GrandCapitals – Can You Trust Them?

Website URL: https://grandcapitals.io

Founded: 2021

Regulations: Unlicensed

Languages: English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Russian

Deposit Methods: Bank Wire, Visa, MasterCard, OKPay

Minimum Deposit: $250

Free Demo Account: Unavailable

Number of Assets: N/A

Types of Assets: Forex, Crypto Currency, Stocks, Commodities

Trading Accounts and Conditions

GrandCapitals offers its clients the following range of trading accounts:

• Micro Account: The deposit range is $250 to $4,999. The spreads are fixed.
• Standard Account: The deposit range is $5,000 to $24,999. Spreads are fixed and leverage is maxed at 1:200.
• Platinum Account: The deposit range is $25,000 to $49,999. Spreads are both variable and fixed and leverage is maxed at 1:350.
• Premium Account: The deposit range is $50,000 to $499,999. Spreads are fixed and variable and leverage is maxed at 1:500.

Since the broker did not specify the kind of spreads it offered on its Account Types section, we checked the web-based trading platform for more information. We found out that the EURUSD pair had a spread of 0.1 pip.

GrandCapitals – Advantages

We could not find anything on GrandCapitals’ website that we could call an advantage.

GrandCapitals – Disadvantages

Listed below are the red flags that clearly tell us that GrandCapitals is a scammer:

• Unregulated Broker

When you check the footer of GrandCapitals’ website, the broker claims to be based in Pernik, Bulgaria and that it is owned and operated by Grand Capitals Ltd. The broker also claims that it is registered there and gives the following license number: 206251513. The license number is hyperlinked and when you click on it, you are taken the to Bulgarian Registry Agency.

The problem is this: Bulgaria has its own regulatory financial agency called the Financial Supervision Commission. This is the regulator that oversees the forex markets – not the Registry Agency. Thus, to operate legally out of Bulgaria, a broker needs to be regulated by and registered with the FSC and not the Registry Agency.

Thus, despite its tall claims, the crux of the matter is that GrandCapitals is actually an unregulated broker that has tried to hoodwink customers into thinking it is legitimate with a false claim of being registered. This means that this broker is just another scammer and is best avoided.

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• Lies About Trading Software

Yet another falsehood this broker perpetrates to attract customers is that it has the MetaTrader 4 platform on offer for its clients. If this were the case, we would have listed this as an advantage, since the MT4 platform is an excellent trading software – the best in the world, in fact. The range of functions it offers are second to none and traders of all levels of experience can use this platform comfortably.

So, we verified whether GrandCapitals was actually offering this platform to its customers. The broker does not have the MT4 platform at all. It has an MT distribution, but even that link is broker. And what you get in place of the MT4 software is a weak and poorly designed web-based trading interface that does little beyond buy and sell.

• Suspiciously Low Spreads

When we checked the WebTrader trading platform, we found out that the EURUSD spread was only 0.1 pip. That sounds fantastic, but it is actually too good to be true. On average, brokers offer spreads that stay in the range of 0.5 pips to 1.5 pips; a spread of 2 pips is also within acceptable limits.

However, a spread of 0.1 pip is just too low for a broker – it means that the broker will take on losses. Therefore, a spread this low usually comes loaded with additional fees and commissions to offset the low cost of trading. Therefore, when you actually factor in the other costs, the cost of trading can end up being too high.

• Very High Leverage

The leverage too is an issue here – it is too high. The maximum leverage that GrandCapitals is offering is 1:500. Not only is this kind of leverage dangerous it is also illegal.

Bulgaria is a European Union member nation, which means that its financial regulator needs to follow umbrella EU regulations. One of these regulations is that brokers cannot offer extremely high leverage ratios to their customers. The maximum leverage that EU brokers are allowed to offer is 1:30. So, the 1:500 leverage on offer by GrandCapitals is just another indicator that this broker is a scammer.

• Unfair Withdrawal Conditions

Another red flag is the kind of withdrawal policy this broker has in place. There is a minimum withdrawal requirement: $250 for bank wires and $100 for cards and e-wallets. Most regulated brokers don’t have a minimum withdrawal condition at all!

Next are the high withdrawal fees charged. To carry out a wire transfer, you are charged a $50 fee. Card transfers have a $25+$10 fee imposed on them.

And finally, if you have not met a 200-turnover target, then you will be charged an additional 10% fee! The broker has not bothered to specify what the 200 turnover means, but the kind of fees that GrandCapitals is charging is just over the top.

• Unfair Bonus Terms

The withdrawal terms get even more unfair if you have accepted the bonuses this broker offers. Before we even talk about these terms, we would like to inform our readers that bonuses such as the ones offered by GrandCapitals have been banned in the EU. So, once again, this broker is doing something illegal.

Now, the terms. If you accept the bonus offered by GrandCapitals, then you will need to execute trades that are 25 times the bonus plus the amount you have deposited before you will be allowed to withdraw any money! Once again, the broker does not specify what this 25 times means.

Conclusion

GrandCapitals is a scammer and cannot therefore be trusted. We would recommend that all traders stay away from them.

GrandCapitals

2.4

User Experience

2.0/10

Payment Options

2.2/10

Security

2.5/10

Support

3.0/10

Reputation

2.2/10

Pros

• None

Cons

• Unregulated Broker
• Lies About Trading Software
• Suspiciously Low Spreads
• Very High Leverage
• Unfair Withdrawal Conditions