banksster

Trustworthy broker with a large selection of CFD instruments. Fast withdrawals and deposits via Applepay. MT4/5 and cTrader. Very knowledgable support via WhatsApp.

I have been active in the financial industry for over 25 years. Recently, I decided to expand my trading activities beyond equities to include FX trading. After searching for a suitable platform, I eventually came across OTC, which was also recommended to me by an acquaintance.

I paid CHF 5,000 for the course, which granted access to several learning modules. Additionally, three indicators were provided – all of which, however, are freely available online in similar form. OTC intends to charge an additional CHF 100 per month for these indicators after one year, which is entirely unnecessary.

It quickly became evident that OTC’s main focus is on selling mentorship slots. The mentors are traders who hold daily sessions analyzing the markets, though their trading styles vary considerably. Daily trade signals are also published for various markets, primarily based on Supply & Demand principles, occasionally referring to fundamentals but never macroeconomic factors.
“Bernd” provides weekly high-timeframe analyses, usually limited to major currency pairs.

The entire service has now been moved to a Discord server, where all content (signals, discussions, etc.) is available. For those who paid the original full amount, this shift feels like an insult, as they receive no substantial additional value compared to new members who pay only a fraction of the price.

After a year, I am disappointed. While the course material is well-structured, it primarily covers freely accessible topics. The modules are professionally produced, but their current price of 500 (instead of 5,000) is much more appropriate.

The mentoring sessions are repetitive, and the mentors’ overall performance is currently weak. There is no transparent performance reporting, even though such transparency would be essential for students, especially since mentors also sell private coaching sessions.
This lack of accountability has caused growing dissatisfaction, particularly among more mature clients. Requests for transparency are routinely suppressed – critical posts are deleted, and users raising valid concerns are banned or expelled.

Criticism appears to be unwelcome at OTC. Transparency is equally lacking. I was personally reprimanded and suspended for one week by Bernd after questioning verified results and requesting transparency. The same happened to other clients known to me.
In a video call, OTC’s Head of Support explicitly stated that deleting user messages violates internal policies. Nevertheless, messages continue to be removed without explanation, indicating that these rules are not being followed.

I increasingly fear that OTC’s entire operation – including its educational content – is essentially a sophisticated marketing scheme orchestrated by Bernd Skorpinski.

The so-called “Alpha verification” of Bernd’s trading results was issued via the proprietary firm V.S.T., which no longer exists and has itself been accused of defrauding clients. Despite this, the collaboration remains publicly promoted by Bernd on LinkedIn and in YouTube videos as proof of success.

I do not claim that Bernd is directly involved in these issues; however, given his public statements that he is “the only prop trader with officially certified results,” skepticism is justified – especially since those “certifications” are based on a synthetic account and were not conducted according to GIPS standards. Even the author of the verification expressed doubts about Bernd’s performance, stating that such certification carries no validity or professional weight.

Furthermore, Bernd’s claim of being a full-time trader for 11 years is inconsistent with his actual background. Until 2022, he was reportedly living in Dubai, working in the automotive industry, allegedly selling cars for a German manufacturer – something that can easily be verified online.
This casts serious doubt on his credibility as a professional trader.

It must also be emphasized that OTC is not registered or licensed in either Dubai or the United States, despite publicly claiming to be an authorized financial intermediary.
Both jurisdictions require proper regulatory approval for any entity offering financial training, investment services, or trading-related activities.
OTC’s repeated assertions of being licensed and compliant are therefore false and misleading. This constitutes a serious misrepresentation to clients and the public, as such authorization would be mandatory under applicable financial regulations in both regions.

I strongly advise against joining OTC.

I bought a 360,000 account for 10,000 and received a drawdown of 16,000. That's the understandable business case. The withdrawal process—I've already received one—is rather time-consuming and too complicated for 2025. It requires print screens and PDFs for an application. That's not up to date. The payment itself was quick, within 24 hours. The withdrawal time, the window, is small. It's only possible in the first 10 days, and only if you were profitable the previous month. So not just in the first 10 days. Confused? Yes, I am too.

Now, the trading conditions: They're often very strange for metals and energies. I compare them with the CFD prices and spreads at FTMO. I think I've noticed several modified prices. Chart patterns that didn't correspond to the price, as if someone was trying to chase suspected lows or highs (SL). Daily candles were higher than with other providers. Such behavior unsettles me. Campus support is usually just an AI, which is accordingly overwhelmed. Response times are far too long to offer a professional platform. Furthermore, the simplest issues aren't understood, and ultimately, customers give up. Therefore, I cannot fully support Campus.

Update: The platform has been unusable for almost two weeks. Charts aren't loading correctly. Implementation on TradingView continues to be rather slow. Support has acknowledged the issue, but so far, neither a solution nor compensation has been offered. Charging $10,000 for this is pretty ridiculous.