FP Markets review: why this ASIC-regulated broker lost its SatoshiMacro ranking
FP Markets is no longer recommended on SatoshiMacro and has been removed from all rankings as of August 2026. Sydney-based since 2005 and ASIC-regulated (AFSL 286354), but our direct experience with the company changed this review: qualification terms it declined to define when asked, a months-long unresolved performance dispute, and an August 2026 instruction that partners may no longer refer Australian residents at all. We can no longer verify this broker through a working relationship, and we no longer stand behind referring readers to it. Better calls: Plus500, Pepperstone, AvaTrade. Rating: 3.2 out of 5.
Why FP Markets lost its ranking
FP Markets sat at 4th on the SatoshiMacro forex rankings until August 2026, on the strength of the product fundamentals documented below. It was removed for reasons that have nothing to do with spreads and everything to do with how the company behaves off the trading platform.
It ended Australian referrals and asked for coverage to be removed. On 26 August 2026, FP Markets' partner operations team told us that, following a decision by its compliance team, partners are no longer permitted to promote FP Markets to clients residing in Australia, and asked us to remove references and referral links. Whatever sits behind that decision, the practical effect for this site is that a broker serving Australians from a Sydney headquarters no longer wants Australian publishers referring Australian clients to it. We have removed our referral links accordingly.
Our direct experience dealing with the company was poor. SatoshiMacro held a commercial partner relationship with FP Markets from April to August 2026, which means we saw how the company handles counterparties when money is on the line. Specific, documented experience: substantive performance and attribution questions sat unanswered for nearly three weeks behind template acknowledgements; and when we asked how the qualification criteria in our own agreement were actually measured, the team cited internal "volume qualifiers" that are "calculated differently for each traded pair" and declined to define them when asked directly. A company that will not show a business counterparty the maths behind its own contract terms earns a trust discount in any review that claims to be testing-based.
What this does and does not mean for traders. This is not a solvency or client-fund warning. AFSL 286354 remains active, client funds remain segregated at Australian Tier-1 banks, negative balance protection and AFCA access remain in place, and we recorded no execution problems in live testing. The product sections below stand as tested. But a recommendation is a claim about the whole company, not just its spread tables, and we no longer make that claim for FP Markets.
Key facts at a glance
- Regulator:
- ASIC (AFSL 286354), plus CySEC
- Headquarters:
- Sydney, Australia
- Founded:
- 2005
- Minimum deposit:
- AUD 100
- EUR/USD spread (Raw):
- 0.1 pip average, 0.0 pip floor
- Commission (Raw):
- AUD 3.00 per side, AUD 6 round-turn
- Platforms:
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, IRESS
- Unique feature:
- IRESS platform for direct ASX share trading
- AU deposit methods:
- PayID, Osko, BPAY, bank transfer, credit card
Disclosure: SatoshiMacro may earn a commission if you open an account through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Commissions never influence our testing-based ratings or rankings. See our full affiliate disclosure.
Is FP Markets safe for Australian traders?
FP Markets operates First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd under AFSL 286354, verifiable on the ASIC Connect register by searching "286354". The company has been in continuous operation since 2005, making it among the longest-running retail forex brokers in Australia. No ASIC enforcement actions have been recorded against the Australian entity.
Standard ASIC protections apply: segregated client funds in Australian Tier-1 banks, negative balance protection for retail accounts, and AFCA dispute resolution access. The firm holds additional CySEC authorisation for European clients but Australian residents trade under ASIC jurisdiction by default.
FP Markets in Australia: ownership and local presence
Is FP Markets an Australian company?
Yes. FP Markets operates as First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd, holder of ASIC AFSL 286354, and has run continuously from Sydney since 2005 with a clean ASIC record. The group added CySEC authorisation to serve European clients, but the business is Australian-founded and Australian-headquartered, and AU residents trade under the local ASIC entity.
Can Australian residents open an account?
Yes. AU residents open accounts with the Sydney-based First Prudential Markets entity, fund in AUD via PayID, Osko, BPAY or bank transfer, and trade under ASIC retail protections: segregated client funds at Australian Tier-1 banks, negative balance protection, and AFCA dispute resolution. The minimum deposit is AUD 100.
Spreads and commission breakdown
I tested FP Markets Raw account for two months on a live trading account. Results show competitive pricing though marginally behind Pepperstone and IC Markets on Asian session tight pairs.
| Pair | London open | London/NY overlap | Asian session | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.2 pip | 0.1 pip | 0.4 pip | 0.2 pip |
| GBP/USD | 0.4 pip | 0.3 pip | 0.8 pip | 0.4 pip |
| AUD/USD | 0.3 pip | 0.2 pip | 0.5 pip | 0.3 pip |
| USD/JPY | 0.3 pip | 0.2 pip | 0.6 pip | 0.3 pip |
| EUR/AUD | 0.6 pip | 0.4 pip | 0.8 pip | 0.6 pip |
Raw account on FP Markets. Live testing across February and March 2026.
Why is commission lower but total cost similar?
FP Markets charges AUD 3.00 per side commission versus Pepperstone and IC Markets' AUD 3.50. That is AUD 1 per standard lot round-turn in savings. However, FP Markets' slightly wider spreads on major pairs offset most of that saving. Net cost per trade is approximately AUD 7-8 either way.
How the exotic-pair spreads compared
EUR/AUD, AUD/CAD, and GBP/AUD showed narrower spreads than Pepperstone during testing, while majors ran slightly wider. Documented for reference.
The IRESS advantage
This is FP Markets' one distinguishing product feature among ASIC forex brokers: no other major retail forex broker provides IRESS access. It is documented here for reference; it did not save the recommendation.
What is IRESS?
IRESS is institutional-grade Australian financial market software. It is used by professional fund managers, institutional traders, and financial advisers across Australia. The platform provides direct ASX share trading, Level 2 depth of market data, institutional-grade market intelligence, and comprehensive trade reporting.
Retail access to IRESS has traditionally been restricted or expensive. FP Markets offers it to retail clients through an integrated account structure.
Why does IRESS access matter?
For traders who want to diversify beyond forex into Australian equities without managing multiple broker relationships, IRESS consolidates both into one funded account. Whether that convenience outweighs dealing with a company we no longer recommend is the reader's call; a dedicated share broker alongside a recommended CFD broker achieves the same coverage.
Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, IRESS
The platform stack covers MT4, MT5, cTrader, and IRESS, all accessible from a single client login.
Which platform should a beginner use?
Start with MT5 if you want to learn MetaTrader ecosystem. Start with cTrader if you want the cleanest modern trading interface. Use IRESS specifically for ASX share trading when you're ready to expand beyond forex. MT4 is still fine but increasingly legacy.
Education and beginner resources
FP Markets' education library is extensive and covers the basics competently.
What education does FP Markets provide?
Structured learning paths covering forex fundamentals (what spreads are, how margin works, why leverage is both useful and dangerous), technical analysis basics (price action, moving averages, trend identification), and risk management frameworks (position sizing, stop loss placement, risk-to-reward). Content is delivered through video lessons, written articles, and periodic webinars.
Content is delivered through video lessons, written articles, and periodic webinars, with less of the trade-now funnelling common in broker education.
Deposits and withdrawals
Standard ASIC-regulated broker experience: PayID and Osko deposits processed in minutes during Australian banking hours. Bank transfers clear the same business day. Withdrawals submitted before midday process the same day, and submitted after process the next business day. I tested five withdrawals during my review period, all processed without issue within 24 hours.
FP Markets does not charge withdrawal fees for AUD transactions to Australian bank accounts. The AUD 100 minimum deposit is the lowest of any premier ASIC broker.
FP Markets ratings breakdown
Cons
Cons
- Ended Australian partner referrals in August 2026 and asked partners to remove coverage, so we can no longer verify the broker through a working relationship
- In our direct dealings, contractual qualification terms were applied through internal 'volume qualifiers' the partner team declined to define when asked
- Partner-side support in our experience: multi-week silences on substantive account questions, answered only by template acknowledgements
- Execution quality during news events marginally behind Pepperstone
- Spreads on majors slightly wider than IC Markets/Pepperstone
- Mobile app less polished than desktop experience
- No TradingView integration
For the full field, see Best Forex Brokers Australia 2026, or compare directly with Plus500 (LSE-listed brand-backing leader) and Pepperstone (active ECN execution and full platform stack). Head-to-head comparison: Pepperstone vs FP Markets.
Final verdict
FP Markets is a competent product attached to a company we no longer recommend dealing with. The live-tested fundamentals hold up: clean ASIC record since 2005, genuinely unique IRESS access for ASX shares, AUD 3.00 per-side commission, education content materially better than most competitors. If those were the whole story, it would still be ranked.
They are not the whole story. In August 2026 FP Markets ended Australian partner referrals following a compliance decision and asked partners, this site included, to remove coverage and referral links. Our own three months of direct commercial dealings with the company were marked by multi-week silences on substantive questions and contract qualification terms measured through internal "volume qualifiers" the company declined to define when asked directly. A testing-based review has to weigh how a company treats its counterparties, because that is the same company a trader will be negotiating with the day something goes wrong with a withdrawal or a disputed fill.
For Australians choosing a broker today: Plus500 for brand-backed simplicity, Pepperstone for active ECN execution at near-identical cost, or AvaTrade below for education-led onboarding with built-in downside protection.
Open an AvaTrade account
9+ global regulators including ASIC (AFSL 406684). AvaProtect downside protection. AvaAcademy structured education. The beginner-friendly strengths FP Markets was known for, at a broker we recommend.
Open Account at AvaTradeFrequently asked questions
On the regulatory dimension, yes. First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd holds AFSL 286354 and has operated continuously since 2005 with no ASIC enforcement actions on record. Client funds sit in segregated trust accounts with Australian Tier-1 banks, retail accounts have negative balance protection, and AFCA membership covers dispute escalation. Regulatory safety is a separate question from whether we recommend the broker; we do not, for the reasons documented in the deranking section of this review.
The minimum deposit at FP Markets is AUD 100. Pepperstone and Fusion Markets, both recommended on this site, have no minimum at all.
IRESS is institutional-grade Australian equity trading software. FP Markets is the only retail forex broker offering direct IRESS access to retail clients, allowing ASX share trading, Level 2 depth of market data, and integrated market intelligence from the same account used for forex trading.
On the Raw account, EUR/USD averages 0.2 pips during active sessions, with commission of AUD 3.00 per side (AUD 6 round-turn per standard lot). Majors spreads run slightly wider than peers, which offsets most of the commission difference.
Yes. FP Markets supports MT4, MT5, and cTrader, plus the IRESS platform, all accessible from the same account login.
Two reasons, both from direct experience rather than secondhand reports. First, in August 2026 FP Markets' partner operations team informed us that, following a compliance decision, partners are no longer permitted to promote FP Markets to Australian residents, and asked us to remove referral links. A broker withdrawing from the Australian referral channel means we can no longer verify its client-side claims through a working commercial relationship. Second, our own three-month experience dealing with the company was poor: performance questions went unanswered for weeks behind template acknowledgements, and when we asked how the contractual qualification criteria were actually measured, the team cited internal 'volume qualifiers' it declined to define. Ratings on this site are testing-based, and how a company behaves when money is owed is part of the test. FP Markets was removed from all rankings on 29 August 2026.
We no longer recommend it. The education library and AUD 100 minimum remain genuine strengths on paper, but for first-time Australian traders the cleaner default is AvaTrade: structured AvaAcademy curriculum, AvaProtect downside protection, and 9+ regulators. Plus500 is the pick for single-platform simplicity with an LSE-listed parent, and Pepperstone for traders who expect to become active. See the ranked Best Forex Brokers Australia table.
On product: FP Markets is AUD 1 per round-turn cheaper on commission (AUD 3.00 vs 3.50 per side) and offers IRESS for direct ASX share trading; Pepperstone has no minimum deposit, superior execution during volatility events, TradingView integration, and a more polished platform experience. On standing: Pepperstone is ranked and recommended on this site; FP Markets was removed from rankings in August 2026 after it ended Australian partner referrals and after our direct experience with its partner operations. See the full Pepperstone vs FP Markets comparison.
Yes. FP Markets is a Sydney-based Australian broker. It operates as First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd under ASIC AFSL 286354 and has run continuously since 2005. AU residents fund in AUD via PayID, Osko, BPAY or bank transfer, with a AUD 100 minimum deposit, and receive full ASIC retail protections including segregated client funds, negative balance protection, and AFCA access.
Yes. First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd was founded in Sydney in 2005 and remains Australian-headquartered, giving it the longest continuous Australian operating history of any ECN broker covered on this site. It added CySEC authorisation to serve European clients, but it is Australian-founded and Australian-regulated, and AU residents trade under the local ASIC entity (AFSL 286354).
About this analysis
