, to an account number that Scope Markets will generate.
2. Card Deposits
Scope markets also accepts deposits from Visa/Mastercard via Skrill.
3. Alternative Methods
Scope Markets also accepts deposits from Apple Pay, Mobicred, Samsung Pay, QR Code, Store Card, Zapper & Snap Scan.
4. Bank Wire
Scope markets allows you deposit via international bank wire but processing time can reach 3 to 5 days.
What is the Minimum Withdrawal from Scope Markets?
Scope Markets minimum withdrawal is $0 meaning you can withdraw any amount you wish.
How Long Does Scope Markets Withdrawal Take?
Scope Markets withdrawals are instant except you are withdrawing through international bank wire method.
Scope Markets recommends you send in your withdrawal requests early (before 18:00 GMT+3) so it can be processed same day.
Withdrawal requests from your Scope Invest Account should be sent via email to Scope Markets support teams.
Scope Market Fees - 6/10
1. Spread
Scope Markets spreads are moderate starting from 1.1 pips on the EUR/USD pair when using the Silver Account
2. Commission
When trading on the Scope Markets Gold Account the spreads tighten to an average of 0.2 pips but you pay a commission of $3.5 per side for every 100,000 units traded.
3. Overnight Fees (Swaps)
At Scope Markets, you pay to leave your CFD positions open till the next day.
4. Inactivity Fees
Scope Markets does not charge an inactivity fee on dormant accounts, but you risk the accounts being closed.
5. Withdrawal Fees
Scope Markets will allow you to make on free withdrawal per day after which a withdrawal fee will be applied and the fee can reach 35 USD.
We are not sure why they would impose such a high withdrawal fee but it sure does not encourage beginners.
Range of Markets - 7/10
1. Forex CFDS (1:1000 Leverage)
Over 70 forex pairs are listed for trading at Scope markets Kenya; These include major, minor & even exotic pairs like the ZAR/USD
2. Metal CFDs
You can trade Gold & Silver CFDs at Scope Markets Kenya, using leverage up to 1:400. Note that Gold & Silver are the only Metals listed on the Scope markets product catalogue.
3. Indices CFDs
Scope Markets Kenya has Nasdaq, South Africa 40 ( SA40), US Dollar Index (DXY) & several other indices available for trading.
4. Energy CFDs
Oil & Natural Gas are the only Energies available for trading at Scope Markets.
5. Share CFDs
Over 300+ Share CFDs (including Fractional Share CFDs) are listed for trading on the Scope markets website.
6. Soft Commodity CFDs
You can trade over 10+ soft commodity CFDs such as Cocoa, US Coffee, Orange Juice Cash, etc. at Scope Markets.
7. Real Shares & ETFs
You can buy & own over 1,000+ shares of international companies, using the Scope Markets investment platform.
7. Futures CFDs
You can trade 20+ futures such as Nasdaq futures, US dollar index futures, etc.
8. Crypto CFDs
You can trade 10+ cryptocurrency pairs at Scope Markets and these include BTC/USD, ETH/USD etc.
| 🛒CFD | #️⃣Number | 🚀Leverage |
| Forex | 70+ | 1:400 |
| Metals | 4 | 1:400 |
| Energy | 2 | 1:10 |
| Stocks | 400+ | 1:10 |
| Indices | 12 | 1:400 |
| Soft Commodities | 10+ | 1:10 |
Trading Platforms - 3/10
Scope Markets Kenya has an over-dependence on MetaTrader because MT5 is the only trading platform they offer.
The danger in this is that of the MT5 platform is down due to technical issues, you could be locked out of your active trades indefinitely.
We expected Scope Markets to at least build a proprietary mobile app that traders can use to access their trades if MT5 is unavailable.
Trading Tools - 3/10
1. Dividend Calendar
Scope Markets Kenya offers a dividend calendar that tells you the companies that pay dividends & the dividend payment dates.
A dividend calendar is important because, when dividends are paid, the price of a stock will always be affected & you can also earn dividend if you hold a CFD buy position on the stock.
2. Economic Calendar
Scope Markets Kenya offers an economic calendar that tells you hen important market moving economic data (such as Nonfarm Payroll, CPI, PCE, Interest Rates) will be released.
Customer Support - 7/10
1. Live Chat
Scope Markets has 24/5 live chat but there is no automatic response from a bot which would have been helpful for resolving petty issues. You have to wait for a human to respond in around 3 minutes which is time wasting.
2. WhatsApp
You can also communicate with Scope Markets 24/5 via WhatsApp & the response time is fast (around 1 minute).
3. Email
Scope Markets has a 24/5 dedicated support email address where you can send your queries to & get a response within 30 minutes (on working days).
4. Personal Account Manager
Scope Markets assigns Personal Account Managers to Gold & Scope Invest Account holders only.
5. FAQ Section
Scope Markets does not have a proper Help Center, instead they provide an FAQ section which does not have a search function so it is difficult searching for answers.
| 🎧 Live Chat Support | Yes |
| 📧 Email Support | Yes |
| 📞 Telephone Support | Yes |
| 📖 Help Center | Yes |
| 👨 Personal Account Manager | Yes |
| 👩🏫 Academy | No |
Final Verdict - 5.6/10
| 📷 Broker | 📷 Regulation | Deposit & Withdrawals | Account Types | Account Management | Range of Markets | Fees | Platforms | Tools | Support | Score |
| HFM | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8.6 |
| Pepperstone | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8.2 |
| Exness | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7.8 |
| FXPesa | 10 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6.2 |
| Scope Markets | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5.6 |
Not a broker for beginners. Scope Markets is best for experienced traders because of the lack of adequate trading tools/platforms & the not so transparent spreads.