There are no extra commission charges with this account type.The Swap fees at JustMarkets are higher than some other brokers in our research. For example, for EUR/USD the Swap charges are -4.44 for Long & -0.09 for Short. BDSwiss have an average spread of 1.6 pips for EUR/USD with their Classic account.
Note that forex brokers can take upto 48 hours to transfer funds to your bank account. Their deposits are mostly instant, but the withdrawals to bank are slower. You will fund the exact time to withdrawal on the broker’s funding/withdrawal pages. For some methods like Skrill, Cryptos, the withdrawals are also processed within 5-10 minutes. This issue is most visible when you trade CFDs on indices at forex brokers.
They also charge do not charge any inactivity fees or deposit & withdrawal fees. So, overall, during active trading hours, the charge for trading EUR/USD (major pair) is around 8 USD per Standard Lot on average at Octa. Normally, for bank transfers, the deposits are instant to 2 days, but the withdrawals to your local bank account can take upto 5 days. Although many withdrawals are processed within same day or 1-2 days. There are multiple risks of choosing a foreign licensed broker as well, including limited investor protection & oversight from FSCA under local laws. The broker can involve in malpractice & target their client’s stops, or widen the spreads to stop you out of a position.
If you trade 500 lots in a month, then your broker would in theory make $5000 from your trades, if the only fees they charged you is spreads & commissions. In some cases, market maker brokers can have lower fees than STP brokers. So, in the situation, you have to consider what your preference is, and are you okay with your broker taking hycm review opposite side of your trades. This is totally okay if you are a net winning trader (after paying spreads & commissions). Normally, it is best if your broker offers funding & withdrawals in South African Rand via EFT or Internet Banking. Generally, this method is easiest to use, faster & with lowest fees.
XM Trading – Fast Execution & low spread
Octa has also launched its own trading app, available on iOS and Android devices, which features seamless integration with your desktop trading account and 24/7 customer service. The scam platforms are not even regular broker, but they target general public by promising high returns from forex market. On a average, as we explained in the ‘how to choose brokers section’ above, forex brokers make 80-90% of their income from spreads, commissions & swap charges. Most forex brokers have a webpage on their website where they list the range of available instruments & contract specifications for each instrument which can include lot size, typical spreads, lowest spreads etc. Normally, brokers create separate pages for each type of CFD instrument like Forex, metals, indices, commodities etc.
How to choose a safe broker as a South Africa-based trader?
The SARB is responsible for the Prudential Authority (PA) which regulates financial conglomerates and cooperatives, insurance companies, and banks. Compare South Africa authorised forex and CFDs brokers side by side using the forex broker comparison tool or the summary table below. This broker list is sorted by my overall rankings of the top forex brokers. You will probably find that dedicated South African Forex / CFD brokerages offer much better Forex trading conditions than any local banks, at least for the retail market. South Africa’s thriving Forex market has created a demand for quality execution and customer service from brokers. Regulators have responded to protect South African traders from unfair practices.
Any other broker who has a pending license cannot act as the counter party to your trades. Hence, FSCA ensures that the investors’ funds are handled with proper care by its regulated brokers. You can trade on MT4 or MT5 platforms, via your desktop or mobile app. We found that there is some minutes of hold time while connecting with their live chat support. Besides currencies, there are wide range of asset classes available for trading at FxPro, including CFDs on cryptos & major indices like NASDAQ. You can also open your account with ZAR as your account’s base currency.
Furthermore, Exness offers ZAR-denominated accounts and local payment methods for deposits and withdrawals. Plus500 has variable spread which depends on the instrument being traded & the market conditions, but we found it to be very competitive for most CFD instruments. Also, their minimum deposit is not too high at R1500, and they don’t charge any extra fees on deposits or withdrawals. XM Trading is another popular forex broker with South African traders. But they are not regulated with FSCA, instead their parent company is regulated with foreign regulators ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus) & IFSC. We like their fast order execution, low spread with Ultra Low Account and zero fees on deposits/withdrawals.
IFX Brokers – Good Local Regulated broker
He day trades major currency and index markets and focuses on swing trading US equities and commodities. A qualified Market Technician, Jitan also works with trader education and brokerage companies on various projects. These include market analysis, live trading events, and broker reviews. As an experienced trader and educator, Jitan brings all his qualities in action when reviewing and recommending brokers. We open accounts, test platforms, measure spreads, and chat with support teams to collect as much data as we can for each broker.
- Another factor to consider is if the broker offers quick order execution speed.
- Compared to their MetaTrader account, the fees is lower with their cTrader account.
- Last but not least, beginners should look for a broker with a high-quality education section; this should feature articles, video tutorials, frequent webinars, advanced trading strategies, and chart analysis.
- MetaTrader 5 (MT5) Trading Platform is more versatile for trading different markets, but MT4 remains the top pick for beginners in South Africa due to its user-friendly design and widespread support.
- It is important to note that during volatile market conditions, you are likely to get requotes at brokers that offer instant execution.
According to us, a good mobile trading app would allow you to open your account quickly, be quick to place & close trades, get price alerts, news feed, place orders. We have compared the best forex trading apps for South African traders based on 9 factors, and you should read this research for information on what we checked in the broker’s apps. As per our research, there are a few foreign & local forex brokers that offer ZAR account i.e. with Rand as a base currency option for your trading account. These include popular brokers HFM, Exness, FxPro, XM Broker & Plus500, which you can check in the research linked above.
Based on average spread data provided by Tickmill for August 2022, average spreads to trade the EUR/USD hovered at just over a tenth of a pip (at 0.11 pips). With the round-turn commission of 0.4 pips ($2 per side) the effective spread (or, all-in cost) at Tickmill is a staggering 0.51 pips – which is among the lowest in the industry. In terms of trading fees, HFM has the lowest spread with their Zero account & there is no fees on deposits/withdrawals. Their average EUR/USD spread is around 1.3 with Premium account (this would vary according to market conditions), and it is normally around 0.1 pips with Zero account (plus R80 Roundturn commission per lot). The typical spread for CFD like XAU/USD is 0.29 with all account types.
She has a degree in Digital Marketing and a background in content writing and SEO. In addition to her marketing and writing skills, Ida also has an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Her interest in crypto trading led to a wider fascination with Forex technical analysis and price movement.
Ease & Fees on Deposits and Withdrawals
If you notice persistent issues with quotes when trading instruments of your choice, you should switch to a different broker that offers better conditions for your desired markets. Even when checking the fees for ECN type account at any forex broker, calculate the overall cost that you will pay to trade that currency pair. The compare if the fees is lower if you only traded at spread only broker (over commission + spreads), then decide if it makes sense for you in terms of trading charges. If you do choose their Spread only account types, the spreads for most of the currency pairs is higher than low cost brokers like Exness & HFM. XM has both web & mobile trading, available on MT4 & MT5 platforms. Plus, they have wide range of trading instruments including currencies & CFDs on metals, indices & commodities.
Their typical EUR/USD & GBP/USD spreads are 0.8 pips with their MT4 & MT5 Trading Accounts (as per Octa’s spread data), which is highly competitive when compared with activtrades review other South African regulated brokers. There is no extra commission per lot with any account, and the only trading fees they charge is the spreads. Their spreads are extremely competitive for forex pairs, and on average it is around 1 pips for EUR/USD (as per the contract specifications on their website), even with their Standard account. The spread is 0.6 pips on average with their Pro account, and it is as low as 0 pips (plus 7 USD commission) with Zero & Raw Spread accounts.
