5 Best Forex Brokers in the Philippines for 2024

List of Top Forex Brokers and Trading Platforms in the Philippines

Forex Trading in the Philippines

Traders from the Philippines face specific challenges when searching for a reliable broker. Beyond the universal factors every trader has to consider – such as brokerage fees and platform offerings – Filipino traders also need to take into account a broker’s licensing and the availability of instruments from the Southeast Asia region.

The chief difficulty is that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has prohibited trading with leveraged products. Consequently, traders from the Philippines must work with international brokers, many of which have overseas licensing. However, that is not always the case; some international brokers may operate without regulation. Hence, you should be careful to choose a trustworthy partner.

The factor of geographical location is also one to consider. Filippino traders are mainly active during the Asian trading session, characterized by quieter trading activity and lower liquidity levels compared to the crossover period between the EU and U.S. sessions. Due to these and other constraints, such as limited operational hours, local traders would benefit from choosing a broker that offers a broad range of region-specific instruments, such as stocks and indices.

How Did FX Empire Choose the Best Forex Brokers in the Philipines?

• Strong international licensing. Since Forex trading is prohibited by the local regulator, we only considered brokers with international licensing that are regulated by trusted regulatory bodies. This is essential for ensuring that the broker complies with all essential safety policies.
• Low trading fees. We were looking for brokers that offer commission-free trading and low floating spreads, accommodating various trading strategies.
• Deposits and withdrawals in PHP. With the general user experience of traders in the Philippines in mind, we only selected brokers that accept deposits and withdrawals in Philippine peso (PHP).
• Trading software. Only brokers with the most versatile platforms and practical supporting tools were selected to ensure that traders are given everything they need to examine price action behavior from multiple angles.
• Range of trading instruments. As a general rule, ‘the more, the better’ adage holds true when it comes to the number of tradable instruments. That is why we handpicked brokers that afford access to a wide and diverse range of markets.
• Local customer support. In selecting our picks for each category, we were looking for brokers with global reach of customer support. We consider timely and easily accessible customer support essential for traders, wherever they may be located.
• Quality of order execution. To ensure precise order execution, we selected brokers that have access to deep liquidity negating the risk of negative slippage.
• Accounts. Only brokers that provide a broad range of diverse account types were selected to make sure they cater to traders with different means and goals.
• Supporting content. Last but not least, we were looking for brokers who provide varied educational and research materials, such as webinars, videos, trading ideas, and more.

Our team of experts has identified each broker’s strengths and weaknesses using FX Empire’s comprehensive methodology. You can read more about it and how we conduct our tests here.

Now let’s turn to our picks for each category.

How to Choose a Forex Broker in the Philippines?

After covering our picks for each category, it’s time to examine the particular considerations traders in the Philippines need to make when choosing the right partner for themselves:

How to Find a Safe Broker?

To stay safe on the market, you need to think in terms of the reliability of the broker you work with and how to mitigate the trading risk when executing positions. Your first concern should be licensing. Since the local regulator (the Securities Exchange Commission) has prohibited Forex trading in the Philippines, if you wish to trade leveraged products, you must choose a broker with international licensing and regulation to provide financial services to traders globally. One example of a regulatory body ensuring this is the Financial Service Authority (FSA) of the Seychelles.

With regards to the trading risk you are bound to face, I have listed the most important safety mechanisms to look for in a broker:

• Negative balance protection. Negative balance protection is the safety net that ensures traders cannot incur losses that exceed their account balances. This is especially important in highly volatile markets and when trading leveraged instruments like Contracts for Difference (CFDs).
• Segregated client funds. Brokers that keep their clients’ funds in separate bank accounts from the ones used for their corporate capital mitigate the risk of accounting errors.
• Compensation scheme. A compensation scheme can reimburse clients of a broker in the unlikely event that the company becomes insolvent. Private indemnity insurances serve a similar purpose. They protect the trader against the broker’s credit risk and liabilities.
• Best execution policy. Brokers that have a ‘best execution policy’ are obliged to fill their clients’ orders under the most favorable conditions at the time. This is very important as a ‘best execution policy’ effectively decreases the likelihood of traders incurring a negative slippage.

Traders can see whether a broker provides these and other safety mechanisms by checking its documents in the Legal Docs section of the website.

Check out our comprehensive guide on the Best regulated forex brokers.

How to Choose the Most Suitable Account?

It is always important to check which account type offered by a broker is the best match for your personal goals, needs, and means on the market. There are two common account types in the industry – classic and raw. The former affords commission-free trading and floating spreads, usually starting from 1.0 pips. The latter has raw spreads starting from 0.0 pips and a fixed round turn commission, typically around $6 per traded lot.

In my experience as a high-frequency trader, I have always found the features of Classic accounts to be more suitable for implementing strategies such as intraday trading and scalping. In contrast, Raw accounts cater to the needs of high-volume traders who tend to execute larger orders over longer periods.

There is also the question of liquidity. Brokers with access to deep liquidity are better equipped to fill orders promptly and precisely. This mitigates the risk of negative slippage and ensures better prospects for success in the long run. A pro tip: look for brokers like IC Markets, which display their average execution speeds on the website and post regular execution reports.

Read more about Best STP forex brokers and Best ECN forex brokers.

How to Choose a Trading Platform?

The next thing traders need to think about when choosing a broker should be the platforms and tools it supports. Platforms like MetaTrader 4&5 are popular with beginners and have a decent range of technical indicators and drawing tools. Another benefit is that it is quite easy to automate your trading with MetaTrader via its Expert Advisors (EAs) feature. However, I find the platforms in the MetaTrader franchise to lack the easy-to-navigate interface of newer and sleeker platforms like TradingView and NinjaTrader. Read more about each of the platforms in our detailed guides on the best MT4, best MT5, best TradingView, and best NinjaTrader brokers.

In terms of tools, it is worth choosing a broker that incorporates those third-party tools that enhance its own services. For instance, services like TradingCentral and Autochartist afford traders a deep and penetrating insight into currently unfolding trading setups. There is also DupliTrade, which provides comprehensive solutions to those interested in copy trading.

Here are our picks of Best forex trading platforms.

What to Consider in Instrument Selection?

Finally, it is crucially important to consider the exposure to different markets your broker gives you. What I mean by that is you need a broker that offers a wide range of high-volatility assets, like CFD shares and cryptocurrencies, and lower-risk securities, like bonds and treasuries. The market is ever-evolving, and it is my experience that traders who last the longest are the ones who can adapt quickly to the changing market sentiment.

However, there are additional considerations that Philippino traders should make that are more country-specific. As was mentioned in the introduction, traders in the Philippines are active during the Asian trading session, which is a period that is typically characterized by diminished though climbing trading activity.

There is a 12-hour difference between Manila and New York, meaning that most traders in the Philippines will find it difficult to be active during the U.S. open. This is important for the type of instruments offered by a broker. For instance, your broker might offer hundreds of blue-chip CFD stocks of top American companies, which is great, but this diversity will be of little use to traders in the Philippines who are reluctant to stay up late.

That is why it is a good idea to select a broker that offers you a decent amount of Asian instruments, such as stocks of regional companies, commodities, ETFs, currency pairs, and others.

Explore Best share CFD forex brokers and Best commodity trading brokers.

What to Avoid When Choosing a Forex Broker in the Philippines?

Above all else, it is important to choose a safe and trustworthy broker. Reliable brokers are always the ones that are licensed by strict regulatory bodies. But licensing alone is not enough to guarantee safety, as not all regulators mandate adherence to the same policies.

It is up to the trader to check whether the broker complies with the most vital safety mechanisms in the industry, such as having negative balance protection, segregation of client funds, and compensation scheme or private indemnity insurance. It is also helpful when brokers have a ‘best execution policy’ to ensure the most favorable price quotes are used for order filling under prevailing market conditions.

Regarding trading fees, traders should generally avoid accounts with floating spreads starting from 1.4 pips or round-turn commissions above $6.5 per traded lot. These rates exceed the industry average. See our guides for the best lowest spread and best zero spread forex brokers.

Finally, when it comes to platforms, tools, and instruments, traders should look for diversity and versatility. The more options you have, the easier it is to diversify your trading risk and become a consistently performing trader.

How to Avoid Forex and CFD Scams?

Scammers rely on the gullibility of traders. A common tactic fraudsters employ is to promise quick and easy profits at no risk to the trader. Oftentimes, scammers would use labels that closely resemble the brands of real and legitimate companies. That is why regulators like the FCA have registers where traders can read about such fraudulent companies pretending to be others.

The best and easiest way to protect yourself is to make sure you work with a trustworthy and transparent broker. You can find a comprehensive list of reliable brokers by jurisdiction here.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to be careful where you leave your information online. Registering your details on suspicious pop-ups and landing pages promising you enormous profits could result in your contact details ending up in a scammer’s calling list. Remember, no licensed broker would make unsolicited cold calls.

The next time you get contacted out of the blue with promises of becoming the next Warren Buffet, you must remember that you are most likely speaking to a scammer. In my experience, nowhere is the “if something sounds too good to be true…” saying truer than in the world of trading. That is why you should do your due diligence before opening an account with any broker.

Our Methodology

FX Empire has pioneered a unique methodology for evaluating CFD brokers worldwide. Our goal is to highlight all the advantages and disadvantages of a broker’s service so that our readers can make informed decisions when choosing a reliable partner. Our reviews are written with care and attention to detail, focusing on the goals and needs of the typical retail trader.

Our team of dedicated professionals is working continuously to improve our system and keep it up-to-date with current market trends. We test each broker systematically by employing over 250 variables across nine categories:

• Trust
• Fees
• Account Types
• Tradable Instruments
• Platforms and Tools
• Deposits and Withdrawals
• Customer Support
• Research
• Education

We strive to be as rigorous and objective as possible and write our reviews without personal bias. We check the licenses of all the subsidiaries of a broker and look at the fine print in the Client Agreement. The reliability of a broker is further determined based on the website’s regulations, fees, and general transparency. We check whether important information is omitted from the website and client agreement, or if it is presented in language that is difficult to grasp.

To check the performance of a broker in real time, we open a live account with one of its entities. This is done so that we can measure the spreads, swaps, and commissions on its most popular account type. Our findings are then compared to the industry average, which is how we determine whether a broker offers competitive prices.

We also test the functionality of the available platforms, the number and types of tradable instruments, the reliability of customer support, and the quality of the research and educational materials.

For this guide, we looked for broker entities with international licensing to provide financial services globally. Brokers must also accept the Philippine Peso (PHP) as a base currency. Additionally, we searched for reliability, low fees, and user-friendly platforms.

We abide by our strict guidelines for editorial integrity based on the objective standards we have set for our reviews. You can read more about our review process here.

Meet Our Writers

The team of forex and CFD analysts and editors at FXEmpire is comprised of trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our experts are published on leading financial websites such as Investopedia and Forbes. In addition, they all have extensive trading experience.

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