GT.IO Review – Is it Safe to Use?

Website URL: gt.io

Founded: 2020

Regulations: Authorized in South Africa and Seychelles

Languages: English, Somali, Swahili

Deposit Methods: Crypto, USD Tether, Skrill

Minimum Deposit: $5

Free Demo Account: Yes

Number of Assets: N/A

Types of Assets: Forex, Equity Indices, Crypto, Precious Metals and Energies, Stocks

Trading Accounts and Conditions

GT.IO is fairly new in the brokerage market, and currently, they only offer one account type with a minimum deposit of $5. Depending on the payment method that has been used, this minimum deposit amount varies completely. GT.IO doesn’t implement any maximum deposit, and clients can freely commit whatever amount they please.

GT.IO’s account currency is available in USD, EUR, JPY, BTC, ETH, and USTD. It also has many cool features and transparent account conditions absent in many other mainstream scam brokerage. For instance, they offer negative balance protection, which is a very good add-on for beginners who don’t have enough knowledge of investing as a whole. They are also putting a maximum number in orders and pending charges set to 100.

The margin requirement for GT.IO or most commonly known as leverage has a chance of reaching 1:500.

GT.IO – Advantages

Although GT.IO is deemed a legal brokerage because of all the licenses they have presented, they are still not regulated internationally. They have only grabbed a permit from South Africa. It may offer a couple of issues, especially for those that aren’t playing from that region. It is much better to invest in brokers recognized internationally and not only limited to a certain territory.

GT.IO -Disadvantages

• Lack of International Regulation

As aforementioned, GT.IO has been registered in South Africa and Seychelles, which means that it is not completely safe to use them if you are from outside these territories. Financial authorities don’t recognize them from the UK and US, which is very important because they have this set of guidelines that need to be followed to protect customers. However, since they have acquired a license from South Africa, GT.IO isn’t a scam, meaning that you can still earn money from their service; however, it is not completely safe.

They operate using two domains, one for South African people and another for their international clients. The first one, gt.io/za/en/home, belongs to GT IO Markets (Pty) Ltd. and is under the regulation of FSCA. The other one, gt.io/en/home, is being operated by 360 Degrees Markets Ltd. and is under the rule of FSA. This license might be reassuring at first, but it doesn’t mean that much for international clients since it requires more than these licenses to make a broker safe to invest in.

Plus500

$100

Minimum Deposit

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Plus500 is a FTSE 250 listed brokerage providing online trading services in CFDs, across 2,000+ securities and multiple asset classes.

 

AvaTrade

$100

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• No Negative Balance Protection

With GT.IO’s license and regulation, they aren’t required to provide negative balance protection, which is a very important feature that we always check when looking at these websites. That means that you can potentially lose more money than what you have deposited, and anyone, even veterans, may still have chances of failing. Good for GT.IO though, they aren’t ignorant about this thing as they have included this disclaimer. The point, however, is, not everyone reads everything on a website, and most of the time, not all people catch these disclaimers, or worse, they don’t even know what this protection means! That said, you shouldn’t get into this platform, especially if you are a beginner.

• High Leverage

The leverage of 1:500 is already considered high for a brokerage platform. The higher the leverage, the higher risk there is for losing money. Since GT.IO also offers cryptocurrency in their services, having very high leverage is a ticking time bomb, given that cryptocurrencies are very volatile and their market value is unpredictable.

All investors aren’t always thinking the same; that is why having leverage like this is dangerous, as some people may feel that they can cash out more money, the more leverage a broker has. Little did they know that the chances of gaining profit from this margin are very little, and it would take some time to recoup their losses.

EU financial authorities are very strict when it comes to leverages, and for them, anyone that exceeds 1:30 cannot be excused and will face certain punishments. The US, on the other hand, isn’t allowing any brokers to go above 1:50. That said, it is a lot better to invest your money in a more safe and sensible broker, preferably those regulated in either EU or the US.

• Deceptive Payment Methods

It is normal for brokers to overstate their descriptions and their features, but what is not acceptable is lying, which GT.IO does regarding their payment methods. According to them, they accept payments through credit cards, JCB, Sticpay, bank transfers, and cryptocurrency. Still, it turns out that they only allow deposits through cryptocurrency once you have created an account. Having this sole deposit method is very dangerous since most cryptocurrency platforms nowadays don’t offer chargeback or refund, which you can easily do on bank-regulated payment options.

• Predatory Promotions and Features

GT.IO is trying hard to make people deposit into their accounts by offering many promotions. They have the first-time and second-time deposit bonus, which isn’t explained that much on their website, but they’re still running it to entice more people. That said, we want to take this opportunity to warn those investors that are trying to get into these promotions because most of the time, brokers don’t specify information for their features, not stating the precise terms and conditions that would eventually carry a burden to the clients. Although these promotions promise many things, you should never fall trap into these and rather play a lot safer and only patronize brokers who are true and transparent with their words.

Conclusion

GT.IO isn’t a scam; it has enough local license, and it has some regulations governing its two domains. What’s not right is the absence of international regulations and permits that are often the best ones to get because they strive to protect clients and investors from money loss and scams. That said, GT.IO isn’t worth your time. Because they don’t offer client protection, especially from negative balance situations, it is better to go to other brokers regulated and complete with licenses.

GT.IO

2.4

User Experience

3.3/10

Payment Options

2.4/10

Security

2.0/10

Support

2.1/10

Reputation

2.0/10

Pros

• None

Cons

• Lack of International Regulation
• No Negative Balance Protection
• High Leverage
• Deceptive Payment Methods
• Predatory Promotions and Features