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Want to trade forex in South Africa? Then you’ll want to find a forex broker that allows you to use ZAR as the base currency for your account, but who are the best forex brokers with ZAR account South Africa?
In this guide, we’ll highlight the 10 best forex brokers with ZAR account in South Africa for 2023 and the simple steps to help get you started today!
Trading Leveraged Products such as Forex and Derivatives may not be suitable for all investors as they carry a high degree of risk to your capital. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved, taking into account your investments objectives and level of experience, before trading, and if necessary, seek independent advice....
Markets.com – Ultra-low Forex Spreads with a ZAR Account
XM – Best MetaTrader Broker with ZAR Forex Accounts
HotForex – ZAR Forex Broker with Top Research Tools
Exness – ZAR Forex Accounts for Professional Traders
FxPro – Trade 70 Forex Pairs with a ZAR Account
Khwezi Trade – South African ZAR Broker with No Inactivity Fee
Blackstone Futures – Low-cost Forex Broker with ZAR Account
Oinvest – Best ZAR Forex Broker for Beginner Traders
Best ZAR Forex Brokers in South Africa Reviewed
Want to learn more about the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts in SA? We’ll review each of the top forex brokers with ZAR base currency and cover everything you need to know about them.
1. FXCM – Overall Best Forex Broker with ZAR Account in South Africa
FXCM is one of the best forex brokers with ZAR base currency for your trading account. This South Africa trading platform carries 40 different forex pairs, including USD/ZAR and ZAR/JPY. You can trade major currency pairs with leverage up to 400:1. FXCM also has so-called forex baskets, which enable you to invest in multiple currencies at once.
Spreads for trading forex with FXCM start at just 1.3 pips, which is in line with the average for non-ZAR forex brokers. The platform doesn’t charge deposit or withdrawal fees, but there is an inactivity fee of 750 ZAR after one year without trading.
One of the aspects of FXCM that’s unique is that you can choose between a variety of different trading platforms. This broker offers integrations with Trading Station, MetaTrader 4, NinjaTrader, ZuluTrade, TradingView, and Capitalise AI. MT4 and Capitalise AI both support forex signals trading, while ZuluTrade has a built-in social trading network.
FXCM is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The broker offers 24/5 customer support by phone, email, and live chat.
Plus500 is another top forex broker in South Africa that offers low spreads, a wide range of currency pairs to trade, and high leverage. With this ZAR account broker, you can trade more than 70 currency pairs and access margin of up to 300:1.
Plus500 is one of the most cost-effective forex trading platforms in South Africa. Spreads for the popular EUR/USD trading pair start at just 1 pip. In addition, the broker provides clear information about overnight fees, swap fees, and other applicable fees when trading forex with leverage.
This broker offers its own proprietary trading platform that forex traders will like. The charting package includes dozens of built-in indicators, and it’s easy to customise to meet your needs. In addition, Plus500 offers a market news feed and economic calendar to help you stay ahead of the market. The only downside to this trading platform is that it doesn’t support forex signals.
Plus500 is regulated by the UK FCA, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa. All accounts include 24/7 customer support by phone, email, and live chat.
Pros:
Trade 70 forex pairs
Access margin up to 300:1
Very clear fee report
Custom trading platform with advanced technical studies
3. Markets.com - Ultra-low Forex Spreads with a ZAR Account
Markets.com is a multi-faceted trading platform that offers some of the lowest spreads we’ve seen among the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts in South Africa. This broker charges just 0.4 pips for the popular EUR/USD trading pair, which is less than half the industry average spread.
Markets.com offers MetaTrader 4 and 5 for advanced forex traders in South Africa. But this broker also has two of its own custom trading platforms called Marketsi and Marketsx. Marketsi is designed around long-term investing, while Marketsx is built for trading forex, stocks, and more.
Marketsx serves as a nice complement to MetaTrader. While MT4 offers forex signals, robo-trading, and fully customisable technical studies, Marketsx gives you insight into the fundamentals driving forex movements. It also has its own market scanner and trading signals, so you can easily find the best currencies to buy and sell.
Markets.com offers trading on 67 currency pairs. The platform is regulated by the UK FCA, and its parent company, Playtech, is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a publicly traded company. Markets.com offers 24/5 customer support.
4. XM - Best MetaTrader Broker with ZAR Forex Accounts
If you want to use MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 as your platform for forex trading, XM is one of the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts. This broker offers trading on 57 currency pairs as CFDs and allows you to access leverage up to 30:1 for major forex pairs. The broker is transparent about how much trading will cost, which is a big plus.
XM offers 3 different types of accounts: Micro, Standard, and Zero. The Micro and Standard accounts offer trade volumes starting at 0.01 lots and are completely commission-free. Spreads start at 1 pip, but the average for the EUR/USD currency pair is around 1.7 pips. The Zero account charges a commission with spreads as low as 0 pips. All three account types are available as swap-free Islamic accounts.
XM doesn’t offer its own trading platform, but it does have a wide range of research and analysis tools to supplement MetaTrader. For example, you get access to XM’s professional research reports and daily trade ideas. There’s also an economic calendar and weekly forex webinars that you can attend to improve your trading strategy.
XM is regulated primarily by CySEC and the brokerage provides negative balance protection for all accounts. You can get support 5 days a week by phone, email, or chat.
5. HotForex - ZAR Forex Broker with Top Research Tools
HotForex is a global forex broker based in Cyprus that services South Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The brokerage is one of the top ZAR forex brokers in the world, with more than 50 currency pairs available to trade and spreads starting at just 1 pip (average 1.2 pips for the EUR/USD pair). South African traders can use leverage up to 200:1.
HotForex doesn’t have its own trading platform, but it does give you access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. The broker also has custom trading tools like price alerts, customisable news feeds, and live market sentiment tracking. Notably, all HotForex clients also get free access to Autochartist for AI-based technical analysis.
One of the best things about HotForex is that it makes it simple to fund your account. This brokerage accepts credit and debit cards, Trustly bank transfers, and e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill. You can also get started with just a 75 ZAR minimum deposit.
HotForex is regulated by CySEC as well as the FSCA in South Africa. All accounts include negative balance protection, which is important if you plan to trade with high leverage. The broker provides 24/5 customer support.
6. Exness - ZAR Forex Accounts for Professional Traders
Exness is a unique ZAR account forex broker because it’s designed primarily for professionals and institutional traders. However, anyone can open an Exness account and the brokerage has plenty of worthwhile features to consider.
To start, Exness’s pricing for forex trading is very competitive. Spreads for the popular EUR/USD trading pair start at 1 pip, and the broker doesn’t charge account or inactivity fees. That said, Exness isn’t as transparent as other forex brokers with ZAR base currency about its swap fees or overnight fees.
Another benefit to this broker is that it offers flexible leverage limits. How much margin you can trade with depends on your history with Exness and trading qualifications, not a preset limit. So, if you want to place highly leveraged forex trades, Exness may be one of the best platforms for you.
Exness doesn’t have its own trading platform, but instead provides traders with free access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. The broker also offers VPS (virtual private server) hosting so you can get faster trade execution and stay ahead of the market’s fluctuations.
Exness is regulated by the FCA and offers 24/7 customer support.
7. FxPro - Trade 70 Forex Pairs with a ZAR Account
FxPro is a great option for South African forex traders who want to focus on exotic currency pairs, not just major and minor pairs. The broker offers trading on a whopping 70 forex instruments with leverage up to 200:1.
One of the great things about this broker is that you can choose the trading platform that suits you best. FxPro offers its own custom trading platform, MT4, MT5, and cTrader. The FxPro platform doesn’t support forex signals trading, which is a potential downside for more experienced traders. However, it does boast a much more seamless mobile experience than the MetaTrader or cTrader platforms.
FxPro charges an average spread of 1.7 pips for the EUR/USD trading pair, which is slightly on the expensive side. However, the broker makes up for this by offering extremely fast execution speeds of 10 milliseconds or less. FxPro also requotes trades less than 1.2% of the time, so the price you see is the price you get.
FxPro is regulated by the FCA and the FSCA in South Africa. All accounts come with negative balance protection and 24/5 customer support.
Pros:
Trade 70 forex pairs with up to 200:1 leverage
Supports MT4, MT5, and cTrader
Custom trading platform offers excellent mobile experience
8. Khwezi Trade - South African ZAR Broker with No Inactivity Fee
Khwezi Trade is a forex broker based in Cape Town, South Africa. That in itself is a big deal, since it means you’re getting local support and a company that understands the needs of South African traders specifically, as opposed to focusing on traders in Europe first.
For example, a notable benefit for South African traders is that customer support is available in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho and Xhosa. Plus, Khwezi Trade is regulated by the FSCA in South Africa.
This broker only offers trading on 32 forex pairs, so the selection of minor and exotic currencies is somewhat limited. However, you can trade with leverage up to 200:1. Spreads for the EUR/USD pair hover around 1.8 pips, which is on the pricey side, but this broker doesn’t charge deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity fees.
Khwezi Trade doesn’t have its own trading platforms, but offers MT4 integration. The broker has a limited set of analysis tools, including an economic calendar, but you won’t find trading signals or in-depth professional research on the forex market.
Overall, Khwezi Trade is best if you want to support a local forex broker instead of one based in Europe or the Middle East. You can open an account with as little as 2,000 ZAR.
9. Blackstone Futures - Low-cost Forex Broker with ZAR Account
Blackstone Futures is another local South African forex broker, based in Johannesburg. The broker is regulated by the FSCA and takes a personalised approach to supporting clients through the onboarding and trading experience.
Blackstone Futures offers 32 forex pairs to trade. That’s on the low side, but the broker stands out with spreads as low as 0.6 pips for the EUR/USD trading pair and transparent fee reports. Plus, this broker offers South African traders leverage up to 400:1 and all accounts come with negative balance protection.
This broker offers MT4 as well as its own custom trading platform called CloudTrade. CloudTrade is highly flexible and offers helpful trading features like guaranteed stops and ultra-fast execution. That said, it doesn’t include a built-in news feed or support forex signals, so advanced traders will likely want to stick to MT4. Both platforms are available for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Another thing Blackstone Futures does well is trader education. The broker offers a trading course to help you get started with MT4, as well as detailed articles offering tips and tricks to perform better in the forex market.
Pros:
Based in Johannesburg, SA
Spreads starting from 0.6 pips with zero commissions
10. Oinvest - Best ZAR Forex Broker for Beginner Traders
Oinvest is a relatively under-the-radar forex broker in South Africa that could be the perfect platform for many beginner traders. The platform offers a simple fee structure and its own custom trading platform. Oinvest primarily offers trading on major and minor forex pairs, so it might not have the asset selection that more experienced traders want.
This broker stands out for its custom Webtrader platform, which is available for both the web and Android mobile devices (it is not available for iOS devices). It offers an easy to use charting interface with just a handful of technical studies. Importantly, Webtrader comes with limit and stop-loss orders so you can seamlessly manage risk while trading forex.
More advanced traders can also take advantage of Oinvest’s MT4 integration. The broker offers its own set of trading signals that can easily be imported into the trading platform.
Oinvest is regulated by South Africa’s FSCA. The broker offers customer support by phone and email, but the hours are limited to 6 AM to 3 PM GMT Monday to Friday.
Best Forex Brokers with ZAR Account South Africa - Fees Comparison
Now that you know more about the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts, let’s see how they stack up in terms of how much you’ll pay to trade.
EUR/USD Average Spread
Deposit & Withdrawal Fees
Inactivity Fee
FXCM
1.3 pips
None
750 ZAR per month after 12 months
Plus500
1 pip
None
150 ZAR per month after 3 months
Markets.com
0.4 pips
None
150 ZAR per month after 3 months
XM
1.7 pips
None
225 ZAR plus 75 ZAR per month after 12 months
HotForex
1.2 pips
None
225 ZAR per month after 6 months
Exness
1 pip
None
None
FxPro
1.7 pips
None
225 ZAR plus 75 ZAR per month after 12 months
Khwezi Trade
1.8 pips
None
None
Blackstone Futures
0.6 pip
None
None
Oinvest
2.2 pips
None
1,400 ZAR per month after 2 months
Why Choose a ZAR Broker?
The main reason to choose a ZAR broker in South Africa is that it can save you money.
ZAR brokers allow you to deposit ZAR, or South African Rand, into your trading account. That means you don’t have to first convert your funds to USD, GBP, or EUR before making a deposit.
Currency conversions can be expensive, so the extra step of exchanging currencies every time you want to make a deposit or withdrawal from your broker can add up. By using the best forex brokers with ZAR base currency, you don’t have to worry about additional charges when funding your account.
Importantly, ZAR brokers are the same as non-ZAR forex brokers in most other ways. You’ll find similar forex pairs available to trade, similar trading costs, and many of the same trading platforms. So, you’re not missing out on anything when you choose a ZAR forex broker.
ZAR Brokers Payment Methods
ZAR brokers accept ZAR for payment - but they still vary in what methods they allow you to use to make a deposit or withdrawal.
Nearly all ZAR brokers accept bank transfer from any major South African bank. In addition, most allow you to fund your account with a Visa or Mastercard debit card or credit card.
Some of the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts in South Africa also let you use electronic payments. For example, you may be able to fund your account with Neteller, Skrill, or even PayPal.
Be sure to check the minimum deposit that your broker requires when you open a new account. This can be as low as 75 ZAR, or as high as 5,000 ZAR. In addition, it’s a good idea to check whether your broker requires you to withdraw a minimum amount in order to avoid withdrawal fees.
Best Forex Brokers with ZAR Account South Africa - Regulation
When choosing a forex broker in South Africa, it’s important to make sure that the platform you’re interested in is regulated by a top-tier financial watchdog.
Many forex brokers that offer ZAR accounts are regulated in South Africa by the FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority). This regulator can make rules for trading in South Africa and has the best interests of South African traders in mind. Most brokers that are regulated by the FSCA provide negative balance protection for South African trading accounts.
Other trustworthy regulators include the UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and CySEC (the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission).
How to Get Started with the Best Broker with a ZAR Account
Ready to start trading forex in South Africa with the best ZAR broker? We’ll show you how to open an account with FXCM, our top-rated ZAR forex broker.
Step 1: Open an FXCM Account
To get started, head to FXCM’s website and click ‘Open Live Account.’ Select South Africa as your country, and choose the trading platform you would like to use with your account.
You will need to fill out an application that includes your contact information, your trading experience, and your preferred base currency. You will also need to upload a copy of your ID to verify your identity.
Step 2: Fund Your Account
Next, you can fund your new FXCM account. FXCM requires a minimum deposit of 4,500 ZAR, which you can pay by debit or credit card, bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill, or UnionPay.
Step 3: Start Trading
Now you’re ready to trade forex with FXCM. Open your trading platform and search for a currency pair like EUR/USD. Enter the amount of money you want to trade and select whether to use a market or limit order. You can also select the amount of leverage you want to apply to your trade, up to 400:1 for major forex pairs.
When your trade is ready, click ‘Open Trade’ to execute your first forex trade with an FXCM ZAR account.
FXCM - Best Forex Broker with ZAR Account South Africa
Using a ZAR forex broker can help you save money when trading forex and make it easier to move funds in and out of your brokerage account. Thanks to our reviews of the 10 best forex brokers with a ZAR account in South Africa, you can easily choose the ZAR forex broker that’s best for your needs.
Ready to start trading forex in South Africa? Click the link below to sign up for an FXCM account today!
Capital: An Alternative to Brokers with ZAR Accounts
While trading forex with a ZAR account can help you save money, it’s not required to trade forex in South Africa. So, it may be worth looking at alternative forex brokers that don’t offer ZAR accounts.
Capital is one of the best forex brokers in South Africa and it’s worth a closer look. This broker didn’t make our list above because it only accepts USD, GBP, or EUR as the base currency for your account.
Capital.com offers trading on more than 40 currency pairs with leverage up to 30:1. Spreads start at just 1 pip and Capital never charges commissions - so this platform offers very competitive pricing.
What really sets this forex broker apart is its proprietary trading platform, which includes over 100 technical studies and drawing tools. The platform is extremely easy to use and offers an exceptional mobile experience on iOS and Android devices. On top of that, the platform includes an economic calendar, customisable news feed, and flexible price alerts.
Capital also has a social trading platform, where you can connect with forex traders from South Africa and around the world. You can also use this social network to mimic the trades of professional forex traders - essentially giving you automated trading capabilities without any need for code or AI algorithms.
Capital is regulated by the UK FCA. You can start trading with just 3,000 ZAR, and the broker accepts debit cards, credit cards, Neteller, Skrill, and PayPal. Capital offers 24/5 customer support by phone and email.
Ready to give Capital a try? Click the link below to sign up for a forex trading account today!
Capital - Best Alternative Forex Broker in South Africa
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
FAQs
What is the best broker with a ZAR account in South Africa?
Our overall top pick for the best forex broker with a ZAR base currency is FXCM. FXCM offers trading on 40 currency pairs with competitive spreads, high leverage, and a wide selection of trading platforms.
Do I have to use a ZAR broker to trade forex in South Africa?
You do not have to use a ZAR broker to trade forex in South Africa. However, depositing funds in ZAR can save you money on currency conversion fees.
How much leverage can I use when trading forex in South Africa?
The amount of leverage you can trade with varies by broker and depends in part on what regulator oversees a specific broker. Most ZAR forex brokers offer leverage up to 200:1 on major forex pairs, but some offer up to 400:1 and others are limited to 30:1.
How can I fund a ZAR forex account?
The payment methods you can use vary by broker. Most accept bank transfers, debit cards, credit cards, Neteller, and Skrill. Some also allow PayPal or UnionPay.
Can I start trading forex with a demo account?
Most of the best forex brokers with a ZAR account in South Africa offer demo accounts. This allows you to try out a broker’s platform before committing to it or risking real money.
Michael Graw is a freelance journalist who covers finance, trading, and technology. His work has been published on numerous high-profile websites that cover the intersection of markets, global news, and emerging tech such as TechRadar and Top10.com. Michael has also written for StockApps, Buyshares and LearnBonds.
Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Michael studied at Cornell University where he obtained a BA in Microbiology. He then went on to recieve a Ph.D in Philosophy from Oregon State University. With 6 years of finance writing under his belt, Michael is an expert in his niche and has built up significant industry knowledge during his time as a writer. Michael writes informative content with the goal of supporting readers to make better financial judgements.
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If you want to use MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 as your platform for forex trading, XM is one of the best forex brokers with ZAR accounts. This broker offers trading on 57 currency pairs as CFDs and allows you to access leverage up to 30:1 for major forex pairs. The broker is transparent about how much trading will cost, which is a big plus.
Exness is a unique ZAR account forex broker because it’s designed primarily for professionals and institutional traders. However, anyone can open an Exness account and the brokerage has plenty of worthwhile features to consider.
