Just as important in the Forex market as it is in the stock market is the choice of which Forex brokerage firm you opt for. The markets vary in that the stock market brokers have commissions to make their money but a Forex broker will use spreads to make their money.
The forex brokers listed below have been reviewed by us based on a number of key features. We recommend reading the forex broker reviews before making your choice on which forex broker to download & join.
Having made the necessary sacrifices and effort to gather the initial capital to invest, it is quite natural that you wish to invest in an intelligent manner, maximizing your potential profits while, at the same time, keeping your risk levels as low as possible.
You have most probably taken the time to learn the workings of the trading system and garner as much information about the financial markets as possible before investing your money. You have experienced the pain of losses and also the joys of success and by now should have a better idea of exactly what you should be doing and how to go about doing that.
Now, you are finally ready to begin trading properly. You wish to start trading for real and generating a second source of income, no matter whether it is your primary or secondary income source. It is time for you to watch you initial investment pay off and your profits begin to grow.
The only thing you need to do now is to choose a broker and a trading platform to work with. Unfortunately, there is such a multitude of brokers, traders, platforms, and choices being offered. Each one of these also offers its own free gifts, options, and unique features. The realization that trading does not involve simply understanding the system of trading comes suddenly and you begin to experience doubts.
The most challenging questions then become, “Who should I work with?”, “Who should I trust with my money?”, and “Which forex trading platform will meet my needs and desires?” Answering questions like these is not easy, and you will have to sift through a sea of information in order to find the right answers. And if you stumble and make the wrong decision, you might find yourself losing a great deal of potential profit or even suffering from losses due to certain important factors you might have forgotten to include in your decision-making process.
At Kenya Forex Firm, however, our professionals are totally immersed in the world of finance and trading. We completely understand your feelings and the worries that you must be experiencing at the moment. Rest assured that you are hardly the only trader to feel this way.
Our aim, therefore, is to aid you in choosing the best forex brokers in Kenya. We can help you make sense of information that seems chaotic and without order, and also reduce the chances that you will commit any errors. We have taken the time to review every active broker in detail, and analyzed their various trading platform, conditions, and other features that each one offers clients.
Our standards are exacting and our main focus is on the efficiency and profitability offered by a broker. Using the information that we have gathered, we present you with a summarized report of what we feel are the 10 best forex brokers in Kenya, and who will offer you the best terms and potential profits currently available. Emphasis has been placed on the main factors that you should consider when making your decision. With the extensive information we place at your disposal, you will be able to choose the broker, trading platform, and trading conditions that suit your needs and trading style best.
Besides saving valuable time and money, more importantly, you will be more assured that your decisions are the right ones. This will allow you the greatest potential for success.
All that is left for you to do is to make your choice of one of the recommended brokers above, register on their site, and start trading, confident that you have made the best decision possible.
Best Forex Brokers in Kenya Reviews
1. XM Forex
XM forex is a forex trading broker regulated in the Republic of Cyprus that was started by a group of interbank dealers in 2009. Their initial aim was to improve the level of services in the forex trading community.
XM Group is a group of regulated online brokers.
- Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd was established in 2009 and it is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC120/10)
- Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd was established in 2015 and it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC 443670)
- XM Global Limited was established in 2017 and is regulated by the Financial Services Commission (000261/158) and,
- Trading Point MENA Limited was established in 2019 and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (F003484).
With XM Forex, traders can access commodities, CFDs as well as foreign currencies. The main advantage of dealing with XM Forex in Kenya is that because they are based in Cyprus, and Cyprus is a member of the Eurozone, it meets the minimum standards required of any financial service provider that operates in the EU.
XM have gained an excellent reputation over the years due to their core values of business transparency, top rate trading conditions and expert communication. They offer a wide range of trading options including foreign currencies, precious metals, stock indices and energies. Another positive factor is that there are no rejections or re-quotes of trading orders and their speed of execution is second to none. 99.35% of orders are executed within 1 second.
XM Forex Trading Platforms
XM currently offer a great choice of platforms for their clients that include MetaTrader 4, MT5, XM WebTrader, XM Mobile and MAM Trader.
MetaTrader 4
One of the world’s most popular trading platforms due to it’s user-friendliness and variety of tools. The XM MetaTrader 4 trading platform can be used for manual and automated trading with its own expert advisers.
XM WebTrader
This platform allows traders to trade via the internet without having to go to the trouble of downloading specialized software.
XM Mobile Trader
For those of you who are often on the move and those who love to use their mobile devices XM Mobile Trader is the obvious solution. Trades made using an iPhone, iPad or other mobile devices are easy with their suit of mobile platforms.
MAM Trader
For more advanced trading and the professional trader with more than 1 account, MAM Trader enables you to manage more than one account and has all the necessary trading tools.
Types of XM Trading Accounts
XM offers 3 different types of trading account:
Micro Account
With an initial deposit of only $5 this first level account is ideal for the beginner and those who’d prefer a low risk approach towards their investing. Minimum contract size is 1 000 lots.
Standard Account
This next level account is much more suitable for more experienced and professional traders but requires a larger initial deposit before trades can be done. The benefits are the same as those for Micro accounts but Standard traders can trade with a larger contract size.
XM Ultra Low Account
Answer:
XM Forex offers an Ultra Low Account, which is perfect for traders who want to keep their costs low. The account has a low minimum deposit requirement and no commissions. It also offers access to XM’s wide range of trading platforms and educational materials. For traders who are looking for a cost-effective way to trade forex, the XM Ultra Low Account is a great option.
For complete beginners there is the valuable option of opening a Demo Account. Always a good way to start your forex trading journey as you can experience the highs and lows of trading without risking any of your own money.
XM Forex Bonus info and some additional features
Kindly note that trading bonus and Loyalty Program are not eligible for clients registered under Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd.
To encourage new customers the XM Bonus is currently $30 worth of credit when you open your first real account. It’s available to all new clients and no initial deposit is required. The bonus is automatically credited to your account and there are no hidden terms. Any profits earned can be withdrawn.
Other XM bonus offers include a welcome bonus, loyalty program, free VPS services and no charge for deposits and withdrawals.
So in conclusion XM is a worthwhile choice for both new and experienced traders as it offers an interesting range of bonuses and accounts that cater for the wide variety of people who are interested in investing their money in the forex market. Customer support is available in a wide range of languages and can be contacted on weekdays by live chat, email and via an extensive range of country specific phone numbers. It has a very high rate of executed trades, no rejections and no re-quotes. A distinct advantage in this ever changing market.
2. EasyMarkets Forex Broker
If you’re looking for a forex broker that offers a good all round service Easy Markets could be right up your street. As well as easy forex trading they offer a variety of ways to take advantage of many different markets all across the globe.
Easy Markets is well known all over Europe as it is regulated in several EU countries. Although we should mention that you cannot sign up with Easy Markets if you reside in the USA. Being regulated means you can trust the company’s legitimacy. And as well as trading in foreign currencies you’re able to trade commodities, if you fancy a change of scene.
Easy Markets entered the field of forex trading in 2003. It was started by a group of bankers, forex and internet experts with the aim to provide access to global currency markets as well as trades in equity indices, energy and agricultural commodities, metals and vanilla options via a web-based, desktop or mobile platform.
EasyMarkets Accounts
For their customers EasyMarkets has 3 main types of trading accounts: VIP, Premium, and Standard.
1. Standard
This is the basic level entry account and requires a minimum deposit of $25 and a minimum deal size of $5 000. A mini account gives you access to one on one training, live chat and all platform features.
2. Premium
The next step up is the gold account that requires a minimum deposit of $500 and minimum deal size of $50 000. Additional advantages include your own personal dealer, dealing room chat and access to special offers.
3. VIP
You get all the standard features with a minimum deposit of $2 000 and minimum deal size of $25 0000. As a platinum customer you’re entitled to higher dealing leverage and an expert charting package.
This is the most sophisticated package available for Easy Markets clients. As a VIP account holder you can receive market update calls from dealers, call levels by dealers and customised reports.
All these accounts can undertake trades in silver, gold and oil contracts as well as foreign currencies. Easy Markets also offers some unique extra features such as freeze rate facilities (trades only executed at a certain price) and one click trading. This super fast way of trading means you can buy and sell with little delay.
Easy Markets also offers a range of different easy forex bonus offers that are regularly updated. The current offer is a 20% easy forex bonus trading credit when you make your first deposit.
Like most forex brokers Easy Markets makes its money via the bid-ask spread. In other words their profits come from the difference between the bidding and asking price. The spreads vary according to the liquidity of the market at the time of the trade. However it’s good to know that tailor-made spreads may be available for certain types of account i.e. Platinum and VIP account holders.
For all you forex newbies Easy Forex offers a wide range of educational tools such as training videos, e-books, simulators and events. They also run webinars and seminars for all levels of expertise.
Easy Forex Platforms and conclusion
When looking at different forex brokers the level of customer service provided is a vital factor when searching for the best one. EasyMarkets ticks all the boxes as their customer support is via a 24 hours phone line with quite a few European-based numbers and a few from countries outside the EU. You can also contact the customer support team via email should you prefer.
You know that EasyMarkets is a reliable broker because of the vast number of transactions they get and enable every month. And as well as forex you can try your hand in other markets too. MetaTrader 4 is one of the most commonly used platforms with more than 85% of trades taking place using this software.
So in conclusion, this forex broker is primarily targeted at relatively new traders and those who are looking for a simple and straightforward trading experience. With their range of different options they are also suitable for intermediate and advanced traders, especially if you qualify for preferential rates. Although not available in the USA, traders who reside in Europe, Australia and other countries would be wise to take notice of this easy forex review and have a go at using their user-friendly online trading platform.
3. FXCM
FXCM is a regulated ECN Forex broker based in USA and has headquarters in New York. The company offers the possibility to trade with and without a dealing desk. You can choose to trade on rates provided directly by the banks with the FXCM widening, getting around 1.8 pips for the EUR/USD currency pair. However, if you need a protection against the spread uncertainty, you can trade with dealing desk with the spread of 2.6 pips on the EUR/USD currency pair.
To open a standard account, the broker requires an initial deposit of 2,000 USD, and it offers leverages of up to 1:200 for all traders who are outside the United States, and 1:50 leverage for US traders. FXCM also offers a mini-account for those who are still new to online currency trading. It requires an initial deposit of 50 USD. I have not tested the mini account, for this reason I can’t share any thoughts about it in my review.
FXCM offers several trading platforms, including the popular MetaTrader 4 platform. For my trading I used the FXCM Active Trading platform. The platform is available to traders that trade more than 10 million currency units per month or deposit more than 25 000 USD. The platform is easy to use and is very intuitive. The spreads are quite tight, around 0.8 pips for EUR/USD, however broker charges a commission of 3.5 USD per 1 lot. I always prefer trading Forex without a dealing desk involved.
FXCM provides great customer support for traders with accounts over 25 000 USD including the weekends when the markets are closed. I didn’t try the standard customer support for smaller account owners, but it states that they offer support in over 20 languages via phone, chat and e-mail.
The registration process requires not only your personal information, but also your financial details and employment information. To approve my account I had to provide a copy of my ID and a valid utility bill for providing proof of residence.
4. FxPro
FXPro is a regulated Forex broker based in Limassol, Cyprus. I was trading with this broker for a couple of months now. To open a standard account, the broker requires an initial deposit of 1,000 USD, and it offers leverage up to 1:500 for all traders who live outside the United States, and 1:50 leverage for the US traders. However, for MT4 platform it is even enough with 500 USD to open an account. Also, registering a process for the real FXPro accounts was simple.
FXPro offers 2 trading platforms, including the popular MetaTrader 4 platform and their own FXPro cTrader. I always prefer trading Forex without a dealing desk involved,so for my trading I used the FXPro cTrader trading platform. The spreads are tight, around 0.6 pips for EUR/USD, however the broker charges a commission of 65 USD per 1 million traded. Which is 6.5 USD per 1 lot.
Main drawback is that they offer only MT4 iphone and ipad platform. They have not developed mobile version of their FXPro cTrader. And as sometimes I have to leave my computer during the trading process, I am used to manage my positions over the phone.
FXPro provides a great customer support. I had a couple questions during the registration process, which were answered in no time at all. Also I had a couple of small issues with the trading process and quotes, so I had an opportunity to test the customer service well.
Overall, I was satisfied with FXPro services, especially with the customer support and order execution. The commissions from turnover were not the smallest in the market, however I would classify them as normal. The main thing that I did not like was the fact that they did not had their own platform solution for a smartphone.
5. Dukascopy
Dukascopy is a regulated ECN Forex broker based in Switzerland. The company offers a security of your funds, no price manipulations and quite swift order executions. During the ProForexCourse testing I managed to collect enough experience with Dukascopy for this review.
Dukascopy is indeed an ECN broker with a lot liquidity, but based on my trading experience, Dukascopy spreads are definitely one of the lowest in the industry. My testing parameters were as the following:
Account size: 50 000 USD
Commission for 1M: 18 USD
Trade size: 500 000 (5 Lots)
Trading period: September 3rd to September 28th
Trading platform: JFOREX Platform
Firstly, their spreads are floating. On average, the EUR/USD spread reaches around 1.2 pips; however, the broker charges a commission of 18 USD for 1M USD (0.18 pips), which increases the spread in both directions by 0.36 pips. It is still a very attractive deal compared to other broker, though during important news announcements the spread increases by 4 or 5 pips. Also, during the trading period I had a lot of cases with slippage, and once I contacted the Dukascopy representatives, I got an explanation that the slippage was caused by volatile market conditions.
Dukascopy offers several trading platforms, including the popular MetaTrader 4 platform. For my forward test I used a downloadable JAVA-based platform, called jForex. The platform is easy to use and very intuitive. The only thing that I didn’t like much was that platform does not merge positions automatically, therefore after every closed trade I had to do that manually. Nevertheless, the broker does not charge the commission for merging positions, so this was not a big issue.
I really liked the way the Portfolio Statement is presented within the platform. The accounting information regarding the trading activity is very user-friendly: you can easily find all necessary information regarding transactions, trades and commissions.
Signing up for a Swiss broker is slightly more complicated while other brokers offer an online subscription. You are required to download all the papers, fill in the necessary information, and mail the documents to Switzerland. It is suggested that you email scanned copies or fax them first to ensure that everything is in order before mailing your the original documents.
If you are opening up a private account, you will need to include a certified copy of your passport or any utility bill showing your residential address. You will be contacted by a company representative if any additional documentation is needed. A standard bank order is needed to deposit or make a withdrawal from your account.
In general, I had a pleasant experience while trading with the broker. While it offers speedy trade execution and tight spreads, you might get a higher slippage during highly volatile market conditions. At the same time, they size of the slippage is not that critical and it does not occur every time. While the application procedure for an account might be somewhat annoying, it is being offset by an advanced client service and well-thought trading platforms.
5. Forex.Com
I came across this broker back in 2014. Forex.com is quite a well-known broker and it has two headquarters located in New York and London. The broker allows trading currencies and metals as well as CFDs, and it is possible to execute trades with the FOREXTrader platform, designed by Forex.com, or regular MetaTrader platform.
Personally I never tried their own platform as I at that time I felt perfectly comfortable trading with MetaTrader. Along with its own platform, I like the list of PRO tools they offer such as Autochartist, eSignal and Strategy Center, including DowJones Newswires. It is possible to open a trading account with 1:400 leverage for Forex, and 1:200 for CFD contracts.
During my live experience, sometimes I got lots of re-quotes during volatile times on markets, with spread on EUR/USD reaching up to 3 pips, and I didn’t get that many of them while trading with any other broker. Also, I would debate about the execution speed, as sometimes it took longer than 60 milliseconds to place an order on a live account.
What I liked about the broker is a 24/5 live chat support that helped sometimes answering basic questions related to practical matters (such as opening an account). However, sometimes I got an impression that there was a forex robot answering my questions.
To conclude, it’s a nice broker, I made my first trading successes and losses with it and it allowed me to get a clearer overview about Forex trading. Yet, for advanced and experienced traders I would suggest trading with others brokers, preferably the ECN-type ones.
7. Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is a worldwide-known broker that is headquartered in Copenhagen, with offices located in more than 25 countries. Saxo Bank offers 30000 different trading instruments from over 33 global exchanges, but I was trading only Forex with them, so I cannot express my opinion about other instruments they are providing.
What I like about Saxo Bank is that client funds are deposited at Barclays and HSBC, which are some of the leading players in the banking world, and it means that they are very serious about the security of client funds. In my opinion, the security of funds is one of the most important things that you look in your broker.
What I really liked about Saxo Bank is that they do offer 3 integrated trading platforms, and each one of them is accessible from one Saxo Bank account. The Saxo MT4 account offers the choice of more than 50 FX pairs and CFD indices and commodities. This is not so much of an importance to me though as I trade only one currency pair. But what was attractive for me is that they offered tight spreads and provide leverage of up to 1:200.
The Saxo MT4 platforms allow free access to the Metaqoutes smartphone app so it does allow me to maintain the trade over my smartphone whenever I have to leave my PC. I never had any issues with them. I tested their customer service, that is claimed to be operational 24/5, and I was pleased with their quick responses.
The real account registration process is very easy and is done directly on SaxoMT4 website. Trading with Saxo Bank was convenient, also I am not a huge fan of MT4 platform. And the trade execution was accurate with small slippages and narrow spreads.
How to Choose a Forex Broker in Kenya
Finding a Forex Broker that cater to your specific needs as a trader can be a daunting task to say the least. There are a massive number of brokers around and they all differ vastly in how they operate and what they offer. A novice trader has to be very vigilant not to fall into the honey traps some Forex brokers set up to attract unsuspecting aspiring traders. It doesn’t matter what kind of trader you are, the first thing that any trader have to pay attention to when choosing a Forex broker is the reputation of the broker. If the broker has bad reputation then there is no need to look any deeper at that broker. Some Forex brokers are very good and take good care of their clients while others are very close to being considered scammers. Some are even down right criminal but these types of brokers are not that common anymore since regulation in the Forex industry is pretty good nowadays. Regulation is of course not perfect but a broker located in US and especially EU has quite a few rules to obey before they can start accepting clients.
When choosing a Forex broker is can be a good idea to look at where the Forex Broker has its seat, in other words which jurisdiction the broker is incorporated. EU is definitely preferred simply because the EU requires the client funds to be in segregated accounts. This means that if the broker goes bankrupt he will not take your trading funds with him in the fall. That’s why even a lax jurisdiction like Cyprus, which is a EU member, is preferable to USA. Besides we all know what regulatory scandals have surfaced in the US lately, most recently the Madoff scandal. Such a scandal couldn’t happen in the EU since the accounts of the clients are separated from the brokers assets. If you are a US resident you have little choice though as the IRS is hunting down anyone that is hiding any money outside the US and not declaring it. Although the number of US based Forex brokers are not that great there are some good ones. It will take a little more work to find one that will suit your specific trading needs if you decide to go with a US based broker. If you know what you are doing it can be better to select a EU based one as these are safer. Just make sure you keep friends with the IRS.
Next up in your broker research should be what type of broker you want. There are many types of Forex brokers available. You can even trade directly with some Forex exchanges as well which can be a quite refreshing affair if you are used to the usual run-of -the-mill. Depending on your trading style it is wise to go with a broker that is in line with that style. For example if you are a High Frequency trader or a so called Algorithmic Trader then a ECN (Electronic Communication Network) broker is the best choice. Otherwise a Market Maker or a STP (Straight Through Processing) broker can be just as good as long as the spreads are low and the broker reputable. If you are just making say a couple of trades a week (aka Position Trader) the cost of each trade is (or at least should be) low in comparison to the profit you make. Trading daily or 4H bars gives a much higher average profit than trading 1M bars so in that respect the costs of trading are not that important for a Position Trader. Of course the spreads must be reasonably low – I mean who wants to pay extra even if we are just talking about a few bucks in most cases. If you are a High Roller with very large account trading, say, 100 standard lots then over time trading costs accumulate and can amount to thousands of dollars. Better to spend that money on a necklace for you wife – right?
For those of you that love Algorithmic Trading (aka fully automatic trading) there are not that many choices. The reason for this that the trading costs have to be really low. We also don’t want to get involved with Market Makers since these are too slow and thus not at all suitable for Algorithmic Strategies. The best choice here is definitely an ECN broker and not an STP due to the way a STP broker works. A STP broker is basically just a Market Maker without a Dealing Desk. A true ECN Forex broker on the other hand only makes money from the commission, nothing else. A true ECN broker has an interest in helping you since he wants your long-term business – that is not the case with other brokers. However, there are ECN brokers that are not true ECN but rather STP posing as ECN. Can be difficult to sniff out these brokers but if the broker is reputable it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
To summarize what we have been discussing in this article the most important thing is to find a reputable broker that suits your trading needs. That requires some research on your part or you can always have a look at the reviews on this site and decide for yourself. Most of the brokers here are more geared towards Position Traders than Algorithmic Traders since most aspiring traders are using discretionary trading systems and not automatic software. To be an Algorithmic Trader you have to have quite a bit of knowledge about programming, which most traders don’t. That doesn’t mean you cannot make a very good income trading discretionary – you certainly can. The difference is that an Algorithmic Trader have more freedom since the execution of all the trades are handled by the program and there is no reason for the trader to sit glued to the screen.
Patrick Mahinge
Patrick Mahinge is a full time forex trader, money manager, and consultant to major financial funds. At only 35 years old he is widely considered an up and rising star in the forex trading community and is known for his simple time proven techniques.Since the founding of KenyaForexFirm.com in 2014, his forecasts have been uncannily accurate and his subscribers have reaped the benefits. KenyaForexFirm.com is Patrick's attempt to share his wisdom and knowledge about Forex Trading so traders can see through the clutter and get straight to the core of profitable trading.
