FBS Nigeria Review 2023

FBS is our #8 ranked forex and CFD broker in Nigeria. The broker is not regulated by any top tier regulatory authority other than CySEC, but offers attractive spreads and suitable account types. Read our detailed review and find out whether you should trade with FBS or not.

Regulated By: IFSC, CySEC

Headquarters: 2118, Guava Street, Belize Belama Phase 1, Belize

Foundation Year: 2009

Min Deposit: $1

Open Account Note: Forex & CFD Trading is Risky.

FBS is an international forex and CFD broker based in Belize, CA. It is a No Dealing Desk (NDD) broker which means it does not participate in any of the trades. The forex and CFD trades are executed by the Straight Through Processing (STP) method.

FBS offers fixed as well as variable spreads account types but traders in Nigeria cannot open an account with NGN as a base currency. FBS is not regulated by any tier 1 or tier 2 regulatory authority other than CySEC, but the low spreads, helpful customer support, and various other pros can be resourceful for traders in Nigeria.

We have reviewed FBS forex and CFD broker for traders in Nigeria after considering every advantage and drawback of the broker.

FBS Nigeria – A quick look

Is FBS Safe?

The safety of traders and their deposited amount greatly depends on the regulatory authority that authorizes and regulates the broker in a particular jurisdiction. Following are the details of regulatory licenses held by FBS in different jurisdictions.

1. ASIC
   FBS is authorized and regulated by the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC). FBS in Australia is registered under ASIC with the legal entity Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd and AFS license number 426359 and ABN number 48 155 185 014.

   

   The trading name of FBS in Australia is FBS Oceania. FBS acquired an ASIC license in 2012.

2. FSCA
   FBS is an authorized financial service provider in South Africa by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). FBS is the trading name of the legal entity Trade Stone SA (Pty) Ltd under license number 50885. FBS acquired the FSCA license on 22/09/2020.

   

   The FSCA is also a top-tier regulatory authority in the jurisdiction of South Africa. Only South African clients are registered under FSCA regulation. For other clients, the FSCA license increases the trust factor.

3. CySEC
   The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is a tier 2 financial regulatory authority based in the island nation of Cyprus. The CySEC regulatory license grants financial services providers the to operate their business in the European Union.

   

   FBS acquired the CySEC license in 2017 with the legal entity Tradestone Ltd and license number 331/17.

4. IFSC
   The International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) is a financial regulatory authority in Belize. The IFSC license allows regulated firms to operate globally. IFSC has lenient regulatory compliance compared to ASIC, FCA, and FSCA.

   

   FBS is a registered financial services provider in Belize with the legal entity FBS Markets Inc under registration number 119717. Most global clients at FBS are registered under IFSC regulation including Nigerian clients.

FBS was incorporated in 2009 and has local a local office in Australia at Suite 409, 350 George Street Sydney NSW 2000.

FBS was launched in 2009 and claims to serve more than 16 million clients from 190 countries. FBS has officially partnered with FC Barcelona which is a renowned football club in Spain and Leicester City FC of England. This partnership can slightly enhance the safety ratings of the broker but the unavailability of the top-tier regulatory license is a major setback.

The user reviews of the existing clients have mixed opinions, but most of them are positive. Multiple top-tier regulations makes FBS safe for Nigerian clients.

FBS is less safe than some of the available forex brokers in Nigeria as they are regulated with only 1 regulator.

FBS Fees

The fee structure at FBS is fairly attractive as variable spreads are comparatively lower than some of the brokers in Nigeria. To provide a better perspective of fees charged at FBS, we divide it into trading and non-trading fees.

Trading Fees
This is the fee that is charged from the traders for each executed trade order. Spreads and commission are the major components of the trading fees at FBS. The broker offers multiple account types to suit the requirements of multiple types of traders. The fees charged are different for each of the available account types.

1. Cent Account: It is the variable spread account type that does not charge any commission from the traders. The spreads start from 1 pips per lot. The average typical spread for EUR/USD for the cent account is 1.1 pips per lot with no commission involved.
2. Micro Account: It is the fixed spread account type that does not involve any commission. The spread with the micro account type is 3 pips per lot for each available trading instrument including EUR/USD.
3. Standard Account: This is a variable or floating spread account type that does not charge any commission from the traders. The spreads start from 0.5 pips per lot. However, we found the average typical spreads for EUR/USD to be 1.1 pips per lot which can go as low as 0.8 pips per lot.
4. Zero Spread Account: Traders do not have to pay any spread on the available trading instruments with this account type. A fixed commission of 20$ per lot is charged for the round trade of all the currency pairs. The commission for CFDs is 25$ per lot for each round trade.
5. ECN Account: The ECN account type at FBS involves a fixed commission of 6$ per round trade along with variable spreads which are as low as 0 pips per lot. The average typical spread for EUR/USD was found to be 0.2 pips per lot for the ECN account type.
6. Crypto Account: The newly introduced crypto trading account at FBS allows trading on all the pairs that include cryptocurrencies. The spreads are variable starting from 1 pip but it also includes a commission of 0.1% of the traded amount for a round trade of standard lot.

The table below compares the average typical spreads at FBS for different account types for major currency pairs.

Swap Fees: The swap rates or rollover charges are the fees that are expensed to traders if a position is kept open overnight. Each instrument has different swap rates for long and short positions. The choice of account type does not affect the swap rates.
The swap fees for EUR/USD as a benchmark at FBS are -6.3 and -0.69 for long and short positions respectively. This is slightly above average when compared with other forex and CFD brokers in Nigeria.

Non Trading Fees
The non-trading fees at FBS are decent as they do not charge any fees for account opening and inactivity. The only non-trading fees that can be incurred to traders in Nigeria are the deposit and withdrawal fees which are different for each type of payment method.

We liked the low floating spreads with the cent and standard account types at FBS. Although, the fixed spread of 3 pips per lot can be costly for the traders. The commission with the zero spread account type is also higher and can be inefficient for the traders in Nigeria.

Overall, in comparison with the majority of regulated forex brokers in Nigeria, we found FBS to be decent in terms of trading and non-trading fees. The cent and the standard account types are most attractive due to low spreads and zero commission.

Trading Platforms

FBS offers the MetaTrader trading platform which is the most popular and commonly chosen trading platform for various devices. The MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms are available at FBS for Android, iOS, web, Windows, and macOS.

MetaTrader 4 and 5 offer a user-friendly and resourceful trading experience through various devices. The charting and analysis tools available at MetaTrader can be highly advantageous in executing profitable trade orders.

The MetaTrader trading platform is supported by almost every regulated forex and CFD broker in Nigeria. What we found unique about FBS is the availability of ‘FBS Trader’ which is a new trading platform introduced by FBS to allow an efficient trading experience. The FBS Trader trading platform is available for Android and iOS devices.

FBS Customer Support

The customer support service at FBS is helpful as the customer support executives can be reached out anytime through live chat and multiple social media messaging applications. We raised multiple queries at FBS through all the available methods.

1. Live Chat: The live chat window is available at the official website of FBS and can also be reached out through the FBS application. We found the support staff to be very helpful and resourceful as all our queries were answered with a minute. The waiting queue might reach up to 10-12 during peak trading hours but the support executives are user-friendly and offer diligent services. The live chat support is available 24/5 and is not available on the weekends.

   

2. Social Media Application: The customer service executives at FBS can also be reached out through WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Line, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Our experience with most of the messaging apps wasn’t excellent as we had to wait for 2-4 hours for a reply on WhatsApp and Telegram.
3. No Nigerian Phone Support: FBS does not offer a local phone number for customer support. Although, traders can request a callback from the support executives regarding any query by filling out the callback form at their official website and applications.

   

Our experience was good with the live chat window at FBS but the channels of connectivity with the support executives are limited for the Nigerian clients due to the unavailability of a local phone number. This limits us from giving five-star ratings to FBS in customer support as some of the regulated forex brokers in Nigeria offer local phone support and can be reached out anytime.

FBS Trading Accounts

FBS offers 5 different types of live account types along with a demo account. The fees, initial deposits, and various features are different for each account type chosen. Following is the description of each available account type at FBS:

1. Cent Account: It is the ideal account type for beginners at forex and CFD trading as the minimum deposit requirement is as low as 1$. The cent account type allows trading on cent lots (1000 units) with all the available trading instruments at FBS. The spreads are variable with no commission involved. Traders can trade with a maximum leverage of 1:1000 with this account type.
2. Micro Account: It is the fixed spread account type with no commission involved. The minimum deposit requirement is 5$ and the maximum leverage is up to 1:3000 for all the available trading instruments. Traders can trade with standard lots with this account type but the fixed spread of 3 pips per lot makes it costlier for the small volume traders in Nigeria.
3. Standard Account: It is the variable account type with floating spreads starting from 0.5 pips per lot. The minimum deposit requirement on this commission-free account type is 100$. The standard account gives access to all the available trading instruments with a maximum leverage of 1:3000 on standard lots.
4. Zero Spread Account: As per the name, it is a zero spread account type and does not incur spreads on any of the available currency pairs and CFDs. It does charge a commission of 20$ and 25$ for the currency pairs and CFDs respectively for each round trade. The minimum deposit requirement is 500$ and the maximum leverage is 1:3000 for the zero spread account.
5. ECN Account: It is the only account type at FBS in which the market execution occurs through the ECN method instead of STP. The minimum deposit requirement of 1000$ is required with this account type but the variable spreads are as low as 0 pips per lot. Traders have to pay a commission of 6$ for each round trade. The maximum leverage is 1:500 for all the available currency pairs. This account type does not support trading with stocks and CFDs.
6. Crypto Account: This account type is specifically structured to trade the pairs of different asset classes with cryptocurrencies. This account type can be opened with a minimum initial deposit of 1$. The spreads are different for each of the 100 crypto pairs with other assets. The maximum leverage is 1:5. This is a unique account type that is not available with any other forex and CFD brokers in Nigeria.

Availability of multiple types of accounts with different requirements and features allows every type of trader to take advantage of the capital markets. FBS also provides a demo account that can be used by beginners to gain experience, learn basic strategies & terminologies involved in forex and CFD trading.

FBS Research and Education

There are multiple research and education tools available to assist the traders in making better decisions and enhancing their trading skills.

FBS Research Tools

1. News and Market Analysis: The news articles covering forex, commodities, stocks, and economics are published on regular basis under the forex news section. Articles under this tab have a direct forecast on the prices of the concerned capital market. The daily market analysis covers all the other global news and affairs that may or may not have an impact on the capital markets.
2. VIP Analytics: FBS offers an exclusive analysis service that is only available to clients who have made an overall deposit of more than 500$. This exclusive service provides the clients with regular fundamental and technical analysis reports over email. This feature can be very useful for assisting traders in their research.
3. Forex TV: This is a type of video series in which daily news, market trends, economic activities, and their impact are covered. Viewers can generate insightful trading ideas with the videos available under the forex TV section.

FBS Education Tools

1. Forex Guidebook: The forex guidebook contains a lot of data that can assist the clients in improving their knowledge and skillset in the forex and CFD market. It is basically a set of FAQs that is divided into 4 categories namely beginner, elementary, intermediate, and experienced.



2. Articles: FBS regularly publishes articles for guidance, risk management, emotion control, etc. in order to supplement the trading skills of traders.
3. Videos: There are more than 100 educational videos available to watch for clients on FBS. These videos almost cover everything a trader must know to start and enhance forex and CFD trading in Nigeria.
4. Seminar and Webinar: FBS organizes a lot of live seminars in Nigeria that are free to attend for anyone in Nigeria. This can be highly advantageous for those seeking to learn more about the forex and CFD market, especially in Nigeria. The webinars are also organized online on regular basis covering different topics.
   

We found FBS to be highly educative for Nigerian clients as it provides everything a trader must know before trading. The research tools are average when compared to regulated peers in Nigeria.

FBS Trading Instruments

FBS offers a decent number of trading instruments and covers the most widely traded forex and CFD tools. The following trading instruments are available to trade at FBS:

1. Forex: A total of 31 currency pairs are available to trade at FBS including major, minor, and exotic currency pairs.
2. Metals: FBS offers CFDs on 4 precious metals namely gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
3. Energies: Traders can trade with WTI and Brent crude oil through CFDs at FBS.
4. Indices: FBS offers trading on 4 major indices including NASDAQ.
5. Stocks: CFDs on 40 major American and European stocks are available to trade at FBS.

The number of trading instruments is comparatively lower than most of the available forex and CFD brokers in Nigeria. The unavailability of various major indices, cryptocurrencies, and commodities is a major drawback in terms of available trading tools at FBS.

Deposits and Withdrawals

FBS accepts a limited number of payment gateways for deposits and withdrawals. Nigerian traders cannot deposit at FBS with local bank transfers.

FBS Deposit Method

1. VISA: FBS only accepts VISA credit and debit cards for deposits. The deposit currency is USD and EUR. Every NGN deposit will be automatically converted to base account currency. The conversion rates are fixed at FBS for NGN deposits. At the time of this review, the conversion rate was 400NGN for 1 USD.

2. E-wallets: 4 e-wallets are accepted as deposit method at FBS. Skrill and Neteller deposits are free of additional commission and the payments are processed instantly. Sticpay deposits incur an additional commission of 2.5% per deposit.

FBS Withdrawal Method

Withdrawals at FBS are commission-based for every method. Margin-free amounts in the trading account can be withdrawn through VISA cards and E-wallets used for deposits.

VISA withdrawals may take 5-7 days to reflect the amount in your bank account. It also involves a 1$ commission for each withdrawal.
Each e-wallet available for withdrawal at FBS incurs a withdrawal commission ranging from 0.5% to 2.5% of the withdrawal amount.

FBS does not offer convenient and cost-effective deposits and withdrawals when compared with other regulated brokers in Nigeria. Local bank transfers are not available and the commissions can cost additionally to traders in Nigeria.

FBS Bonus

FBS has a separate section in the personal area after opening the account where current bonus offerings can be seen by the traders. At the time of this review, FBS was offering a 100% deposit bonus in which the deposit amount is doubled. Although, the doubled amount cannot be withdrawn and is only available for trading.

FBS also offers a level-up bonus through which traders can get up to 140$ by completing several steps like verifying email and connecting with social media platforms.

Compared to other regulated forex and CFD brokers in Nigeria, we found FBS to be fairly attractive to traders in Nigeria in terms of bonus offerings.

Do we Recommend FBS?

Yes, but there are better alternative brokers. FBS offers low spreads and allows the trader to choose the most suitable account type for oneself. It has fixed as well as variable spread accounts and offers attractive bonuses to traders.

However, the unavailability of an NGN trading account and a local office in Nigeria can be an obstacle to choosing FBS in Nigeria. The broker is only regulated by CySEC & no other top-tier regulatory authority, which makes FBS less safe compared to other brokers like Hotforex, Exness, or FXTM.

Frequently asked questions: FBS Nigeria