Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is the main government regulation agency of South Africa’s forex market, formerly known as FSB. It is a good idea to open a forex trading account with FSCA-regulated brokers. Partnering with the best forex brokers in South Africa ensures that traders receive not just outstanding services but also peace of mind.
In this article we provide you with the list of the best FSCA-regulated brokers in South Africa.
10 Best Forex Brokers with an FSCA Regulation in 2023
- AvaTrade – Best Overall FSCA-Regulated broker
- Pepperstone
- XM
- XTB
- HF Markets (former HotForex)
- FBS
- CM Trading
- FXTM
- Exness
- Markets.com
Comparison
| Broker | More info | Bonuses | Minimum deposit | ZAR account | Trading Platforms | Max. Leverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | 40% Bonus | $100 | ZAR,USD,EURO | MT4, MT5 AvaOptions AvaGO | 1:500 |
 |  | - | $1 | ZAR,USD,EURO | MT4 MT5 cTrader TradingView | 1:400 |
 |  | $50 No Deposit Bonus | $5 | ZAR, USD,EUR | MT4, MT5 XM Mobile Apps | 1:1000 |
 |  | 100% Bonus | $50 | ZAR, USD, EUR | MT4, MT5 HFM Mobile Apps | 1:2000 |
 |  | - | $1 | ZAR,USD | xStation | 1:200 |
 |  | up to $100 | $100 | ZAR,USD | MetaTrader 4 iOS/Android apps | 1:200 |
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is a multi awarded FSCA regulated forex broker that operates in South Africa with license nbr. 45984 under Ava Capital Markets Pty entity.
With fixed spreads, multiple forex trading platforms (MT4, MT5, AvaGo, Ava Options) AvaTrade is recommended to all beginners in online trading.
Pros:
- Welcome Bonuses up to 40%
- Low First Minimum Deposit $100
- Local deposit methods
- Fixed spreads starting from 1 Pip
- High Quality trading platforms
Cons:
- Average forex spread is higher than Pepperstone
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is the best FSCA regulated forex broker?
The best FSCA regulated forex broker is AvaTrade.
How do you check if the broker is regulated by FSCA?
Checking whether or not a broker is regulated by the FSCA is straightforward. Please visit their search tool on this link and write a broker’s name into the field “Search for FSP Name“.
Then click “Submit“.
Next you will see the list of Finance Service Provider with license numbers and other details.
If there is no result, mostly it means either the FSP (broker) has no FSCA authorisation or you typed in wrong name.
What is FSCA Regulation?
FSCA is the official South African government owned financial watchdog in SA since 2018 when it has been transformed from the former FSB. The name FSCA stands for Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa.
As more and more retail investors speculate in this online venture, no wonder that local forex market regulators need to keep an eye on this fast growing retail forex industry to prevent scam from happening.
Are South African traders required to use FSCA-regulated forex brokers ?
Although opening a forex account with FSCA regulated forex broker gives you an extra layer of security, South Africans are free to trade with an international forex broker that is non-FSCA regulated as well. It depends on you and your own risk profile. It doesn’t mean that non-FSCA regulated brokers are bad per se, but they simply don’t hold a license issued by the FSCA. Also many of these non-regulated companies have submitted their application to FSCA and are waiting to get accepted.
Before you start trading forex in South Africa with your hard earned cash, you must answer yourself few important questions:
- What is your past experience with forex trading ? If you are a PRO forex trader you probably already know which forex strategies work well for you, and based on that you chose the best forex trading platform and most likely you trade with Pepperstone or similar FSCA-regulated forex broker. But if you are a newbie, we recommend you to start trading with AvaTrade which is a good forex broker for beginners.
- How much money are you going to deposit ? Did you know that you can safely play with forex demo account without any stress and risk involved? Always choose a platform that is offering you a practice demo account without time limit. Some FSCA-regulated brokers that you find in this guide even allow you to open ZAR denominated trading account, which is the best option for you since you can avoid a currency risk later, when you withdraw your money back to your bank account.
- Do you want to trade USD/ZAR ? Which currency pairs do you want to trade? If you plan to trade Rand against USD or GBP or EUR then we must tell you NOT all brokers with FSCA license will allow you to do that because Rand belongs to exotic currencies and therefore there is less demand from traders around the world. Luckily, we were able to choose some, that have no problem to trade south african rand and other 45 currency pairs! Read the comparison table with the full list and choose. We suggest that you test few platforms first with virtual money and then based on your experience and overall feeling you decide where you deposit real money.
- Do you want to trade other assets besides forex ? – nowadays many traders want to trade also CFDs on cryptocurrencies or even stocks. If you are one of them, please head over to our article tochoose the best trading platform in South Africa.
- Do you require Metatrader forex broker? – in case your trading strategies require you to use MT4, we have listed some of the best fx platforms that allow you to trade on Metatrader4 (MT4).
How to file a complaint against the FSCA-regulated forex broker?
Have you had any issue with an FSCA regulated forex broker? You can file a complaint through the office of FAIS OMBUD established by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Service. Their main mission is to resolve any possible disputes between traders and financial service providers. Please visit www.faisombud.co.za for more info.
How are South African retail forex traders protected ?
South African forex trading market situation has become more stabilized and the market is overall more mature than in other large african countries like in Nigeria or Kenya and mainly thanks to the strict anti-fraud rules implemented by the local regulator the amount of forex fraud has been diminishing over the past two years. The local police has accused several infamous South African forex millionaires and the law enforcement is trying hard to crack down on scam schemes across the country. Indeed a good news also for other countries in this region.
How to contact Financial Sector Conduct Authority ?
About Author
