OANDA Review

OANDA is one of the leading forex and CFD trading providers. But what does it offer? Read on to discover how OANDA elevates your trading journey.

Navigating the forex financial market can be an overwhelming task. Without the right trading platform, it's easy to feel lost in a sea of information.

OANDA has established itself as a trusted broker, but how do you know if it's a good fit for you?

In this review, explore the offerings, features, costs, pros and cons that OANDA brings to the table.

What is OANDA?

OANDA, short for Olsen and Associates, is one of the premier forex (foreign exchange) brokers in the world. The company has a strong track record of regulatory compliance.

This broker has one of the largest customer funds held. This demonstrates the company's commitment to providing a secure and reliable trading environment.

OANDA offers forex and CFD (contract for differences) traders all they need to effectively navigate the financial markets. OANDA claims to handle "all things currency," which includes:

• Currency conversion
  
• Offering foreign exchange data services
  
• Providing a global online brokerage service

This serves as a global online brokerage service and a trusted platform for traders worldwide. It is not publicly traded and does not operate as a bank.

Who Is OANDA Best For?

OANDA is best for:

• Experienced traders engaged in forex, options, and CFD trading
  
• Beginner traders who need easy-to-use platform
  
• Cryptocurrency enthusiast (cryptos are traded as CFDs in OANDA)
  
• Short-term investors

Unfortunately, CFD trading is not permitted in the U.S. Thus, from a technical standpoint, OANDA is primarily best for forex traders.

Who Should Skip OANDA?

Unfortunately, OANDA won't be suited for everyone. Here's who should skip it:

• Stock traders and investors (it doesn't offer US or international stocks)
  
• Traders who don't engage in currency or CFD trading

Now that you know whether you should skip OANDA or not, let's find out what it offers.

Pros and Cons

Listed below are some reasons that can help you decide whether you should use OANDA or not.

Pros:

• Exceptional customer service
  
• Offers quality market research
  
• Strong regulatory track record
  
• Easy-to-use mobile app
  
• Offers social copy trading
  
• Offers rebates for active traders
  
• No minimum deposit
  
• User-friendly platform
  
• Integrations with third-party platforms

Cons:

• Has new browsers that pop up
  
• Limited CFD offerings
  
• Limited withdrawal options
  
• Leverage is only 1:50
  
• Slow withdrawal processing
  
• Incomprehensive educational videos

Spreads and Fees

OANDA's trading costs are minimal compared to other brokers. OANDA doesn't have a required minimum deposit.

But just like any broker, it has bid/ask spreads, or the fees users pay to trade. This spread is seen in every trade (it's how the broker makes money). For the most popular currency pair EUR/USD, OANDA charges a 1.0 spread.

This broker also has a $10 monthly inactivity fee for accounts with no open trades for at least one year.^[2]

OANDA also charges $20 for the first withdrawal processed within calendar month through bank wire transfer. Additional withdrawals will cost $35^[3] However, they don't charge deposit fees.

There are also overnight financing charges. This is charged on trades that don't close at 5pm EST. This fee differs depending on the type of asset being traded and the number of trading days.

Is OANDA safe?

Yes, OANDA is safe and highly trusted. It is authorized by multiple top-tier regulators, including:^[4]

• Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)
  
• Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC)
  
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
  
• Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA)
  
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
  
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  
• Polish Financial Supervision Authority (PFSA)
  
• British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVIFSC)

What Does OANDA Offer?

Listed below are its key features and offerings.

Tradeable Assets

OANDA offers over 70 currency pairs, 53 CFDs, and a few cryptocurrency assets. However, its investment offerings change slightly depending on the entities regulating the account.

For instance, U.S. regulators do not allow CFDs, but Australian regulators allow it.

Some of the CFDs OANDA offers include:

• Indices
  
• Stocks
  
• Cryptocurrency
  
• Precious metals
  
• Commodities

Platform Overview

OANDA offers two trading platform suites:

1. Its own trading platform, called the fxTrade, and
   
2. The MetaTrader 4 & 5 (MT4 & MT5) platforms by MetaQuotes Software Corp.

Both trading platforms are available on the web, mobile, and desktop. But MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is not available in the U.S. for OANDA clients.

With the MetaTrader platform, you get to use automatic chart pattern recognition tools. This helps in analyzing key levels in the chart such as supports and resistances. You also get to customize your charts for easy analysis.

MT4 is the most commonly used trading platform as it is easy to use for beginners. MT5 is the advanced version that offers more analysis tools. MT5 is ideal for experienced traders.

If you're the kind of trader who likes switching between the web and desktop, it's better to use fxTrade since its web and desktop versions look identical.

OANDA's trading platform has over 65 technical indicators that help you analyze charts. You can also compare multiple currency pairs within a single chart.

Its platform integrations, however, are not seamless. It's easy to get distracted because of new windows that pop up when you click through some features.

Two Types of Trading Accounts

OANDA offers two types of trading accounts. One is the Standard account and the other is the Elite Trader Loyalty program account. These two accounts have 3 key differences:

The Standard account has no minimum trade volume requirement while the Elite Trader account requires a minimum trading volume of $10 million.

The Elite Trader account also offers you a dedicated relationship manager whom you can directly ask for concerns or inquiries while the Standard account doesn't.

Lastly, the Elite Trader account offers unlimited free wire transfers while you have to pay a withdrawal fee for every transaction with the Standard account.

This makes the Elite Trader account best for traders with large accounts while the Standard account may cater more to beginner traders.

Portfolio and Charting Tools

OANDA offers features that analyze trading history and trading activity.

It provides real-time information on transactions and profit/loss breakdown of your portfolio. This gives you valuable insights into your trading performance.

Some of its charting tools include:

• 11 customizable charts including candles, Renko, point & figure, and Heiken-Ashi
  
• Drawing tools such as Pitchforks, Gann Fans, and Elliott Waves
  
• 65+ technical indicators such as MACD, Bollinger Bands, Stochastics, and Moving Averages
  
• Multiple chart view that allows up to 8 charts in one layout
  
• MotiveWave's advanced analysis tools such as ratio analysis and Fibonacci

The platform has a responsive design that allows for easy zooming in and out of charts. This makes it easy for you to take a closer look at specific data points or get a broader view of market trends.

The charts also have an integrated trade ticket window. This allows you to quickly enter orders straight from the chart so you don't miss trading opportunities that present themselves in real time.

Trading Tools

OANDA allows trading directly from the charts. This enables you to place trades with unmatched speed and precision.

Some of its trading tools include customizable watchlist, price alerts, limit orders, and stop loss levels.

Its customizable watchlists keep you informed about the assets that matter most to you. The price alerts enable you to never miss out on crucial market movements. And with limit orders, you can automatically enter or exit positions at predetermined price levels.

One of the standout features of OANDA is the stop loss level. This acts as your guardian, allowing you to set a predefined point at which a running trade is automatically closed to prevent further losses.

Other trading tools include:

• Tick-chart and keyboard trading
  
• Chart-ladder order entry
  
• Five-minute orderbook
  
• Alarm manager that triggers alert trading

TradingView Integration

Another useful feature that OANDA has is its integration with TradingView. TradingView is a chart analysis platform that is used by over 50 million traders around the world.

TradingView users are pleased that they don't have to adjust to a new charting platform when trading with OANDA. They can just place a trade on OANDA directly from TradingView.

Mobile App

OANDA's trading platform has a mobile app with an easy-to-use layout. You can set up a buy/sell trade or add a price alert on the app.

You can also enter orders or adjust limit order levels by simply dragging and dropping a line on the chart.

The app's charting features include over 50 technical tools (32 overlay indicators, 11 drawing tools, and 9 chart types). This enables you to analyze charts even when you're on the go.

Market News and Research

OANDA has a MarketPulse site offering market news, high-quality research, and analysis content. It has its own in-house research team providing the content.

Its research team offers fundamental analysis data, news feed, and trading ideas.

The platform streams news from Dow Jones Newswire and OANDA's blog. It also has a Market Insights series that gives analysis updates each day.

Education

OANDA's MarketPulse has a selection of articles in various categories, including trading strategies and technical analysis.

Additionally, it has webinars and educational videos. But they're not very extensive. The videos are mainly platform tutorials.

OANDA also offers an online course discussing technical and fundamental analysis. This is great for traders who want to learn more about trading strategies or chart analysis.

The only drawback is that you won't find all of OANDA's educational materials in one place. They're fragmented and scattered all over the platform, so you'll have to look for what you need.

Rebates

OANDA offers rebates for those with advanced trader status. This is for active traders who are trading a minimum of $10 million in volume.

These rebates range from $5 to $17 for every million.^[5]

Customer Service

You can reach OANDA's customer service via email or phone call. You can also see all the details you need on OANDA's Contact page.

• Email: frontdesk@oanda.com
  
• Available from: Sunday (4pm) to Friday (6pm) ET

Their customer service is highly praised by OANDA's existing customers. They say their queries and concerns are quickly dealt with (usually with one email or phone call).

OANDA's customer support team was described as very helpful and very knowledgeable. Users appreciate how OANDA's customer support entertained questions even before account opening.

Once the account had been opened, users were immediately contacted to explain what the platform offers, including some trading basics.

What Are The Common Complaints?

Here are some common complaints from OANDA users, based on Trustpilot reviews:

1. Low Leverage
   OANDA only offers a leverage of 1:50, while other brokers have a leverage of 1:1000.

   Leverage is the capability to borrow money from the broker that you can use for trading. A 1:50 leverage means you can trade with a multiplied deposit by up to 50 times.

   That means, with OANDA, you can't trade much with a small account. Basically, you would need a higher deposit so you can earn a significant income.

2. Withdrawal Options
   Another common complaint is the withdrawal. With OANDA, U.S. clients can only withdraw through debit cards and bank wire transfers.

   Other brokers offer more ways of withdrawal. These other ways include electronic wallets.

3. Slow Withdrawal Processing
   OANDA has slow withdrawal processing. Its bank card withdrawal can take 7 days. Bank transfers can also take 7 days.

How to Open an Account in OANDA?

Opening an OANDA trading account is quick and easy. All you need to do is:

1. Fill in the registration form
   
2. Submit the required identity and residency documents
   
3. Fund your account

You can only open an account if you're over 18 years old. Once you've submitted your application to open an account, OANDA's onboarding team will review it and get back to you after about 3 days.

How to Deposit Funds

You have several deposit methods to choose from, depending on your country or region. This includes bank transfer, credit card, debit card, PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill. U.S. clients can deposit funds using a debit card, wire transfer, and ACH bank transfer. Here's how to deposit funds into your OANDA account:

1. Go to the deposit interface and choose what method you prefer
   
2. Input how much you want to deposit and complete the request
   
3. Input the reference number

You will then receive an email that confirms the deposit. It may just take a few days for the deposit to reflect on your account.

How to Withdraw Funds

OANDA's withdrawal methods include bank transfer, credit card, debit card, PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill. However, your withdrawal methods will depend on your country or region. U.S. clients can only withdraw funds via debit card and bank wire transfer. Here's how to withdraw your funds from OANDA:

1. Go to 'Withdraw Funds' in the menu tab
   
2. Input the amount to be withdrawn and select your preferred method
   
3. Confirm the information and submit the request

You may then check the current withdrawal status on your dashboard.

Is OANDA better than its competitors? Let's find out.

How Does OANDA Compare?

Compared to other brokers, OANDA has limited asset offerings. But its edge is in its no minimum deposit requirement. Read on to see how OANDA compares with FOREX.com.

	OANDA	Forex.com
	Benefits and Features
Minimum Deposit	$0	$100
Stock Trading	No	Yes
Currency Trading	Yes	Yes
CFD Trading	Yes	Yes
Withdrawal Fee	$20 for bank transfer (first withdrawal processed within calendar month) and $35 (additional withdrawals)	$0
Trading Platform	OANDA Web, OANDA Mobile, TradingVIew, MetaTrader4	MT4 and MT5
Virtual Trading	Yes	Yes
Online Platform	Yes	Yes
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
Live Chat Support	Yes	Yes
OANDA: Information sourced from the published website as of 04/22/2024. Forex.com: Information sourced from the published website as of 04/22/2024.

OANDA vs FOREX.com

OANDA and FOREX.com are similar in that they are both forex/CFD brokers. And they both allow U.S. traders to access their platforms. Some brokers restrict traders from the U.S.

The bid/ask spreads of these two brokers are also similar, though the spread on FOREX.com is slightly higher. Also unlike OANDA, FOREX.com requires a minimum deposit. The minimum is $100.^[6]

Both brokers trade currencies and CFDs, but FOREX.com also trades stocks. So if you're a stocks investor who also wants to trade currencies, FOREX.com would be a better fit for you.

In terms of desktop platform, OANDA has a better layout since it's more user-friendly for new traders.

BOTTOM LINE

Knowing whether OANDA is a good fit for you or not depends on your preferences as a trader. Do you prefer a broker with no minimum deposit but has an inactivity fee? If you're confident you'll be an active trader anyway, there's no need to worry about the inactivity fee.

From OANDA's array of tools and services, it's pretty clear that they equip traders with the necessary insights and analysis to navigate the financial markets confidently.

The platform's reputation, built over two decades, solidifies its standing as a trusted name in the industry.

References