I’m considering opening a small account with xtb and running a two week test. I care most about platform stability around London open and during big news, withdrawal speed by method, and how spreads behave when the market spikes.
I have read mixed reports here. Some say e wallet and card payouts are quick, bank wires take longer. Others mention brief freezes during heavy news. I plan to log slippage, spread snapshots, and a small withdrawal to see my real cost after swaps and any rebate.
If you have recent experience, what are your top three pros and top three cons, and can you share basic proof like timestamps or screenshots?
Stable outside news spreads jump hard on releases.
Card withdrawals quick bank wires slower but steady.
To judge pros and cons, run a small live test. Trade during London open and one major news release. Record spread every minute, slippage on each fill, and any requotes. Save a simple ping log to the trading server. Do a test withdrawal with card and bank. Note request time, approval time, and time received. Calculate total cost per lot: spread plus commission plus swap minus any rebate. If cost and execution look acceptable under stress, you have your answer.
Entity matters. Check which xtb company holds your account and protections. Ask support to confirm stop out level, minimum distance, and how they handle partial fills. Compare average spread on your symbols across two weeks, then run the same trades at a second broker for a day to benchmark. Keep risk small while testing. For withdrawals, avoid Fridays and month end when banks batch. If anything looks off, collect screenshots and ticket numbers before moving size.
I’m fine with majors most days. Spreads pop during CPI and NFP, so I avoid market orders then.
Skrill withdrawals reached me within a day. Chat support answered basic stuff, but took time on verification.
Platform is fine outside news. Spreads and slippage increase during releases. My card payout was same day. Bank wire took three days.
For me, support was responsive on chat but slow by email.
If you try them, start with micro size and log every fill. You will see fast what suits your style.