Bestforex brokers

All brokers below are forex brokers. Learn more about what they offer below.

Check are their any withdrawal fees when withdrawing your money from your forex brokerage account.
Check your forex broker does not charge inactivity fees.
Check your forex broker does not charge deposit fees.
Be aware of what commissions or fees are charged per trade by your forex broker.

Today forex bonuses

Top Forex Brokers for 2021, bestforex brokers.

Top forex brokers for 2021

We found 11 online brokers that are appropriate for trading forex.

Best forex brokers guide

Forex trading platforms

When comparing forex brokers and their trading platforms. Find the best forex broker that is perfectly suited for you depends on a few factors.

The trading platform or software application should be stable and user-friendly. The charting tools should be easy to use and provide free news feeds about the live financial markets. This feature is not mandatory for all brokers, only to those who are using an electronic communication network model. ECN provides traders with a direct access to the market and are able to offer the best deal execution. Order information is shown in real time and execution errors are reduced. Some of the best forex brokers offer the ECN model.

Broker customer service

In this era of advanced technology technical support becomes mandatory when trading forex. When deciding upon the best forex brokers, brokers should be kind in helping you when you face issues. Your customer experience should not be terrible. You should have confident that your broker will help when something happens. A good broker will talk to their clients to make sure they are satisfied and issues are resolved.

Forex trade transaction costs

You can compare forex brokers based on the above mentioned points but it is also important to know what transactional costs and fees they are charging. If it is too high, your profit margin will decrease.

You have to pay fees and commissions on each trade and so it is suggested to opt for the most affordable broker you can that has the features you require. When choosing one of the best forex brokers in the market. It is strongly recommended to keep a balance between transaction costs and reliability of the broker. Don't fall into the trap of investing with a broker who are offering cheapest rates with a bad or okay reputation.

Deposit-withdrawal withdrawing money from your brokerage should be hassle-free and your broker should offer multiple withdrawl methods. Both the deposit and withdrawal should be easy, smooth and speedy. There should be no excuse why your profits cannot be withdrawn. This is one of the main things to consider when comparing forex brokers.

Forex order execution

There should not be a huge pips difference while placing a trade. There should not be any reason why the broker fails to fill your order at your quoted price under normal conditions. Your 'buy' button click should reciprocate your price.

We've collected thousands of datapoints and written a guide to help you find the best forex brokers for you. We hope this guide helps you find a reputable broker that matches what you need. We list the what we think are the best forex brokers below. You can go straight to the broker list here.

Trading with forex brokers

How do you compare forex brokers? How do you find the best forex broker for you?

Finding the best forex broker will depending on your requirements. Your trading requirements can include the currency pairs you wish to trade the brokers trading platform, withdrawl and funding methods, broker fees and customer supoort.

Is trading forex safe?

When choosing a forex broker like XTB the administrative body and regulatory status of the broker is very important. Brokers who conduct trades without supervision of a regulatory body do so at their own discretion. Any capital you invest is at risk.

Regulated brokers will not manipulate market prices. When you send in a withdrawal request to a reputable broker the withdrawl request will be honored. If your forex broker violate any regulatory rules their regulated status could be stripped.

Any payments funded to a regulated forex broker account by traders are held in a segregated bank account.

For added security reputable brokers like XTB use tier-1 banks for this. Tier 1 is the official measure of a banks financial health and strength.

Try creating two accounts when you are trading with your forex broker. One is the real live forex account, with your real money and the other a demo forex account. The demo account allows you to learn and experiment.

Forex broker financial regulation and supervision in more detail

Check the forex broker you trade with is regulated and supervised by reputable organisations. Regulation gives you some recourse for those who have issues with your broker when trading forex pairs. Regulatory authorities protect the traders with things like reimbursement schemes that regain the client's investment in the event the broker becomes insolvent.

The brokerage firms have to comply with a variety of rules and criteria determined by the recognized international authority with the intention to provide secure trading and stay licensed. The whole notion of regulation is to protect forex traders and provide a safe trading environment.

Has your forex broker won awards?

When deciding upon a forex broker, seeing a history of awards gives you an idea of the brokers strengths. The awards a forex broker has won means that they have recieved an endorsement from that awards organisation. These awards add credibility for that broker.

What are your forex broker fees?

You will need to check there are no hidden fees or surprises with your forex broker.

Check are their any withdrawal fees when withdrawing your money from your forex brokerage account.

Check your forex broker does not charge inactivity fees.

Check your forex broker does not charge deposit fees.

Be aware of what commissions or fees are charged per trade by your forex broker.

Forex broker negative balance protection

When trading forex using leverage an adverse move could result in losing more than your trading account balance. Your forex broker account balance could potentially become negative. We recommend you making use of negative balance protection. Using negative balance protection ensures your losses will always be limited to the current balance of your account the money in your account.

Does your forex broker offer educational resources?

To trade effectively in forex, it is important to a have a good understanding your forex brokers trading tools and the international forex markets.

Make sure your forex broker offer a good selection of educational resources. Spend some time reading up on how the markets and trading works, making active trades, active trading times, and managing risk.

Take time to look around the various forex broker platforms and train yourself to think more systematically and logically about the forex markets. It's a new skill-set for many, but it is what the market requires of you.

What level of customer support does your forex broker offer

Its important when you have an issue with your forex broker its important you are able to resolve issues quickly and adequately. Does the broker customer service support multiple languages from all over the world. Having a broker that can hire people from various locations in the world who can better communicate with you in your local language is a huge advantage well trying to deal with issues.

Check if your forex broker offers the below customer support

Livechat support

Email support

Phone support

Minor and major forex currency pairs

Multiple currencies are traded on the forex market. When traders talk of minor currency pairs they are taking about world currencies which are not paired with the USD (US dollar) but often include GBP (united kingdom of great britain pound sterling). The yen and euro currency pairs are also known as minor pairs.

All minor currency pairs do not contain USD (US dollar) on either the left (base currency) side or right (quote currency) side of the currency pair. Minor currency pairs are known as minor pairs because the market share of these currencies is smaller than that of the major currency pairs.

Major currency pairs have the largest market share of world trading volume. Major currency pairs include major currencies and are the most traded currency pairs in forex.

What you will need to open a forex broker account

When you open an account, you'll likely be asked for the following, so it's good to have these handy:

A scanned colour copy of your passport, driving license or national ID

A utility bill or bank statement from the past three months showing your address

You'll also need to answer a few basic compliance questions to confirm how much trading experience you have, so it's best to put aside at least 10 minutes or so to complete the account opening process.

Reputable forex brokers checklist

There are a number of important factors to consider when picking an online forex trading brokerage.

Check your forex broker has a history of at least 2 years.

Check your forex broker has a reasonable sized customer support of at least 15.

Does the forex broker fall under regulation from a jurisdiction that can hold a broker responsible for its misgivings; or at best play an arbitration role in case of bigger disputes.

Check your forex broker has the ability to get deposits and withdrawals processed within 2 to 3 days. This is important when withdrawing funds.

Does your forex broker have an international presence in multiple countries. This includes local seminar presentations and training.

Make sure your forex can hire people from various locations in the world who can better communicate in your local language.

Our team have listed brokers that match your criteria for you below. All brokerage data has been summarised into a comparison table. Scroll down.

Our brokerage comparison table below allows you to compare the below features for brokers offering forex brokers.

We compare these features to make it easier for you to make a more informed choice.

Minimum deposit to open an account.

Available funding methods for the below forex brokers.

What you are able to trade with each brokerage.

Trading platforms offered by these brokers.

Spread type (if applicable) for each brokerage.

Customer support levels offered.

We show if each brokerage offers micro, standard, VIP and islamic accounts.

Top 15 forex brokers of 2021 compared

Here are the top forex brokers.

Compare forex brokers min deposits, regulation, headquarters, benefits, funding methods and fees side by side.

All brokers below are forex brokers. Learn more about what they offer below.

You can scroll left and right on the comparison table below to see more forex brokers that accept forex clients

Fxdailyreport.Com

Till about a decade ago, you had to make use of the telephone if you wanted to invest in the financial markets. You had to call up your broker for placing as well as closing orders. Introduction of online trading has, however, simplified every aspect of the investment process. You can carry out trades from the convenience of your home or on-the-go using the platform provided by brokers. Sounds simple, but the problem is there are umpteen number of forex brokers that offer trading platforms out there in the market. And, you need to work with the best forex broker if you want to achieve your financial goals. So, it all boils down to identifying the right broker to work with and it is definitely not an easy task. Read on to find out as to how you can identify the best forex brokers. In this post, various aspects you need to take into consideration when choosing a forex broker are discussed in detail so that the selection process becomes simpler and easier for you.

Top recommended and the best forex brokers for 2021

info	bonus	open account
min deposit: $5 spread: from 0.2 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: FSA (saint vincent and the grenadines), cysec	50% deposit bonus, real contest 1st prize luxury car BMW X5 M, copy trading, trade&win.	Visit broker
min deposit: $1 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 3000:1 regulation: cysec, IFSC	$100 no-deposit bonus, 100% deposit bonus	visit broker
min deposit: $5 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 888:1 “*this leverage does not apply to all the entities of XM group.” regulation: ASIC, cysec, IFSC belize	“50% +20% deposit bonus up to $5,000, loyalty program bonus “*clients registered under the EU regulated entity of the group are not eligible for the bonus and the loyalty program”	visit broker
min deposit: $1 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 2000:1 regulation: FCA UK, cysec, FSP, bafin, CRFIN	35% of the account deposit	visit broker
min deposit: $100 spread: starting 0 pips leverage: up to 400:1 regulation: FCA UK, NFA, CFTC, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, CIMA	visit broker
min deposit: $300 spread: floating, from 0 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: FCA UK reference number 579202	visit broker
min deposit: $200 spread: starting 0 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: ASIC australia, FCA UK	visit broker
min deposit: no minimum deposit spread: 1.2 pips leverage: 50:1 regulation: CFTC, NFA, FCA, MAS, ASIC, IIROC	visit broker
min deposit: $10 spread: leverage: regulation: cysec	-	visit broker
min deposit: $200 spread: from 3 pips leverage: 400:1 regulation: NFA, FCA, cysec	visit broker
min deposit: $100 spread: starting 0 pips leverage: up to 500:1 regulation: FCA UK, ASIC australia, MAS singapore	visit broker
min deposit: $1 spread: fixed spread from 3 pips leverage: up to 1:1000 regulation: CBR, cysec and FFMS	30% forex deposit bonus	visit broker
min deposit: $250 spread: as low as 0.1 pips leverage: up to 400:1 regulation: ASIC australia and FCA UK	visit broker
min deposit: €100 spread: the spread can be as low as 0.01%” (0.01% = spread for EUR/USD) leverage: 1:294 regulation: ASIC, cysec, FCA (UK)	visit broker
min deposit: $100 spread: starting from 0.9 pips leverage: 400:1 regulation: MIFID, FSB & ASIC	visit broker

Risk warning: cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Main parameters to be checked for identifying the best forex brokers:

#1: regulations and licenses

It is highly recommended that you choose only forex brokers that are regulated or authorized by leading regulatory bodies such as commodity futures trading commission (CFTC), national futures association (NFA) and financial conduct authority (FCA in UK), among many others. This is because regulated brokers are more reliable than their non-regulated counterparts. Further, your hard earned money remains safe with such brokers for two reasons: they will be appropriately capitalized and they maintain segregated accounts for theirs as well as traders’ funds.

#2: forex trading platform

The online trading platforms that recommended forex brokers provide would not only be simple, but also intuitive and easy to operate or navigate. It, therefore, makes sense to try out a few online forex platforms and see for yourself as to which one has a better user interface and is easily navigable.

#3: customer support services

Customer support is a key aspect that you need to evaluate. Best fx brokers would often be aware of the needs of the traders and provide good, efficient and responsive customer support services. During the course of trading forex on an online broker’s platform, there will be times when you need certain time sensitive clarifications. If the customer support service of the broker you are planning to work with is not good enough, you could end up losing money. It is, therefore, recommended that you evaluate the brokers’ customer support service both by speaking to their representatives on telephone and by communicating with them through email.

Leverage offered for forex trading varies from one broker to another. If the leverage is high, the trader can make more profits. However, the risk of accumulating losses is also equally higher. Therefore, you should choose a broker that offers leverage suiting to your needs and based on your style of trading.

Brokers often try to attract you by offering high capital bonuses when you make your first deposit. This is good because you get more money for trading. You can choose the broker that offers the highest first deposit bonus, but you should make sure other aspects discussed above and those that are discussed below suit your needs.

#6: deposits and withdrawals

It is important that you understand the brokers’ policies related to deposits and withdrawals. The features to be evaluated when choosing top forex brokers are minimum amount to be deposited to start trading, deposit methods offered, currency options provided, minimum withdrawal amount specified and waiting time for withdrawals, among others. Further, it makes sense to go through all other written policies in detail.

Brokers make money by charging a fee for each of the trading transactions that you execute on the forex trading platform provided by them. As far as the broker and you are concerned, the significant source of revenue would be the spread, the difference between ask and bid prices. It pays, therefore, to check as to how the brokers you have shortlisted handle spreads:

Do they offer fixed or variable spreads?
What is the average and maximum spread for the currency pairs that you are planning to trade?
What spreads are offered when the volatility is very high?
Do you have to pay any commission for each trade apart from the spread?

Before buying a car, you always go for a test drive. Similarly, look for forex brokers that offer demo accounts. This helps you to open a practice account. You can try out their platform and find out for yourself as to which of the shortlisted brokers is best suited to your requirements. Most brokers offer practice accounts these days. So, it is easy for you to get a feel of the brokers’ platform before committing to depositing money and trading.

#9: other parameters for identifying the best forex brokers

The forex brokerages that offer very low account minimums can be considered for evaluation under the category “best forex brokers”. This is good because you don’t have to deposit large amounts of money in order to trade forex. Minimum account balance can be as low as $5 in the case of some of the reliable forex brokers.

Online forex brokers often try to snatch business through promotions. Do not fall prey to their sales gimmicks. Best forex brokers would never make unbelievable and unachievable promotional offers. It is true that cash and prizes form part of the game, but they should be reasonable.

Another aspect to look for when evaluating online forex brokers is the educational services offered by them. This helps you to master the art of forex trading. Brokers that provide you with a variety of educational tools for assisting you in assessing the forex market are the best forex brokers to work with.

Why expert traders trade with regulated forex brokers

If you’re looking to become a successful forex trader, then working with a skilled and trustworthy broker is very crucial. In the forex market, the two main types of brokers you’ll get include the regulated and the non-regulated brokers. Obviously, the former typically operates under regulations stipulated by a forex regulator. Regulated forex brokers must also be fully licensed and registered in their country of operation, unlike their non-regulated counterparts.

Role of regulation

Of course, the role of regulation in forex market cannot be underestimated. Regulation ensures that all players in this booming industry are strictly supervised. This way, merchants are protected from the many unscrupulous traders out there looking to swindle them off their hard earned money. Another thing, regulation also builds trust between merchants and their brokers, since most merchants don’t have enough time to monitor every investment.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the leading regulatory agencies:

CFTC and NFA: commodity futures trading commission and national futures association, regulate the financial services sector in united states of america (USA).

Cysec: the cyprus securities and exchange commission is the regulatory watchdog within the cysec domain. It offers services to the EU member states.

FCA: the financial conduct authority regulates the operations of over 56,000 financial services and companies in the UK.

ASIC: the australian securities and investment commission regulate the financial services sector in australia.

FSB: the financial services board is a south african agency which oversees functioning, regulation, and licensing of south african forex brokers.

Bafin: bafin is a financial supervisory authority providing its services to forex companies in germany.

Advantages of regulated forex brokers

With regulated brokers, you’ll always have some peace of mind when carrying out your real-money transactions. To expound more, here are the main reasons why expert traders prefer regulated brokers:

1. Credibility

It’s an open secret that most of us like to deal with trusted organizations, especially when money is involved. That being said, the credibility of any forex broker is greatly enhanced if the company is regulated by the relevant agencies. Remember that all regulated forex brokers are mandated to follow some strict rules put in place by their respective regulatory bodies. Furthermore, their regulatory bodies expect them to regularly present a copy of their audit report. Therefore, if a broker is listed on its regulatory body list, then it’s safe to say that the forex broker has fully complied.

2. Compensation

Getting compensated in case of any unfortunate scenario is arguably the best reason why most expert traders opt for regulated brokers. With most regulated brokers, you can rest assured that all your hard earned money will be refunded in case your brokerage firm goes down. For example, brokers operating under cysec are required to remit their contribution to the ICF (investor compensation fund). This pool of funds is to help settle any form of customer claims in case of any eventuality.

3. Effective customer service

Before choosing a forex broker, it’s always recommended that you settle for one who can effectively and immediately resolve all customer issues. In this case, most regulated brokers are always competent enough when dealing with technical support or account issues. In addition, they are very helpful and kind during the whole account opening process.

4. Quick deposits and withdrawals

Any reputable forex broker will allow their merchants to make deposits and withdrawals without any hassle. A regulated broker should have no reason whatsoever to make your earnings process difficult because they don’t have control over your funds. All they have to do is to facilitate the platform to make it convenient enough for you to trade.

5. Updated trading platform

Most regulated brokers are mandated by their respective regulatory authorities to provide their clients with the latest, powerful, and easy-to-use trading platforms. In fact, most of their platforms will readily provide you with all that you need to begin trading immediately. You’ll get a lot of educational materials including webinars, videos, articles, seminars, and e-courses at no extra charge. It goes without saying that regulated brokers also offer their clients free demo accounts to help them sharpen their skills before going live.

6. Legality

All over the world, governments are struggling to deal with issues concerning money laundering. Some of them have even gone ahead to pass very strict anti-money laundering laws. So to be on the safe side, you should always trade with a regulated broker. Most regulated forex brokers will ask you to provide some of your personal identification documents such as proof of address and photo ID. This might sound tedious to you but it’s always safe to be part of a regulated organization that can prove your money is being used in a legal way.

To sum it up, regulated forex brokers are always the best as well as the safest option to trade with. This is because they are always ahead in terms of legality, security, and safety of your funds. All in all, you can manage your risks better if you opt for a regulated forex broker.

Understanding true ECN vs STP broker

The foreign exchange market, also known as currency market, is a universal decentralized market that provides traders an opportunity to trade currencies. It is a market which incorporates all aspects of buying, selling, and exchanging currencies at the present-day or determined rates.

There are different kinds of forex brokers that you can choose to trade forex with. However, though all the brokers in forex are intended to provide a similar basic solution, the way they operate behind the scenes is different. Different types of brokers have varying techniques of operation, and the specific broker you cooperate with can significantly determine your success rate as a forex trader. Here are some crucial factors that will enable you determine which broker between a true ECN and STP broker is the best one to trade forex with:

Understanding true ECN vs STP broker

True ECN i.E. Electronic communications network brokers operate without their individual dealing desk. These brokers provide an electronic trading platform where professional market makers at monetary organizations such as banks, and other online trading participants including traders can enter bids and offers through their particular systems.

STP i.E. Straight through processing brokers are brokers without a dealing desk also. These brokers apply some of the techniques utilized by market makers to provide their particular clients with trading conditions which are more flexible. By STP brokers hiring some of the tactics of market makers, they are able to bypass the limitations connected to trading exclusively within the interbank market.

General overview of true ECN and STP brokers

Use of scalping techniques

True ECN and STP forex brokers do not care about how much their particular traders make. Therefore, these types of brokers allow traders to utilize scalping techniques to close their respective positions. Note that false ECN and STP brokers cannot allow you to use scalping techniques as a trader since they will be disadvantaged anytime you make small profits.

True ECN and STP brokers are types of forex brokers without a say when it comes to control on spread provided. These brokers have no control on spread offered since it’s the liquidity provider that determines the spread which is to be provided.

Though true ECN and STP brokers can add markups when necessary, they cannot in any way take it further down than the amount provided.

Difference between true ECN and STP brokers

Commission charged

On true ECN accounts, as a trader you will be required to pay a fixed commission to open and close trades. The spreads offered on true ECN accounts are determined by the rates of liquidity providers.

When using STP accounts as a trader, you will not be required to pay any commissions.

Pros of trading forex with a true STP broker

Cannot bankrupt themselves

True ECN brokers cannot trade against their specific clients to bankrupts themselves.

Similar price rates

If you are a forex trader, trading with a true ECN broker means you are guaranteed of price rates that are similar to those of the interbank market.

Negative balance protection

As a trader utilizing the trading account of a true ECN broker, the broker will be accountable for any dues with liquidity providers should your account read negative as a result of any reason beyond their control.

Cons of choosing a true ECN broker

Dealing with a true ECN broker will require you to pay rollover fees and commission at times.

Pros of trading forex with an STP broker

Their rates and the interbank prices are same

They provide their clients low entry capital requirements

Cons of choosing an STP broker

Choosing an STP forex broker means when you enter a trade you’ll not be informed what spread to expect.

Most true ECN and STP brokers are linked to several liquidity providers at the same time period. Despite both true ECN and STP brokers having incredible trading solutions which can meet your needs as a trader, their terms of operation vary. Whether you will choose a true ECN or STP broker, the rule of thumb is always ensuring you minimize losses and maximize profits as much as you can when trading forex. Ensure you compare carefully the terms of service of both a true ECN and STP broker before you choose one to handle your trading needs.

Forex brokers reviews

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Find the best forex broker for you

Read our reviews and choose the broker that best fits your needs

Thorough broker reviews

Top forex brokers

Choose a broker

Every forex trader has
different needs.
We help you choose your forex broker

Are you an intra day trader? Do you trade high or low volumes? Do you prefer to trade EURUSD or exotic currency pairs? Whatever you need, we have you covered and if our review is not sufficient, ask us a question and we will be glad to help you choose the best forex broker for you.

Frequently asked questions

We are a small startup with a focus on writing forex brokers reviews.

All the reviews are written by our small and meticulous team.

We have a checklist of 150 analysis points, and conduct objective reviews of each of those.

The result is an impartial rating of each forex broker with recommendations.

We have written over 60.000 words in analyzing these brokers.

We have chosen the 20 most known forex brokers and reviewed them individually.

If a broker is on bestforex.Com you can assume that this is one of the best forex brokers in the world.

However, there are other trustworthy companies to trade CFD’s and other instruments.

If you would like to receive a custom review, do get in touch with us and we will be happy to assist.

Each forex broker review has a button on the right side that you can click on and submit your questions.

We will be happy to reply and hopefully help you choose the right broker for you.

First of all, you should consider your personal profile.

If so, you should consider spreads and trading tools.

A guaranteed stop for instance might be important.

Are you a professional or retail trader?

This may impact your choice as well. Search for beginner or VIP friendly brokers.

Do you prefer to trade common currency pairs or exotic pairs? Metals? Commodities?

Each forex broker has different spreads for different instruments.

We have written our reviews according to a number of review points.

However, each trader may have his own preference.

A forex broker that ranks 4 th in our rank may actually be the best for a certain trader.

Consider your personal preference and choose the best forex broker according to your profile.

We can help you with that. Read our reviews and if you still have questions get in touch with us. We are happy to assist.

All our reviews include advertiser disclosure and broker specific risk warnings. Read them carefully before choosing a forex broker.

Fxdailyreport.Com

The question of choosing the best forex broker for beginners is a matter that any trader who wants to succeed in forex trading has to consider very seriously. Unfortunately, the subject is never mentioned in most of the so-called “intensive” forex seminars that many retail traders attend before putting their money into this risky market. Retail traders cannot trade the forex market directly. They can only do this through the services provided by forex brokers, who provide the trading platforms that connect all the players of the market together.

There is a huge difference between trading forex for beginners and when more experienced traders trade forex. There are certain needs beginner traders have and these must be reflected in the choice of the best forex broker for beginners. Choosing the best forex brokers for beginners must incorporate as an integral goal, helping such beginner traders to make progress in their learning curve.

Top recommended forex brokers for beginners

info	bonus	open account
min deposit: $5 spread: from 0.2 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: FSA (saint vincent and the grenadines), cysec	50% deposit bonus, real contest 1st prize luxury car BMW X5 M, copy trading, trade&win.	Visit broker
min deposit: $1 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 3000:1 regulation: cysec, IFSC	$100 no-deposit bonus, 100% deposit bonus	visit broker
min deposit: $5 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 888:1 “*this leverage does not apply to all the entities of XM group.” regulation: ASIC, cysec, IFSC belize	“50% +20% deposit bonus up to $5,000, loyalty program bonus “*clients registered under the EU regulated entity of the group are not eligible for the bonus and the loyalty program”	visit broker
min deposit: $1 spread: from 0 pips leverage: 2000:1 regulation: FCA UK, cysec, FSP, bafin, CRFIN	35% of the account deposit	visit broker
min deposit: $100 spread: starting 0 pips leverage: up to 400:1 regulation: FCA UK, NFA, CFTC, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, CIMA	visit broker
min deposit: $300 spread: floating, from 0 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: FCA UK reference number 579202	visit broker
min deposit: $200 spread: starting 0 pips leverage: 500:1 regulation: ASIC australia, FCA UK	visit broker
min deposit: no minimum deposit spread: 1.2 pips leverage: 50:1 regulation: CFTC, NFA, FCA, MAS, ASIC, IIROC	visit broker
min deposit: $10 spread: leverage: regulation: cysec	-	visit broker
min deposit: $200 spread: from 3 pips leverage: 400:1 regulation: NFA, FCA, cysec	visit broker

How to choose the best forex brokers for beginners

Top best forex trading brokers for beginners

There are many forex brokers out there; you will get the good, the bad and the very ugly. Choosing a suitable broker is indeed a daunting task. The sweetly-worded and glamorously designed sales pages have conspired to make this so. You need to be able to sift the wheat from the chaff so your requirements are met and safety of your funds guaranteed.

What should you consider when choosing the best forex brokers for beginners?

1) regulation
regulation comes first on the list because if a broker is tightly regulated, 70% of broker-related issues suffered by traders would have been solved. The forex market in itself may be unregulated as there is no centralized exchange, but companies who do the business of forex brokerage are under regulatory supervision. In the US, this job belongs to the national futures association (NFA) and commodity futures trading commission (CFTC). Recently, the CFTC punished a forex broker and ordered them to pay $14 million in fines and compensations to clients for trading-related infractions. This is how powerful the regulation in the US can be and underscores the importance of ensuring that brokers are subject to regulation.

In the european union, brokers are subject to the mifid regulatory protocol. The financial conduct authority does the business in the united kingdom. It is very easy to verify a broker’s status from any of these agencies, especially as many brokers now operate branches from different continents. Information about a broker’s track record is also obtainable from the various online forex forums we have out there on the internet.

The best online forex brokers for beginners are those who are regulated. Regulation affords traders a high level of protection. Beginners are like babies; vulnerable and blissfully unaware of the dangers around them. They therefore need all the protection they can get and using a regulated broker affords them this protection.

2) customer service
A good forex broker should have a direct channel customer support system. In today’s financial trading world, having an instant response email, call me back and live chat feature are very basic requirements. It is simply unthinkable that a broker who makes so much money from commissions and spread charges cannot afford to put in place such instant communication systems. So the best forex trading brokers for beginners are those who provide a means of instant and fast communication.

3) transparent trading process
one practice that poses problems to all traders is lack of transparency among brokers. One of such practices is stop hunting. This is a practice of some unscrupulous market maker brokers who move prices using a dealing desk to stop out trades even when true market prices are still a few pips away. Forex capital markets (FXCM LLC) was punished some years back by the CFTC for this infraction. Beginner traders are usually unaware of such practices. Experienced traders usually know how to navigate these bumps along the way but this is not the case for beginners. Stop hunting, excessive slippages and platform freezes are things to look out for and where these occurrences are regular with a broker, you need to avoid such a broker like the plague. So trusted forex brokers for beginners are those who provide transparency in pricing and other trading operations, thus providing a level playing field.

4) trading software
top forex brokers for beginners are those who provide user-friendly trading software for their clients. A user-friendly platform makes the trading process less stressful. Many proprietary platforms make the job of trading difficult, with confusing interfaces or multi-step ordering processes.

5) education portal
the best forex brokers for beginners are those who realize that those clients of theirs who are new to the game require some help in the form of educational material so they know what they are getting into. This is why many brokers now have portions of their websites devoted to educational resources. A lot of these resources are put together by experienced traders and can provide a comprehensive learning experience for beginner traders.

6) social trading
finally, the best forex brokers for beginners are those which offer social trading platforms for their beginner traders. Social trading provides a form of mentoring for beginner traders by allowing them to copy the same trades that the experienced traders are executing on the platforms. Trading in such communities simulates the same mentoring setup which is found in institutional trading desks. So if a forex broker offers social trading, such a broker is well on its way to being described as one of the best forex brokers for beginners.

Our recommended: join etoro social trading connects over 5 million traders worldwide

You can see that there are many issues that beginner traders must consider before choosing a forex broker. The best forex brokers for beginners are those which actually contribute to the trader’s learning experience. Beginners should look out for these brokers using the parameters spelt out above.

Related articles of best forex broker for beginners

Best forex brokers 2021

Welcome to the world of foreign exchange trading or forex trading. This world has a lot to offer to those who understand its nitty-gritty. In this article, we have tried to present to you a comprehensive guide on choosing the most suitable forex brokers for your trading needs. We have also covered all the major related concerns around forex brokers such as the role of brokers, regulations, security, a list of top forex brokers, along with fundamentals of forex trading. So, without wasting a moment, let us start!

What is forex trading?

Foreign exchange trading is trading (i.E., buying or selling or exchanging) of one or more currencies instead of other foreign currencies. Forex can be translated into foreign exchange. These exchange currencies are known as currency pairs. The price of these currencies is decided based on the forex market’s exchange rates. The forex market is the biggest financial market that is spread across the world. Reports suggest that, on average, around 6.59 trillion U.S. Dollars in the form of various currencies are traded every 24 hours. The foreign exchange market runs 24 hours a day and is active for five days a week.

In the process of exchanging, buying, or selling of foreign currency, forex brokers prove to be very useful. They are also known as trading brokers, as they place a trade on behalf of the trader.

More on forex broker:

Forex brokers aid in exchanging, buying, or selling of currencies. Using brokers is pretty straight forward. All you need to do is open an account, deposit money in the newly formed accounts, and then, with the help of the broker’s trading platform, purchase, or sell currency as per the platform’s margin.
Regulation: given that forex traders place their trust on forex brokers, the regulation of these brokers, therefore, becomes quite important. Proper regulatory measures are in place to ensure security. In order to steer clear of frauds, two regulatory bodies govern the regulation of forex brokers. They are:

The commodity futures trading commission (CFTC) and

The national futures association (NFA)

These regulatory bodies keep financial activities under check. There are provisions for these authorities to launch lawsuits against those entities who are found guilty of illicit activities. This power assures customers’ safety on all fronts.

When you look for brokers, our advice is to do thorough research to check the credibility of the broker and see if its spreads, functions, and features match your needs. For research matters, the homepage of NFA and reviews such as ours can be quite handy and useful.

Usually, all the reputed forex brokers permit the clients to try a ‘practice account.’ this type of account allows the trader to get a fair idea about how the system works. This way, traders can have a mini first-hand experience on a number of broker trading platforms as they like, before choosing any. Another tip in finding a good broker is to check its 24 hours working feature like its customer service. The foreign exchange market works for 24 hours and 5 days a week, and the most reputable brokers work accordingly.

Which broker is the best for forex?

As we now have a fair idea about what a forex broker is and its purpose, it is time to move on to see which brokers are considered as the best in the market. To come up with a list of best brokers, we test a number of foreign exchange brokers for forex quality as well as CFD trading. Only after that, we suggest any name.

Before you go through the list of best brokers, it is important for you to know that cfds are complex instruments. There is a high innate risk involved with them that can lead you to steep money losses as there is leverage involved. On average, approximately 69 to 78 percent of retail accounts tend to face losses during cfds trading. That is why it is of high importance that you understand thoroughly how cfds work. You should also trade as per your risk capacity as there are steep losses involved.

Best forex brokers

Now it is time to look at the best forex brokers that can offer some fantastic trading advantages over others. So, here they are:

IG – trade with the best broker

IG is a well-regulated forex broker and is considered as one of the best forex brokers. It is trusted worldwide. Since its commencement it has offered its clients with a good variety of:

Versatile tradeable products

Highly useful trading and research tools

Industry’s top educational support

Cutting edge rates

Basically, IG is an all-around forex broker that offers a wholesome trading experience. As per market reports, IG is considered 2021’s best overall forex broker. Another thing that you should be aware of is that approximately 76 percent of retail CFD accounts lose money at IG. For details on commissions, please refer to the official website.

2. Saxo bank:

Saxo bank – trade with global capital market

Saxo bank has a reputation for serving the elite or VIP clients with utmost excellence. The minimum deposit at saxo bank is 10,000 U.S. Dollars, which is equivalent to 500 GBP. The salient features of this broker are:

It offers competitive prices

It backs its features with some well-made research

The customer service of saxo bank is also exceptional

It offers more than 40,000 trading instruments to its clients.

Overall, it is an exceptional platform for forex trading, and you can now see why it is attributed as the best forex broker. But the point to keep in mind is that around 72 percent of retail CFD accounts lose money at saxo bank. For details on commissions, please refer to the official website.

3. CMC markets:

Trade from anywhere anytime with CMC markets

CMC markets is considered to be the best online broker and included among the best forex brokers. The clients at CMC markets get to avail a variety of features as given below:

The clients are offered a great variety of currency pairs

Its offices are regulated in major international financial centers

The traders get to use a good range of financial products

The prices which CMC markets offers are competitive

It offers innovative trading tools and charting for commendable trading experience.

Overall, CMC markets can be considered as the best forex broker. Market reports suggest that it is considered to be the ‘next generation’ forex trading place. For details on commissions, please refer to the official website.

4. Oanda

Oanda – well know forex broker

Oanda is recognized among the most popular forex brokers. It has some unique and multifaceted features that its clients can avail. You can expect the following features from oanda.

No minimum initial deposit

No commission fees for their trading services

Very high execution speed of orders

Advanced charting tools and features

Competitive spreads as low as 1 pip for EUR/USD

Two basic types of trading platforms: metatrader 4 (MT4) and fxtrade webtrader

Oanda is a very popular forex broker that improves its client’s trading experience many folds.

5. Dukascopy

Dukascopy – leading forex broker

Dukascopy is another well-regarded trading broker that offers all the major trading services. Here are some interesting facts to know about dukascopy that may help you in deciding whether you want to use this as your forex broker:

Dukascopy uses the jforex platform suite, which supports this trading broker to offer the industry’s top-notch trading tools to its clients.

In addition, dukascopy supports its clients with excellent market research.

A major drawback of dukascopy is that its customer service is not that great. Also, dukascopy offers narrow tradeable markets. For details on commissions, please refer to the official website.

6. TD ameritrade FX

TD ameritrade FX trading platform

TD ameritrade FX is an exceptional trading platform which only functions within the united states’ borders. This trading broker offers some great functions to its clients:

TD ameritrade FX offers around 80 currency pairs to its traders for foreign exchange trading.

Along the way, it backs its users with a great range of trading tools as well as strong research.

7. City index

Earn more with city index

City index has made its name for offering excellent forex trading services. The clients get a range of useful trading products, multiple asset classes with competitive spreads. Further, clients get:

Excellent platform options

High tech research tools

Dependable customer support

Offers AT pro (desktop-based) and web trader (web-based) along with metatrader 4.

All of these services are offered under the biggest international retail broker- GAIN capital. Please also be aware of the fact that at city index, around 71 percent of the retail accounts lose money.

8. Forex.Com

Forex.Com – trading specialist

Forex.Com is another excellent trading platform that offers cutting edge pricing. It offers its services all over the world. Here, at this platform, you get:

In-depth market research

High tech mobile app for trading

Feature loaded trading platform

Both beginners, as well as expert traders, are welcome here.

Given the forex market has its innate trading risks, so is the case with this platform too. Around 69 percent of the retail CFD accounts lose money in trading.

9. XTB

XTB – best broker for 2021

XTB is known for offering the best customer support. It is a great trading platform that offers:

Multiple asset classes trading

Regulation in various major financial centers

Competitive offering

Excellent customer services

Xstation 5 trading platform

10. FXCM

FXCM is known for offering well-rounded services. Despite offering a narrow range of tradable markets, it serves a number of types of traders. The pricing at FXCM is average. At this platform, you get:

Strong trading tools that serve high volume traders and algorithmic traders amongst other types of traders

Great market research-backed support

Good customer support

What is the best forex broker for beginners?

In the foreign exchange market, many forex brokers cater to different categories of traders. Beginners in the trading market usually need extra support. So we decided to compile a separate list of best forex platforms for traders who have just ventured into the foreign exchange trading world:

1. Plus500

Plus500 – trade cfds and forex with trust

Plus500 is great for novice traders. It is an online broker that is very supportive of its traders and is listed among the best forex brokers. This makes it a very user-friendly trading platform for forex and CFD trading. One can say that all the basic requirements of traders who have just started exploring trading are fulfilled. For experts, plus500 may come across as a limited trading platform.

2. Markets.Com

Markets.Com – enjoy seamless trading

This is another user-friendly platform. It is an online broker with a marketsx trading place. Compared to other trading platforms, markets.Com is a bit expensive and does not have a number of trading features, spreads products, and tools other than the basic ones.

3. Saxo bank

Saxo bank – connect with world

Saxo bank is a great trading platform with competitive pricing, an exceptional range of trading tools, impressive research, and great customer support. In addition to all this, it offers a thorough variety of instruments of more than 40K trading instruments and is considered one of the best forex brokers. The only downside to it is that it charges a minimum deposit of 10,000 U.S dollars. Another thing to notice at this platform is that around 65 percent of the retail CFD accounts lose money on this platform.

4. Etoro

Etoro is great for copy trading and is considered to be one of the best forex brokers. Moreover, it was awarded this year for offering easy to use copy trading services. Traders here at etoro can copy the trades of other users through more than 1900 trading instruments. This wide variety of instruments includes cfds on famous cryptocurrencies. The only point where etoro lacks is pricing.

5. Easymarkets

Easymarkets – unique way of trading

Easymarkets is a unique web-based trading platform and is considered one of the best forex trading platforms. It offers trade protection to its users. It is indeed the best forex broker out there for beginners. It is an expensive trading platform but is very user-friendly. It offers two user-friendly features, namely:

Deal cancellation, and

Freeze rate

On the downside, this trading platform lacks market research tools. It offers just 169 tradable instruments. The mobile app of its platform is also quite average. On the other hand, around 74 percent of the retail CFD accounts lose money. For details on commissions, please refer to the official website.

How much money do you need to trade forex?

The minimum requirement to start foreign exchange trading at any platform varies. Some do not charge anything at all, and some do. The range of the minimum requirement starts from 100 U.S dollars and goes up to 250 U.S dollars. There are, however, some exceptions like saxo bank wherein the minimum funding is 10,000 U.S dollars.

What do brokers do in forex?

Forex platforms’ role is to get orders for buying and selling of currencies and then to execute trade orders accordingly. They function on the OTC (i.E. Over the counter) market. They offer access to all the main currency pairs, such as:

EUR/USD

GBP/USD

USD/JPY

USD/CHF

G10 currencies, along with emerging market currencies.

The rules and regulations in these markets differ from other financial exchanges. The broker market lacks any centralized clearing mechanism, which puts the responsibility of the right execution of the trade at the trader’s shoulders. Therefore, it is important to do thorough research about the broker’s capitalization capability before placing your trust in him or her. It is the trader’s responsibility to choose the right forex broker.

Do you need a broker for forex?

When you depend on online brokers, they continue to earn commissions from your pie regardless of your trade results. This happens because of the difference in the market price, and the actual price goes in their pockets. Their main role is to provide you with easy access to forex trading and profitable spreads. They keep their rights reserved. The results are not their responsibility. So, it can be a good idea to take charge of the entire process in your own hands.

You can gain insights into how the foreign exchange market works without losing money. You can try your hands at various demo accounts that are commonly available at various broker trading platforms.

Therefore, if you are just beginning your trade journey, we would suggest you take adequate time to first grasp the fundamentals of trading. Educate yourself about the various facets of the foreign exchange market (through a demo account) and understand how you can further push your trade portfolio without compromising security and regulations. Once well-comprehended, you will realize that foreign exchange trading is no rocket science! It may look daunting at first as there is so much to learn. But, with patience and persistence, you, by all means, can do foreign exchange trading without having to depend on a broker. Further, the following suggestions can help you kick start your journey smartly and intelligently:

High leverage and potential risk: when it comes to the daily trading volume, the forex markets are the largest. This promises a great deal of liquidity. Further, based on high liquidity, the entry and the exit at a trade position become way too easy. However, the challenge is that the banks, dealers, and online brokers in the market permit high leverage. This enables the traders to hold large positions at little money. Therefore, it goes without saying that the trader needs to understand the risky nature of the forex market. For instance, the leverage of 100:1 is a high ratio. It can swing to either high profits or steep losses. In some cases, the extreme ratios of leverage have ended many dealers with issues around insolvency.

Bird’s eye view of trading requirements: the foreign exchange market works 24 hours a day and for 5 days a week. Every day it starts in sydney, australia, and ends in new york. The main centers of the foreign exchange market are sydney, hong kong, singapore, tokyo, frankfurt, paris, london, and new york. Now, as we all know that trading currencies need a fundamental understanding of the market and its functions as well as indicators. Therefore, a trader or investor is expected to have a bird’s eye view of the entire financial movement, the economies of various countries, the inter-connections, etc, to be able to reap the best trade results.

Forex trading risks: as discussed before, foreign exchange trading has an innate nature of risk. It is complex in nature too. Further, forex brokerage operates at varying degrees in different parts of the world. The regulation between the banks varies, the standardization of various forex instruments differs, and in some places, it is totally unregulated.

The inter-bank market determines and accepts risks. They design a structure around it to come up with an interoperable process that is as safe as possible. The regulation designed in such a fashion aims to protect every participant bank.

Know forex trading risks

Given, the participating banks provide bids and other related offers for various currencies; this mechanism is therefore heavily dependent on the supply and demand rate. Due to large trade flows, influencing the price of any particular currency is difficult. With the help of inter-bank dealings, a sense of transparency is taken care of in the market.

Usually, small retail traders trade with comparatively low-key and almost unregulated forex platforms; there are always chances for them to re-quote rates and sometimes trade against the trader. Regulation on such platforms is highly dependent on which legislation they come under. This decides what type of industry and government regulation they are subject to. The protection measures for every trader vary from country to country.

Ideally, one should do a background check to see whether a broker is regulated in the U.S. Or the U.K. Further, to ensure security, one can check what kind of account protection is offered by the forex broker features in times of crises and other insolvency issues.

The bottom line

We hope our discussion on forex platforms has helped you gain clarity on the subject. As for our final thoughts, we would say that forex trading is great for forex traders with limited money who are seeking day trading in small amounts. On the other hand, those with large sums of money to trade, long term trading can be more beneficial. New forex traders should take their time to gain a good understanding of the market, its fundamentals, and create an overall view of global economics to make well-informed trade decisions.

Forex platforms really help you gain easy access to the trade market and get access to the best spreads. But it is your responsibility to do thorough research to check the credibility of the broker and also to see if its functions, products, spreads, and features match your needs. For research matters, the homepage of NFA and reviews such as ours can be quite handy and useful.

The forex market is very risky in nature. Forex and CFD are complex instruments. There is a high innate risk involved with them that can lead you to steep money losses as there is leverage involved. On average, approximately 69 to 78 percent of retail accounts tend to face losses during cfds trading. That is why it is of high importance that you understand thoroughly how cfds work. You should also trade as per your risk capacity as there are steep losses involved.

1. Can one become rich by trading forex?

The answer to this question is a mixed one. There are people who have become rich through foreign exchange trading, but the majority have not. The simple reason is the risky nature of the forex market. There have been cases where people have made millions and billions through foreign exchange trading, but one must also not forget that similar amounts have also got swept away through steep losses in the forex market. Therefore, making well-informed and calculated risks is very important.

2. How can one start forex trading?

Forex trading is all about awareness and practice. One can start by using a demo account in order to gain a good understanding of the forex market, and its various functions, tools, trading platforms, etc. Learning through case studies, researching about the technicalities about the foreign exchange market is also very useful. Once you feel confident, you can choose a forex platform by researching its credibility. Open an account there, fund it with the minimum deposit requirement, and you are ready to trade!

3. How does one choose an appropriate forex broker?

Choosing the right forex broker is tricky, but is manageable. As the first step, you should look for brokers who are regulated within the legislation of your country. Further, you should check out the reviews about the broker platform to understand how good its trading support, costs, spreads, tools, research capabilities, customer service, and other spreads, features, and products are. Upon screening through your list of best brokers, you can finalize the most suitable and trustworthy forex broker based on your trade requirements.

4. Which forex brokers accept US or non-US clients?

Those forex brokers who have regulatory status in the U.S permit U.S. Based clients and keep their rights reserved. On the other hand, those forex brokers who permit non-U.S clients are usually required to have licenses in countries where they come from.

5. Which currency pairs are popular?

There are seven currency pairs that are really popular in the market. They are also called the ‘majors’. They are as follows:

EUR/USD

GBP/USD

USD/JPY

USD/CHF

NZD/USD

AUD/USD

USD/CAD

Around 85 percent of all trades take place within these seven currency pairs or the ‘majors.’

Forex brokers for US traders (accepting US clients)

Below you will find a list of forex brokers accepting US traders as clients. Due to the strict and complicated regulatory environment, it became quite a challenge for FX companies to operate in the US. To make it worse, thanks to the dodd-frank act and the memorandum of understanding, many licensed forex brokers all over the world stopped accepting US clients. Still, there are some offshore countries where local authorities haven't yet imposed the restrictions. Unfortunately, most unchained brokers are not regulated, although that’s exactly the reason why there’s an opportunity to open a trading account with them. Notable benefits of going offshore: no hedging prohibition, no FIFO rule application and trading leverage is much higher.

Over the last decades, the forex market in the US has emerged as one of the most regulated markets anywhere in the world. Rules that were introduced and backed up by federal laws have made it very difficult for brokers and traders alike to operate in the US forex market. For many years, only three brokers operated in the US forex market: oanda, GAIN capital LLC (forex.Com) and TD ameritrade. Others were either put out of business or were forced to close down as a result of the strangulating environment created by the regulators, backed up by the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act of 2010.

What changed?

After the global financial crisis of 2008 which had its origins in the US subprime mortgage market, there were general calls for better regulation of the various markets operating in the united states. The dodd-frank act was a direct consequence of this agitation. This law strengthened the commodities and futures trading commission, enabling it to oversee not just the conventional financial markets, but also the swaps market which was valued in trillions of dollars.

Changes to the way business was conducted in the US financial markets were sweeping and aggressive. Some of the changes which were directly targeted at the retail segment of the market were as follows:

A) introduction of leverage caps in forex and options, pegging leverage at 1:50 for forex majors, and 1:20 for forex minors, and forex options trading.

B) elimination of hedging ability via the introduction of the first in, first out (FIFO) rule. Thus rule states that a position on an asset must first be closed before another can be opened on the same asset. The FIFO rule effectively ended the hedging style of traders placing opposing positions on the same asset.

C) stratification of traders in the FX market was institutionalized, as these rules were targeted at the so-called “unsophisticated’ investors, defined as traders with assets that are less than $10million, as well as small businesses. Professional and commercial traders (investment banks) were largely exempted from these changes.

According to the CFTC, these rules were meant to protect the retail clients from overexposing their money to the market and from taking excessive risk. But to what extent these rules have actually protected the retail consumers of forex products in the US is anyone’s wildest guess.

What the regulators of the US financial markets will not readily reveal, is that many traders in the US simply exited the US market and migrated their accounts to brokerage platforms in other countries. Forex brokers located in the US have had whatever market share they had badly eroded, and brokers without the kind of purposeful structure that the former US brokers suddenly emerged as less desirable but ready alternatives to traders who were unwilling to trade under the new conditions in the US.

In other words, the dodd-frank act actually stifled the forex brokerage business in america and the statistics do not lie. During the good times, more than 40 retail FX brokers were serving both US and international clients. Ever since dodd-frank became law, that number dwindled to the three brokers mentioned above, and the international clientele base simply moved away from the US and on to brokerages in the UK, europe, australia and the caribbean. A lot of the damage in the US forex brokerage business environment came as a result of the $20million bond which was imposed as a requirement for starting a forex brokerage business in the US. Tax reporting requirements have also scared off many brokerages from accepting US clients. Clearly, no foreign forex company wants to get the same kind of attention that huawei got from the US government in 2019, or what tiktok got in 2020.

What are the current options for US forex traders?

In 2019, some brokers made moves to re-enter the US market. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the process dramatically. Still, some new brokers managed to enter the US forex market in recent years, so traders now have more choice than before.

So what is the current state of the US market as it concerns US forex traders?

1) consumer-friendly regulators

Regulators in the US have made a series of changes designed to improve trading outcomes for US forex traders. For instance, the commodities and futures trading commission (CFTC) has made its weekly CFTC positioning report (also known as the commitment of traders report, or COT) more readily available. This report shows what the major players in the commodities and currency markets are doing. Using this information, summaries of which are found on some MT4 platforms of US forex brokers, traders can consider their positions against the backdrop of the institutional speculators are trading. This provides for more informed trade decisions.

Additionally, the CFTC is now more reachable as a number of channels are now open so the public can make complaints or submit inquiries and observations.

2) more robust database of providers

Everyone working in the industry must be registered with the CFTC and NFA. The NFA has taken it a step further by requiring biometric registration of those who provide services to traders, be it brokerage services or fund management. This biometric information can be shared with the federal bureau of investigation (FBI), and this has been a strong deterrence against wrongdoing by brokers. When last did you hear of US forex brokers swindling customers of their funds?

The CFTC database of providers is very vast. All floor traders/brokers, introducing brokers, swap dealers, retail forex dealers, commodities pool operators (cpos) and commodities trading advisors (ctas) who are licensed to provide services to US forex traders are all on this database.

If you are approached by anyone claiming to be any of these, you can easily contact the CFTC for near-instant verification. Even those who are not listed on the CFTC database by reason of exemption must appear on the NFA database, and the reason for the CFTC exemption provided.

3) expanded list of US-regulated forex brokers

There used to be a time when more than 70 brokers operated in the US forex market. The dodd-frank act thinned them out to just 3, and it remained this way for a nearly a decade. At the present day, there are now 8 regulated forex brokers in the US. Oanda, forex.Com (GAIN capital) and TD ameritrade retained their positions, and are now joined by ATC brokers, IG US, interactive brokers, ally invest and thinkorswim (now owned by TD ameritrade).

4) leverage caps

The 2018 ESMA rules in europe forced all local brokers to set a 1:30 leverage limit for all major FX currency pairs. In the US, this cap remains at the 1:50 level introduced in 2010. US forex traders will continue to enjoy what now seems to be the most liberal leverage caps in the tier 1 regulatory jurisdictions.

5) credit-based funding for customer forex accounts

Bank drafts and direct debits from a bank-linked ATM card are now the recognized means of account funding for US forex traders. The use of credit cards is now prohibited.

These are some of the changes that US forex traders have faced in 2020. 2020 also marked the year of the COVID-19 global pandemic that has completely changed the face of the global economy. However, while many other economic sectors have been badly hit, forex trading and other forms of financial market activity have thrived. In fact, the massive job losses and furloughs across the world that left millions without a source of income, drove the same people to the financial markets. Many brokerages have witnessed a surge in new trading account registrations as well as inquiries about trading. COVID-19 has changed the face of financial trading and it is likely that a number of changes as to how forex is traded in the US are coming.

What does the future hold for US forex traders?

So what possible changes can US forex traders hope to see in 2021 or in the years to come?

1) changes to margin rules

It is likely that forex traders in the US may face changes to margin rules on their accounts. US forex brokers are expected to have rolled out the phase 5 and phase 6 rules on uncleared margin, known as UMR 5 and UMR 6. UMR stands for uncleared margin rules. These rules have to do with how buy side participants in the forex market handle initial margin and variation margin among all counterparties in the market. Compliance with the UMR 5 and 6 means that there is a consolidated margin threshold of 50 million units of either the EUR or the USD that must be adhered to, among other requirements.

These rules were originally conceived in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis to enable firms handle risk better, and were meant to be implemented in phases. UMR 1 commenced in 2017. Full compliance with phase 5 UMR rules was to kick in by september 2020, but has been moved by a year to september 2021. While the full details of these rules would be out of the scope of this piece, suffice it to say that these new rules would make it harder for new players to enter into the retail FX brokerage space in the US. It would also stretch the resources of existing brokerages in terms of compliance with these rules. Ultimately, the entry point for opening a forex trading account may climb dramatically, putting it out of the reach of many. If you have been thinking of opening a US forex trading account, this may be the best time to do it.

2) advancements in technology

Algo adoption is expected to grow, whole artificial intelligence (AI) will start to feature more prominently in the development of market trading software. 2021 may be the year when US forex traders who want to maintain an edge in their trading may have to start using tools and software that can perform smarter analysis and make more rational trading decisions.

3) blockchain-based platforms

2021 may be the year when blockchain-based trading platforms may start to hit the US forex market. Some brokerages in japan and singapore have started to experiment with these platform types. Perhaps 2021 may be the year that we could see these used more widely in the US. Will this signal the beginning of the end for the MT4, or will metaquotes respond accordingly?

4) increased volatility on the US dollar, euro and british pound

Coronavirus vaccines will be out in 2021, but the availability of these vaccines seem to be geographically defined. Countries like the US and UK are buying up stocks in advance, so it is likely that these vaccines will not go round the world. Remember the dark days of the HIV epidemic when there was disproportionate access until PEPFAR and the global fund kicked in? This is probably what will happen unless something is done about the situation. COVID-19 will continue to dominate headlines, along with attempts to rescue the global economy. It is looking like there will be a change of guard at the white house. 2021 will see more volatility on the US dollar, euro and british pound.

It is prudent to say that there may be other occurrences in 2021 which have not been captured here, but which cannot be ruled out. Nobody can predict the future with 100% certainty.

Closing note

One of the best things that consumers of any product can enjoy is the power to choose, and to be able to make that choice from a wide range of service providers. This is what the dodd-frank law has taken away from US forex traders… but things have changed. Aside from a few forex brokerages operating in the US, there are a number of offshore forex brokers expressing willingness to take US traders on their platforms.

There are a number of advantages and also drawbacks to this arrangement. In terms of benefits, this is what US forex traders will enjoy when they use the offshore brokers presented in the list below.

A) the ability to hedge trades is a risk management tool. The FIFO rule basically prevents this from happening. Realizing this great folly in the US forex brokerage setup, the offshore brokers in the list provide below have created a system which allows traders to hedge, even if it means placing opposing positions on the same asset.

B) the CFTC has argued that the leverage caps protect retail traders by stopping them from overexposing their capital and accounts to the market. The leverage caps imposed a high minimum capital requirement on forex accounts opened in the US. This requirement only served to lock out a large segment of the trading public. With the forex brokers for US traders introduced here, you get lower capital requirements you can actually meet. You also trade with a wider spectrum of leverage, which allows you to trade under non-restrictive leverage conditions.

C) your greatest asset as a consumer (the power to choose) is restored. You have a choice of not just a few brokers, but many ones. If a broker does not match your requirements, move to the next one on the list.

The brokers featured in the list below have been carefully selected to offer you a forex brokerage service that rivals what you can get anywhere in the world, and under non-restrictive conditions. They are great for beginners who can make a transition from a demo account to a lightly funded live account, just to ensure they can understand what live trading is all about before they get more heavily committed. ECN style accounts are also available for those who prefer to trade directly with the FX interbank market. There is a lot of choice for you as you go through this list of brokers, one after the other.

So, let's see, what was the most valuable thing of this article: compare the best forex brokers for 2021. Read our forex brokers guide. Our pros compare and list the top trading forex brokers. At bestforex brokers