10 Best Forex brokers in India (February 2023)

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One of the most attractive qualities of the Forex market is that it is available 24/7, and is accessible from any place in the world. However, accessing it from India can prove to be a bit challenging. If you are interested in getting into trading, you need a reliable, licensed broker. That will not only ensure the safety of your funds, but also make it possible to access the best trading conditions out there.

Yet, it is somewhat difficult to find such companies that you can trust with your money due to certain policies of the Indian government. The aim of this article is to help you find the perfect one for you. We will discuss the particular policies of the Indian regulators, as well as what difficulties you might face when trading with licensed firm. Following that, we will list the ten best Forex brokers that accept clients from the country. The basic aspects of trading with them will be outlined, as well as what makes them stand out from the rest of their peers. So here is everything you need to know about trading Forex from India as of February 2023:

Is Forex trading legal in India? 

In 1999, the Foreign Exchange Management Act came into power in India. This act narrowed down the scope of Forex trading in the country significantly. It is legal to trade FX in India, provided you do so with one of the few entities that are authorized. These entities are licensed by the Reserve Central Bank (RCB) of India, which also only permits currencies to be traded on several licensed markets, for instance the Bombay Stock Exchange, or the National Stock Exchange of India. Furthermore, there is a very strict restriction on what can be traded, with an incredibly limited amount of products you can use. This means trading with a broker that is authorized by the RCB is not really competitive with what international leading brokers can offer you. Luckily, there are several big firms which provide their services to Indian clients. Before we take a look at those, however, here are some of the common complications that can arise for Indian traders:

The complications in trading with FX brokers from India 

Credit cards and wire transfers are among the most convenient ways to deposit into an account with any broker. However, they are not available to traders from India. That is because these transactions into the accounts of brokers are banned. What’s more, the banks where you hold your money can report such activity to the authorities.

Indian traders have realized they can deposit using more decentralized means of payment. Most commonly, these include third party e-wallets. PayPal is the most widely-used among them, and Neteller and Skrill follow closely. They also have relatively low transaction costs, at least compared to wire transfer payments. The speed in which they are processed is also faster than wires. Other methods used sometimes include various crypto assets, but there are high risks associated with them. Firstly, there is the volatility of the price of the assets, which means you can lose value while the deposit is pending. And secondly, there is the lack of chargeback if something goes wrong with your broker.

Another large issue, and a critical flaw of the policies of the Indian government in restricting Forex is that by outlawing it except in some narrow cases, it does not stop scam brokers from targeting citizens of the country. Such firms, which lack any sort of regulation, are dangerous to traders from all over the world, and penalizing their victims is no means of reducing the damages from FX fraud. The only successful policy, capable of actually preventing losses, is fostering a higher level of financial literacy in the individual. As far as what you can do to prevent losing money to scams, you can stick to the most reliable Forex brokers, which offer their services in India. These are licensed in top regulatory jurisdictions and provide access to a great service, as the next section will show:

The best licensed FX brokers that offer their services in India 

1. OctaFX 

OctaFX comes first in our list because of its special promotion for Indian traders which allows them to exchange rupees to USD at a very favorable rate. This rate is fixed, and there are several benefits to using the promotion. Firstly, if the rupee depreciates against the dollar, which happened last year, you will not lose the value of your deposits. Secondly, the rate itself is much better than the market offers on its own. OctaFX also has a lot more promotions that you can seek too, if you are interested. There is access to its deposit bonuses, as well as several attractive trading competitions. Of interest is the demo trading one, which has clients of the firm make as much profit as possible on a virtual money account. The ones at the top win real money prizes. That way, you can get something out, without risking a dime!

2. FBS

FBS shines with its own proprietary mobile trading app. Though not the first broker ever to introduce its own platform, it has created one with some noteworthy features. The broker claims it is as powerful as Metatrader 4 or 5, but with a simpler interface. You can open and close positions on it, and top up your account without needing to go though the website of the firm. Of note is the special promotion the broker runs for clients who use the said app. 20% of the costs you pay for spreads will be returned to you if you trade with the platform. The spreads with FBS are already quite low, but this promotion will make accessing the markets with the broker even better!

3. XM 

XM is a broker, trusted by more than 3.5 million traders worldwide. The firm is probably the best all-around broker in the world. It has a very low entry cost of only $5. For comparison, micro accounts with the rest of the noteworthy FX brokers out there cost between $5 and $10. The spreads with the broker are quite tight, and it has two of the best platforms out there available. All in all, this is a broker well worth checking out, even without mentioning its attractive trading promotions! If you open and verify your account with the firm, it will credit it with $30 to use for trading. That money will be available even without having to deposit with the firm at all.

4. FXTM 

The main benefit from dealing with FXTM would be the access to the information it provides, which can help both new and experienced FX traders make the best choices in the current market conditions. Of note is the Daily Analysis, which outlies various global events and assesses their impact on the markets. Breaking news can be tracked via the feed on the broker’s website, which curates the most relevant information from around the world and delivers it to the client. And finally, you can even plan ahead of time, with the Economic Calendar which the broker provides access to. It contains various events relevant to the markets and rates their impact!

5. HFM 

The main advantage of trading with HFM would have to be its advanced Copy trading system. This allows clients to track the best performing users of the firm’s platform. Then, you can start copying them, opening and closing the same trades as them at the same time as them. The benefits to this include the the fact you do not need a lot of experience on the markets. On the other hand, if you are, you can become a Strategy provider – an account people can copy, which can be a source of additional income per trade!

6. FXCM 

If you are a serious Forex trader, who trades at high volumes, you will find VPS services with most brokers. However, they usually come with a monthly subscription. The cost of this subscription can vary, but with FXCM, you can access the service for free. The only requirement is that you qualify for an Active Trader status with the firm. To do so, you need to have traded over $10 million in notional value, or 100 lots, monthly. The benefits of using a VPS service include not having to worry about server downtimes or outages. It is also perfect for testing EAs because it provides a more controlled environment to do so.

Besides the free service we mentioned, there are other benefits to securing the Active Trader status for yourself. These include getting rebates per each trade, based on your volume. These can reach up to $25 per 100 lots traded, which is nothing to scoff at!

7. Exness 

We mentioned that a low entry cost for trading is an advantage. Exness goes a step further, with removing this requirement entirely. What’s more, while micro accounts usually come with certain restrictions on what you can and cannot trade, or the volume of positions you can open, that is not the case here. This broker allows you to access everything it offers, without needing to deposit the $100 to $200, which is the price of a standard account with other firms!

8. Forex.com

The US Forex market is tightly controlled and the barrier to entry for brokers is incredibly high. This pressure has led to some stellar firms emerging on it, and Forex.com is one of them. What makes it stand out is the wealth of analytical tools it provides access to. These include additional charting tools and technical indicators, not normally found on stock versions of Metatrader 5. Another interesting way to assess the effectiveness of your strategies is via backtesting. This feature allows you to apply your strategy of choice to the market conditions of the past, which are reproduced from the historic data Forex.com allows you to access!

9. eToro 

Another excellent broker from the United States, eToro stands out with its crypto trading. It provides deeper access to the digital assets market than most of its contemporaries, while being fully licensed in a strict jurisdiction. The crypto markets are known for their volatility – and that is something no broker can fix. However, trading with eToro will mean you avoid dealing with the other danger of the crypto markets – their infestation with scammers. Over 60 assets are available for clients of the firm – from Bitcoin, Ethereum and Doge, to other, less common cryptos.

10. AvaTrade 

AvaTrade is a broker which provides access to advanced features for Options trading. There are tools which help assess the risks well in advance, on its mobile trading app. This app is dedicated to the assets, and it can provide insight into their future movements. Of course, CFD trading is also available, on Metatrader 4 and 5, as well as social trading. You will find that whatever asset you choose to trade with the broker, you will have access to cutting edge trading conditions. Low spreads and competitive leverage amounts are both a fact when using the services of AvaTrade.