I left a review with GCI some few months ago and I promised to update it with time. Apparently the 4 digit server which gci gives clients are actually market made so in other words, there is a dealing desk so when you make money on that server, be sure you will be stopped! GCI gives this as default to clients because they are very aware 80-90% of traders will face so the odds is good for them. I won’t penalise them for having a business strategy but I still find it not ethical to open up.
So, after about a year with GCI, I started introducing some of the people I train to them. They then got unhappy and increased the spreads. I was averaging 50 points on EURUSD! I contacted my account manager who said they will look into it. They never really did although he came back to me that it was sorted. When I left, they contacted me that they would like to set up a “win-win” deal between us which sounded like a good idea but after over a month I just do not think any serious win-win situation will will come handy. It took several weeks , in some cases over a month for most of the trainees to get back their withdrawals.
In short if you are into trading to make money (which I am sure it is why you are trading in the first place) DO NOT TRADE GCI’s 4-digit (normal) currencies. Use the ECN server which has 5 digit currencies. That said, given the poor nature gci is organised (it does not operate as your normal broker and after all this while I am still not sure who/what they are really.I knew and concerned was I was making money) If you therefore wants a ECN broker to work with and not need to take advantage of 4-digit feed, then I will not see why you will go to GCI when you have IC Market, FP market and the rest who will give you fantastic customer support and true ECN connection. There are thousands ECN’s now. I really will not see why you will go to a company with not even consistent online support?
So this is my honest, final opinion about GCI. For me, I am done with them and I will not recommend if you are into trading to make money.
Thank you
Dec 4, 2020 – 4 Stars I have been using this broker for just over a year now. I started trading with them in September 2019. I must say that at the start I was worried about the reviews i saw here but Jacques was kind and very professional in answering my questions and was very honest. In short, I will admit they have other areas they need to improve on, but overall I am happy and have even recommended them to my brother, who is also a good trader. They have one of the best feeds, no commission, and quick execution. So here is my review in detail…
Pros:
1. In my opinion, like someone else said, you will hate GCI if you are not a genuine, true trader. By this I mean someone who can read charts, interpret indicators accurately and take trades with confidence and not scared to lose on some trades. Their platform is designed mainly for positional/medium/long term trades. Strategies such as scalping are not allowed. You must speak to your account manager and seek clarifications if you are not sure of anything. Secondly, if you are into manipulative trades such as swaps trading, latency arbitrage etc you should also not consider using GCI (In fact you will hardly get any broker who allows that anyway). They allow indicators BUT no EAs. This is where i think a few of people are also missing it. Again, given scalping is not allowed on their platform, it makes sense to know that EAs are a no no. Personally, my trading strategy looks at Supply and demand interplay, with few good indicators and a look into how futures market is playing out. For me, I think they have a very amazing price feed and conditions if you really know what you are doing as a trader.
2. They pay. I have withdrawn thousands of dollars from GCI in the last year i have been with them. I have prove for this. Yes, I mean thousands, not hundreds. This is no way to brag but to let you know that if indeed you are into genuine, manual trading, you shouldn’t have problem with GCI when it comes to payment. I haven’t had any issues so i wont know but i suspect gci refuses payment because of some of the issues i have raised above
Cons:
1. I am in the UK but for some reason, deposits and withdrawals cannot be done with any of the popular gateways such as PayPal, skrill etc. This used to make depositing and withdrawing very difficult. Lately, I have been using bank transfer which appear to make it better. Currently, i am able to deposit and withdraw in roughly 3 days which for me, is ok. My only problem is that the bank rate used in the exchange appear to be higher than i expect and there are no indications of any extra charges. I have sought clarifications on this and still waiting to know why their bank charges/exchanges so high?
2. Their online support is not great but so far my account manager has answered all my questions.
I will be updating this review as things go but as things stand, this is my fair, honest experience with this broker. Thank you