- Insights
- Cryptocurrencies
- Stocks
- White Papers
- Industry
- Geography
If you are trading forex online in the Philippines, you are trading at your own risk. This is because there are no local brokers and foreign forex brokers are not licensed locally.
Philippine online forex traders just like other forex traders in jurisdictions with no local regulation for forex trading, trade via foreign forex brokers who are regulated under foreign regulations outside the Philippines.
You should avoid trading forex from the Philippines until there is a regulation for brokers.
For the purpose of this research, Exness is a forex broker regulated with tier-1 regulations, but accepting traders from the Philippines. It is regulated in different countries including with the FCA.
Risk Disclaimer: Online forex/CFD trading carries high probability of you losing all of your investment. You should consider if you have the right knowledge of how CFDs work & if you can accept huge losses before you continue.
We have looked into factors including the broker's regulation(s), spreads, commissions, minimum deposit, trading platform/app, available account types, customer service, etc.
Exness was founded in 2008, although they are not regulated and licensed by the SEC, they are regulated abroad by the following regulatory bodies:
How safe is Exness?
Forex trading is unregulated in the Philippines so even though Exness is regulated in the United Kingdom, Seychelles, British Virgin Islands, Kenya, & South Africa; you are not protected by Philippine laws.
Your accounts are held outside the Philippines so in cases of litigation or disputes, recovery of funds will be difficult.
Exness charges commission that starts from $0.2 each side per lot for the zero account and can get as high as $3.50 per side per lot for the raw spread account.
Spread starts from 0.0 pip for the raw spread account, 0.3 pip for the standard account, and 0.1 pip if you are trading on the pro account. The table below is a summary of spread for some currency pairs.
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
1 pip | 1.2 pip | 1.4 pip | 2 pip | 2.1 pip | 1.4 pip |
Currency pairs | Stocks | Indices | Energies | crypto | Metals |
100+ | 90+ | 10+ | 3+ | 30+ | 10+ |
HF Market was founded in 2010 and was formerly known as HotForex. They got incorporated into Saint Vincent & The Grenadines in 2015 with IBC number 22747 IBC 2015.
Incorporation in Saint Vincent & The Grenadines (SVG) means that your account is under SVG laws, and any legal claims will be subject to court hearings in SVG.
HFM charges a commission of $3 per turn per lot on their zero account, and does not charge commission for other accounts.
Spread for the cent and premium account starts from 1.2 pip, 0 pip for the zero account, and 0.5 pip if you are trading through pro account.
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
1.2 pip | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
Currency pairs | Commodities | Indices | Stock CFDs | ETFs | Energies | Metals | Bonds | Crypto |
50+ | 4+ | 10+ | 90+ | 30+ | 2+ | 5+ | 3+ | 40+ |
XM broker was founded in 2009 and is regulated by:
XM broker does not charge commission, but their spread are variable for the standard and micro account. Spread can go as low as 0.6 pip for the Ultra-Low trading account. The table below is the minimum spread for some currency pairs:
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
1.6 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.6 |
Currency pairs | Commodities | equity indices | Precious metals | Crypto CFDs | Energies | Stocks CFDs | Shares |
50+ | 8+ | 20+ | 3+ | 30+ | 3+ | 1000+ | 90+ |
FXTM only charges commission on the Advantage account, all other accounts are commission free. This commission ranges from $0.4 to $2. Spread on the micro account, and advantage plus starts from 1.5 pip, for the advantage account spread starts from 0.0 pip.
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
1.9 pips | 2 pips | 2.2 pips | 14 pips | 2.5 pips | 2 pips |
Currency pairs | Commodities CFDs | Spot metals | Stock CFDs | Indices CFDs | Stocks |
60+ | 3 | 5 | 100+ | 3+ | 100+ |
IC markets was founded in 2007 and is regulated by multiple regulatory bodies as seen below:
How safe is IC Markets for local traders?
Unregulated in the Philippines, you trade with IC Markets at your own risk. However, they are regulated abroad in Cyprus & Australia.
IC market charges a commission of $3.5 per lot per side on the raw spread account, and $3 per lot per side for C-Trader, while the standard account at IC Markets is commission free.
Spread starts from 0 pip on the raw spread and C-Trader account while for the standard account, spread starts from 0.6 pip. The table below is the average spread for some currency pairs.
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
0.62 pips | 0.83 pips | 0.79 pips | 1.38 | 0.85 pips | 0.77 pips |
With the Raw Spread Accounts, IC Markets is able to offer spreads starting from 0 pips, in exchange for commissions of $3.5 per side per 100,000 units traded on MetaTrader (on cTrader commission is lower at $3 per side).
For context, EUR/USD average spread is 0.62 on the Standard Account, but the Raw Spread Account offers 0.02 pip which is 3.2% lower.
Swaps are part of your trading cost as you pay/receive swaps for overnight CFD positions left open.
Currency pairs | CFDs on Commodities | Indices CFDs | Bond CFDs | crypto | Stocks CFDs | Futures CFDs |
60+ | 22+ | 25+ | 9+ | 10+ | 2100+ | 4+ |
OctaFX was founded in 2012 and is incorporated & regulated in the Saint Lucia It is also regulated by:
Octafx is unregulated in the Philippines but overseas it is regulated in Cyprus and Saint Lucia.
Yes they have developed the Octa trader mobile App. On google play store, it has a 4.3/5 rating with over 10 million downloads.
Although the app can be paired with Bluetooth, it doesn't have Fingerprint/Touch ID login. App features include: In-app LiveChat support, transfer funds between accounts, Webinars, Earnings calculator, etc.
OctaFX does not charge any commissions when you trade. OctaFX spread starts from 0.6 pips on both its MT4 & MT5 accounts. Here is the typical spread for some currency pairs on OctaFX:
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | NZD/USD | USD/CAD | AUD/USD |
0.9 pips | 1.0 pips | 1.3 pips | 1.6 pips | 1.3 pips | 1.2 pips |
Currency pairs | Stocks | Indices | Energies | crypto |
35+ | 150+ | 10+ | 3+ | 30+ |
Regulation is a very important factor to consider when choosing a broker because a regulated broker offers you a secure trading environment and protects your interest. Unregulated brokers on the other end are looking to make money and will not prioritize your protection.
In the Philippines the SEC regulates the capital market space but has no framework in place to regulate these online forex brokers. This means retail online forex trading is not regulated in the Philippines.
You can look out for brokers who are regulated abroad by top tier regulatory bodies like the Financial conduct authority (FCA) UK, and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
You also want to go extra mile to know which country's laws your account will be opened with. This is because even brokers with top tier regulations may register your account under offer shore regulation of another country. The implication is any court cases you may have with them will be heard in that country.
For instance a forex broker could be regulated in United Kingdom, but register your account under their subsidiary in the Bahamas. Your account is now subject to laws of the Bahamas.
Be sure your account is registered under laws of a country known for best capital market practices such as United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, etc.
When choosing a broker, you should factor in the fees the charge before trading with them because the fees can eat into your profit.
Not all brokers charge commission, however if a broker in your consideration charges commission, you should be sure it's not too high.
Every broker claims to offer the lowest spread in the industry but you don't have to take their word for it. Do your own research.
Spread is the difference between ask and bid price of a currency pair. Some brokers charge fixed spread and other charge floating or variable spread.
For example, let's say you want to trade EUR/USD and the quotation is EUR/USD = 1.1300/1.1302 how to read a forex brokers quote is that 1.1302 Is the price you pay to buy EUR/USD from your broker, and 1.1300 is the true market price of EUR/USD. The difference is 0.0002 or 2 pips, and is called the spread and who benefits from forex spread is your broker.
You may want to consider brokers who charge tight spread because wide spread can affect your profit.
Even with exotic and minor currency pairs where the spread tends to be wide, you want to compare the rate with other brokers to be sure you are choosing the broker with the most competitive rates.
Secondly, some non-trading fees include inactivity fee, research fees etc. which can be avoided as not every broker charges them.
Brokers who offer a wide range of products makes it possible for you to diversify your portfolio and hedge one open position with another.
Another reason why you should consider brokers who offers several tradable instruments is because it makes it possible for you to carry out all your trade with the same broker. Else, when you wish to trade an asset your broker does not offer, you will have to start searching for a new broker.
How long does opening an account take and are the required documents easily accessible?
Today many brokers offer online account opening but getting your account to be approved for trading could take days. A good broker should open your account speedily and offer necessary assistance.
For example when uploading an electronic copy of your passport, the broker should make it easy for you by not specifying a specific file size.
Another example is proof of residence document where some brokers only accept limited/specific documents as proof of residence instead of being flexible and accepting general documents used in your country of residence.
You may want to consider brokers that offer several types of accounts to suit the trading style of a wide range of traders.
If you are a beginner you should be on the lookout for brokers who have beginner-friendly accounts such as cent accounts with low minimum deposit.
Pro traders can look out for brokers who offer Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs). ECN gives traders direct access to liquidity providers without having to pass through middle men. It is usually considered by traders who are carrying out large trades and provides them tighter spread.
A good broker should offer platforms that are easily accessible on web, mobile, desktop, tablets etc. when one platform is down you can manage and execute trades with another.
Website information is so important that regulators in Europe mandated CFD brokers to visibly display information about the percentage of traders who record losses while trading CFD contracts with the broker.
A broker's website holds a lot of useful information and updates. For example when choosing a broker you need to check their website for regulation information. Some brokers with low tier regulation make this information difficult to find on their website.
Even information on spreads for various currency pairs should be easily visible on the website, and you should not have to ravage through lots of tabs to find it.
A forex broker with nothing to hide, will proudly display all their information visibly instead of making the information hard to find so you don't bother verifying.
Broker Name | Accepts Philippines traders | Regulations | Minimum deposit | EUR/USD Spread |
Yes | FCA, CySEC | $10 | 0.6 pips with Pro account | |
Yes | FCA, DFSA, FSA | $100 for pro account. Zero for others | 1.2 pips | |
Yes | CySEC, FSC Belize | $5 | 1.6 pips with Micro Account | |
Yes | FSC Mauritius, CySEC, FCA | $ 10 | 1.9 pips | |
Yes | ASIC, SCB, FSA, CySEC | $200 |
0.62 pips | |
Yes | CySEC, FRSA Saint Lucia | $25 | 0.9 pips |
Yes | FCA, CySEC, FSA | $100 | 0.1 pips |
Note that none of the forex brokers are locally regulated, and you are trading forex at your own risk. Preferably, you should avoid trading until there is a locally regulated broker.
Take out time to research about several forex brokers, compare their account types, fees, platforms, customer service, and other factors.
Select the broker whose trading conditions best suit your trading style. For example, you can choose a tier-1 regulated broker like Exness or a broker with similar regulation.
After choosing a broker, you can proceed to open an account with them. Some brokers allow you to use their demo account to trade before opening a live account. Feel free to open demo accounts with several brokers to compare their trading conditions before trading with a live account.
KYC is an acronym for 'Know Your Customer'. It is a process in account opening that helps the broker to verify your identity.
KYC usually involves uploading Identity cards and other documents, as well as providing personal information about yourself. When completing your KYC, do well to provide accurate information.
Only download apps from trusted sources like your google playstore or Apple store as they have security scanners that frequently scan the store for malicious/fake apps.
Avoid downloading your trading app via a link sent to you by someone on social media, romance and dating sites etc. because they could redirect you to download a cloned version of a broker's app.
Forex trading is a CPU-intensive activity so ensure your device is powerful and has security features such as biometrics to prevent unauthorized access.
If you intend to trade with a mobile phone, ensure the screen is big, and it has an AMOLED display for brighter colors. This is useful when reading charts and placing orders as chances of clicking the wrong button is lesser.
When you are ready to go live, you can now fund your trading account. Brokers usually provide several deposit and withdrawal payment methods.
Each method has its duration and may come with some fee imposed by the broker or third party financial company.
It is noteworthy to add that some brokers have minimum deposit. You should know the minimum deposit of your broker before funding your account.
With your trading account funded, you can now open and manage a trade. Avoid greed and other emotions that make traders lose money. You also want to be careful with leverage that can amplify profit and loss.
Remember to employ risk management techniques by using stop loss orders smartly. Don't set your stop loss too close to entry price to prevent being stopped out easily and starting again. You pay new fees to reenter the market when this happens.
You can open account at zero cost. There are many Tier-1 licensed forex brokers that have zero minimum deposit. The account opening is mostly without any extra charges.
But to trade, you would need to add funds/trading balance to your account. The exact deposit would vary from broker to broker, account type, funding method.
The lowest minimum account deposit is around USD 5. You will find the exact minimum deposit on the broker's deposit page, when you are actually making the deposit. It will show you the method, speed, currency conversion rates (if you are depositing in PHP & your account is in USD).
You must note that these CFD broker may be Tier-1 licensed, but they don't have license to operate in the Philippines. This guide is for education only, and should not be considered a trading/broker advice. You should consider the local laws in your region to make any decision related to any broker or investment.
There is no one best forex broker. The brokers that are tier-1 regulated are generally lower risk compared to offshore only brokers.
Exness, HFM, XM, IC Markets, and FXTM are some of the forex brokers that accept traders in Philippines & are regulated with foreign tier-1 & tier-2 regulations.
There is no legal Forex broker in the Philippines. Most brokers are foreign brokers that are not licensed in the Philippines by any local regulator.
As such, traders from the Philippines are trading at their own risk & they should avoid trading forex until it is regulated.
A Forex broker is a financial service company or firm that offers traders access to platform where they can buy and sell currency pairs.
Exness has the lowest trading fees overall, with spreads as low as 0.5 pips for EURUSD with Pro account.
