Best Forex Brokers in Germany 2020

German traders account for a big portion of the world’s Forex traders. It’s often hard to know which brokers you can trust with your hard-earned money. That’s where FXEmpire comes in. After in-depth research we have compiled a list of the best brokers for German traders to execute their trades with. Our research is based on a number of key factors including the product and service of the firm.

The brokers below represent the best forex brokers for trading in Germany.

Note: Not all Forex brokers accept US clients. For your convenience we specified those that accept US Forex traders as clients.

ActivTrades

ActivTrades was founded in 2001 and was recognised by the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 as the 90th fastest growing company in the UK for 2017. The company is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the Securities Commission of the Bahamas and offers CFD and Spread Betting trading accounts with direct execution (non-dealing desk).

FP Markets

A solid Australian broker, with sturdy ASIC regulation that offers transparent dealing, across a wide selection of 10,000 plus assets. A variety of account types across Forex and CFD’s and 0 pips spreads on their ECN trading. Leverage on the MT4 platform of up to 1:500 and trading of Bitcoin too.

Vantage FX

Vantage FX was founded in 2009 in Australia and is the brand name of the Vantage International Group which is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and advertises the segregation of client funds which are held with Australia’s AA rated National Australia Bank (NAB).

The broker offers services that are designed for both beginner and professional traders with access to Forex ECN trading, as well as CFD trading on Indices, Commodities and U.S and Hong Kong Shares on the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms for Mac, PC, iOS and Android as well as social trading platforms such as MyFXbook and Zulutrade.

Skilling

Skilling Ltd is an online broker that offers Forex and CFD trading from markets around the world. It was launched in 2019 with headquarters in Nicosia, Cyprus. Skilling Ltd, formerly known as Finovel Cyprus Ltd, has other offices located in Malta and Spain. The brand offers forex, cryptos, indices, stocks and commodities for trading on its platform. Skilling boasts of offering over 300 trading instruments from different markets all over the world. The official website is in 4 languages: German, Swedish, Norwegian and English.

In the company’s order execution policy document, Skilling states that it acts as a market maker. In some cases where orders have to be executed at third party venues, Skilling acts as an agent on behalf of the Client.

Plus500

Plus500 is a leading CFD trading platform with support for stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, and Forex. This commission-free brokerage charges very low spread-rates and offers fast trades on a great platform. Plus500 supports complex trades, includes negative balance protection, and makes trading an educational and hopefully profitable venture.

You can start with a free demo account to test the platform and any trading strategy. Real money accounts offer leverage of up to 1:30. This broker is based in Israel and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

FXTM

FXTM, short for ForexTime, is a platform with a primary focus on foreign exchange. That specialization allows it to rise above many others when it comes to Forex focused trading platforms and tools. CFDs are available on 50+ currency pairs including major, minor, and exotic pairs. Leverage is available up to 1000:1.

Spreads are competitive across all platforms with 24-hour trading open 5 days per week. FXTM is based in Cyprus and licensed by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulators in and out of the EU. A free demo account is available.

eToro

eToro is an online trading platform that was founded in 2007 by the Assia siblings and their friend David Ring in Tel Aviv, Israel. Formerly known as RetailFX, eToro is the pioneering online broker for social trading. Their Openbook social trading platform in fact changed the nature of the way beginner online traders can trade the financial markets. It made the markets accessible to everyone, no matter what their level of experience by creating a user-friendly environment and allowing traders to copy the trades of other traders’ strategies automatically.

Intro to Forex Brokers in Germany

Even with a few economic setbacks, such as in 2008, the German economy has proved itself to be healthy and strong. As the financial sector keeps growing, so does the Forex trading industry.   While there is no legal provision for Forex Trading in Germany, the locally based brokers are regulated. So what does this mean to traders?

Regulation

The regulator of the online trading industry in Germany is called BaFIN (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht). It was set up in 2012 to monitor Germany’s financial markets. It supervises banking institutions, insurance firms and financial providers like binary and Forex operators.  BaFIN works differently to regulators in other jurisdictions, in that it isn’t funded by the Federal government, instead it finances itself through the license fees it receives from the financial institutions that it supervises. This makes BaFIN an autonomous organization that is completely impartial.

Located out of Bonn and Frankfurt, BaFIN ensures the ongoing stability of Germany’s financial industry through the supervision of the following areas:

• Bank Accounts
• Banking Industry
• Insurance Industry
• Securities Industry
• Takes legal action against financial crime

In Germany, Forex trading is legal yet highly regulated by BaFIN authority. There are no laws which govern Forex trading, yet under the EU’s objective to unite the Eurozone, regulated brokers in any other member state may market to and accept German traders.

This means that a German trader can safely work with any of the brokers that are MiFID compliant. MiFID is legislation that covers trading across the whole of the Eurozone. A German should look for a MiFID compliant broker to trade with or one that is licensed in the EU and can passport its services throughout the Eurozone. Some examples of relevant licenses include CySEC in Cyprus, FCA in the UK,  SMFSA in Switzerland.

Deposit Methods Available to German Traders

The banking industry is extremely developed in German and as such all major payment methods are accepted by local brokers, these include credit and debit cards, wire transfers and all major eWallets. 

Trading Platform & Software

Generic Platforms

Most German Forex Brokers offer the MT4 platform. This is the platform of choice for many traders as in addition to allowing a trader to trade fro charts and add complex indicators and patterns, it allows them to implement or programme their own expert advisors (EA’s). This is a piece of code that identifies certain strategies or patterns and can create trading signals for the user.

Additionally some German brokers offer the Sirix or cTrader platforms which run a close second in popularity to the MetaTrader 4. All of these platform types are available as desktop, Webtrader and even through mobile. These are all generic platforms which feature the brokers logo.

Proprietary Platforms

Some brokers design and build their own proprietary platform. This takes a lot of effort and investment by the broker as they build it their exact requirements and can be seen as a very positive plus point for the broker. Proprietary platforms are often highly customizable by the user.

Trading Apps

Some German brokers also have their own trading apps which they have built, sometimes they are for news and updating the user on fundamental and technical data, other times users may actually trade directly from these apps.

Commissions & Spreads

German Forex brokers usually do not charge commissions on Forex trading. They may charge commissions if they also offers CFD trading. The usual business model for Forex Brokers is to charge a spread. This is the difference between the buy and sell price and can be anything from 0.5 pips up to 9 pips depending on the currency pair.

Customer Service

Customer service is a key facet of a broker, as nowadays most brokers do not have a physical location or office that you can go visit. That’s why the quality of the customer service department is so important. German brokers often have highly efficient and knowledgeable customer service departments. A German Forex broker will also of course offer support in the German language as well as in English and sometimes in a variety of  other languages. You will also find that the platform is localized, which means it has been translated into German.

Best Forex Brokers in Germany

It is recommended that German traders only work with those brokers that are regulated within the Eurozone. These brokers fall within MiFID directives and as such German traders will see the same level of protection as they would with a German regulated broker. This covers broker security levels, client accounts which will be segregated from broker accounts and the trader will be covered by a compensation scheme. This means that the trader’s deposits will be protected up to 20,000EUR should the broker become insolvent.

FAQ’s

• Is Forex trading legal in Germany?

Yes there are no reasons that German Forex traders cannot participate in online trading both inside and outside of Germany.

• Does Germany regulated Forex?

No Germany does not regulate the actual forex trading, instead it licenses and regulates the German Forex Brokers so that they may actively accept German traders.

• Can German traders trade in other countries?

Yes they may trade anywhere they like as Germany doesn’t impose any legal provisions to Forex trading,  German traders may also be accepted to trade across the Eurozone with brokers that are MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) compliant. MiFID legislates regulation in the whole of the Eurozone.

Here is a list of recommended Forex brokers that we have researched thoroughly and compiled based on their reliability, service and product.

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