The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (P-SEC) issued an advisory in 2016 and followed up with a second one in 2018, stating that foreign exchange trading is illegal in the Philippines.
These announcements were made in wake of numerous complaints of huge losses that exceeded the initial investments, with P-SEC trying to avoid losses for investors from people or brokers claiming to be “experts” without a regulatory license.
The advisory has also cited the Philippine Supreme Court directive that any gains from market fluctuations are considered pure gambling and stand null and void and the people are encouraged to report any operators who act as brokers to the Commission.
Despite the advisory, many forex traders in Philippines are still continuing their trading activities. Since there are valid questions on the legality of Forex trading in the Philippines, we would advise you to don’t do it until it is regulated by the government.
But if you still want to get into Forex trading, it would be best to trade through globally regulated brokers (regulated with tier 1 regulators like FCA, ASIC or CySEC) based outside of the Philippines.
Here’s the list of global brokers that you can trade with. We have ranked them keeping in mind the broker regulations, trading fees charged and the hidden fees by that broker, and the various trading conditions like available platforms, minimum account deposit, leverage, local phone support, terms of deposit and withdrawals
Comparison Table of Best Forex Brokers in Philippines
| Forex Broker | Minimum Deposit | Benchmark EUR/USD Spread (Standard account) | Regulation(s) | Max. Leverage | Available Instruments | Platform(s) | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XM Forex |
Minimum Deposit: $5
|
Standard Account EUR/USD spread*: 1.7 pips
|
Regulation(s): IFSC, CySec, ASIC
|
Max. Leverage:
1:888 (with all account types) |
Available instruments: 57 currency pairs, and 1000+ CFDs
|
Platforms:
MT4, MT5 for mobile, web & desktop |
Visit Broker |
Hotforex |
Minimum Deposit: $5
|
Premium Account EUR/USD spread*: 1.2 pips
|
Regulation(s): CySEC, FCA, FSA, FSCA |
Max. Leverage:
1:1000 with Premium Account |
Available instruments: 49 currency pairs, 1000+ CFDs
|
Platforms:
MT4 & MT5 |
Visit Broker |
|
Pepperstone |
Minimum Deposit: $200
|
Standard account EUR/USD spread*: 1.13 pips
|
Regulation(s): ASIC, FCA
|
Max. Leverage:
1:500 |
Available instruments: 61 currency pairs & 90+ CFDs (cryptos, shares, metals)
|
Platforms:
MT4, MT5 & CTrader |
Visit Broker |
Tickmill |
Minimum Deposit: $100
|
Standard Account EUR/USD spread*: 1.6 pips
|
Regulation(s): CySEC, FCA, FSA
|
Max. Leverage:
1:500 for FX |
Available instruments: 104 currency pairs, 22 CFDs
|
Platforms:
MT4 only for web, mobile & desktop |
Visit Broker |
FXTM |
Minimum Deposit: $10
|
Lowest EUR/USD spread*: 2.0 pips
|
Regulation(s): FCA (UK), CySEC, FSCA & FSC (Mauritius)
|
Max. Leverage:
1:2000 for FX with Standard Account |
Available instruments: 59 currency pairs, 200+ CFDs
|
Platforms:
MT4 & MT5 |
Visit Broker |
6 Best Forex Brokers in the Philippines
Here’s our summary list of best forex brokers for Philippines:
Now we will explore the features of each listed broker in detail, one by one, starting from XM Forex.
#1 XM Forex – Overall Best Forex Broker
Regulations: FCA, FSCA, CySEC
Minimum Deposit: $5 for standard and Micro Account
Available Platforms: MT4 & MT5 platforms, WebTrader and Mobile trading
XM Forex is one of the most regulated brokers at the global level as it has licenses from two international bodies, Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec). Apart from being highly regulated, XM Forex also provides a lot of benefits for its customers.
It charges its customers only on spreads basis and no extra commission per lot is levied. For example, under its Standard Account, for trade on the pair EURUSD, XM Forex charges an average of 1.7 pips as the spread, with it narrowing to 1.6 pips.
XM Forex also has other features for its customers like trading opportunities in 55+ currency pairs, CFDs available on indices, commodities, energies, metals, and stocks, maximum leverage up to 888:1, multiple account options, joining bonus, etc. It does not deal with cryptocurrencies as of now. The trading platforms are MT4, MT5 and MT4 WebTrader. These platforms are available on desktop, laptop, terminals, and phones. They have the support of 24/5 live help in the form of phone, email and live chat.
#2 Hotforex – FCA regulated Low spread broker
Regulations: SV (St. Vincent & the Grenadine), FCA (UK), DFSA (Dubai), FSCA (South Africa), FSA (Seychelles)
Minimum Deposit: $5
Available Platforms: MT4, MT5, XM Web Trader and mobile device platforms
Hotforex is another highly regulated broker, with regulation oversights by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa and Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles. Hotforex has MT4 & MT5 platforms available in the desktop, terminal, mobile devices and MT4 multiterminal.
This broker provides trading on instruments like Forex, Metals and Energies, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, and Bonds. On the fees charged, for a major currency pair like EURSUD, for example, the typical spread on a Premium account is 1.2 pips per standard lot.
Hotforex also has an account option called Zero Spread account, a low-cost trading solution. Here, a customer receives super-tight raw spreads and the fees charged are on a commission basis, with major forex pairs trading charged up to $6 on a round turn lot basis. They too provide 24/5 support over the phone and live chat.
#3 Pepperstone – ASIC Regulated NDD broker
Regulations: ASIC, FCA
Minimum Deposit: $500
Available Platforms: MT4, MT5, Zulutrade, cTrader.
A regulated Non-Desk Dealing broker, Pepperstone is regulated by the UK FCA and ASIC of Australia. Pepperstone deals in 61+ currency pairs, and 100+ CFDs on cryptos, energy, equities, metals, commodities. There are two account options: Standard account and Razor account.
While the standard account is charged on an average spread of 1.3 pips for a EURUSD pair, the Razor account does not have any spreads and is rather charged with a commission of AUD$7 round turn per standard lot. While the maximum leverage available is 500:1, the minimum account balance required, however, is AUD$200.
Even though there are no deposit requirements, but there are no local funding options and the customers are charged AUD$20 for each wire transfer withdrawals. The platforms provided are MT4, MT5, and cTrader, with the provision of access from mobile devices. Pepperstone has trader education tutorials but the support is not very great.
#4 Tickmill – Best ECN Broker
Regulations: CySEC, FCA, FSA.
Minimum Deposit: $100
Available Platforms: Metatrader 4.
Tickmill is regulated with 3 Tier 1 regulators i.e. UK’s FCA, Seychelles’s FSA and CySec of Cyprus. The Trading instruments available for trading are forex, CFDs on stock indices, and oil, precious metals, and bonds.
There are three types of Forex and CFD accounts that can be opted: Pro Account, Classic Account and VIP Account. The base currencies for all the accounts are USD, GBP, and EUR. The minimum deposit requirements for the Pro and Classic accounts are $100 (USD or EUR or GBP) while the VIP account requires very high deposit.
All the accounts have a maximum leverage of 1:500, the spreads & commission however differ, with the Pro and VIP account having spread from 0 pips (plus commission per lot) and Classic account having a spread from 1.6 pips. The commissions charged on the three accounts are also different, zero commission for Classic account, $2 per side per lot per side ($4 per trade) for Pro account and $1 per side per lot for a VIP account.
The withdrawals and deposits are easy at Tickmill. They cover a transaction fee of up to 100 USD or equivalent. There are two platforms available with this broker i.e. MT4 and WebTrader. There is no MT5 platform. Their customer support is available 24/5 but they are slow in responding to queries compared to other brokers. Customer support could be better.
#5 FXTM – Good Metatrader 5 platform
Regulations: CySEC, FCA, FSC.
Minimum Deposit: $10 with Cent Account
Available Platforms: Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 for desktop and mobile.
FXTM is an instant execution broker, with authorization and regulated in various jurisdictions. It is a licensed broker under Cypriot CySec, FSCA of South Africa, the UK FCA and also by the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius. FXTM offers a wide range of trading instruments with 59 currency pairs, 100+ CFDs on metals, cryptos, indices, commodities, and shares.
There are two broad account categories of Standard and ECN accounts. Both the account categories have base currencies of USD, EUR & GBP. A Standard account is charged with a typical spread of 2 pips for EURUSD pair. The ECN MT5 account charges are commission-based and are generally a tight spread of 0.4 pips which translates to a commission of $4 per lot.
The minimum deposit charged is $5 with the Cent account while it is $100 for a Standard Account. The maximum leverage offered on FX majors is 2000:1. Withdrawals are easy and mostly completed within 24 hours.
FXTM also provides some other great benefits like negative balance protection, loyalty programs, referral bonus, educational webinars and videos, in-depth market analysis, etc. The platforms available are MT4 and MT5 with Webtrader and mobile device access options. The support is great which is available 24/5 via chat and email.
How to choose Best Forex Broker in Philippines
Now that we have covered the brokers available in the Philippines and their trading conditions, let us see what factors are important and should be considered before your choose any broker.
Here’s our 6 point checklist that you must consider before signing up with any forex broker:
1. Global Tier 1 Regulation(s): The first and foremost point in choosing a broker is by which body is the broker regulated. Forex Trading in the Philippines is unregulated and considered illegal by their regulator Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, if one still wants to venture into forex trading in the Philippines, the one must go for brokers regulated and licensed by international bodies like Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec), etc. One should avoid local brokers or brokers who are regulated by island regulations like Belize, Vanuatu Financial Services Commissions (VFSC), etc.
2. Trading & Non-Trading Fees: While selecting a broker, one should also be clear about the trading fees charged, spreads and commissions, and the hidden charges on the deposit or withdrawals. There are brokers who charge an amount for withdrawals and also for the inactivity of the account for 3-6 months.
3. Broker’s Platforms: A broker platform is the third thing to keep in mind while selecting a broker, as you would be using the platform frequently to place your trades. Consider a platform that is easy to use & is quick. But you prefer automated trading, then the platform should provide features like Expert Advisors or Copy trade.
The platform must be accessible through desktop, laptop, mobile devices, etc. The most common platforms offered by forex brokers are MT4, MT5 & cTrader. If you are a beginner trader then you should stick to brokers that offer Metatrader.
4. Trading Conditions: Trading conditions are important to understand whether the broker is good enough to help execute the orders quickly. Some brokers provide instant execution and some have market execution. Some of the other trading conditions worth considering are the number of trading instruments available and the cost of trading those instruments, the leverage provided with the broker and the negative balance protection, which helps in not exceeding the losses more than the account balance.
5. Ease of Deposits & Withdrawals: A well-regulated broker generally should not charge for the withdrawal or deposits. The well-reputed brokers generally carry out deposits or withdrawals within the same day. The funding process should be efficient and quick.
6. Education & Support: Forex brokers should ideally provide educational tutorials and videos for a better understanding of trading techniques, as these educational videos are very helpful not only for the people who are beginners but also for the people who are professional at trading. While choosing a broker, educational assistance is a must feature to keep in mind.
The customer support and assistance offered by broker is another really important aspect of choosing a broker that offers good overall support. The support should be available on 3 different channels i.e. phones, emails, and chats. 24/5 quick & responsive live chat would be offered by a good broker along with email responses within 1-2 hours.