In recent years, Southeast Asia has recorded considerable growth in Forex trading.
Singapore’s thriving economy and ideal business climate create a favorable environment for the Forex industry, which is rapidly developing there. Below you may find the best Singapore Forex broker for your trading needs.
- Octa, A commission-free broker with a proprietary copy trading service.
- FP Markets, ECN trading with leverage up to 1:500.
- Pepperstone, Great ECN execution on MT4/5, cTader, TradingView and Pepperstone proprietary platform.
- AvaTrade, Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreads.
- BlackBull Markets, Best ECN trading environment, with scalping and hedging.
Singapore Forex Brokers Comparison
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Regulators | CySEC, FSCA, MWALI International Services Authority | ASIC, CMA, CySEC, FSCA | ASIC, BaFin, CMA, CySEC, DFSA, FCA, SCB | ASIC, BVI, Central Bank of Ireland, FFAJ, FSCA, KNF, MiFID | FMA, FSA |
Year Established | 2011 | 2005 | 2010 | 2006 | 2014 |
Execution Type(s) | Market Maker | ECN/STP | No Dealing Desk, NDD | Market Maker | ECN/STP, No Dealing Desk |
Minimum Deposit | |||||
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD | 0.9 pips | 1.2 pips | 1.1 pips | 0.9 pips | 1.3 pips |
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD | 1.3 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.5 pips | 2.0 pips |
Average Trading Cost Gold | $0.30 | $0.16 | $0.15 | $0.29 | $0.90 |
Trading Platform(s) | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Proprietary platform, Web-based | Other, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Proprietary platform, Trading View+ | Other, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform, Web-based+ | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Trading View |
Islamic Account | |||||
Negative Balance Protection | N/A | ||||
| Visit Website | Visit Website | Get Started Visit Website75-95% of traders on margin lose | Visit Website | Visit Website |
Octa
In Summary A commission-free broker with a proprietary copy trading serviceOcta offers traders MT4/MT5 and the proprietary OctaTrader. The minimum deposit requirement is $25, payable via several payment processors, including cryptocurrencies, and a 50% bonus applies. Commission-free trading fees start from 0.6 pips or $6.00 per 1.0 standard round lot, and the Status program lowers costs for active traders, while many assets are swap-free. Therefore, I rate Octa as the best Forex broker in Singapore for algorithmic traders, long-term traders, and copy trading.
The asset selection consists of highly liquid trading instruments, including 30 cryptocurrency CFDs and equity CFDs listed on 16 exchanges. Octa also supports micro lot trading.
Pros & Cons
- Quick withdrawals and deposits
- 0% commission and no overnight charges
- Space with personalised trading ideas
- Customer Support 24/7
- Mobile copy trading services available only for Android
FP Markets
In Summary ECN trading with leverage up to 1:500FPMarkets consistently ranks among the top 5 Forex and CFD brokerage firms in Singapore. They offer comprehensive ECN style trading backed up by plenty of daily market research and full access to their Autochartist services. Based in neighbouring Australia, FPMarkets features tier 1 regulation via the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in the EU and closer to home via the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The latter regulator may be of more interest to traders based in Singapore as Australian regulators are known to be somewhat more relaxed when it comes to leverage. This results in FPMarkets being able to offer a maximum leverage as high as 500 to 1.
FPMarkets Pros & Cons
Pros & Cons
- Choice of trading platforms and auxiliary trading tools
- Very competitive cost structure and excellent asset selection
- Low minimum deposit requirement and leverage of up to 1:500
- Well-regulated and trustworthy
- Availability of Iress geographically restricted
Pepperstone
In Summary Great ECN execution on MT4/5, cTader, TradingView and Pepperstone proprietary platformI consider Pepperstone to be among the best Forex brokers in Singapore. The well-balanced asset selection, including CFDs on Forex indices, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs, ensures diversification opportunities with competitive leverage and negative balance protection.
Beginners receive quality education and webinars, while seven analysts provide in-house market coverage. Pepperstone supports copy traders with its proprietary mobile app, embedded MT4, MT5, cTrader copy trading, Signal Start, Copy Trading by Pepperstone and DupliTrade. Social traders can connect their Pepperstone account to TradingView, where the 50M+ community shares and discusses trading ideas.
Pros & Cons
- Excellent choice of trading platforms consisting of MT4/MT5, cTrader, TreadingView and Pepperstone Platform
- Market-leading MT4/MT5 upgrade package, Autochartist, and API trading
- Social trading support via Signal Start, MetaTrader Signals, Copy Trading by Pepperstone, DupliTrade
- Leverage of up to 1:400 depends on jurisdiction and superb trade execution
- Demo accounts have 60-day time limits
AvaTrade
In Summary Highly regulated, choice of fixed or floating spreadsAvaTrade features in the top 5 best international brokers in Singapore for traders looking for a decent selection of Forex pairs and CFDs. Based in Ireland, AvaTrade features a high level of regulation in multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Japan, South Africa, and the British Virgin Islands. AvaTrade is directly regulated in Ireland (and by extension, the European Union), with its main regulator in the form of the Bank of Ireland. AvaTrade features an impressive range of tradable assets which includes vanilla options as well as gold options, with wide asset choice across seven different sectors.
AvaTrade Pros & Cons
Pros & Cons
- High quality educational offering via AvaAcademy
- Excellent choice of trading platforms catering to various trading needs
- Broad asset selection and cross-asset diversification opportunities
- Well-regulated and trusted broker with oversight from a central bank
- Trading costs competitive but nothing special
BlackBull Markets
In Summary Best ECN trading environment, with scalping and hedgingBlackBull Markets was founded in 2014 in New Zealand. Like many antipodean Forex brokers, BlackBull Markets is an ECN broker, offering raw spreads and commissions. They are regulated in New Zealand by the Financial Services Providers Register (FSPR) and offer a maximum leverage on some Forex currency pairs as high as 500 to 1. In addition to their global headquarters in New Zealand, BlackBull Markets also has presences in the form of branch offices in New York and Malaysia. BlackBull Markets offers a relatively tight range of tradable assets: 27 Forex currency pairs and crosses, gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, and 6 major equity indices. That should be sufficient for those traders with more focused strategies not requiring wide diversification.
Pros & Cons
- ECN/NDD execution model with deep liquidity
- Institution-grade pricing for retail traders via proprietary price aggregation
- ZuluTrade and Myfxbook for social trading
- Leverage of up to 1:500
- Limited deposit options
How Can Beginner Traders Start Trading Forex in Singapore?
Trading Forex in Singapore is uncomplicated, legal, and accessible to all. It will take beginner traders only a few moments to get started, but they should invest adequate resources into educating themselves about the Forex market.
Here is an overview of how to get started Forex trading in Singapore:
- Begin an in-depth educational journey towards understanding the Forex market.
- Research Forex brokers offering low trading costs, which will have the most visible impact on any strategy.
- Beginner traders should evaluate the EUR/USD and ensure 1 standard lot features minimum costs between $4.00 and $6.00, but also check the USD/JPY, AUD/USD, and other currency pairs, as many Forex brokers lower costs for the EUR/USD to attract beginners while offering overall high trading costs.
- A volume-based rebate program is very helpful for active traders, as it can lower average trading costs for high-frequency traders and scalpers.
- Traders seeking algorithmic trading should be sure to use cutting-edge trading platforms supporting this well. MT4 and cTrader remain market leaders in this area.
- The asset selection should be wide enough to execute desired trading strategies.
- Regulation and a clean regulatory track record of at least five years should ensure a safe and secure trading environment.
- Beginners should implement a portfolio growth strategy with monthly deposits, which requires time, patience, and discipline, essential for consistent success as a Forex trader
Is Forex Trading Legal in Singapore?
Singapore is the largest currency center in the Asia-Pacific region. Online Forex trading is fully legalized in the country. Any citizen or foreigner can exchange any currency in any amount on online trading platforms managed by brokerage companies.
The brokers providing these services must have a license from the MAS, Singapore’s central bank.
MAS for Regulating Forex Brokers in Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was founded in 1971. It is the country's central bank, which determines monetary policy, regulates the activities of banking and financial institutions and issues currency. MAS controls the entire financial sector of the country: banks, stock exchange traders, brokers, insurance companies, credit organizations and financial consultants.
Companies wishing to conduct financial activities in Singapore are required to obtain a MAS license to conduct business in a transparent way and conform to all the rules stipulated by the regulator. A broker wishing to offer its services in Singapore officially must obtain an appropriate license, which is issued by the MAS.
The full list of all registered companies can be found on the MAS official website. Everyone has free access to this information. The country's monetary authority accepts claims and complaints from people who have been deceived by financial companies.
MAS MoneySENSE Programs
In 2003, MAS launched a special education program with the aim of making the public more financially independent, known as the MoneySENSE Program. MAS issues ongoing consumer alerts via this program, including highlighting several risks associated with choosing an unregulated financial service provider.
One risk that traders and consumers face is false or misleading regulatory information. Most of the unregulated Forex brokers around the world regularly disguise themselves and claim to be licensed by the popular regulatory body, pretending to be a legitimate company.
MoneySENSE also offers advice to consumers on how they can stay protected and avoid fraud.
How to Verify MAS Authorization
It is easy to check on the MAS website if a company is licensed or not.
To obtain a license, a broker must submit an application and provide a package of documents (in some cases, MAS may even request the company's business plan, as well as minutes of shareholders' meetings).
The candidate must fully comply with the following requirements:
· The company must have at least five years of experience in brokerage.
· Only official companies can be approved for a license.
· The future licensee must have an impeccable reputation; otherwise, MAS has the right to refuse to issue a license.
· The company must register in Singapore.
· The authorized capital of a broker cannot be less than 1,000,000 SGD.
· There should be at least two directors, and the CEO must be a citizen of Singapore.
It typically takes a minimum of two months or more to receive a decision on the license.
Singapore Financial Market
An exclusive geographical location and an attractive development strategy allowed Singapore to become one of the most successful countries, not only in Southeast Asia, but throughout the world.
Singapore's financial system is based on:
· A developed offshore banking sector, represented in the form of the Asian Dollar Market (ADM) and Asian Currency Units (ACU). It ensures the attraction of funds in the international and Asian capital markets to finance the growing Asian countries,
· One of the world's largest foreign exchange markets (5.7% of the world average daily turnover),
· A developed OTC derivatives market, specializing in foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives,
· Stock market.
Is Income from Forex Taxable in Singapore?
Singapore uses the territorial principle of taxation. Hence, if the company operates outside the country, taxes are not paid. Singapore is not included in the blacklists of offshore zones; an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation has been signed with more than 70 countries, but only resident companies can use it.
The country does not apply capital gain taxes. But when we talk about intraday profits, these may be considered not to be capital gain, but pure income. In this case, income taxes can be applied. The county has yet to develop a more transparent mechanism for taxing this type of profit. For now, there is no clear border between these income sources, and we may say that income from Forex is not taxable in Singapore.
What to Look for When Choosing a Forex Broker
Since individuals cannot directly participate in trading, they have to find an intermediary, i.e., a broker. The brokerage company participates in Forex trading on the behalf of individual traders. To get access to the Forex market, a trader must have:
· A trading account,
· Trading software.
These are provided by a brokerage company. You can get a trading account after registration on the company's website and then download the trading platform to your computer.
Furthermore, the brokerage provides the trader with leverage (borrowed funds), greatly increasing trading capabilities. Most brokers provide clients with a variety of information services, which usually include an economic calendar of events that can cause changes in currency quotes and various analytical tools allowing one to follow the price movements. But there are other important factors that you should take into account when choosing a broker:
Regulation. This is the first thing to pay attention to when choosing a broker. A license proves the reliability of the company. A list of licensed brokers can be found on the official website.
Currencies available for trading. Supported currency pairs are also a good indicator of a reliable broker. Most brokers will allow traders to trade major currencies such as the US dollar and the euro. Others offer exotic currency pairs. So, before joining a platform, make sure you can trade all the currency pairs you want.
Spreads and commissions. The spread is the difference between the purchase and sale prices of different currencies at a given time. During extremely volatile market conditions, spreads tend to increase, but you should check the spreads of Forex brokers during stable periods. The average spread for a popular pair, such as the dollar and the euro, should be around 3 Forex units, or pips. If spreads for major currencies rise above 5 points, that is a sign you should refuse to trade with that broker.
Customer service. Both beginners and experts may face technical difficulties when trading in the foreign exchange market. It is vital to check if the broker provides enough technical support, which is an indicator of a good broker. Before opening a trading account, find a minute to talk to technical support via chat or other channels.
Trading platform and tools. Every broker allows the installation of a trading terminal for free. A broker may have a proprietary platform, but all reputable companies offer to install the MetaTrader terminal.
Deposits and withdrawals. The most reputable Forex brokers always provide easy options for the deposit and withdrawal of funds. Therefore, if you have delays or experience delays with withdrawal, feel free to close the account.
Investor education and materials. Many brokers offer different forms of educational materials. The level of information provided varies from basic to professional. Do not skip this stage; choose a platform where you can sign up for Forex trading course in Singapore if you make up your mind to become a trader.
Demo account. Usually, trading starts with a demo account. It allows you to avoid risks as you operate with virtual money. The main purpose of trading with a demo account is to study the terminal and learn how to make trades. All established brokers provide free demo accounts for beginners.
