Best Forex Brokers in the Philippines for 2023 • Benzinga

Are you based in the Philippines and want to trade forex? There’s a valid question about the legality of trading forex in the Philippines, but here’s a hint: Trade through international brokers based outside of the Philippines.

Our list of the best brokers for Philippines-based traders includes 2 brokers based in the United States, one based in the U.K. and one with several offices in major financial centers. All of the brokers listed below are reputable and have competent regulatory oversight from at least one major forex regulator, and they may also be regulated in more than one jurisdiction. 

These online brokers also have their website, trading platform and customer service available in English.

This U.S.-based forex broker has more than 430,000 customers worldwide and accepts clients from the Philippines.

FOREX.com offers several trading platforms, including the popular MetaTrader 4 and its own proprietary trading platform. Its United States base means that FOREX.com has oversight from the NFA and the CFTC and offers leverage of up to 50:1 on forex transactions.

FOREX.com asks for a minimum deposit of $50 by bank transfer, check or debit card, so online payment services are not supported. 

OctaFX is a multi-platform forex broker, allowing for FX trading in the manner you prefer. You can use MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader depending on your comfort level, along with web, desktop, Android and iOS versions of each forex trading platform. OctaFX even offers a comparison chart so you know what you get with each trading platform.

Featuring negative balance protection and funds security, OctaFX is a forex broker that goes above and beyond with several account levels. Moreover, OctaFX offers an Islamic account with no interest and fixed fees.

With contests, giveaways and a robust referral program, you can earn more simply by using OctaFX over other forex broker options. You can even join the CopyTrading program where you copy master traders, thus increasing your net worth.

LiteFinance was established in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and was formerly known as Liteforex until November 2021. The company’s European branch, LiteForex (Europe) LTD, remains registered in Cyprus and subject to regulation by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

This forex broker provides Electronic Communications Network (ECN) trading in major forex currency pairs and crosses, stock indices, precious metals, oil, blue chip stocks, and liquid cryptocurrencies since 2005.

The broker offers a fast registration process, social trading, and good customer service in 15 languages. LiteFinance also supports the popular MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms (MT4 and MT5), which can be downloaded for free from MetaQuotes.

LiteFinance is a forex broker which provides traders with low floating dealing spreads, market executions without requotes, and access to analytical tools and signals. However, the broker does not currently accept clients from the United States, Russia, Japan, Israel, and other countries.

MultiBank Group is an international financial services firm that offers a wide range of trading products and services for its clients, including forex, commodities, indices, equities, cryptocurrencies and more. The company has offices in the Philippines as well as other countries around the world such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Bahrain.

The company’s headquarters are located in California and it is also licensed and regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FSA) in the British Virgin Islands. MultiBank Group offers several account types to meet the needs of traders from across the globe, such as:

Standard Account – this type of trading account has a minimum deposit requirement of $10 and allows you to trade currencies on margin with leverage up to 1:500.

The company also offers a range of trading platforms to choose from, including the MetaTrader 4, 5 and cTrader platforms. These platforms come with a suite of tools and features designed to help traders place orders quickly and efficiently. The company also provides clients with access to a host of educational resources such as trading seminars, e-books and webinars.

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an advisory in 2016 and again in 2018 that stated that foreign exchange trading is illegal in the Philippines. The advisory was issued after complaints of steep losses exceeded initial deposits on the forex market.

The SEC also intended to avoid investor losses due to people representing themselves as “experts” and acting as brokers or agents of brokers without Philippine regulatory licenses. 

The advisory also cites a Philippine Supreme Court case that states that gains made from market fluctuations were “purely gambling and declared null and void by law.” The advisory concludes by encouraging people to report others “operating foreign exchange trading and those acting as agents of these operators” to the Commission. 

Despite the ban, more experienced Philippine forex traders have no intention of closing their existing accounts. They claim that the SEC’s advisories were simply designed to discourage the general population from opening accounts with local unregulated “experts” and that they merely impose possible “administrative fees” to be levied if not in compliance. 

Forex trading is not like investing in stocks where you can only lose your initial investment. You may be liable for more than your deposit if the trade goes significantly against you and is not automatically closed out when your account hits a zero balance. 

Forex trading also has a fundamental component due to its exposure to news of the countries issuing the currency. For example, a gross domestic product (GDP) release for Japan can have a significant effect on all currency pairs that include the Japanese yen. 

For example, if the release beats market expectations, then it could positively affect the yen. On the other hand, if the GDP release fails to meet market expectations, then that could adversely affect the Japanese yen’s value relative to other currencies. This type of news, as well as geopolitical news and central bank decisions, can result in considerable volatility in currency pairs. 

Trading in the forex market is not for everyone, so do some research and try trading in a virtual or demo account to see if forex trading is for you. Keep in mind that knowing how to trade forex is just as important as choosing the right broker.

You have your choice of a number of available methods when you learn how to trade forex. The first method includes online educational resources provided by many online brokers and educational companies. You can also educate yourself through many books and ebooks currently available online. 

Another option for learning how to trade currencies consists of joining a social trading website like eToro, for example. You can study other traders’ forex trading strategies and help you formulate your own trading plan. You could also follow or mirror another trader’s transactions and execute them in your own account. 

Like all businesses, knowing what you’re getting involved in after you’ve opened and funded your trading account can make a significant difference in whether you produce profits or losses.

It typically pays to know when to trade and which are the best currency pairs to trade in each of the different trading sessions because you’re in a massive market with a daily turnover of more than $5 trillion that stays open 24 hours a day, 6 days a week.   

You could probably still open an account with a regulated and reputable online broker based outside of the Philippines. You should also have a U.S. dollar-denominated bank account and an account at PayPal, Skrill or other online payment company to fund your trading account.  

Regardless of where a forex broker is located, the best forex brokers generally share some of the following features:

• Strictly regulated in their jurisdiction
• Good reputation with existing clients
• Affordable minimum deposit requirement 
• Account type that fits your needs
• Sufficient leverage ratio for your trading strategy
• Competitive dealing spreads
• Protection against negative balances
• Minimum order slippage
• Segregated client funds
• Reasonable deposit and withdrawal options 

Another important element to consider is the broker’s trading platform. A demo account with a prospective broker will give you an idea of how its trading platform works.

Many brokers offer popular third-party platforms, in addition to their own proprietary platforms. These options typically include MetaTrader 4, NinjaTrader and cTrader.

Trading in the forex market carries risks not found in other tradable assets like stocks. You buy and sell an asset at a price and often remain unleveraged when you trade in the stock market. On the other hand, the FX market requires you to use leverage and position yourself long or short based on an exchange rate view in the forex market.

Your losses are generally limited to your investment when buying stocks but can be much greater when trading currencies on margin if you do not have negative balance protection in your forex trading account. 

Also, know that many experienced traders based in the Philippines have disregarded the advisories issued by the SEC, but a crackdown on forex traders in the Philippines might occur in the future.