As one of the largest Forex brokers in Australia, Pepperstone is very popular in the Asia-Pacific region and has become a global Forex and CFD broker. It was one of the first brokers to adopt low-spread trading in Forex and maintains this reputation through its active trader program.
Pepperstone History & Regulation
Co-founded by several professional Forex traders in 2010 in Melbourne, Pepperstone was established with the mission of providing low spreads and fast execution in Forex trading. As a pioneer of low trading costs, it soon became one of the most popular brokers in Australia and the surrounding Asia-Pacific region.
Pepperstone has expanded its brand into the sporting field. In Australia, it is the official partner of the Geelong Cats football club and the Adelaide Strikers cricket club. Additionally, American tennis legend John McEnroe has joined Pepperstone as a brand ambassador.
After its success in the Asia-Pacific region, Pepperstone expanded into Europe in 2016 by obtaining the license from the UK FCA. In the following years, it further expanded by successfully acquiring licenses in Dubai, Germany, and Cyprus. Additionally, Pepperstone holds two offshore licenses in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.
| Regulator | License Number | Regulator | License Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU ASIC | 414530 | Cyprus SEC | 388/20 |
| UK FCA | 684312 | Germany BaFin | 151148 |
| Dubai FSA | F004356 | ||
Pepperstone Trading Platforms
Pepperstone offers four platforms, including the industry standardized MT5 and MT4, cTrader, and its newly launched proprietary platform. For those with experience of Meta Quote platform, MT5 is more recommended as its the most cutting-edge platform with the best support from Meta Quote.
For its own proprieraty Pepperstone platform, we generally don’t recommend using a newly launched platform as the primary trading platform. Pepperstone also supports connecting its razor account to the web platform of TradingView – the world’s most popular charting platform.
MT4
EA: Support Scalping: Support
Terminal: Web, Desktop, Mobile app
MT5
EA: Support Scalping: Support
Terminal: Web, Desktop, Mobile app
cTrader
EA: Support Scalping: Support
Terminal: Web, Desktop, Mobile app
Pepperstone Platform
EA: Not support Scalping: Support
Terminal: Desktop, Mobile app
What is Pepperstone Pro
Pepperstone Pro refers to professional traders. By default, new traders are classified as retail traders with a maximum leverage of 1:200. However, all traders can unlock higher leverage of up to 1:500 by answering a few questions online to qualify as professional traders. This can be done easily from Pepperstone Client Area. Simply follow the three steps below:
Step one: Log into Pepperstone Secure Client Area, click on 「Apply for Pro」at the top left.
Step two: Press the 「Classify in Minutes」 button under ‘Why Pepperstone Pro,’ follow the instructions, and complete the questionnaires.
Step three: Switch to the 「Trading Account」 section in the Client Area and click the edit icon for the account you want to change the leverage. The options for 1:300, 1:400, and 1:500 will now be available.
In addition to higher leverage, Pepperstone Pro also offers a lower stop-out level: 20%, compared to 50% for retail traders.
Pepperstone Account Types & Spread
Despite offering four trading platforms, Pepperstone keeps its account types simple with just two options: the Standard Account and the Razor Account. The difference between them lies in the fee structure. In the Standard Account, Pepperstone only charges a spread, while in the Razor Account, it charges a raw spread plus a commission.
However, the overall trading cost in the Razor Account is approximately $3 lower per lot compared to the Standard Account. Surprisingly, there is no minimum deposit required for either account.
1). Pepperstone Standard Account
| Pepperstone Average Spread - Standard Account | ||
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | Average Spread | Commission |
| EURUSD | 1.1 | 0 |
| USDJPY | 1.4 | |
| GBPUSD | 1.2 | |
| XAUUSD | 0.16 | |
| SpotCrude | 0.03 | |
| SpotBrent | 0.03 | |
| US30 | 2.6 | |
| US500 | 0.4 | |
| NAS100 | 1.9 | |
Platform：MT4 | MT5 | cTrader
Max Leverage：Forex & Gold 500x | Index 400x | WTI & BRENT 100x | BTC 10x | Equity CFDs 20x
Min Trading Lot: Forex 0.01 lots | Gold 0.01 lots(100 oz) | Oil 0.01 lots(10 barrels) | Index 0.01 lots
Min Deposit Requiremnt: 0
Stop-out Level: 20%
Trading Fees: Spread
As a pioneer of low-spread trading, Pepperstone offers very competitive spreads in its Standard Account. In addition to Forex pairs, its gold spread is also impressive. Traders can often see extremely low spread levels of 0.1 (equivalent to $10 per lot), with the average spread being around 0.16.
2). Pepperstone Razor Account
| Pepperstone Average Spread - Razor Account | ||
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | Average Spread | Commission |
| EURUSD | 0 | $7 |
| USDJPY | 0.4 | |
| GBPUSD | 0.2 | |
| XAUUSD | 0.16 | 0 |
| SpotCrude | 0.03 | |
| SpotBrent | 0.03 | |
| US30 | 2.6 | |
| US500 | 0.4 | |
| NAS100 | 1.9 | |
Platform：MT4 | MT5 | cTrader
Max Leverage：Forex & Gold 500x | Index 400x | WTI & BRENT 100x | BTC 10x | Equity CFDs 20x
Min Trading Lot: Forex 0.01 lots | Gold 0.01 lots(100 oz) | Oil 0.01 lots(10 barrels) | Index 0.01 lots
Min Deposit Requiremnt: 0
Stop-out Level: 20%
Trading Fees: Spread + commission
In the Razor Account, Pepperstone charges the raw spread plus a $7 commission per round turn on Forex trades. There is no commission on other instruments, including gold, and their spreads are the same as in the Standard Account.
Compared to the Standard Account, the overall trading cost in the Razor Account is approximately $3 lower per lot.
Pepperstone Active Trader Program
Pepperstone offers active trader program for high-volume traders, providing up to a 30% discount on trading fees. Additionally, the discount is refunded daily into traders’ accounts one day after the trade is closed.
To enroll in the Active Trader Program, traders must first upgrade to Premium Client status. The official requirement to qualify as a Premium Client is as follows:
- Achieve a monthly trading volume of 15 million (approx. 150 lots of Forex or 65 lots of gold) for two consecutive quarters.
We recommend traders take advantage of this opportunity whenever they meet the trading volume requirement. Simply email premium@pepperstone.com. After upgrading to Premium Client status, traders will receive rebates based on the previous month’s trading volume, according to the tiers below.
Tiers | Rebates | Trading Volume Requirement (Lots) | |||
| Forex | Commodity & Index | ||||
| FX Lots | Commodity Lots | Index Lots | |||
| Tier 1 | $1 per lot | 10% | < 200 | < 400 | < 2,000 |
| Tier 2 | $2 per lot | 20% | 200 < 1,500 | 400 < 3,000 | 2,000 < 15,000 |
| Tier 3 | $3 per lot | 30% | > 1,501 | > 3,001 | > 15,001 |
For indices and commodities, the rebate only applies to a select list of instruments. Please click here to view the full list.
Pepperstone Deposit & Withdrawal Details
1). Pepperstone Deposit Methods
Pepperstone supports various deposit methods, including bank wire, credit card, cryptocurrency, digital wallets, and local bank transfers. Best of all, Pepperstone doesn’t charge any fees for any deposit channels.
(1). Bank Wire
Pepperstone holds its clients’ funds with Barclays Bank in London. Traders can easily find the bank details in the Secured Client Area. Bank wire might incur fees of approximately $25, including charges from the remittance bank and the intermediary bank.
(2). Visa/Master Card
Visa and MasterCard holders can deposit using this channel, but it requires enabling the online payment function of the card.
(3). Cryptocurrency
Pepperstone accepts three types of USDT: USDT-TRC20, USDT-ERC20, and USDT-BEP20.
(4). PayPal/Skrill/Neteller
In addition to Skrill and Neteller wallets, Pepperstone is one of the very few Forex brokers that support PayPal deposits.
(5). Local Bank Transfer
In many emerging markets such as China, Malaysia, and Thailand, Pepperstone provides the option of local bank transfers. Traders from these countries can deposit in their local currencies.
2). Pepperstone Withdrawal Methods
For withdrawals, traders must first withdraw the funds to the original deposit method. Any surplus will then be sent via bank wire. For instance, if a trader deposits $1,000 by credit card and wishes to withdraw everything after their equity increases to $1,500, the initial $1,000 must be returned to the credit card, and the remaining amount will be sent via bank wire.。
Similar to deposits, Pepperstone doesn’t charge anything for withdrawals. However, for bank wire withdrawals, traders will need to cover the intermediate bank fee, which is approximately $15. Here are the withdrawal processing times for reference:
- Bank wire: 3 – 5 business days (1 – 3 days in most cases).
- Credit card: 1 – 3 business days.
- Crypto/PayPal/Skrill/Neteller: 1 – 2 business days.
- Local bank transfer: 1 – 2 business days.
Pepperstone Signup Process
It only takes 10 minutes to sign up for a live account online with Pepperstone. During the first step of the signup process, traders will need to manually set up a password for the secured Client Area.
The default platform in the account setup step is Pepperstone’s proprietary platform, but we recommend changing it to MT5 or MT4. The account type selected in this step is not crucial, once the application is approved, traders can apply for additional trading accounts in any account types.
Traders will be required to upload proof of ID, such as a passport, ID card, or driver’s license, for account verification. If it passes the automatic verification, traders can deposit and trade right away. Otherwise, Pepperstone will review the document within 1 – 2 days and notify the result by email.
