Editorial Standards: How We Review JustMarkets

Our editorial standards exist for one reason: so a South African reader can judge JustMarkets on facts, not on marketing. We start from an honest verdict, then show exactly where each claim comes from and what we could not verify.

If you have never traded before, that is fine. Every term gets explained the first time it appears. You should finish this page knowing what we check, what we ignore, and how to apply the same checks to any other broker you look at.

What This Page Covers

This is a methods page, not a full review. The full broker breakdown lives on our JustMarkets Review page. Here we explain the rules we apply before anything reaches a review, so you can spot weak claims yourself.

A term you will see often: a broker is a company that holds your money and routes your trades to the market. A CFD (contract for difference) is a contract where you and the broker settle the price difference of an asset, without owning it.

• We verify licence details against the primary register, not a broker's own marketing page.
• We separate what a broker publishes from what an independent source confirms.
• We test the practical stuff: funding routes in ZAR, withdrawal timing, support response.
• We flag anything we could not confirm, in plain words, instead of hiding it.

The Rules We Follow

Every claim on this site passes four checks before it goes live. If a claim fails any one of them, it gets cut or labelled as unverified.

The fourth rule matters most in South Africa, where clone brokers copy a real licence number onto fake websites. If a licence number exists in a register, but the company name, address or website does not match, that is a red flag worth five minutes of your time.

FSCA Status, Checked Honestly

JustMarkets serves South African clients through Just Global Markets (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2020/263432/07, with an office in Bellville, Cape Town. That entity is authorised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) as a Financial Services Provider under FSP number 51114.

South Africa has no ESMA-style retail leverage cap, so brokers here, including their offshore entities, can offer high leverage. JustMarkets publishes a default ceiling of up to 1:3000 on forex. High leverage is not illegal and it is not automatically bad, but it multiplies both directions of a move. At 1:3000, a small adverse price change can wipe out your margin.

What We Test Before Publishing

Anyone can repeat a licence number. We test the parts that are easy to fake on a website and hard to fake in a live account.

• Funding in rands: whether EFT in ZAR works from a local bank, and how long a withdrawal takes.
• Fee stacking: spread plus commission plus conversion cost, totalled into one realistic number per trade.
• Platform reality: whether MT4, MT5 and the mobile apps behave properly on a mid-range phone and a normal SA connection.
• Support: whether a real person answers during SAST hours and understands a KYC question.
• Withdrawal friction: the gap between "no fees" in marketing and money actually landing in your bank account.

Funding and withdrawal timing are where most reader complaints start.

Account Choices and Costs

JustMarkets lists four account types: Standard, Cent, Pro and Raw Spread. Standard and Cent accounts start from USD 10, while Pro and Raw Spread typically need USD 100 to 200. The Cent account is useful when you want to trade real money in very small sizes while you learn.

A spread is the gap between the buy and sell price, and you pay it on every trade. "From 0.0 pips" is the best case. Your real cost depends on the instrument, the session and the news calendar. Add commission, and a Raw Spread account can end up costing more than a Standard one if you trade small and rarely.

Funding and Getting Paid

Most South African traders fund through Instant EFT, cleared by open-banking gateways such as Ozow, Capitec Pay and SiD. Deposits are usually instant and free. Withdrawals typically take one to two business days through this route.

JustMarkets states it charges no broker fees on deposits or withdrawals, and that most methods process instantly to one day, with withdrawals often inside three hours on weekdays. Local bank transfer via EFT in ZAR is available, alongside cards, crypto, Skrill and Neteller. A ZAR base account avoids the roughly 2-3% conversion cost banks charge when moving rands into dollars.

Why the Cheapest Spread Is Not the Point

If you are comparing brokers on price alone, you will probably pick the wrong one. A well-regulated broker with slightly wider spreads and a two-day payout is usually a better home for your money than a cheap one you cannot reach when something goes wrong.

A serious international broker should show you at least three things: regulation by a strong authority such as the FCA, CySEC or ASIC, client money held in segregated accounts (kept apart from the company's own money), and a track record long enough to survive more than one market cycle. Add transparent fees and support you can reach during your trading hours. JustMarkets, founded in 2012 as JustForex and rebranded in 2022, fits that checklist on longevity and FSCA coverage. Whether it fits your plan is a separate question.

What Holds It Back

Offshore entities can offer higher leverage than the FSCA-regulated one. That is a real difference in risk, not a marketing footnote. Confirm which entity holds your account.

Promotions are the weakest part of our confidence. JustMarkets advertises a welcome bonus for new accounts meeting stated criteria, and elsewhere a no-deposit and a 50% deposit bonus. Availability per region is not verified, and bonus terms often restrict withdrawals until turnover targets are met. Read the terms before you count on it.

Several review pages describe the broker as legitimate and FSCA-regulated, but those are third-party marketing and review sources, not primary regulatory records.

• The broker-side "no fees" claim does not cover bank or card charges on your side.
• Third-party reputation coverage is mixed and often paid placement.
• Bonus conditions change without much notice.

Who It Suits and Who It Does Not

JustMarkets is a fair option for a specific type of South African trader, and the wrong fit for another.

Sensible for: a South African trader who wants FSCA-regulated onboarding, a low entry point from USD 10, ZAR funding by EFT, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, and a broker that has been operating since 2012. If your plan is modest position sizes and you value local funding and swap-free flexibility, the setup lines up well. Keep leverage deliberate, not accidental.

A stretch for: anyone who needs a bonus payout before their first withdrawal, or who wants to lean on very high leverage as a growth strategy. Bonus terms and 1:3000 leverage are exactly where beginners get hurt. If your funds matter for near-term goals, look for a broker with a top-tier licence from the FCA, CySEC or ASIC, clearly segregated client money and payout timing you have tested yourself.

Before you fund anything, run one check: open the free FSCA FSP register, search the licence number, and confirm the company name and website match what you were told. It takes two minutes and it is the single most useful habit on this page.