Best Forex Brokers Malaysia

There are many foreign licensed forex brokers who accept Malaysian traders, but you are trading with them is at your own risk as these are not licensed in Malaysia.

If they become insolvent, recovering your trapped funds can be near impossible, and any legal disputes will have to be resolved in court sittings outside Malaysia.

As such, it is advisable that you abstain from trading or only consider those forex brokers who have Tier 1 regulations from reputed regulatory bodies like the FCA – UK, ASIC – Australia, etc.

For the purpose of educational research, HF Markets is a forex broker with good overall trading conditions & they accept traders from this region.

Best Forex Brokers in Malaysia

• HF Markets – Best Forex Broker in Malaysia Overall
• XM Forex Broker – Best Forex broker with Ultra-Low-Cost accounts
• FXTM – FCA Regulated Forex Broker with Zero Commission Accounts
• OctaFX – Forex Broker with Low Spreads without Commissions
• IC Markets – Raw Spread cTrader Broker with ASIC regulation
• FxPro – FCA Regulated Forex Broker with cTrader
• Tickmill – Low Spread Forex Broker Regulated under IBFC Labuan
• AvaTrade – Forex Broker with Fixed Spreads

Note that the forex brokers compared in the listings below are not Bank Negara Malaysia Approved Forex Brokers, and are we have only researched them for educational purposes based on their popularity in the region & other factors.

Traders who are opening account with any foreign forex brokers must understand the risks involved.

We considered factors like Regulation, Account Type, Minimum Deposit, Leverage, Spread, Trading Platforms, Number of Tradable Instruments, commission, leverage, etc.

 1. HF Markets – Best Forex Broker in Malaysia

HF Markets is an online forex & commodities broker that caters to a wide array of traders from beginners to pros, and has sufficient customer support in English & the local language of Malaysia. 

Note that HFM is not an approved forex broker in Malaysia. The account of traders in this region are registered under their foreign entity, which makes them risky.

HF Markets (SV) Ltd is the parent company and they do business under the "HFM" or "HF Markets" trading names.

The spreads are HFM are variable, and moderate to competive, depending on your account type. The spreads are moderate with Premium Account type.

HFM does not charge commissions on their accounts, except for the Zero Account with a $3 per side per standard lot commission.

The company was incorporated in Saint Vincent & The Grenadines (SV) in 2010. When you open a trading account, it is subject to the laws of Saint Vincent & The Grenadines.

HF Markets Group is regulated by 5 oversea regulatory authorities seated outside Malaysia.

HFM have their own proprietary HFM mobile app. You also get access to trade with the MT4 & MT5 platforms which are compatible on Web, Desktop, and Mobile. 

HFM offers 4 trading accounts types, these are Cent, Zero, Premium, and Pro Accounts where you can trade CFDs such as Forex, Metals, Bonds, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Energies, & Stocks.

The spreads are HFM are variable, and moderate to competive, depending on your account type.

The HFM Zero Account is the only one that charges commissions, but it is also the HFM account that charges the lowest spreads (from 0.1 pips).  

Other HFM Accounts use a spread-only pricing policy where commissions are zero but spreads are higher.

HF Market commission levied on different CFD assets is $3/side on Forex, $0.5/side on Indices, $0.5/side on Crypto, and $0.05/side on Shares.

The maximum Leverage is 1:2000 for currency trading and can be lower depending on the asset class traded.  

HFM Pros & Cons

Read more about the accounts & trading fees at HFM website

2. XM – Best Forex Broker with Ultra Low-Cost Accounts

'XM Global Ltd' is a member of the Trading Point Group all based in Belize City. And entity of XM Group is also regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and Financial Services Commission (FSC) Belize

The fees at XM is moderate. The lowest fees is with their Ultra Low Account. The average spreads with Standard Account for major pair EUR/USD is 1.6 pips, which is on the higher side. With Ultra Low Account, it is 0.8 pips on average.

MT4 and MT5 are XM's Mobile, Desktop, & Web Platforms; and the XM Trader App is the proprietary platform for mobile.

XM offers 3 different account types. The XM Micro Account is their lowest account types with zero commissions, $5 minimum deposit, and permitting trading in micro lots.

The XM Standard & Ultra Low, & Shares Trading accounts are ideal for Pros and come with Very Low Spreads,  Zero Commission (except Shares Account), and Negative Balance Protection.

All XM accounts (except Shares Trading Account) come with a maximum leverage of 1:1000.

You can trade multiple CFDs including Forex, Crypto, Stocks, Turbo Stocks, Commodities, Equity Indices, Precious Metals, & Energies, on XM platforms.

XM Pros & Cons

Read about XM's accounts & other features or open account on their website

3. FXTM – FCA Regulated Forex Broker with Zero Commission Accounts

ForexTime Ltd (Trading name- FXTM) are a global Forex & CFD Broker operating out of Cyprus. FXTM is also a member of the global inter-broker Financial Commission Compensation Scheme.

FXTM regulation comes from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) UK, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), FSC Mauritius, FSCA South Africa, & CMA Kenya. However Malaysian traders account are registered under the laws of Mauritius.

MT4 and MT5 are FXTM's Mobile, Desktop, and Web Trading Platforms. FXTM's proprietary trading platform, called FXTM Trader, is compatible with mobile, and it's available on Android and iOS.

With a minimum of $10, you can trade on FXTM Micro Account, Advantage Account, Or Advantage Plus Account. Commissions are around $2 (when using the Advantage Account but is not charged on other accounts).

You can trade different CFD markets on ForexTime: Forex, Spot Metals, Commodities, and Indices with a 1:1000 maximum leverage.

FXTM Pros & Cons

Get more information on FXTM website

 4. Octafx – Forex Broker with Low Spreads without Commissions

Octa Markets (trading as Octafx) are a multi-asset CFD broker who are reguated by the Mwali International Services Authority (MISA).

Octafx has provided its self-developed trading terminal called Octatrader (available as a mobie app & web trader) for you to trade on.

Octafx has also provided mobile, desktop, & web versions of MT4 & MT5 as additional trading terminals & they are useful for alogorithmic trading with Expert Advisors (EAs).  

Octafx allows copy trading with MT4 Accounts only but you must read & understand the terms & conditions.

The nomenclature of Octafx trading accounts aligns with its platforms. We have the Octatrader Account, MT4 Account, & MT5 Account offerings.

Keyfacts about Octafx Accounts:

• All Octafx Accounts are commission-free
• All Octafx Accounts have same minimum deposit requirement of $25
• All Octafx Accounts have spreads starting from 0.6 pips minimum ( you dont get raw spreads).
• The Octafx MT5 Account allows you trade the most number of instruments (252 CFDs)
• You cannot trade Stock CFDs on Octafx MT4 & Octatrader Account types

When you open your preferred Octafx Account, you can access the markets and trades CFDs on Forex, Metals, Energies, Crypto,  & Stocks. Noticably absent are instruments like ETFs & Bonds.

Visit Octafx to learn about quick account creation requirements for Malaysian traders

5. IC Markets – Lowest Spread cTrader Broker

Raw Trading Ltd (Trading as IC Markets) are a forex broker operating out of Seychelles.

IC Markets is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Seychelles, CySEC Cyprus, SCB Bahamas, and ASIC Australia. However, Malaysian client accounts are registered under its entity in Seychelles, and they are not locally licensed.

MT4 and MT5 are IC market's web, mobile, and desktop platforms. IC Market also offers cTrader, available on web and mobile. There is also a proprietary Copy Trading Platform & you can connect to external social trading platform – ZuluTrade.  

IC market accounts are: Raw Spread, Raw Spread cTrader, and Standard Account all with a 1:1000 leverage, and $200 minimum deposit.   

Commission on the Standard Account is embedded in the spread received from liquidity providers. However, the MetaTrader Raw Spread Account commission is $3.5 per lot per side; while the cTrader Raw Spread Account commission is $3 per 100k traded.

You can trade Forex CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Bond CFDs, Digital Currencies, Indices CFDs, Futures CFDs, and Commodities CFDs.

IC Markets Pros & Cons

Read more about the spreads, trading accounts & more on IC Markets's website

6. FxPro – FCA Regulated Forex Broker with cTrader

FxPro Global Markets (Trading as FxPro), is a forex broker operating out of The Bahamas. Malaysian traders are registered under FxPro Group's Bahamas entity.

FxPro is regulated by the FCA UK, CySEC, FSCA, and The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB).

MT4, MT5, and cTrader are FxPro's web, desktop, and mobile trading platforms. The FxPro mobile app is its proprietary trading platform

You can trade with a minimum of $100 and up to 1:200 leverage, on any of the FxPro Standard, Pro, Raw+, or Elite Account types.

Commissions on the Standard & Pro Accounts are embedded in the spreads for different instruments, while the Raw & Elite accounts have $3.5 per side commissions ($7/lot roundturn).

You can trade wide range of CFD instruments on FxPro including Forex pairs, Indices, Futures, Shares, Metals, Energies, and Cryptocurrencies.

FxPro Pros & Cons

Read more information about their trading conditions on FxPro's website

7. Tickmill – Low Spread Forex Broker Regulated under IBFC Labuan

Tickmill Group of Companies (Trading as Tickmill) has different entities around the world. However Malaysian clients are registered under its Asian subsidiary – Tickmill Asia Ltd. or Tickmill Ltd. Under FSA.

Tickmill is regulated by the Labuan Financial Services Authority, FCA UK, CySEC, FSA Seychelles. They are also licensed under FSCA in Africa.

No entity of Tickmill is licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia. The traders who are trading with this broker are registered under their foreign entity, and local traders in Malaysia region should understand this risk.

Tickmill has the MT4 & MT5 platforms and a proprietary trading app.

The Pro, Classic, and VIP Accounts, have a $100 minimum leverage is pegged at 1:500. Commissions start from $1 per side per lot except on the classic account where its zero.

You can trade CFDs on Forex, Indices, Commodities, Bonds, Crypto, and Stocks on Tickmill platforms.

Tickmill Pros & Cons

Visit Tickmill website for more information on their features & accounts

8. AvaTrade – Forex Broker with Fixed Spreads

Malaysian traders are registered under Ava Trade Markets Limited, a company regulated by the British Virgin Island Financial Services Commission (BVI FSC).

AvaTrade still has a glonbal presence and is regulated in Australia, Ireland, South Africa, Japan, Abu Dhabi, Cyprus, & Israel.

AvaTrade seems to have a platform for every activity: AvaSocial for copy trading, AvaOptions for trading FX Vanilla Options, & AvaTradeGO for trading CFDs. The MT4/5 whitelabels are also available.

If you are thinking of opening an AvaTrade account, you need to start with at least a $100  deposit.

AvaTrade does not offer multiple account types to choose from, they just offer one account for every trader. This account comes with a top leverage of 1:400 and lets you trade a wide range of markets.

• Forex CFDs
• Forex Vanilla Options
• Share CFDs
• Indices CFDs
• Commodity CFDs
• Crypto CFDs
• Bond CFDs
• ETF CFDs

AvaTrade does not charge you commissin when you trade any asset class. The spread is fixed and the lowest spread is 0.9 pips.

There is an Avaprotect feature which requires you pay a fee in exchange for protection. You are refunded for any losing trades on Forex, Gold, & Silver instruments.

AvaTrade Pros & Cons

AvaTrade accepts Malaysian traders. Visit AvaTrade to see account opening steps

How to Choose the Best Forex Broker in Malaysia?

1. Check the Forex Broker's Licenses & their Status

Foreign retail forex brokers have been barred from doing business in Malaysia because the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SCM) have strict rules regarding currency speculation of any kind.

Many of the popular foreign forex brokers, including the ones in this list are not regulated in Malaysia.

Although forex trading is not illegal in Malaysia, but retail online forex trading using CFDs is not allowed. CFDs are the common and conventional method of trading forex among individual or retails traders.

However, some brokers have been approved to trade FX Futures, but not the general public. Rather, this is only open to corporate and institutional traders.

Phillips Capital and CGS-CIMB are the only two brokers that have approval from the Securities Commission of Malaysia to trade non-forex CFDs.

However, there are no locally regulated forex CFD brokers, and local retail forex traders generally trade via foreign brokers, and this is at their own risk.

If you insist on trading with foreign brokers, understanding the risks involved, you should be careful to only trade with those who have top-tier regulations.

For example, HF Markets is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) United Kingdom (including other regulations).

To verify if HFM (which is our example broker, and it can be any other) is legit, visit the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website at https://www.fca.org.uk/ to query the Financial Services Register. Its reference or license number is 801701

Type in the license number for HFM, or search by name. The result of your query should reveal confirmation of HFM details

A forex broker being regulated with Tier-1 & Tier-2 regulators only means that it is somewhat safe to trade with, but it does not mean that the broker is regulated in your local region.

For example, if a forex broker is licensed in the UK, then their investor protection is only valid for clients registered from that region. The clients from Malaysia or any other region don't get the same investor protection.

The forex brokers generally register their Malaysian clients under entities regulated by offshore regulations. This does not reduce your risk in any way, and local traders should avoid trading forex, until & unless there are some local regulations, and licensed brokers in your country.

2. Check the overall Trading Account Charges

You may want to consider brokers who charge low commissions. However, not all brokers charge commissions, and oftentimes such brokers charge high spreads to compensate for the commission-free service.

Spread, on the other hand, is the difference between the ask price and the bid price. It is advisable that you trade with brokers who take low spreads because a wide spread can eat into your profit.

For example, if you wish to go long on EUR/USD and the bid/ask price on the broker's website is 1.2230/1.2232, to buy the currency pair you pay the higher amount of 1.2232.

This means a spread of (1.2232 – 1.2230) or 2 pips or 0.0002 pip, so if you wish to trade 100,000 units of the currency pair, the broker makes (100,000 × 0.0002) or  $20.

Here is an example of live bid/ask spread at a broker on their MetaTrader 4 platform for major currency pair. The difference is 0.7 pips.

Trading on leverage also means taking a loan from your broker and depending on the interest rates of the currencies you are pairing, you will either be debited or credited every night your position is left open.

This nightly interest rate differential debit or credit can affect your final trading profits so ensure you ask for the nightly long and short swap rates.

3. Trading Conditions at the Broker's Platform

Before choosing a broker, you want to compare their trading conditions, like tradable Instruments.

You want to consider brokers who offer a wide range of instruments, as well as instruments that you have an interest in trading.

For example, if you want to trade XAU/USD (Gold), then check which brokers offer this instrument. You must remember that if you are trading 'Long' Gold at a CFD broker, you are speculating that the price of Gold will go up.

If you are using leverage to express your position, there is a high risk that you will lose very quickly. For example, if the XAU/USD instrument is trading at 18,000, and you trade 1 Mini lot ($18,000 exposure), but you only have let's say $180 in you account balance.

If the price of Gold goes down by even 1%, then you entire account balance will be zero. Moreover, you are required to pay overnight Swap fees for holding Long position on Gold.

Below screenshot is an example of a CFD contract at a broker. The contract mentions its size, tick value, margin requirements, stop-out levels etc.

Apart from that, there is also a Swap fees involved as seen in the screenshot below. These trading conditions may not be favourable for every trader.

For example, if you plan to hold Gold or a stock for long term, then CFDs via a forex broker is not the right option. There are excessive holding charges, which make the trading conditions very unfavourable.

Therefore, you should understand the risks involved depending on the type of trading you are doing.

If you are a high-volume trader who trades intraday, you may want to consider ECN brokers rather than market markers. This is because the fees can add up to a lot at the end of the month if your volume is in millions.

You also want to know the broker's execution method (whether Market or Instant), Margin Stop-out Rates, Leverage per Asset Class, Order Types, Expert Advisor  Compatibility, etc.

4. Payment Methods

Payment methods are another area of concern in Forex trading in Malaysia because CFDs and Forex trading exist in a legal grey area in the country.

Depositing and withdrawing using bank transfers can be risky, mainly because the banks may refuse to make transfers, when they notice that one of the parties is an unlicensed or a foreign licensed broker.

Many brokers allow local bank transfers in Malaysia, but you must note that you are working with these brokers at your own risk. Usually, bank transfers are processed within 1-2 days.

You should know that some brokers charge deposit and/or withdrawal fees. Such fees can be avoided by going with brokers that make deposits and withdrawals free.

You should also consider brokers whose deposit methods are instant. This way, when you have an urgent need to fund your account, it won't be an issue.

 5. Platforms + Mobile app

Trading platforms should be available on Mobile, Desktop, & Web. This way, regardless of your device, you can access your trading account.

The broker's mobile app should be compatible with iOS/Android, and support Two-Factor Authentication to avoid security breaches.

6. Customer Support

Your preferred broker should have customer service that is available at any time of the day and reachable through various means like live chat, email, call, etc.

A broker whose customer service is available in the local Malaysian language will be a plus; this way, language barriers will not be a problem.

Comparison of Forex Brokers in Malaysia

What is a Forex Broker?

Retail traders use forex brokers to speculate on currencies. For example, if a trader has a theory that EUR/USD will go up due to lower interest rates in the EuroZone, then he/she can short the Euro against the US Dollar.

This is done by taking a position in lots where for every tick, the P&L moves. For example, if you have placed a 10 Standard Lot position, for every pip, the P&L is ± 100 USD.

Frequently Asked Questions – Forex Brokers Malaysia

What Is Forex Trading?

Forex trading is the process of speculating on the change in the exchange rate of two currencies with the intention to profit.

Anyone who wants to speculate on currencies must go through a licensed forex broker/dealer. It must be an entity regulated in the region, if not, you are trading at your own risk.

How to start Forex Trading?

• Get a device with a good internet connection
• Identify your preferred broker and open an account with them
• Practice with the broker's demo account
• Fund your trading account
• Select your preferred currency pair to trade
• Place your first trade and monitor it

What is the Best Forex Trading Platform in Malaysia?

MetaTrader 4 is regarded as one of the best and most popular trading platforms. However, its interface is not as updated as the new MetaTrader5 successor.

HF Markets, & XM Brokers are examples of brokers with the MT4 platform. XM even has the MT4 Multi-terminal which allows you open several MT4 trading accounts on one server, and trade with them simultaneously.

What is the Best time to trade Forex in Malaysia?

Best time to trade forex in Malaysia is between 3 PM and 11 PM, as this is the London session time and liquidity is high. Most currency pairs move during the NY & London sessions.

What are the Risks of Forex Trading in Malaysia?

Forex Trading for retail traders is not regulated, and no forex brokers are licensed to offer trading on currencies. Any trader who is trading forex in Malaysia, is doing at their own risk, and should engage with caution.

It is very risky to trade forex on margin through foreign licensed CFD brokers, as there will no local protection in case the broker is a scam or you lose money due to any reason.

It is best to not trade via foreign forex brokers until there is a local regulation for protection of retail forex traders.