Reference figures use AI classification of X posts. They do not indicate rank, safety, or whether a payout will be made.

METHOD

Methodology

This page explains what PROP CHECK’s scores are based on and how they are calculated. If you are new here, reading from top to bottom will give you the full picture.

What this page covers

  • Which scores make up the overall reference score
  • What we look at to score payout eligibility, firsthand reviews and operational foundation
  • Rule-change deduction and payout-trouble deduction
  • Points to keep in mind when reading the scores

How a score is built

  1. Score each partWe score payout eligibility, firsthand reviews and operational foundation separately.
  2. Combine them with weightsWe combine them in the proportions below to get the “reference score before deductions”.
  3. Deduct if neededWe subtract the rule-change deduction and the payout-trouble deduction if needed.
  4. The overall reference scoreThe resulting score is the “overall reference score”.

Terms used

Overall reference score
The payout score, the review score and the operational-foundation score combined, minus the rule-change deduction and the payout-trouble deduction if needed.
Firsthand report
A report by the trader themselves on whether they were paid or ran into a problem.
Adjustment
A correction that keeps a score from swinging too far when only a few people have reported or posted.

1. Overall reference score

The payout score, the review score and the operational-foundation score combined in fixed proportions, minus the rule-change deduction and the payout-trouble deduction if needed.

Reference score before deductions
Payout eligibility50%
Firsthand reviews20%
Operational foundation30%

The payout score, the review score and the on-screen displays each use different periods.

NoteThis is not an actual payout success rate or a probability of safety.

2. Payout eligibility

A score based on firsthand reports of whether traders were able to get paid.

NoteFor firms with few reports, the score rests on limited information. Do not treat a high score alone as a sign that a firm is safe.

Period countedAll dates

All firsthand reports are counted, including older ones (newer reports count for more).

We check whether the trader was paid or had a problem.

What is included and excluded

We use only firsthand reports whose text we have checked.

Posts whose content or circumstances are still being checked are left out of both scoring and display until the check is done.

How the score is calculated

The share of reports is not the same as the payout score.

The score also includes an adjustment for firms where only a few people have reported.

3. Firsthand reviews

We sort reviews of each firm into positive, negative and mixed, and turn them into a score.

Scoring periodLast 2 years

We plan to count and update reviews once a week, around each weekend.

Reading the review breakdown

In the review breakdown on each firm’s page, you can switch the display period between 365 days, 730 days and all dates.

  • Switching the period changes the counts, shares and list of original posts.
  • The overall reference score and review tags do not change.

Click positive, mixed or negative to see the matching posts.

How reviews are scored

  1. 1. Select posts

    We check each post and select the reviews used for scoring.

  2. 2. Sort the content

    We sort each evaluation of the firm into positive, negative or mixed.

  3. 3. Turn it into a score

    The shares of positive, negative and mixed reviews are not used as the score directly.

    • Recent reviews count for more.
    • We add an adjustment when only a few people have posted.
    • We adjust by reviewer so that people who post a lot do not sway the score too much.
    • When the same person posts several times in the same week, those posts count as one.

Which posts are used

Included

Reviews that show an evaluation of the firm.

Excluded from scoring

  • Posts by the firm or its staff
  • Promotion only
  • Personal trading results with no evaluation of the firm
  • A different firm or product
  • Duplicate posts

On hold

Posts without enough support are put on hold and left out of scoring and display until they have been checked.

What the review tags mean

Mostly positive
Shown for firms with enough reviews whose share of positive posts is high among the firms we list.
Mixed views
Shown for firms with enough reviews whose share of mixed posts is high among the firms we list.
Recently worsened
Shown when, comparing the latest period with the one before, a firm’s share of negative posts rose sharply compared with other firms.Only firms with enough reviews to compare are eligible.

Notes that apply to all three tags

  • Tags are assigned by comparing firms with each other.
  • When firms are tied, more firms may receive a tag.
  • The complaint items on each firm’s page are counted from posts in the last six months.
  • Complaint items are not used in the review score.

What we cannot check or guarantee

Posts and attachments help us check, but this site does not guarantee the following:

  • That the trades or claims described are true
  • That certificates are genuine
  • That the firm is responsible

We cannot fully confirm the following:

  • Whether one person is posting from several accounts
  • Whether posts from different months refer to the same event

4. Operational foundation

We score how a firm’s payouts and operations are set up, based on documents we can check.

The four items scored

Payout process
25 pts
Financial disclosure
25 pts
Operating structure
30 pts
Support source scale
20 pts

The four items add up to 100 points and make up 30% of the overall reference score.

Some items receive no points because there is not enough documentation. Operational-foundation deductions for confirmed problems are shown in the operational-foundation section of each firm’s page. The rule-change deduction and the payout-trouble deduction are explained in 5.

What we check for each item

Each item covers the points below. We do not publish the points assigned to each.

Payout processWe look at whether payout conditions and steps are clear, whether the process runs automatically from the eligibility check to the transfer, and whether payout results can be tracked and checked.
  • Payout conditions and steps
  • Automation from the payout eligibility check to the transfer
  • Whether payout results can be tracked
Financial disclosureWe check who pays out and what the money is used for. We also look at whether revenue, amounts paid out and realized trading profits and losses are published and can be compared for the same period, and at how the funds used for payouts relate to the company or organization that bears those payouts.
  • Who pays, and what the money is used for
  • Published trading profits and losses that have been locked in
  • Published amounts paid out
  • Published revenue
  • Whether figures can be compared for the same period
  • Whether the money paid out matches the company that bears it
Operating structureWe check what the company or organization providing the service and the organizations supporting it actually do in day-to-day operations, and how far their responsibility goes. We also look at what ongoing support is provided and what supervision the supporting organization receives from financial regulators.
  • The company providing the service and its role
  • Whether it is actually involved in operations
  • Scope of responsibility and ongoing support
  • Whether the supporting organization is supervised by financial regulators
Support source scaleWe look at the size of the supporting company’s business or user base, using figures we can verify. Of the measures that meet the scoring conditions, only the single highest level is used.
  • Equity confirmed by audit
  • Revenue
  • Actual trading volume with a clearly defined scope and period
  • Verified members of a financial service

5. Additional deductions

Rule-change (rule-history) deduction

Firms that made adverse changes retroactively to people who already bought or to existing accounts, and firms that made major changes without notice, receive a deduction according to the change.

Changes that count

Only changes of one of these two kinds count:

  • Changes confirmed to add or expand a disadvantage, and confirmed to apply to accounts already purchased or existing accounts
  • Changes of high severity (S or A) confirmed to have been made without notice

We do not deduct points based on severity alone.

Size of the deduction

  • S, A, B and C are severity levels showing how much a change added to traders’ disadvantage.
  • S is the most serious and C the least.
  • The higher the severity, the larger the deduction.
  • When one firm has several changes, we adjust so the deductions do not pile up too much, and we set a cap.
  • If the same event has already lowered the payout score, we subtract that amount from the deduction.
  • If we cannot confirm whether a change overlaps with the payout score, we hold the deduction until we can.
  • Withdrawing a change alone does not cancel the deduction.
  • If we can confirm a full withdrawal and remedies for the people affected, the deduction is reduced.
  • If the change turns out not to have happened, the deduction is cancelled.
  • Deductions do not expire just because time has passed.

Deduction for reduced ability to pay (payout trouble)

We deduct points when a firm’s own written communication confirms that it split or postponed approved payouts, or restricted payments.

  • Only cases confirmed by an email from the firm or an official announcement count. A trader’s own claim alone does not lead to a deduction.
  • This is subtracted separately from the rule-change deduction above.

6. Methodology change history