MEXEM Review 2023

András I.
December 30, 2022

MEXEM review summary

Mexem is an European-based global stockbroker for traders and investors. MEXEM has low stock and ETF commission fees. Thanks to its link to Interactive Brokers, MEXEM covers a vast range of markets and products, and offers a multitude of great research tools on its sophisticated trading platforms. Partly because of that, though, we recommend this broker mainly for advanced traders, as the desktop trading platform isn’t the easiest to use. Among other drawbacks, forex and margin rates are high. BrokerChooser gave MEXEM a 4.5/5 rating based on analyzing 500+ criteria and testing via opening a live account.

MEXEM is a regulated broker, it is overseen by top-tier financial regulators in multiple countries . MEXEM is also covered by investor protection in selected jurisdictions. We at BrokerChooser always test brokers with real money, including the withdrawal process.

TD Ameritrade pros and cons

MEXEM pros and cons

Pros	Cons
• Low stock and ETF fees	• Complex desktop trading platform
• Wide range of products	• High forex and margin fees
• Many great research tools

MEXEM main highlights

🗺️ Country of regulation	Ireland (IBIE), Cyprus (MEXEM)
💰 Trading fees class	Low
💰 Inactivity fee charged	No
💰 Withdrawal fee amount	$0
💰 Minimum deposit	$0
🕖 Time to open an account	1 day
💳 Deposit with bank card	Not available
👛 Depositing with electronic wallet	Not available
💱 Number of base currencies supported	23
🎮 Demo account provided	Yes
🛍️ Products offered	Stock, ETF, Forex, Fund, Bond, Options, Futures, CFD, Warrants, Structured products

To read much more details about the broker’s services and features, expand on the sections below.

Our overall TD Ameritrade Review rating

Fees

7.6
Account opening

10
Deposit and withdrawal

7
WebTrading platform

8.6
Mobile trading platform

7
Desktop trading platform

7
Markets and products

9.8
Research

8.6
Customer service

9
Education

9

MEXEM review

Fees

MEXEM’s trading fees for stocks/ETFs, bonds and mutual funds are low, while options, forex and futures fees are average and there is no inactivity fee. However, margin fees are high.

Pros	Cons
• Low stock/ETF fees	• High margin rates
• Low bond and mutual fund fees	• Average forex and futures fees
• No inactivity fee

**MEXEM fees snapsho**t
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock	Low	$0.005 per share; min. $2.5, max. 2% of trade value
EURUSD	High	0.005% commission, min. $5
Mutual fund	Low	0.1% per transaction, min. $5
Inactivity fee	Low	No inactivity fee

How we ranked fees

We ranked MEXEM’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let’s go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of MEXEM for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.

We also compared MEXEM’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Saxo Bank and DEGIRO. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of MEXEM alternatives.

To have a clear overview of MEXEM, let’s start with its trading fees.

MEXEM trading fees

MEXEM has low fees. The fee structure is mixed: there is usually a volume-tiered commission, with a minimum flat fee.

Stock and ETF fees

MEXEM has low stock and ETF fees.

**MEXEM stock and ETF commission of a $2,000 trade**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
US stock	$2.5	$10.0	$1.0
UK stock	$2.8	$9.0	$3.1
German stock	$2.0	$9.9	$4.9

MEXEM’s stock trading fee is volume-based: it is calculated either per share or as a percentage of the trade value, with a minimum fee applied. ETF fees are the same as stock fees.

**MEXEM stock and ETF fees**
Currency	Commission fee	Minimum
AUD	0.12%	8
CAD	$0.01 per share*	2
CHF	0.1%	7.5
CNH	0.15%	25
EUR	0.06%	1.8
GBP	0.08%	2.5
HKD	0.12%	20
HUF	0.08%	500
ILS	0.1%	15
JPY	0.12%	200
MXN	0.15%	75
NOK	0.08%	20
PLN	0.1%	20
SEK	0.12%	20
SGD	0.12%	4
USD	0.005% per share	2.5

*US stocks have a max. rate of 2% of the order value & Canadian stocks have a max. rate of 1% of the order value.
Stamp taxes (UK=0.5%, Ireland=1%) are passed on to the client.

If you prefer stock trading on margin, you should check MEXEM’s margin rates.

Trading on margin basically means that you borrow money from your broker and can purchase more shares than you could with just the available cash in your account. You have to pay interest on this borrowed money – the interest rate is called the margin rate. It can account for a significant portion of your trading costs.

MEXEM’s margin rates are high.

**MEXEM annual margin rates**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
USD margin rate	12.6%	–	3.0%
GBP margin rate	12.0%	–	3.0%
EUR margin rate	10.1%	–	3.0%

Forex fees

MEXEM’s forex fees are average.

To get a clear picture of forex fees, we calculated a forex benchmark fee for major currency pairs. This catch-all benchmark includes commissions, spreads and financing costs for all brokers.

**MEXEM forex benchmark fee of a $20,000 30:1 long position held for one week**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
EURUSD benchmark fee	$20.7	$14.6	–
GBPUSD benchmark fee	$16.3	$8.8	–
AUDUSD benchmark fee	$14.4	$10.0	–
EURCHF benchmark fee	$10.9	$1.4	–
EURGBP benchmark fee	$18.6	$12.0	–

Fund fees

MEXEM’s mutual fund fees are low. Thousands of US mutual funds (including funds from Allianz, BlackRock and Schroder) may be purchased without a transaction fee. The commission fee is 0.1%, with a minimum fee of €5.

The minimum size of initial fund orders is $3,000, while the subsequent minimum order size is $100.

When you purchase a fund that is not in the ‘free-to-buy’ category, a simple price structure applies that includes all regulatory and exchange fees.

**MEXEM commission for a $2,000 fund purchase**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Mutual fund	$5.0	$0.0	$3.9

Bond fees

MEXEM has generally low bond fees.

**MEXEM commission of a $10,000 government bond trade**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
US Treasury bond	$5.0	$79.2	–
EU government bond	$15.2	$79.2	$3.0

Options fees

MEXEM options fees are average when it comes to trading stock index options.

**MEXEM stock index options commission of 10 contracts**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
US stock index options	$20.0	$30.0	$7.5
UK stock index options	$28.3	$28.3	–
German stock index options	$17.8	$39.6	$8.9

You pay options fees depending on the number of contracts you trade.

Futures fees

MEXEM futures fees are average. Fees are more favorable then at the featured competitors.

**MEXEM stock index futures commission of 10 contracts**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
US micro e-mini stock index futures	$10.0	$40.0	$7.5
UK stock index futures	$22.6	$33.9	–
German e-mini stock index futures	$17.8	$39.6	$7.4

CFD fees

MEXEM provides CFD products, but the fee for trading CFDs is not published clearly.

Non-trading fees

MEXEM has low non-trading fees. There is no inactivity, account or deposit fee. The first withdrawal each month is free of charge, while subsequent withdrawals carry a fee.

**MEXEM non-trading fees**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Account fee	No	No	No
Inactivity fee	No	Yes	No
Deposit fee	$0	$0	$0
Withdrawal fee	$0	$0	$0

MEXEM review

Account opening

MEXEM’s account opening process is fully digital and straightforward, with no minimum deposit required.

Pros	Cons
• Fully digital	None
• No minimum deposit
• User-friendly

What is the minimum deposit at MEXEM?

The required MEXEM minimum deposit is $0.

Account types

MEXEM offers many account types, which differ in terms of ownership and the service provided.

Account types based on ownership

The account types fall into two big groups, depending on the account’s ownership:

accounts for individual traders and investors
accounts for institutions

**MEXEM account types**
Account types	Short description
Individuals	Account is owned and used by a single individual
Joint	Account is owned and used by two individuals
Family Office	Account for an individual who is a Family Office Manager
Friends and Family	Account for a client group of up to 15 members
Small Business	Account for small corporations
Advisor	Account for an individual who manages both client administration and the client’s money
Funding Manager	Account for an individual or Corporation Registered Advisor who is hired on behalf of another advisor
Copyright Trading Group	Account for a partnership, corporation, unincorporated legal structure or limited liability company
Hedge and Mutual Fund	Account for an investment manager to manage single investment, multiple funds or multiple co-mingled funds
Compliance Officers	Account for corporations to keep track of their employees’ trading activity

How to open your account

The account opening process is fully digital and straightforward. During the account opening process, you have to provide some personal information and answer questions about your employment status and trading experience.

MEXEM review – Account opening

At the end, you have to verify your identity and residency by uploading the required documents:

Verification of identity: passport, national ID, or driver’s license
Verification of residency: bank statement, utility bill, credit card statement, or notarized document

This is a standard procedure which in financial lingo is called a KYC (know-your-customer) process. This is required to make sure you are truly identifiable.

Our best alternatives to MEXEM are:

The highest ranking competitors are:

Saxo Bank full review
DEGIRO full review
Swissquote full review
Interactive Brokers full review

MEXEM review

Deposit and withdrawal

MEXEM offers quick deposit and withdrawal; however, it doesn’t accept credit/debit cards and electronic wallets.

Pros	Cons
• No deposit fee	• Credit/Debit card not available
• Several account base currencies
• Quick deposit and withdrawal – within 3 days

Account base currencies

MEXEM provides several account base currencies, which is great if you want to trade assets in various currencies.

**MEXEM account base currencies**
Australian Dollar	British Pound	Canadian Dollar	Chinese Yuan
Czech Koruna	Danish Krone	Euro	Hong Kong Dollar
Hungarian Forint	Indian Rupee (only in India)	Israeli Shekel	Japanese Yen
Mexican Peso	New Zealand Dollar	Norwegian Krone	Polish Zloty
Russian Rouble	Singapore Dollar	South African Rand	South Korean won (KRW)
Swedish Krona	Swiss Franc	US Dollar

The selection of available currencies may differ based on the legal entity you’re onboarded with.

When compared to its competitors, you can see that MEXEM’s base currency selection is largely similar to that of Saxo Bank and larger than DEGIRO.

**Base currencies at MEXEM vs similar brokers**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Number of base currencies	23	26	9

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you don’t have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

MEXEM deposits are free of charge. However, deposit options are limited, as neither credit/debit cards nor electronic wallets can be used.

**MEXEM deposit options**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Bank transfer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card	No	Yes	No
Electronic wallets	No	No	No

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

MEXEM review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

MEXEM withdrawal fees and options

The first withdrawal each month is free of charge, while subsequent withdrawals carry a fee.

Similar to deposits, you can only use bank transfer for outgoing transfers.

**MEXEM withdrawal fees and options**
	MEXEM	Saxo Bank	DEGIRO
Bank transfer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card	No	No	No
Electronic wallets	No	No	No
Withdrawal fee	$0	$0	$0

The fee for withdrawals depends on the currency and the method used for withdrawal.

**MEXEM withdrawal fees**
Withdrawal currency	Withdrawal fee
EUR – wire	€8
EUR – SEPA	€1
USD	$10
GBP	£7

How long does it take to withdraw money from MEXEM? We tested it and it took 2 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from MEXEM?

First, log in to the Client Portal, then click on ‘Transfer & Pay’ and ‘Transfer funds’.
Select the account you want to use for the transaction.
At the top of the page, click on the ‘Withdraw Funds’ tab.
Select the currency of your withdrawal, followed by the withdrawal method.
Enter the required information.
Submit your withdrawal request.
You can see the status of your request under ‘View Transaction History’.

MEXEM review

Web trading platform

The MEXEM web platform is simple and easy to use, even for beginners. However, there are some minor but annoying glitches.

Pros	Cons
• User-friendly	• User experience could be better
• Clear fee report
• Two-step (safer) login

**MEXEM platforms to choose from**
Trading platform	Score	Available
Web	4.3 stars	Yes
Mobile	3.5 stars	Yes
Desktop	3.5 stars	Yes

The web trading platform, called Client Portal, is available in 12 languages:

**MEXEM available languages**
English	Spanish	French	German
Italian	Bulgarian	Hungarian	Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese	Japanese	Arabic	Hebrew

Look and feel

The Client Portal platform is particularly user-friendly and intuitive. You will easily find every feature even if you just started trading.

However, from time to time, there are some annoying technical glitches. For example, if you have a large number of positions, there are often problems displaying them in sorted order (e.g. from A to Z) while you are scrolling.

MEXEM review – Web trading platform

Login and security

For two-factor authorization, use IBKR Mobile Authentication (IB Key), which requires a fingerprint or PIN, depending on the hardware capabilities of your phone. Until the IB Key is set up, you will receive an SMS message each time you log in.

Search functions

The search function is OK, but it can be a little confusing when there are several companies with a similar name or if a company has both common and preferred shares.

MEXEM review – Web trading platform – Search

Placing orders

The Client Portal offers many order types:

Limit
Mid-Price
Market
Stop
Stop Limit
Limit-on-Close
Market-on-Close
Trailing Stop
Trailing Stop Limit

If you are not familiar with the basic order types, read this overview.

If you want to place even more sophisticated orders, you should use the desktop trading platform.

You can also use several order time limits:

Day
Good-’til-Canceled (GTC)
Immediate or Cancel
Market-on-Open
Limit-on-Open
At the opening

MEXEM review – Web trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts using the bell icon.

Portfolio and fee reports

Portfolio and fee reports are transparent. The ‘Portfolio’ tab gives a clear overview of your trading performance, including a historical profit/loss balance and fees paid.

MEXEM review

Mobile trading platform

MEXEM’s mobile trading platform boasts a lot of functions and a useful chatbot, but its user interface could be better.

Pros	Cons
• Two-step (safer) login	• Minor technical glitches
• Good variety of order types
• Price alerts

MEXEM’s mobile trading platform is available both for iOS and Android devices. For this review, we tested it on iOS.

The number of available languages is similar to the web trading platform: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish,Traditional Chinese and Turkish.