With more than 300 tradable instruments covering a range of asset classes, including Forex, CFDs, and Commodities, BlackBull Markets is a top broker based in New Zealand. In 2021, BlackBull Markets services are located in over 180 countries.
This is a global broker with top tier regulation but is BlackBull Markets safe? The only way to know for sure is to let our experts take you through the myriad of features and our experience during the ultimate BlackBull Markets review. Our experts have all the little details on this top Kiwi broker.
Offers And New Customer Experience – Bonuses and an easy opening
Some brokers like to offer bonuses to their customers such as those seen offered by Firstrade. At BlackBull Markets traders have a Refer a Friend program that sees traders earning up to $250US for referring a client who goes on to deposit and trade at BlackBull Markets.
Opening an account at BlackBull Markets is super simple and during our BlackBull review, it took us about 10 – 15 minutes to complete the online application during our BlackBull Markets review. All we needed to do was provide some pretty basic information, choose an account type, and then upload our documents for the KYC procedure. The KYC at BlackBull is nothing new – just the usual documentation is required like a government ID and proof of address – and the process is completely digital. During our BlackBull Markets review, our account was approved within a single business day.
Usability – What is BlackBull Markets?
The web trading platform, also known as MetaTrader 4, is a very highly customizable platform with tons of charting capabilities. The app is fairly intuitive, but the layout and display does look rather dated. One-step logins are incredibly fast and easy, but a lack of two-factor authentication would have certainly been better. Novice traders may struggle at times to find hot tradable assets as you can’t really search for anything directly, rather you can find assets by category.
You’d think the mobile trading platform would be the same as the web traders, as they are both MetaTrader 4, but there are some seriously beneficial differences. The desktop platform is as intuitive as the mobile app but has the additional function of alerts and notifications. The trading platforms are all highly functional with excellent features, but the learning curve may be a bit steep for some beginners.
Accounts – A massive 5 accounts
During our BlackBull Markets review we encountered 5 different account types on offer. The accounts are designed to cover a range of trader levels from beginner to institutional trader. The first account is the standard account – perfect for novice traders and the account benefits from zero commissions, 1:500 leverage, and a minimum deposit of $200. Next is the Prime account which is designed for more competitive traders who need an edge over the competition. Pips start at just 0.2 and Prime traders can access up to 1:500 leverage too.
For those highly trained in finance and going to be trading in extreme volumes, BlackBull Markets offer an institutional account which requires a minimum deposit of $20,000. Islamic traders are covered at BlackBull Markets too. During our BlackBull Markets review, we tested their swap-free account that is in complete compliance with Sharia Law – much like the Swap-Free account seen in our Plus500 review. Finally, the last account we confirmed during our BlackBull Markets review is the Active Trader account. To be eligible for the Active Trader account, you’ll need to be a successful high-volume trader and with the account you can receive rebates and a dedicated account manager who is available 24/5.
Some brokers just have a web trader, but our BlackBull Markets review uncovered so much more. There are 3 platforms provided by BlackBull Markets: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and a web trader. MetaTrader 4 is a world-renowned trading platform that is globally recognized for reliability and intuitive functionality. MetaTrader 5 is an even more advanced version with faster processing speeds, more instruments, and additional trading tools. Both platforms are available on iOS, Android, and Windows devices according to our BlackBull Markets review.
Web traders are typically designed by the broker and aren’t third party software. However, at BlackBull Markets, the web trader is the MetaTrader 4 platform accessed through your browser. We tested the most popular web browsers during our BlackBull Markets review. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox were all supported.
We also noted during our BlackBull Markets review, that all three trading platforms can be accessed in demo mode also. You can open a demo account for 30 days and practice trading in real-time with a virtual bankroll of $100,000.
Trading Payments – Is BlackBull Markets reliable?
Our BlackBull Markets review dug deep into the payment methods at this New Zealand broker. There are almost a dozen currencies supported at BlackBull Markets including USD, NZD, AUD, and Euro. At BlackBull Markets, there are a great number of ways to fund your account – far more than other major platforms like what we identified in our FPmarkets review.
These are the payment methods we identified during our BlackBull Markets review:
- Visa and Mastercard
- Skrill (USD account only)
- NETELLER
- China Union Pay
- FasaPay
- Bank Wire
All payment methods, excluding Bank Wire, provide instant deposits at BlackBull Markets. Bank Wire transfers will take 1 – 3 business days to be processed and our BlackBull Markets review tests confirmed these times. The minimum deposit for the standard account is $200, the Prime account is $2,000, and institutional investors will need a minimum of $20,000.
Credit cards, NETELLER, Skrill, and Bank transfers are your withdrawal options, and they all incur a 5.00 base salary withdrawal fee for every transaction. Most withdrawals can take up to 3 – 5 business days and we confirmed this during our BlackBull Markets review.
Fees – No commissions and low fees
For our BlackBull Markets review, we conducted a thorough analysis of their trading fees and determined they are rather low. There are no commissions on the standard account, but prime account holders will find variable commissions. For example, we saw a $3 commission per lot per trade on the major currency pair EUR/USD.
In terms of account management, there are no charges to open an account and there are no inactivity fees either. Our BlackBull Markets review noted that the fees are also built into the spread for all accounts and are variable between the different assets. These commissions found during our BlackBull Markets review are higher than many competitors but can still be considered quite low – not as low as the prices seen in our PrimeXBT review.
Customer Service – Reach support 24/6
General support hours at BlackBull Markets are on New Zealand hours – 10:00 – 23:00 NZT – but this broker also offers live agent support through the Live Chat that is available 24 hours, 6 days a week. We also confirmed email support during our BlackBull Markets review and noted that a direct email address is provided. You can also email departments directly such as deposits or compliance.
The phone support during our BlackBull review was tremendously fast and responses were rather relevant too. However, email responses were a little hit and miss, with slow response times and information not always being entirely clear. We saw other BlackBull Markets reviews that had email issues too. 24/7 support would have been ideal but 24/5 is also a solid output.
Regulation and Deposit Insurance – Is BlackBull Markets safe?
When trading online, you really do want to entrust your money to a regulated and licensed broker. A reputable licence is a sign of a safe broker as they are held accountable by government or government-backed bodies. To obtain a reputable license, a broker needs to employ safe business practices and be compliant with financial regulations in that jurisdiction. BlackBull Markets is registered in New Zealand with the Financial Services Provider and is regulated by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Our BlackBull Markets review also noted that the broker is registered in the UK and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles.
There is no deposit insurance at BlackBull Markets, but other security measures have been made to protect client funds. This information was also very transparent during our BlackBull Markets review. BlackBull Markets keep client funds in secure and segregated accounts from that of the brokers. The client funds are held at one of New Zealand’s oldest banks, ANZ, and the bank is secure, reliable, and located in one of the most politically stable countries in the world. Essentially, this means if the broker goes bust, your money is still secure and protected. BlackBull Markets also leverage Straight Through Processing (STP) to provide even further security, as BlackBull Markets are effectively cut off from client trades. There is no concern of a BlackBull Markets scam as this broker is most certainly legitimate.
Additional Features – Extra bits but no BlackBull Markets crypto trading
During our BlackBull Markets review we noted that this broker has teamed up with 2 leading social trading platforms. ZuluTrade allows BlackBull Markets traders to auto-trade CFDs and Forex by copying other traders or following bots. The 2nd social trading platform is MyFxBook, which offers BlackBull Markets traders with a load of analysis tools. We were very pleased to see this integration during our BlackBull Markets review since copy-trading is an excellent trading tool for beginners.
There is also free VPS hosting and the FIX API that affords algorithmic trading through advanced trading solutions. BlackBull Markets offers free VPS hosting to Prime account holders through their affiliate, BeeksFX who are strategically located in London, Japan, and New York to provide maximised execution speeds and low latency. The VPS offerings at BlackBull Markets also include the free NYC servers hosted in New York City and they are dedicated just to Forex trading. BlackBull Markets traders can trade faster and more efficiently due to lower latency by being so close to the BlackBull Equinix servers.
Overall Conclusion – BlackBull Markets experience and rating
Traders looking to invest in more than 300 CFDs and 31 different forex pairs will just love the low fees at BlackBull Markets. The account opening is seamless from any supported country and the educational tools will get any novice trading before they know it. 24/6 support is a welcome edition, and the range of deposit methods is quite large considering how small many major brokers and exchanges are going these days.
However, the lack of a BlackBull Markets Crypto platform is disappointing and the number of CFD assets could be more expansive. Research tools are quite basic and more advanced traders may find themselves limited on the trading platform. The minimum deposit for Prime Accounts is also a bit excessively high. With that being said, the quality of CFDs offered, extremely low trading fees, and trading platform simplicity makes BlackBull Markets a perfect way for beginners and intermediate traders to invest online.
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