Tifia is a Republic of Vanuatu STP/ECN forex broker aiming to provide its clients with transparent trading conditions. Tifia has listed a few aspects that they feel make them stand out from the crowd such as segregated accounts, rapid execution with no re-quotes, a fair ECN model, use of the best trading platforms, tier 1 bank liquidity, competitive spreads, analytical material and tools and more. We will be using this review to see if they do in fact provide these services as well as any other so we can see how they stand up next to the competition.
Account Types
There are three different accounts to select when signing up, they are based on different deposit amounts and each has its own trading conditions. So lets briefly see what they offer.
Start Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of $10, it can use USD, EUR or NGN as a base currency and uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It has spread starting from 2.2 pips and there is no added commission on the account. Leverage can go as high as 1:1000 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is 10,000 units instead of 100,000. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is eligible for bonuses, there are 28 forex pairs and 2 metals available to trade on this account.
Classic Account: This account increases the required minimum deposit to $100, it can use USD, EUR, PLN, GBP or NGN as a base currency and uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platform. It has spread starting from 1.1 pips and there is no added commission on the account. Leverage can go as high as 1:1000 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is the usual 100,000 units. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is eligible for bonuses, there are 36 forex pairs 2 metals, 2 commodities and 11 indices available to trade on this account.
ECN Pro Account: This is the top-level account and the minimum deposit required is $500, it can use USD, EUR, PLN, GBP or NGN as a base currency and uses MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platform. It has spread starting from 0 pips and so there is an added commission of $8 per round lot traded. Leverage can go as high as 1:100 and trading starts from 0.01 lots and goes up to 100 lots. A lot for this account is the usual 100,000 units. The margin call level is set at 100% and stop out at 50%, there are no requotes or rejections and Islamic versions are available too. The account can use scalping, hedging, and expert advisors and is not eligible for bonuses, there are 52 forex pairs 6 metals, 2 commodities and 11 indices available to trade on this account.
Platforms
Tifia is offering two different platforms, both of them are very popular and are both from the MetaQuotes company.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MT4 is the most popular trading and analytical platform for working in the Forex market. A high work rate and reliability, a variety of tools, easy-to-use interface, high-security level, auto-trading, access to the latest financial news. It is also highly accessible as it can be used as a desktop download, mobile application and as a web trader. Millions of traders use MetaTrader 4 which says more than words can.
MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MT5 is the younger brother of MT4 and comes with loads of helpful features such as better performance and a wider range of functions, access to deep liquidity on the Forex market and stock exchanges, 6 types of pending orders to create a flexible trading strategy. One-click trading allows you to manage trading orders directly within the price chart, while built-in reports allow for quick analysis of trade efficiency. There are 21 timeframes for price charts and more than 100 charts that can be opened simultaneously for different instruments. Several technical indicators can be used in one chart at the same time, while built-in market depth indicators provide reliable real-time information about market prices and trading volumes.
Leverage
Leverage can range anywhere from 1:1 all the way up to 1:1000. The Starter and Classic accounts can be leveraged up to 1:1000 while the CN Pro account can be leveraged up to 1:100. The leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer service team with the request.
Trade Sizes
Trade sizes on all account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increments of 0.01 lots until it reaches the maximum of 100 lots. We would suggest not trading over 50 lots in a single trade though. We are not sure about the maximum number of open trades you can have at any one time though. For the Classic and ECN Pro accounts, a lot is equal to 100,000 units, while on the Starter account a lot is equal to 10,000 units.
Trading Costs
The ECN Pro account is the only account with any added commissions, there is a commission of $8 per round lot traded on this account which is just slightly above the industry average of $6 per lot. All three account shave swap fees, these are charges for holding trades overnight, there Starter and Classic account shave a swap-free Islamic option where these fees are removed.
Assets
The assets have been broken down into a number of different categories, lets briefly look at what they are.
Forex Majors: AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, USDJPY
Forex Crosses: AUDCAD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, AUDNZD, CADCHF, CADJPY, CHFJPY, EURAUD, EURCAD, EURCHF, EURGBP, EURJPY, EURNZD, GBPAUD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDJPY
Forex Exotic: USDDKK, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDILS, USDMXN, USDNOK, USDPLN, USDRUB, USDSEK, USDSGD, USDZAR, USDTRY, USDCNH, USDCZK, USDTHB, EURTRY, EURSEK, EURNOK, EURHUF, EURPLN, EURRUB, EURDKK, EURTRY
Oil: US Crude and UK Brent
Metals: XAUUSD, XAGUSD, XPD USD, XPTUSD
Indices: ASX200, CAC, FDAX, FTSE, HK50, IBEX35, NI225, NQ, SPX, SX5E, YM
Spreads
The spreads are dependant on a few different factors, they depend on the account used, the instrument traded and they are also variable. We have outlined a few of the spreads below for easy reading.
Variable spreads mean that they move with the markets, so the number stated above may be slightly different, if there is volatility in the markets then they often get wider (higher).
Minimum Deposit
The minimum amount required to open up an account is $10 which will allow you to open up a Starter account, if you want an ECN account then you will need to deposit at least $500.
Deposit Methods & Costs
There are a few different methods available that have different deposit currencies, we have outlined them below for you.
- Bank Wire Transfer – USD, EUR
- MasterCard – USD
- Skrill – USD, EUR
- Perfect Money – USD, EUR
- FasaPay – USD, EUR
- Neteller – USD, EUR
- Local Deposit – MYR, IDR, THB, VND, BRD, NGN.
- Bitcoin – BTC
There are no added fees for any of the deposits but you should check with your processor or bank to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.
Withdrawal Methods & Costs
The same methods are available to withdraw with, they have different withdrawal fees so we have outlined them below ina similar format.
- Bank Wire Transfer – Min € ($) 0.50, max € ($) 125.00
- MasterCard – 3% + $5
- Skrill – 1%
- Perfect Money – 1.99%
- FasaPay – 0.50%
- Neteller – 2%
- Local Deposit – No fees
- Bitcoin – From 0.0001 BTC
Be sure to also check with your bank or card issuer to see if there will be any incoming transfer fees.
Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time
We have outlined the total expected processing time, this is it will take for the withdrawal to fully process and be available for use.
- Bank Wire Transfer – 2-5 business days
- MasterCard – 2-5 business days
- Skrill – 1-2 hours
- Perfect Money – 1-2 hours
- FasaPay – 1-2 hours
- Neteller – 1-2 hours
- Local Deposit – 1-2 business days
- Bitcoin – 1-2 hours
Bonuses & Promotions
The bonuses and promotions on offer are all forms of trading competitions, they involve you trading and whoever makes the most or trades the most wins prizes. There are multiple competitions happening at once and the prizes range from cash to cars. The terms of each are slightly different but they all involve depositing and trading.
Educational & Trading Tools
There are four different educational tools available, the first is a page for reviews and outlooks, it looks at different news and analysis on what the markets could do. There is an analysis app valuable, you need a fully verified account to access it so we do not know what it is like, but it seems that it will give you analysis and tips on your phone. There is then a calculator for working out margin, pip sizes, and profit. Finally, there is the usual economic calendar which tells you of upcoming news events and the effect that they could have on the markets.
Customer Service
Getting in contact with Tifia is pretty simple, you can use a number of different email addresses or phone numbers depending on the department you want. There are emails available for Customer Support, Finance Department, Human Resources and Partnerships. There are also emails and phone numbers available for different representatives in Thailand, Indonesia, Hispanic countries and Nigeria.
Support Email: [email protected]
Demo Account
A demo account is available and offers a way to test the markets and new strategies without any real risk. Each demo account will remain open indefinitely, provided that they are used at least once per 90 days. If a demo account is archived due to inactivity, a new one can be opened.
Countries Accepted
The following statement is on the site: “Our company’s service is not provided to the citizens (residents) of the United States of America, Canada, Israel, Belgium, Japan and the Republic of Vanuatu and citizens of any state or country where the service is not made available.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility then we would suggest contacting the customer service team to find out prior to signing up for an account.
Conclusion
It is refreshing to see a broker give out so much information and they are certainly living up to their statement of offering a transparent service. In terms of trading conditions, the starter account can be a little expensive with its spreads, and the ECN Pro account is slightly over the industry-standard commissions, but it is not overly expensive. There are plenty of assets to trade on the higher tier accounts and with the choice of both MT4 and MT5, there is plenty of options available.
There are also lots of deposit and withdrawal methods, the only change is the fact that there are withdrawal fees, but some of them are reasonable and won’t take away too much of your profits. Tifia has made a real effort to give you all the information you need, this level of transparency can be rare to see and so we would e happy to recommend Tifia as a potential broker to use.
