Raw Trading Ltd Review

When a broker has no independent user reviews, the usual starting points — trader forums, social media chatter, complaint boards — are silent. That forces an editorial desk to lean harder on the paper trail: the corporate registry, the financial regulator's public records, and the broker's own website, read with a sceptical eye. For Raw Trading Ltd, operating as IC Markets on the domain icmarkets.sc, that is exactly what we did.

We cross-checked the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) licence against the public register, verified the official domain, and reviewed the trading conditions and account structures published on the site. We also ran the usual checks for clone or impersonator sites, which came back clean. The picture that emerges is of a broker that is regulated, but regulated in a jurisdiction whose oversight is light by global standards — and that distinction matters more than almost anything else in this review.

Raw Trading Ltd is registered in the Seychelles, an Indian Ocean archipelago that has become a popular home for forex and CFD brokers serving international clients. The Seychelles offers a relatively fast and inexpensive licensing path compared with major financial centres, which is precisely why so many offshore brokers choose it. That is not inherently disqualifying — many reputable brokers run offshore entities alongside better-regulated ones — but it does shape the risk profile for clients.

Our records show the company is registered in Seychelles, with no founding date on file. The official domain is icmarkets.sc, and the broker trades under the IC Markets brand. Notably, the web results we reviewed repeatedly reference an Australian-founded IC Markets entity from 2007, but that is a different legal entity with a different regulatory footprint. We treat those references as describing a related brand family, not this specific Seychelles-registered company, and we have not imported any of their claims into our assessment of Raw Trading Ltd.

Raw Trading Ltd holds a Securities Dealer licence from the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, with licence, and the status is listed as Licensed. The FSA is the autonomous regulator for non-bank financial services in the Seychelles, established under the Financial Services Authority Act of 2013. It is a functioning regulator with a public register, and the licence is verifiable — that is more than many offshore brokers can claim.

However, traders need to understand what a Seychelles licence does and does not provide. The FSA regime does not offer a client compensation scheme comparable to the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the EU's investor protection frameworks. There is no equivalent of the negative-balance protection or leverage caps that apply under ESMA rules in Europe.

Client funds are generally required to be segregated, but the practical enforcement and oversight are lighter than in major jurisdictions. In FXCanary's assessment, this is an offshore, light-oversight environment — a fact that should weigh heavily in any trader's decision, regardless of how polished the website looks.

The broker's website presents a tiered account structure designed to appeal to different trading styles. At the top is the Raw Pro+ account, which carries a commission of $1.0 per lot per side with spreads from 0.0 pips. Below it sits the Raw Pro account at $1.5 per lot per side, also with spreads from 0.0 pips. The Raw Spread account on MetaTrader charges $3.5 per lot per side, while the cTrader Raw Spread account charges $3.0 per USD 100,000 traded. Finally, there is a Standard account, which the site describes as commission-free, with a minimum spread of 0.08 pips.

The pattern is familiar to anyone who has traded with a raw-spread broker: you pay a commission and get tighter spreads, or you pay no commission and accept a wider spread. The Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ tiers are clearly aimed at high-volume, cost-sensitive traders — scalpers and algorithmic traders who will trade enough lots that the lower commission outweighs any spread difference. The Standard account is the entry point for newer traders who prefer simplicity and are less sensitive to spread costs. We note that the website does not clearly disclose the minimum deposit for each tier in the pages we reviewed, so traders should confirm that directly with the broker before committing funds.

Raw Trading Ltd offers the industry-standard MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms, alongside cTrader and TradingView. MetaTrader remains the default choice for most retail forex traders, with its familiar interface, automated trading via Expert Advisors, and a vast ecosystem of indicators and tools. cTrader is a strong alternative, particularly for those who prefer a more modern interface and advanced order management, and it is often favoured by cTrader's built-in cAlgo algorithmic trading. TradingView integration is a relatively recent addition and will appeal to traders who already use TradingView for charting and want to execute directly from their charts.

The broker claims average execution speeds of under 40ms and servers located in the Equinix NY4 data centre in New York, which is a credible setup for low-latency trading. We cannot independently verify these figures, but the technical infrastructure described is consistent with what a serious raw-spread broker would deploy. For traders who rely on fast execution — scalpers and EA users — platform choice and server location matter, and the offering here is broadly in line with what the market expects from a broker of this type.

The broker's website advertises access to 61 currency pairs, along with indices CFDs, commodities, and other asset classes. The forex offering is comprehensive, covering all the major, minor, and exotic pairs that active traders typically want. The indices CFD range includes exposure to major global benchmarks, and commodities such as gold and oil are also available. The exact full list of instruments is not fully detailed in the pages we reviewed, so traders should check the product schedule on the site for the complete picture.

For a broker positioning itself as a raw-spread, execution-focused provider, the product range is adequate but not exceptional. The emphasis is clearly on forex, which is where the tightest spreads and deepest liquidity are advertised. Traders looking for a vast selection of niche CFDs — such as individual stock CFDs from a wide range of exchanges — may find the offering more limited. That said, for the core forex and index trader, the range is more than sufficient.

Our review found limited verified information on deposit and withdrawal methods, processing times, and fees. The website mentions a deposit bonus in one of the pages we reviewed, but we treat promotional offers with caution — they are often subject to terms that can complicate withdrawals. We did not find a clear, published schedule of deposit methods (bank transfer, credit card, e-wallets) or any stated minimum deposit in the pages we examined.

This absence of transparent information is itself a point of caution. A broker that is serious about client trust typically publishes its funding and withdrawal policies prominently. In FXCanary's view, traders should contact the broker directly to obtain written confirmation of available methods, any fees, and expected processing times before depositing. If the broker is slow to provide clear answers, that is a red flag. We also note that the broker's own website claims a $200 minimum deposit in some of the third-party reviews we saw, but we have not verified that figure against our own records, so we do not repeat it as fact.

Based on the account structure and advertised trading conditions, Raw Trading Ltd appears designed for active, cost-conscious traders. Scalpers who trade high volume will be attracted to the Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ tiers, where the lower commission per lot can translate into meaningful savings over a month of trading. Algorithmic traders running Expert Advisors on MetaTrader will find the platform support and low-latency infrastructure appealing. Swing traders who hold positions for days or weeks and trade less frequently may prefer the Standard account to avoid paying commissions.

For beginners, the picture is more mixed. The Standard account offers a simple, commission-free entry point, but the offshore regulatory environment means there is no compensation scheme if the broker fails, and no leverage caps to protect inexperienced traders from over-leveraging. The website advertises leverage up to 1:1000, which is extremely high and can amplify losses just as quickly as gains. In FXCanary's assessment, a new trader should approach this broker with caution, start with a small deposit, and fully understand the risks of high leverage before trading live.

FXCanary's Scam Risk Score for Raw Trading Ltd is 40 out of 100, which we classify as 'Guarded'. This is not a verdict that the broker is a scam — there are no clone sites, the licence is verifiable, and the website is operational. Rather, the score reflects two specific risk flags. First, the broker is registered in Seychelles, an offshore jurisdiction with light regulatory oversight. Second, our records indicate no verifiable website or social-media presence beyond the official domain — though we note the website itself is live and detailed.

A 'Guarded' score means we see no immediate evidence of fraud, but we also see no strong reasons to trust the broker with significant funds. The absence of independent user reviews is a notable gap: we cannot point to a track record of satisfied clients or, conversely, a history of complaints. For a cautious trader, that silence is itself information. It means you are relying entirely on the broker's own marketing and a light-touch regulator.

In FXCanary's assessment, Raw Trading Ltd is a broker that looks professional on the surface but operates in a regulatory environment that offers limited protection to clients. The Seychelles FSA licence is real, but it does not provide the same safeguards as a licence from a major regulator like the FCA, ASIC, or CySEC. There is no compensation scheme, no leverage cap, and less rigorous ongoing supervision.

That does not make the broker a scam, but it does mean the burden of due diligence falls squarely on the trader. Our practical advice is straightforward. If you choose to trade with Raw Trading Ltd, treat it as a high-risk, offshore proposition.

Deposit only what you can afford to lose, and consider it a speculative venture rather than a safe home for your savings. Verify the licence directly on the FSA Seychelles website using the. Test the broker with a demo account first, and then with a small live deposit, to assess execution, spreads, and withdrawal reliability before committing more.

And if you are a beginner, we would strongly suggest starting with a broker regulated in a major jurisdiction, even if the spreads are slightly wider — the regulatory protection is worth the cost.