The Best Forex Brokers in India for 2019 • Benzinga - Benzinga

Featured Indian Forex Broker: FOREX.com

FOREX.com is one of the world's largest forex brokers. Account holders get competitive pricing, award-winning customer service, actionable data, and powerful trading platforms to help you make the best possible trades.

Trading forex in India involves quite a few limitations and legal issues. Be sure to choose a broker overseen by a major financial regulator, such as the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or Cyprus’ Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which generally comply with the European Union’s rigorous Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) rules.

Be aware that not all forex brokerages are created equal, so make sure your needs as a trader are adequately met by the forex broker you select before committing any funds.

Trading Forex in India

The national currency of India is the Indian rupee ₹ with an ISO 4217 symbol code of INR. The rupee is divided into 100 smaller denominations known as paisa (p). According to the Bank for International Settlements’ 2016 Triennial Central Bank Survey, the Indian currency was ranked 18th among world currencies, making up 1.1 percent of daily forex turnover.

With respect to the Indian financial sector regulation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set forth the legal framework for foreign exchange transactions by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999. The RBI regulates and oversees foreign exchange transactions in India and the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) is the principal regulator of the Indian stock market and the forex brokers based in India are licensed under FEMA.

The SEBI-regulated forex brokers, which include the three major stock exchanges in India, are only allowed to offer INR-based currency pairs for USD, EUR, GBP, and JPY. All other currency pairs are strictly barred from trading in India unless a specific transaction is authorized by the Indian government.

Due to an increase in financial scams involving forex brokers and the significant risk of financial loss associated with forex trading, the Indian government was forced to severely restrict the way Indian citizens can operate in the forex market. If you live in India, you are not legally allowed to trade forex currency pairs that do not have the Indian rupee as the base currency or counter-currency.

You can still open an account with a foreign-based broker as long as you send your deposit through an electronic wallet service such as PayPal, Neteller or other similar online payments service. Avoid using a wire transfer from a bank or other financial institution based in India or a credit or debit card issued by an Indian entity to fund a forex trading account.

What to Look for in a Forex Broker

Despite the general lack of normal online forex brokers based in India, other than three stock exchanges, you can still trade forex through foreign-based online brokers. Generally, a quality brokerage will have the following 11 elements:

Oversight by a reputable financial regulator
Excellent reputation among forex traders
Allows you to trade in the type of account you prefer
Requires an affordable minimum deposit
Gives you trading access to all major and minor forex currency pairs and other assets
Has a maximum leverage ratio appropriate for your trading strategy and risk tolerance
Offers competitive dealing spreads
Provides clients with insurance against negative balances
Keeps re-quotes and slippage on orders to a minimum
Maintains client funds in segregated accounts
Withdrawal and deposit options fit your needs

Another important factor to consider when choosing a forex broker is platform and trading software. In addition to their own proprietary trading platform, many brokers offer cTrader, NinjaTrader, and the very popular MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms from MetaQuotes that both support automated trading.

The Best Forex Brokers that Accept Indian Clients

If you’re from India and you’re looking for a reliable online forex broker, the list below offers some excellent options located outside of India but regulated by reputable financial authorities. Though these brokers don’t have a physical presence in India, they accept clients from India who make deposits using payment services and electronic wallets.

The best forex broker that accepts clients from India depends in large part on your unique situation and your particular needs as a trader.

Broker 1: FOREX.com

Commissions

Spreads start as low as 1 But vary based on trading volume

Best For

Traders of all skill levels
If you need a great mobile experience
Those who like easy-to-consume data and research

FOREX.com ranks as the number one U.S. forex broker by client assets. Regulated by the U.S. National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Forex.com is also registered and has oversight from regulators in the U.K., Australia, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Cayman Islands.

Accounts at FOREX.com require a minimum deposit of $250 USD. The broker lets you trade micro lots if your preference is to start with smaller amounts. Forex.com also offers an Islamic account option in addition to keeping client accounts segregated from its own funds.

Forex.com offers the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms from MetaQuotes and NinjaTrader. Trading platforms can be web-based or downloaded to a desktop or mobile app. Forex.com also gives its customers access to the company’s proprietary Advanced Trading Platform for desktop computers and its Web Trading platform if you prefer to trade via a web browser.

Due to U.S. restrictions, FOREX.com has a maximum leverage ratio of only 50:1. For more information, you can visit the broker’s official website at FOREX.com.

Read Benzinga’s full FOREX.com Review

Broker 2: FXCM

Commissions

Spreads vary

Best For

Traders who prefer advanced trading platforms and tools
Active or high-volume traders
Traders who require superior customer support

FXCM, established in 1999, has offices in the U.K., South Africa and Australia. This broker has oversight from the U.K.’s FCA, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

FXCM requires a minimum deposit of only $50 USD.

The broker offers clients the option to trade in micro lots for traders who want to trade smaller amounts. Also, FXCM keeps client accounts segregated from its own funds.

With respect to trading platforms, the broker offers forex trading via the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms from MetaQuotes, Trading Station and NinjaTrader, with desktop, web-based and mobile platforms available. FXCM also offers copy trading through ZuluTrade’s web platform.

As to the amount of leverage offered to clients, FXCM Australia allows much higher leverage than FXCM U.K., with up to 400:1 leverage available on forex trades.

You can look over the broker’s official website to get further details at FXCM.com.

Broker 3: HotForex

Based in Cyprus and with offices in the U.K., the UAE and South Africa, HotForex is regulated by the FCA in the U.K., CySEC in Cyprus, the FSCA in South Africa and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in the UAE.

HotForex offers India residents the ability to trade spot metals, forex currency pairs, CFDs on commodities, stock indexes and high capitalization stocks such as Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook (FB).

You can open an account with HotForex for as little as $50 USD. Trading platforms supported by HotForex include MetaTrader 4 and 5 (MT4/5), as well as the broker’s own FIX/API platform, which requires a much higher minimum deposit of $200,000 USD. The MT4 and MT5 platforms you can use to trade via HotForex have desktop, mobile and web-based versions.

Leverage ratios at HotForex are an impressive 1,000:1 if you want to trade currency pairs. Visit the official website for the broker at HotForex.com.

Broker 5: FXTM (formerly ForexTime)

Cyprus based FXTM has a presence in the EU, U.K. and South Africa. The online broker accepts clients from India and is regulated by Cyprus’ CySEC, South Africa’s FSCA and the U.K.’s FCA.

Accounts at FXTM can be opened with as little as $5 USD for a micro account, and the broker offers a very high leverage ratio of 1,000:1 on forex currency pair trades with a notional amount of up to $200,000. Also, FXTM supports the popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms for desktop, mobile and web-based trading.

In addition to offering trading access to over 240 different assets, including several CFDs and cryptocurrencies under its FT Global Limited subsidiary, FXTM features excellent customer service and numerous educational resources for less experienced traders. For more information, visit FXTM.com.

Broker 5: XM

XM has offices in Cyprus, the U.K. and Australia. The online broker is regulated by CySEC in Cyprus, the FSA in the U.K. and ASIC in Australia. In addition, XM offers negative balance protection and segregated accounts for its clients.

In addition to forex currency pairs, you can trade a variety of assets that include precious metals, energy commodities and stocks via its supported trading platforms. The broker also has support for the very popular MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms developed by MetaQuotes, which offer desktop, mobile and web-based trading options. Furthermore, XM lets you use MT4 MultiTerminal to manage several accounts at the same time from the same trading interface.

XM’s maximum leverage ratio is rather high, up to 500:1, and trading accounts can be opened with as little as $5 USD. The broker allows trading in micro lots and offers an Islamic account option. You can visit the broker’s official website at XM.com for more information.

Final Thoughts

Trading forex anywhere can be risky, but that seems especially true in India for those unfamiliar with the country’s legal restrictions on currency transactions. If you live in India and want to trade the Indian rupee exclusively against USD, GBP, JPY or EUR, then you can legally trade through one of the three SEBI-regulated Indian stock exchanges that act as forex brokers.

It’s against the law to use an account from a bank or other India-based financial institution to fund a trading account and make forex market transactions in currency pairs that do not include the INR. If you still wish to trade non-INR currency pairs, then you must make a margin deposit to a foreign broker by transferring funds from an electronic payment service such as PayPal or Neteller.

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