Best Forex Brokers in Nigeria 2023

Avatrade is a market maker broker but can be considered safe due to multiple top-tier regulatory licenses. It is regulated by FSCA (45984) in South Africa, ASIC (406684) of Australia, CySEC (347/17) of the European Union, and several other regulatory authorities. Nigerian clients have registered under regulation of B.V.I Financial Services Commission with Ava Trade Markets Ltd.

There are no choices of account types. Each trader gets the same account but it can be upgraded to DupliTrade and ZuluTrade accounts. The base currency of the account can be chosen between USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD. There is no trading commission involved and the spreads are lower than many of the regulated forex and CFD brokers in Nigeria.

Deposits and Withdrawals can be done through debit/credit cards, wire transfers, Skrill, and Neteller. The minimum deposit amount is 100$ and the deposits are reflected instantly in the account balance. Withdrawals can take up to 3 working days depending on the method chosen.

The customer support service at AvaTrade is decent but local phone support is not available. There is a welcome bonus of 20% that can only be used to trade and cannot be withdrawn. Overall, it is a good broker as the spreads are tight and multiple regulations make it safe.

How to Choose the Best Forex Broker?

We have created a quick 6 point checklist that you should look for while choosing a forex broker.

1. Regulations: Regulated brokers are safe to trade with, hence it should be the number one criterion. Since Nigeria has no local regulations currently, ensure the broker is regulated with at least one globally reputed regulator like FSCA or FCA. We also suggest avoiding those brokers who claim to be regulated but are actually licensed under island regulations like Belize, VFSC, etc.

Regulated brokers generally mention their regulatory license detail along with the license number at the footer on their official website. These details of the regulatory licenses mentioned on their website can also be cross-checked for authenticity.

Clients from each jurisdiction are registered under a particular regulatory authority. For example, Australian clients are mostly registered under ASIC regulation. Nigeria does not have a local regulatory authority governing the forex and CFD brokers. Hence, it is important to acknowledge the regulation under which the clients are getting registered.

The regulations can greatly affect the trading experience as max leverage, instruments, and trading conditions are structured according to regulatory compliance.

Clients can visit the website of the concerned regulatory authority to check the register of licensed brokers and trading service providers. The license number or the name of the broker can be used to search the details of their regulatory license.

For example, the details of the FCA regulatory license can be checked online on Financial Services Register at FCA official website at register.fca.org.uk. On their public search, you can search the broker’s license number or their Registered company name.

CySEC’s website displays the details of licensed firms under the list of approved domains under the ‘regulated entities’ section. You will find a list of all the licensed firms under various categories, so you can verify whether your broker is an approved dealing member or not.

You must also be aware of the scam brokers that may dishonestly claim to be regulated while showing the license number of other licensed brokers. The following table mentions the regulatory licenses held by the Best Regulated Forex Brokers in Nigeria.

Clients must cross-check the current regulatory status of the brokers before choosing any. The authenticity of the regulatory license can be cross-checked from the official website of the regulatory authority. The broker name and the license number can be used to search for the details of the regulation.

As forex trading is currently not regulated in Nigeria, clients are at their own risk if there is a dispute between brokers and clients. Hence, Nigerian clients must double-check the regulation and safety of their funds with the broker before opening their accounts.

Clients residing in Nigeria must check the regulatory licenses held by the broker and the regulation under which they are getting registered with the chosen broker.

2. Trading fees: Brokers mainly charge spread on a trade, commissions per lot (if any), and other hidden charges in some cases. Brokers also charge overnight charges in the form of rolling fees if the position is held open overnight. There may also be deposit and withdrawal charges every time you make a transaction. Make sure the overall fee is as low as possible, and look into the withdrawal fees, and inactivity charges as they might add up to a lot in the longer run.

Spread in CFD trading is the difference between the bid and ask price of the CFD instrument. Wider spreads mean lesser gain for the traders and higher revenues for the broker and liquidity providers. Spreads are mostly floating or variable but some brokers can also offer fixed spreads on a few instruments.

Swap fee is only applicable when a leveraged position is kept open overnight. If you prefer trades of more than a day, you must check the swap rates on instruments. Each CFD instrument has different swap rates for long and short positions.

Also, some brokers increase spreads during periods of high volatility, which may eat away at your profits, hence you should check the historical spreads of a broker’s available instruments before making a decision. Each instrument can have different spreads at different times of the day. Clients must get familiar with the timings when the spreads are lowest and trade accordingly.

You can check a forex broker’s fees from their website before signing up. Most forex brokers have a list of trading instruments on their website where they compare the spread for each instrument for different account types.

The following table compares the spreads for EUR/USD and Gold (on basic standard accounts) incurred from the best forex brokers in Nigeria.

For example, the following table from XM Broker’s website highlights their typical & lowest spread for GBPUSD currency pair with their Ultra-Low Standard Account. You can use their search in the table to check the spread for any desired instrument.

Similarly, all other forex brokers also have such lists on their websites where you can compare the spread. If you don’t find it, then you can enquire through the broker’s customer support for the trading fees of each instrument. Any regulated CFD broker will always provide you with this information before as well as after opening the account.

3. Platforms: Trading platform is meant to make trading comfortable. MetaTrader trading platform (MT4 and MT5) is often a good start for serious beginners. It is even better if the platform offered supports mobile trading. Below is a picture of how the MetaTrader 4 trading platform will look on PC.

There are plenty of features and tools on each trading platform that can enhance the trading experience. It is important to spend time and effort learning about the features and use of a platform before trading real money.

Practicing demo trading with a broker that you are about to choose can help with the decision, but remember that live trading conditions would vary. Use the demo to get a hang of the broker’s platform, and see if you are comfortable using it.

Also check whether the broker offers its MetaTrader or other platforms on Mobile device (both iOS & Android). Almost all the forex brokers that have MetaTrader also have an app.

There are also some brokers that have their own proprietary platforms, other than third-party MetaTrader or cTrader. For example, Plus500 & eToro both have their own platforms, and both these forex brokers don’t offer MetaTrader.

If you are a trader who prefers using MetaTrader, then you should avoid the CFD brokers who don’t offer the MetaTrader platform.

4. Order Execution: Order Execution must be quick, without any re-quotes or slippage. Some brokers provide instant execution of orders (mostly with market maker brokers) while others provide Market Execution (price is generated while execution, hence a possibility of slippages). So, it is important to check the execution type & historical experiences of other traders in regard to the speed of execution.

5. Support & Education: Customer Support should be available 24/5 via chat, emails. and provide quick responses to emails within 1-2 hours. If there is a Nigerian phone number for support, then it is even better.

In our review of various Forex platforms, we found that HF Markets and FXTM offer local phone numbers for support. Almost every regulated broker has live chat support. the quality of the support service can be different for each broker. Traders can raise a random query to check the quality of support service on their own.

6. Ease of Deposit and Withdrawal in Nigeria: The convenience of deposit and withdrawal can have a major impact on the trading experience with any of the forex and CFD broker. You may not want to trade with a broker that has limitations, restrictions, or penalties on your preferred mode of transaction.

Traders must check all the conditions for the preferred method of transaction. Some brokers provide details of the transaction methods under the ‘Deposit and Withdrawal’ section. You can also inquire the customer support executives about deposit and withdrawals methods and conditions.

Most Nigerian traders prefer to transact with Naira (NGN) from local banks but many offshore regulated brokers do not support deposits and withdrawals in Naira.

Among the regulated forex brokers in Nigeria, FXTM, HF Markets, Exness, & OctaFX, are the only 4 that offer local bank transfers in Nigeria. The minimum amount, transaction fees, and currency conversion fees (if any) should be checked for every method of deposit and withdrawal separately.

Checking the fees applied during currency conversion is very important. The losses due to this can be even more than 10% of the transaction cost at some brokers. For example, if the current exchange rate is N700, but your broker offers you N730 rates during deposits, but charges N660 during withdrawals.

In the example above, the broker (or their payment gateway or both), are charging a markup of N30 during deposits, and N40 during withdrawals. That is a total markup of N70 per USD for a complete transaction & its reversal.

It is very common for forex broker to charge fees during currency conversions to local currency. You must check the exact exchange rates with the broker for deposits & withdrawals to be sure that you don’t lose your money during funding & withdrawals.

If your broker charges very high markups, you should not trade with such a broker.

What to Avoid While Choosing Best Forex Brokers?

There are a few common mistakes the new traders do while searching for the best forex brokers in Nigeria.

• Do not rely completely on suggestions of friends or family. When someone suggests forex brokers, it is likely because he/she is trading with same or could receive referral bonus.

• You must do your own research. Checking reviews and gathering data can greatly assist but your selection should be based on your preference. A suitable broker for one trader may not be ideal for the other trader.

• You must not fall for the prey. Many fake or unlicensed brokers offer lucrative bonuses to attract new traders. The bonus offers must be utilized but only after choosing a broker based on the above-mentioned factors.

• Do not make a decision only due to low fees. Brokers with low fees are always preferred by beginners but fake brokers take advantage of this preference. They may offer very low and unrealistic fees to get your deposits. Regulations must be checked thoroughly.

• Leverage is a two-edged sword. Involving leverage in trades allows traders to open large positions with a smaller account balance. Profits can be increased with leverage but the losses will also be high with high leverage. Many countries have certain limits on leverage but no such limits are there in Nigeria. Beginners must not choose brokers only because they offer the high leverage. Instead, leverage usage should be kept low in the initial phase.

• CFD trading is not suitable for everyone. Forex or CFD trading should not be done because someone you know is doing it or someone has made too much money. It is a risky financial market and may not be ideal for you. Identify your trading objectives, do some research and analysis combined with disciplined planning and strategy.

Frequently asked questions