MT4 and MT5 back up on the Apple App Store

FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that the popular MT4 and MT5 trading apps are now back up and live on the Apple App Store. New users can now once again download the applications, and existing users can receive future updates of the apps.

Late last September FNG broke what turned out to be the biggest FX and CFDs industry news story of the 2022 – that Apple had removed MT4 and MT5 from its App Store. And after much (incorrect) speculation ensued on other FX industry “news” sites that the removal had something to do with MT4 and MT5 developer MetaQuotes’ connections to Russia (MetaQuotes’ founders are indeed from Russia, but have been residing outside the country for more than two decades with the company fully founded and based in Cyprus) FNG discovered and reported that the ban was due to increasing complaints to Apple from MT4/MT5 users who had accounts at the many offshore/unlicensed brokers that offer trading on the platforms to their clients.

Those complaints of course had little to do directly with MetaQuotes. Indeed, many of those brokers had no direct business link with MetaQuotes, effectively renting an MT4/MT5 solution from third parties offering turnkey MetaTrader White Label solutions to (mainly) smaller brokers and those who want to start a new brokerage, without the outlay of expensive MetaTrader license fees, hosting, maintenance, etc. (More on that below).

We also exclusively reported back in September that, in parallel, MetaQuotes had halted the processing of all new MT4/MT5 White Labels.

Well it has taken nearly half a year, but MT4 and MT5 are back up on the App Store.

We understand that over the past five-plus months MetaQuotes – which has remained fairly quiet on the subject – has been in discussions with Apple on the matter, with the company now demonstrating to Apple and the App Store folks that it was going to much more closely scrutinize which brokers can offer its apps – i.e. no more offshore or unlicensed brokers, whom as a group are infamous for mistreating retail clients and withholding client funds.

It is worth noting that the past five and a half months have witnessed a virtual feeding frenzy in the FX/CFDs sector, with a number of MetaQuotes’ (smaller) competitors seeking to offer brokers an MT4 alternative for their Apple iOS device users. An entire sub-industry which had been built up around offering turnkey MT4/MT5 White Label solutions, as noted above, quickly pivoted to offering MT4/MT5 alternatives to brokers, and to those who wanted to start new brokerage brands.

MT4 and MT5 have remained the dominant trading platform for Retail CFD traders, but what happened has indeed changed the industry and led many brokers to look to offer alternative platforms, not keeping all their eggs in the MetaTrader basket.