Following our in-depth review and ranking process, here are the best forex brokers in South Africa;
Table of Contents
Best Forex Brokers in South Africa
- XM
- IC Markets
- IG
- HotForex
- FXTM
1. XM
Established by the Trading Point Group, XM is a multi-award-winning online broker, as well as one of the biggest forex and CFD providers (by trade volume) in the world. It connects traders to a wide variety of global markets including forex and CFDs on stocks, commodities, equity indices, precious metals, energies and shares with over 1000+ instruments to trade.
XM offers a well-established brokerage solution for both beginner and professional retail traders. It is also suitable for all trading styles and strategies and offers different account types with great account options, which traders can choose from to enjoy a tailored trading experience that perfectly suits their trading needs. In addition, traders can also gain access to multiple industry-standard brokers, deep liquidity, tight spreads, fast order execution, negative balance protection, a dedicated multilingual customer support service, and much more.
XM Overview
| Broker | XM |
|---|---|
| Regulation | CySEC (Cyprus), DFSA (United Arab Emirates), ASIC (Australia), IFSC (Belize), FCA (United Kingdom), BaFin (Germany), CNMV (Spain), MNB (Hungary), CONSOB (Italy), ACPR (France), FIN-FSA (Finland), KNF (Poland), AFM (Netherlands) and FI (Sweden). |
| Forex Pairs | 55 Currency Pairs. |
| Trading Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 |
| Minimum Deposit | $5 |
| Demo Account | Available | Open Demo Account |
| Maximum Leverage | 1:888 |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF,AUD, HUF, PLN, RUB, SGD, ZAR |
| Payment Methods | Wire Transfer, Internet Banking, Local Bank Transfer, Credit/ Debit Cards, Neteller, Neteller VIP, Skrill, UnionPay, RapidPay, POLI |
Pros
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Easy account registration process.
- Supports over 30 languages.
- Beginner friendly.
- Deep liquidity.
- Fast order execution
- Multiple tailored account types.
- Offers swap-free account.
- Low overnight fee.
- Ultra low spreads from 0.0 pips on the Zero account.
- Low minimum deposit.
- Support over 11 account base currencies including the South African Rand (ZAR).
- Industry-standard third-party trading platforms available for mobile and desktop devices.
- Supports all trading styles and strategies.
- Multiple fast and secure deposit and withdrawal methods..
- Quality education & research offering.
- Great customer support service.
Cons
- No proprietary trading platform.
2. IC Markets
IC Markets is a global leading online broker, as well as one of the largest forex providers (by trade volume) in the world. It offers forex and CFDs on a wide variety of global markets including, stocks, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds and futures, with over 1780+ instruments to trade.
IC Markets offers an excellent trading solution suitable for beginner and professional traders, along with adequate support for all trading styles and strategies (such as scalping, hedging, algorithmic trading etc). In addition, all clients can enjoy a plethora of top-notch trading services, some of which includes; consistent ultra-low spreads from 0.0 pips, fast trade executions, deep liquidity, advanced trading platforms & tools, transparent pricing and low trading fees, and great customer support service available 24/7.
| Broker | IC Markets |
|---|---|
| Regulation | ASIC, FSA, CYSEC |
| Forex Pairs | 61 |
| Trading Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader |
| Minimum Deposit | $200 (or currency equivalent.) |
| Demo Account | Available | Open Demo Account |
| Maximum Leverage | 1:500 |
| Account Currencies | AUD, USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, HKD, CHF. |
| Payment Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, Credit and debit cards, Paypal, Neteller, Neteller VIP, Skrill, UnionPay, Bpay, FasaPay, Broker to Broker, POLI, Rapidpay, Thai internet banking, Vietnamese internet banking. |
Pros
- Hassle-free account registration process.
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Over 180,000+ clients across 190 countries worldwide.
- Strong global presecence and reputation among traders.
- Deep liquidity.
- Negative balance protection.
- Clients funds are segregated.
- Industry standard trading platforms available in web, mobile and desktop versions.
- Provides support for algorithmic (such as Expert Advisors).
- Over 61 currency pairs to trade including major, minor and exotic currency pairs.
- Flexible leverage from 1:1 to 1:500.
- Low latency and ultra-fast trade execution.
- Supports all trading styles and strategies.
- Low spreads (starting from 0.6 pips) with zero commissions on the standard account.
- Ultra-low spreads from 0.0 pips on IC Markets’ Raw Spread accounts.
- Multiple fast and secure payment methods, with fast deposit and withdrawal processing times.
- Demo account with unlimited usage duration.
- No inactivity fee.
- Dedicated and friendly multi-lingual customer support service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Cons
- Product offering limited to CFDs.
- No proprietary trading platform.
3. IG
IG is a highly reputable global online broker established by IG Group plc; a publicly-traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange. IG offers CFD trading across a wide variety of asset classes including forex, shares, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, options, bonds, interest rate, sectors and ETFs with over 17,000+ instruments available to trade.
IG offers an exceptional brokerage service, with trading solutions suitable for retail (beginners and professionals) and institutional clients (such as hedge funds, family offices, private investment vehicles, asset managers, brokers, banks and introducing brokers). Also, traders can get access to an extensive list of great brokerage services including deep liquidity, superior trade execution, volume-based rebates, industry-standard trading platforms, competitive spreads, expert customer support service, and much more.
IG Overview
| Broker | IG |
|---|---|
| Regulation | CFTC (U.S.), FCA (U.K.), ASIC (Australia), FCA (United Kingdom), FINMA (Switzerland), FMA (New Zealand), MAS (Singapore), FSA (Japan), FSCA (South Africa), DFSA (UAE), BMA (International) |
| Forex Pairs | 81 |
| Trading Platforms | ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, MetaTrader 4 |
| Minimum Deposit | $300 (or currency equivalent) |
| Demo Account | Available | Open Demo Account |
| Maximum Leverage | 1:200 |
| Account Currencies | USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, SGD, HKD. |
| Payment Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, Paypal |
Pros
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Listed on the stock exchange.
- 45+ years of industry experience.
- 313,000+ clients worldwide.
- Deep liquidity.
- Negative balance protection.
- Volume-based rebates.
- Industry standard trading platforms available in web, mobile and desktop versions.
- Competitive spreads from 0.6 pips on major currency pairs.
- Fast and secure payment methods.
- No minimum deposit for bank transfer.
- Excellent eductional offering for beginner, intermediate and advanced traders.
- Outstanding research offering.
- Great customer support service.
Cons
- Inactivity fee charged (after 2 years of inactivity).
- No support for copy trading and social trading.
- Avergae overnight fee.
- Limited product portfolio in some countries.
- No support for social trading and copy trading.
4. HotForex
HotForex is a global award-winning broker established and operated by HF Markets Group; a globally renowned fintech brand that strives to meet and exceed the highest standards of online trading. It offers CFD trading across a variety of global markets including forex, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, stocks DMA, ETFs and shares with over 1000+ instruments to trade.
HotForex provides a phenomenal trading service suitable for both beginner and professional retail clients. It also offers various unique account types with great account options, which clients can select to enjoy a tailored trading experience that perfectly suits their needs. Coupled with great account conditions and a range of advanced trading tools, HotForex caters to all trading styles and strategies including scalping, hedging and algorithmic trading (such as EA trading), copy trading and much more.
In addition, traders can enjoy exceptional trading conditions including deep liquidity, superior trade execution, negative balance protection, low trading cost, ultra-low spread from 0.0 pips, multiple tailored account types, multiple fast and secure payment methods, great market research offering, quality educational offering and a friendly multi-lingual customer support team available via phone, email and live chat.
| Broker | HotForex |
|---|---|
| Regulation | CySEC (Cyprus), FCA (UK), DFSA (Dubai), FSCA (South Africa), FSA (Seychelles), FSC (Mauritius) |
| Forex Pairs | 50+ |
| Trading Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, WebTrader. |
| Minimum Deposit | $5 |
| Demo Account | Available | Open Demo Account |
| Maximum Leverage | 1:1000 |
| Account Currencies | USD, EUR, PLN, ZAR, NGN |
| Payment Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/ Debit Cards (VISA Secure, VISA, Mastercard, Maestro), Skrill, Neteller, Union Pay, BitPay, Web Money, VLOAD, Fasapay, Cryptocurrency. |
Pros
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Strong global presecence and reputation among traders.
- Beginner friendly.
- Hasle-free account registration process.
- Deep liquidity.
- Superior trade execution.
- Negative balance protection.
- Demo account with unlimited usage duration.
- Low required minimum deposit.
- Multiple tailored account types.
- Over 50+ currency pairs including, major, minor and exotic currency pairs.
- Supports all trading styles and strategies.
- Flexible and high leverage from 1:1 to 1:1000.
- Multiple fast and secure payment methods.
- Low cost trading.
- Ultra-low spreads from 0.0 pips.
- Offers copy trading.
- Quality educational offering including forex education/ e-courses, training courses videos and webinars.
- Great market research offering.
- Multi-lingual customer support service available 24/5 via phone, email and live chat.
Cons
- Limited product offering.
- Does not offer a propritary trading platform.
- Inactivity fee charged, after 6 months of account inactvity.
5. FXTM
FXTM is a multi-award-winning forex and CFD provider established by the FXTM group; a global leader in the online trading industry. FXTM offers forex trading and CFD trading across a variety of global markets including indices, stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies with over 200+ instruments to trade.
FXTM offers great trading solutions suitable for newbie and professional retail traders, and also provides support for all trading styles and strategies such as scalping, hedging, algorithmic trading etc. It also offers a number of other great trading solutions such as; ultra-low spreads from 0.0 pips, low financing, different tailored account types, deep liquidity, negative balance protection, multiple fast and secure payment methods, quality educational offering and great customer support service.
FXTM Overview
| Broker | FXTM |
|---|---|
| Regulation | FCA (United Kingdom), CySEC (Cyprus/ Europe), FSC (Mauritius), IFSC (Belize/ International), FSCA (South Africa) |
| Forex Pairs | 63 |
| Trading Platforms | MetaTrader 4 |
| Minimum Deposit | $50 |
| Demo Account | Available | Open Demo Account |
| Maximum Leverage | 1:2000 |
| Account Currencies | EUR, GBP, USD, NGN |
| Payment Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/ Debit Cards (MasterCard, VISA, Maestro), Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Google Pay, JCB Card, M-Pesa, Perfect Money, QIWI, UnionPay, Webmoney, WeChat Pay, Western Union, WorldPay, Yandex Money |
Pros
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Hasle-free account registration process.
- Multiple tailored account types.
- Deep liquidity.
- Fast trade execution.
- Negative balance protection.
- Support all trading styles and strategies.
- Flexible and high leverage from 1:1 to 1:2000.
- Multiple fast and secure payment methods.
- Low financing fee.
- Ultra-low spreads from 0.0 pips.
- Over 60+ currency pairs including major, minor and exotic pairs.
- No deposit fee.
- Negative balance protection.
- Quality educational offering.
- Great customer support service.
Cons
- Limited products offering.
- Limited instrument offering compared to other competitors.
- Withdrawal fee charged for bank and card payments.
- Trading platform limited to only Metatrader 4.
- Inactivity fee charged (after 6 months).