While researching forex brokers, I came to the conclusion that Oanda seems to be the best of the worst so I opened an account with them. When it came to funding, I found out that whichever means you choose to make your deposit is the same way you have to make withdrawals. 1) When I saw that they accepted Paypal to make a deposit, i was thrilled at first as paypal is usually quick, easy and instant. Come to find out, not only does paypal charge you a fee, Oanda does so as well. If you decide to fund via paypal, you get hit with fees every time you make a deposit. Paypal...no go. 2) Funding via wire transfer. If you fund via wire, you have to withdraw via wire. So everytime I withdraw, $20 wire transfer fee. No thanks. 3) Funding via checks. Takes FOREVER. 2 weeks I was quoted by the online rep. I've never seen any broker make it so difficult to get money to them. Besides, they wanted all sorts of documents such as a current utility bill to verify name and address. I've had many accounts at different places in the past and never has it been this difficult. Also, their live online help is useless. They always refer you to a link on the website for you to find the answers to your questions yourself. When I asked them which way of funding is the least expensive way they told me that "they don't make recommendations". Has anybody had similar experiences with Oanda? I'm starting to think to not trade through them especially when I saw this thread: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=189161 I know everybody says IB is the best but starting out in forex, I dont want to make a $10k deposit. Any suggestions?
Just wire them and don't take money out all of the time ... that's my advice. Your money will get there rather fast (I heard stories of people having it there within 12 hours, for me it takes 2 days). Oanda is really good and overall very fair if you take into account the times when figures are out (go to www.forexfactory.com to find out the times) when spreads widen. If you really want to trade the news (which I would advise against) I would go for forex futures. I traded through IB too and soon found out those commissions really add up. I was scalping short term and was having like over 10k in commissions in less than a year on about 10K account.
oh, and that thread is bullshit by someone that needs attention probably imo ... or like some people suggested: shilling for another broker ...
danmb280, it must be a Very long time since you've opened an account with a broker i found Oanda to be very efficient in processing my initial application and notifying me after they'd received and deposited my funds to my account, their withdrawal fees - wire fee are low compared to others who often double them; wire transfer delays are usually bank oriented located in Canada, cheques drawn on US banks used to take 10 days to clear, that is the bank would withhold funds for 10 days, now this period has been increased at the bank i use to 30 days, and that's no guarantee the funds clear, just the grace period the bank feels it needs these days EVERY broker in the world now requires proof of identity in the form of driver licence or passport - picture id, plus proof of residence by way of a utility bill, the requirements are government regulations - not brokers, and are primarily for anti-money laundering prevention as is the same-same deposit-withdrawal method used
I opened my first forex account with Oanda. I funded it with Pay Pal too. I was just as irritated when the fees came off of the top of my account too. Okay, no big deal. All the Oanda heads are constantly shilling for them so I believed them. âOanda is goodâ they chant over and over again in all the forums. Then Oanda ran my stops. They being the bucket shop that they are moved their little bucket about one hundred and sixty (160) pips away from the rest of the world and took me out of the market whilst I slept. I come to find out that it happens regularly there. Others have complained too. I started making money when I moved to a different broker. At then end of the day, you have to follow your own judgment. But please do not continue with them just because someone you have never met and does not know you says theyâre really good in a forum thread. If you can satisfy your doubts then stay. If not, find another. Good luck to you!
infrequently but repeatedly someone - usually a newbie starts a thread about how their broker 'ran my stops' what a load of crap fx brokers don't generate prices prices come from a data feed, maybe it's Reuters, maybe eSignal, maybe a bank/s i don't use Stops, but a Stop that's "about one hundred and sixty (160) pips away from the . . . market" makes no sense to me siafx, show me a chart of the prices, your entry and your Stop - tho i don't imagine you have that info now - so i can try and understand what you're talking about, however 'Oanda added trailing stops' 05-31-09: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=165562 i don't know if Oanda has similar info but FXCM goes a long way to try and inform people about fx trading - see for instance: 'Trading Execution Risks': http://www.fxcm.com/execution-risks.jsp "At then end of the day, you have to follow your own judgment." - i agree
Wallace, you are out of line. Stop running takes place in almost every market. Get a clue. Don't believe it? Who cares? Go stick your head in the sand and don't worry about it. Oanda is a market maker. That means what ever price they display IS the market. They don't have to follow any one. Every time someone talks about stop running, some amateur forum critic chimes in. Seriously. Go back in your moms basement and play Halo or something. You are not ready for the harshness of the markets. Stop running does not exist only to you ,O Wallace the Stopless Wonder of the Forex World.
Very true Not true, because that would mean that oanda charts are showing spikes that are non existing in real markets. I am gonna believe you if you post a proof of a suspicious oanda chart prices otherwise your not very convincing.
Oanda is a place where you put your money and never withdraw it, you just hope and pray it will still be there when you need it. Witdrawal fees are a bit of a ripoff.