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.
In this article, Benzinga explores the best forex brokers in the Philippines, highlighting their features, regulations, trading tools and more. Helping you make an informed decision on which broker to choose for your the best chance at success in the forex market.
Quick Look: Best Forex Brokers in the Philippines
- Best Overall: FOREX.com
- Best for Low Forex Fees: BlackBull Markets
- Best for MT4 Traders: Axi
- Best for Beginners: eToro
- Best for New Traders: LiteFinance
- Best Trading Platform: AvaTrade
- Best for Social Copy Trading: OctaFX
Best Brokers in the Philippines
All of the brokers listed below are reputable and have competent regulatory oversight from at least one major forex regulator. 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.
1. Best Overall: FOREX.com
- Best For:Forex Trading in and Outside the U.S.securely through Forex.com NON US's website
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
The products and services available to you at FOREX.com will depend on your location and on which of its regulated entities holds your account
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.
Pros
- Low forex fees
- Over 80 currency pairs
- Diverse research tools
- Great option for new and advanced traders
Cons
- Product portfolio limited to forex and CFDs
2. Best for Low Forex Fees: BlackBull Markets
BlackBull Markets offers competitive trading conditions with low spreads, high leverage, and fast execution speeds, which are key factors to trade efficiently and cost-effectively. The broker provides a wide range of tradable assets including forex, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies.
BlackBull Markets is regulated by reputable authorities such as the Financial Services Authority of New Zealand (FMA) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles. They offer multiple trading platforms including MetaTrader 4 and 5. You’ll also have access to various account types with different features and benefits, catering to your diverse needs and preferences, whether you’re a beginner trader or experienced investor.
The broker also provides excellent customer support services, with multilingual support available 24/5 via live chat, email, and phone. Educational resources and market analysis tools are offered to help you improve your trading skills and make informed decisions, ultimately enhancing the trading experience and potential for profit.
Pros
- 26,000+ assets across six asset classes
- Choose your platform from one of five
- Industry-leading spreads
- 70 currency pairs
- Tier-1 regulated
Cons
- No bond or exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading
- Less educational content than competitors
3. Best for MT4 Traders: Axi
Over-the-counter derivatives are leveraged products that carry a high level of risk to your capital. Trading is not suitable for everyone and may result in you losing substantially more than your initial investment. You do not own, or have any rights to, the underlying assets. You should only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Axi allows you to trade CFDs in a safe environment, even going so far as offering a demo account that allows you to work with $50,000 in virtual currency. The platform works off Meta 4, and it also offers:
- Copy trading to make your life a little easier
- Educational tools
- AI and Machine Learning tools that learn from you and help you make better trades
Plus, you can trade a number of different assets, including:
- More than 40 forex pairs
- Leverage trading
- More than 30 indices
- Precious metals
- Oil
- Commodities
- Over 30 leading cryptocurrencies
Fee are competitive with low trading fees, $10 monthly maintenance fee for inactive accounts and no deposit or withdrawal fees.
Pros
- User-friendly MetaTrader 4 platform
- Copy trading to learn from professional traders
- Economic calendar with country and category filters for news of economic affairs and economic indicators from across the globe
- Good educational material including a demo account, tutorials and videos
- Advanced analytics driven by AI and ML
Cons
- Customer service 24/5
- Inactivity fees
4. Best for Beginners: eToro
CFD trading is not available to U.S. users. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
eToro is a popular forex broker with over 10 million registered users globally. It offers a user-friendly platform with wide range of features for trading including CFDs and futures. eToro has been operating in the Philippines since 2016 and it offers a variety of forex products and services including CFDs, forex signals, and social trading.
The broker has a competitive range of spreads that start from 0.9 pips on the EUR/USD pair and goes up to 3 pips. eToro also offers its clients the ability to hedge their positions, which is great for those who are looking to diversify their portfolio. In addition, eToro provides automated trading with Expert Advisors (EAs) as well as an extensive range of trading tools for technical analysis.
Pros
- Innovative CopyTrader
- Easy-to-use interface for both web and mobile app
- Practice demo account for trade simulation
Cons
- Basic trading tools
- Limited customer support
5. Best for New Traders: LiteFinance
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.
Pros
- Low minimum
- ECN trading is available
- Up to 1,000:1 leverage
- Access to social trading
Cons
- Options may be too much for some traders
6. Best Trading Platform: AvaTrade
AvaTrade has a strong reputation as a reliable and trustworthy broker, winning multiple awards for its services and innovations in the forex industry. They are regulated by multiple financial authorities such as the Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC in Australia and FSCA in South Africa.
AvaTrade offers a wide range of trading instruments, including forex, stocks, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies. The broker provides user-friendly trading platforms such as MetaTrader 4 and AvaTradeGO, which are accessible on both desktop and mobile devices.
They offer competitive spreads and leverage options, educational resources, market analysis, and customer support in multiple languages, including Tagalog. You’ll also have access to various account types, including demo accounts, Islamic accounts, and VIP accounts. AvaTrade also provides a range of trading tools and features, such as automated trading, social trading and trading signals.
Pros
- Controlled by regulatory agencies of multiple countries
- Choice offered in terms of trading platforms
- Support available in 14 languages and trading platforms in 20 languages
- Demo account available
Cons
- Transferring funds to the account may take up to five days; withdrawals could take up to 10 days
- High inactivity fees
7. Best for Social Copy Trading: OctaFX
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.
Pros
- Low minimum deposit
- 35 currency pairs
- MetaTrader 4 and 5
- Tight spreads from 0.6 pips
Cons
- Limited number of assets
- Small conversion fees
- Limited deposit and withdrawal methods
Overview: Forex Trading in the Philippines
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 Basics for Philippine Natives
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.
Related content: A Guide to Trading Forex in the Philippines
Features of a Great Forex Broker
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.
Start Trading the Foreign Exchange Market in the Philippines
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.
Expand your knowledge of how the forex market functions with Benzinga's guide on how to read forex charts, or the best forex indicators to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is forex legal in Philippines?
Yes, forex trading is legal in the Philippines. The country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), regulates and supervises foreign exchange trading activities. However, individuals or companies engaging in forex trading must ensure compliance with the necessary licenses and documentation requirements set by the BSP.
Is forex trading taxable in Philippines?
Yes, forex trading is taxable in the Philippines. According to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), any income generated from forex trading is subject to income tax. Traders are required to keep records of their transactions and report their earnings accurately to comply with tax regulations.
What is the best time to trade forex in the Philippines?
The best time to trade forex in the Philippines is during the overlap of major trading sessions in different global financial centers. This typically occurs during the Tokyo and London sessions, which is from 3:00 AM to 11:00 AM local time. During this time, there is increased liquidity, higher trading volume, and potential opportunities for profit. However, it is important to note that individual trading strategies and preferences may also influence the best time to trade forex. It is recommended to research and develop a trading plan based on personal goals and market conditions.
Get a Forex Pro on Your Side
FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade.
You can also tap into:
- EUR/USD as low as 0.2 with fixed $5 commissions per 100,000
- Powerful, purpose-built currency trading platforms
- Monthly cash rebates of up to $9 per million dollars traded with FOREX.com’s Active Trader Program
Learn more about FOREX.com’s low pricing and how you can get started trading with FOREX.com.
About Jay and Julie Hawk
Jay and Julie Hawk are the married co-founders of TheFXperts, a provider of financial writing services particularly renowned for its coverage of forex-related topics. With over 40 years of collective trading expertise and more than 15 years of collaborative writing experience, the Hawks specialize in crafting insightful financial content on trading strategies, market analysis and online trading for a broad audience. While their prolific writing career includes seven books and contributions to numerous financial websites and newswires, much of their recent work was published at Benzinga.