Best Forex Brokers in Malaysia
Not long ago it was illegal to trade Forex in Malaysia to the point that some people were jailed for trading, but things have changed. You can now legally trade any currency pair but you will need a reliable broker. Inside we have compiled a list of the most recommended Malay forex brokers.
The brokers below represent the best forex brokers in Malaysia.
| Broker | Official Site | Regulations | Min Deposit | Max Leverage | Trading Platforms | Foundation Year | Publicly Traded | Trading Desk Type | Currencies | Commodities | Indices | Stocks | Crypto | offers promotions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk. | CySEC, FSCA, FSA(SC) | $1 | 1:30 (CySEC), 1:500 (FSCA), 1:3000 (FSA(SC)) | MT4, MT5 | 2012 | STP | |||||||
 | Visit Broker> Forex margin trading involves substantial risks | CySEC, SVGFSA | $50 | 1:30 (CySEC), 1:500 (SVGFSA) | MT4, MT5 | 2011 | ECN, STP | |||||||
 | Visit Broker> This material on this website is intended for illustrative purposes and general information only. It does not constitute financial advice nor does it take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Commission, interest, platform fees, dividends, variation margin and other fees and charges may apply to financial products or services available from FP Markets. The information in this website has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the information in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs before making any decision about whether to acquire or dispose of any financial product. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are derivatives and can be risky; When trading CFDs you do not own or have any rights to the CFDs underlying assets. FP Markets recommends that you seek independent advice from an appropriately qualified person before deciding to invest in or dispose of a derivative. A Product Disclosure Statement for each of the financial products available from FP Markets can be obtained either from this website or on request from our offices and should be considered before entering into transactions with us. First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd (ABN 16 112 600 281, AFS Licence No. 286354). FP Markets is a group of companies which include, First Prudential Markets Ltd (registration number HE 372179), a company authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC License number 371/18, Registered Address: Griva Digeni, 109, Aigeo Court, 2nd floor, 3101, Limassol, Cyprus. FP Markets does not accept applications from U.S, Japan or New Zealand residents or residents from any other country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to those local laws or regulations. | ASIC, CySEC | $100 | 1:30 (ASIC), 1:30 (CySEC) | MT4, MT5, IRESS, WebTrader | 2005 | DMA, ECN, No dealing desk, STP | |||||||
 | Visit Broker> 82% of retail CFD accounts lose money | FCA, CySEC, FSC | $50 | 1:30 (FCA), 1:30 (CySEC), 1:3500 (FSC) | MT4, MT5, Proprietary | 2011 | No dealing desk, ECN, Market Maker |
JustMarkets
Regulated by:CySEC, FSCA, FSA(SC)
Headquarters:Cyprus
Foundation Year:2012
Min Deposit:$1
Your capital is at risk.
Founded in 2012, JustMarkets has been in business for more than 10 years. The broker operates via two entities: Just Global Markets Ltd (FSA, a Tier 3 regulator) and JustMarkets Ltd (CySEC, a Tier 1 regulator). JustMarkets received a high score for stability and transparency in our research. Traders can read the important legal documents on the dedicated page of the broker’s website.
The broker offers four types of accounts, which are available on two trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. There are four MT4 accounts and three MT5 accounts. Traders can also practice on demo accounts before committing to a real account. Available instruments include forex pairs, stocks, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
The broker has a minimum deposit of just $1 in Standard Cent and Standard accounts. The minimum deposit in Pro and Raw Spread accounts is $100, which is also a modest level. JustMarkets’ clients have sufficient regulatory protections as the broker is regulated by Tier 1 and Tier 3 regulators. The broker has accounts that suit both beginner and advanced traders.
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OctaFX
Regulated by:CySEC, SVGFSA
Headquarters:Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Foundation Year:2011
Min Deposit:$50
Forex margin trading involves substantial risks
OctaFX was founded in 2011 and offers Forex ECN trading, as well as CFD trading on Indices, Metals and Cryptocurrencies, across the MetaTrader and cTrader suite of trading platforms for Windows Desktop, Web (Windows and Mac) and Mobile (Android and iOS), as well as their own OctaFX Trading App.
The services and features offered by OctaFX are designed for both beginner and professional traders, with access to Micro, Pro and ECN accounts, as well as the OctaFX Copy Trading programme and an impressive range of education and trading research tools including AutoChartist.
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FP Markets
Regulated by:ASIC, CySEC
Headquarters:Australia
Foundation Year:2005
Min Deposit:$100
This material on this website is intended for illustrative purposes and general information only. It does not constitute financial advice nor does it take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Commission, interest, platform fees, dividends, variation margin and other fees and charges may apply to financial products or services available from FP Markets. The information in this website has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the information in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs before making any decision about whether to acquire or dispose of any financial product. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are derivatives and can be risky; When trading CFDs you do not own or have any rights to the CFDs underlying assets. FP Markets recommends that you seek independent advice from an appropriately qualified person before deciding to invest in or dispose of a derivative. A Product Disclosure Statement for each of the financial products available from FP Markets can be obtained either from this website or on request from our offices and should be considered before entering into transactions with us. First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd (ABN 16 112 600 281, AFS Licence No. 286354). FP Markets is a group of companies which include, First Prudential Markets Ltd (registration number HE 372179), a company authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC License number 371/18, Registered Address: Griva Digeni, 109, Aigeo Court, 2nd floor, 3101, Limassol, Cyprus. FP Markets does not accept applications from U.S, Japan or New Zealand residents or residents from any other country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to those local laws or regulations.
FP Markets was founded in 2005 and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), offering segregation of client funds and top tier liquidity. FP Markets is a group of companies that includes First Prudential Markets Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
FP Markets also offers a range of education and market analysis resources through the Traders Hub which includes technical analysis and fundamental analysis articles and videos, as well as, trading ebooks and video tutorials. Users can access live support via telephone, email and live chat 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
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FXTM
Regulated by:FCA, CySEC, FSC
Headquarters:Cyprus
Foundation Year:2011
Min Deposit:$50
82% of retail CFD accounts lose money
FXTM, otherwise known as ForexTime, was founded in 2011. The FXTM brand holds licences and authorisations from global regulators such as the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa and the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius.
The broker offers the ability to trade on more than 250+ financial CFD instruments covering Currencies, Commodities, Indices, Metals and Stocks from six main account types under two categories called Standard and ECN. These offer a variety of commission-free and commission-based trading with low spreads and minimum deposits.
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AVATrade
Regulated by:ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FSA(JP), FSC, BVI, CBI
Headquarters:Ireland
Foundation Year:2006
Min Deposit:$100
71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
AvaTrade is a broker that provides a great range of trading accounts and platforms to trade on more than 1,250 instruments covering Forex, stocks, indices, commodities, cryptos and FX options. Regulated by eight financial regulators around the world, the services are mainly geared towards beginners but there are some useful tools for advanced traders as well.
From our live testing, opening an account with AvaTrade was fast and very simple. There are different investor protections depending on which jurisdiction you open an account with but everything is laid out transparently on the broker’s website which is always good to see.
While there are a lot of platforms geared towards advanced traders such as MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and AvaOptions, beginner traders will be able to navigate the AvaTradeGo mobile trading app with ease.
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How to Choose a Forex Broker as a Malay Trader
The era of Forex has come to Malaysia. There are a lot of brokers offering their services to the locals and you can open an account and become an independent trader. However, currency trading has long been known as the area where lots of scammers run their schemes and defraud investors of their money.
So, when you open an account be sure it is Negara regulated (Malaysian National Bank). You should also check what trading platform and software the brokers provide. Then, do not forget to look at the fees and commissions. It is also important that the broker offers a number of different types of accounts based on your capital size. Do not trade with a broker if it has poor customer service. Also, try to select brokers who have most useful additional services both online and offline.
General Regulation & Malay Regulation
Most countries of the world have had the Forex market regulated for a long time. Regulation has evolved through different stages, mostly from very loose to very strict. Some time ago a scam broker could function freely across the world and could easily get away with it, without being punished. Things have changed now. Unregulated brokers are not welcome in most countries and are even legally banned in some of them. Those who want to offer their services have to get licenses in the countries they want to operate in and they also have to keep their money separate from their customers‘ money. Margin requirements have gone up and leverage was lowered. The situation has definitely changed for the better.
Some ten years ago, it was illegal to trade Forex in Malaysia. A number of people even went to jail and not because they were cheating or running some schemes, but because there was no regulation for currency trading and those who did trade were considered functioning outside of the law. A few years ago trading became legalized and now financial markets including Forex is regulated by Negara (National Bank of Malaysia). The regulator issues licenses for those who want to offer their services to local traders supervises and regulates those brokers and if deems it necessary intervenes or punishes those who fail to comply with the rules set by the Bank. It handles complaints sent by investors and takes an active role in keeping brokers acting transparently and fairly towards their customers.
Trading Platform & Software
After you have figured out which brokers are regulated by Negara, you want to look at the trading platform and software those regulated brokers offer to the customers. The simpler the platform the better. You do not want to make mistakes that are technical due to an overcomplicated platform. Metatrader 4 seems to be the most user-friendly type and is quite easy to use as it has an advanced and very useful chartstation, tons of indicators that you may use or ignore, the possibility to make your notes on charts, add and remove various features, copy function and backtesting of your strategy. There are much more, but you need to check those out, to see whether this or any other platform the company offers meets your needs. If not, go and check another broker‘s platform. Choose the best one for you!
Commissions & Spreads
Brokers make money by charging fees and taking commissions on your transactions. In Forex, those commissions come in the form of spreads. What is a spread? It is the difference between the bid and ask price. In EUR/USD (most popular pair) the difference will typically be 1-3 pips. So, when you open a trade you have a loss of those 1-3 pips. You want to find a broker that has the lowest spreads.
You should also know that spreads can be fixed and variable. Fixed spreads do not change. They are always the same. In major FX pairs spreads can be from 1 to 5 pips and with currency crosses (that do not have US dollar in the pair) they can be from 6 to 20 pips. If spreads are variable they will be lower than fixed ones for most of the time. The size of spread fluctuates and with major pairs can be from 0.2 to 2 pips, while crosses can have 2-10 pip spreads. When markets become very volatile, spreads tend to increase. They can become huge when some important financial or economic data hits the markets. They can increase ten or twenty times and for crosses even one hundred times. But do not worry, such radical increases happen only when very important news comes out and they exceed or fail to meet market expectations and it usually lasts just a minute or even less, then spreads come back to normal levels.
Account Types
Before you open a real money account with any broker do not forget to try their demo account to see how things work there. When you are ready to move on, there should be a number of accounts for you to choose from.
Micro account
This account is meant for those who want to trade real money, but have under $1000 dollars. You can start trading this account with around $100 with most brokers and the price of a pip is usually ten cents. If you are ready to move on, then you can choose.
Mini account
A mini account would be for those who have over $1000 and who are ready to trade mini lots. A mini lot size is 10 thousand US dollars. Just do not forget that now you would be risking ten times more than in micro account. If you want still bigger volumes to trade you have to open…
Standard account
If you can afford to invest 10 thousand US dollars and more you may start thinking about opening a standard account. The risks are ten times higher on this account than on a mini account as a standard lot size is 100 thousand US dollars.
Islamic account
As Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country you may consider opening an Islamic account where you will not be charged and you will not make interest on your overnight positions.
Customer Service
It is expedient for you to test any company‘s customer service before you invest your money with them. Both local and foreign brokers should deal with your requests in your native language or dialect. You should get live online support 24 hours per day, five days of the week. Problems have to be solved fast and effectively. If your broker fails to provide you a feedback in 72 hours he is not working efficiently and you should consider looking for another one.
Additional Services
What else does your broker offer besides opening and closing transactions for you? A good broker will offer as many extra valuable services as possible. Most of those will have educational nature in the form of Ebooks on various topics, daily market videos with experts‘ analysis, daily fundamental and technical market reviews, news feed and comments on Central Bank policy. An abundance of these services shows that a broker invests his money to offer you as many valuable services as possible and for free.
Conclusion
There is no safe investment. Any time you make a trade, it is a risk. However, you may choose to control that risk. One of the ways to reduce and control it is to find a reliable Forex broker and open an account with him. We hope this article will help you do exactly that, and please note our list for the best Malay forex brokers below. Good luck in trading Forex.