Comparison of Best Forex Trading Platforms in Nigeria

Best Forex Trading Platforms

These are the best Forex trading platforms in Nigeria. All of these brokers offer the best Forex trading conditions for Nigeria traders.

1. HF Markets – Overall Best Forex Trading Platform for Beginners in Nigeria
2. XM Trading – 24/7 Customer Service Forex Platform
3. FXTM – Forex Trading Platform With NGN Account Currency
4. Octa – Swap-free Forex Trading Platform in Nigeria
5. Exness – Well Regulated Forex Trading Platform in Nigeria
6. IC Markets – Forex Trading platform with ECN Type accounts

Details of these Forex brokers can be found below.

#1 HF Markets – Overall Best Forex Trading Platform for Beginners in Nigeria

HF Markets Regulation/Safety: HF Markets is registered as HF Markets (SV) Ltd in St. Vincent & Grenadine with registration number 22747, this is the company Nigerian clients trade with.

The parent company of HF Markets is authorised and regulated as HF Markets (UK) Ltd by FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK), as HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd by the DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority), and as HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd by FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa).

HF Markets Trading Fees: Spreads on HF Markets begin from 1 pip on Micro, Premium, Pro, Cent and Pro Plus accounts and 0.0 pips on the Zero Spread Account. The broker also charges swap fees if you keep a trade position open past the market’s closing time. HF Markets provides a 7-day allowance for swap-free trading for Islamic Account holders.

HF Markets offers commission-free trading for all account types except Zero Spread Accounts on which they charge $3 or ₦1,100 ($6 or ₦2,200 round turn) and $4 or ₦1,450 ($8 or ₦2,900 round turn) per lot trade made for majors and minors respectively.

Here are the typical spreads for major currencies and instruments on HF Markets Micro Account:

HF Markets Non-Trading Fees: HF Markets charges no fees on deposit or withdrawal for most payment methods. Deposits under $100 via wire transfer attract fees from payment processors. Withdrawal charges also apply for the Bitpay method, which attracts a 1% fee of the amount.

A $5 fee is charged for account inactivity after six months.

HF Markets Account Types: HF Markets has 5 main account types which are; Premium Account, Pro Account, Zero, Pro Plus, and Cent Account. They recently introduced Top-Up Bonus Account. HF Markets also offers Islamic account features which have no interest or swap fees. The maximum leverage on HF Markets is 1:2,000.

HF Markets Account Currency: Traders in Nigeria can choose NGN, USD, EUR & JPY as base account currencies on HF Markets.

Negative Balance Protection: HF Markets reset the account balance of traders to zero when a Trade is made by a trader which results in a loss more than what is in the trader’s account. This ensures you cannot lose more than the money you deposited.

HF Markets Trading Platforms: Trading platforms for MT4 & MT5 on HF Markets are available on desktop, Android, iOS and Web terminals. HF Markets’ proprietary trading application – HFM App – is available on mobile devices (iOS and Android) and HFM Trader is available for web trading.

HF Markets Copy Trading: CopyTrading is supported on HF Markets, and new traders can signup as followers to copy trades of experts or experts can signup to become providers of trading strategies. HF Markets has a special account type for social trading, the HFCopy Account.

HF Markets Trading Instruments: There are over 1,200 trading instruments available on HF Markets which include Forex & CFD trading on 53 major and minor currency pairs, 40 Cryptocurrencies, 5 agriculture Commodities, 24 spot and future Indices, 6 Metals, 4 spot and future Energies, 3 Bonds, 96 stocks, and 34 ETFs.

HF Markets Order Execution: HF Markets is an STP (Straight Through Processing) broker and processes trade on its platform via a Market Execution policy.

HF Markets Deposits: The minimum deposit on HF Markets for Nigerian Traders is NGN 4,000 and NGN 4,000,000 is the maximum payment per transaction. Different account types require different minimum payments.

Local bank transfers for traders in Nigeria are credited instantly while cards and e-wallet deposits take up to 10 minutes to reflect.

HF Markets Withdrawal: The minimum withdrawal on HF Markets is $10 and it takes 24 hours for withdrawals made to local banks in Nigeria to be processed, 2-10 business days for cards and wire transfers, while e-wallets are mostly instant or within 10 minutes.

Cryptocurrency withdrawals can take up to 2 days to process.

HF Markets Customer Support: HF Markets customer support is available via email and live chat for 24 hours on business days days. There is local HF Markets phone support in Nigeria available from Mondays to Fridays.

#2 XM- 24/7 Customer Service Forex Platform

XM Regulation/Safety: XM is registered as XM Global Limited in Belize and licensed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Belize with licence number 000261/158. Traders from Nigeria are under this registration.

XM Group is regulated by CySEC as Trading Point Of Financial Instruments Ltd.

XM Trading Fees: Spreads on XM are variable for all account types starting from 0.6 pips. All accounts on XM are commission-free except the Shares Account, on which dividends can be added or deducted from the account.

Swap fees are charged on all account types on XM. Swap fees are charged once a day when a trade position is rolled over. The charge is made 3 times on Wednesday to cover for rollovers that happen during weekends.
The swap-free option is available for Islamic accounts.

The average spreads fees on XM Standard Accounts are shown on the table below:

XM Non-Trading Fees: XM does not charge clients any fees for deposits or withdrawals via any method of payment. XM charges $5 on dormant accounts after 90 days.

XM Account Types: XM offers 4 account types to clients, Standard Account, Micro Account, XM Ultra-Low Account, and Shares Account. Traders of the Islamic faith can choose to operate an Islamic Account with zero swap fees. The maximum leverage on XM is 1:1,000 and is adjusted based on equity.

XM Account Currency: Base currencies for trading accounts on XM are USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, SGD,‎ AUD, PLN, RUB, HUF, and ZAR.

Negative Balance Protection: XM offers negative balance protection for all clients on all account types.

XM Trading Platforms: Trading platforms supported by XM are MT4, MT5 and XM WebTrader available on desktops (Windows & macOS) and mobile devices (tablets, iOS and Android)

Copy Trading: XM does not offer any copy trading, which means beginners cannot copy trades on XM.

XM Trading Instruments: XM offers Forex trading on 55 currency pairs, 1,286 stocks CFDs, 8 commodities CFDs, 24 Equity Indices CFDs, 4 metals CFDs, 5 energies CFDs, 31 cryptocurrencies and 100 shares CFDs.

XM Order Execution: XM is a market maker and follows the Market Execution order policy for all clients’ trade orders.

XM Deposits: The minimum deposit on XM is $5 for all accounts except the Shares Account which requires a minimum deposit of $10,000. Some payment methods may have higher minimum payments.

While e-wallet deposits are credited instantly, card and online bank deposits take 2-5 days to be credited.

XM Withdrawal: The minimum amount traders can withdraw on XM is $5, and credited instantly for e-wallets, while card and online bank withdrawals take 2-5 days to be received. The withdrawal and deposit options can be viewed on your account.

XM Customer Support: XM offers customer service support 24 hours 7 days via live chat on their website, email, and an international phone number.

#3 FXTM- Forex Trading Platform With NGN Account Currency

FXTM Regulation/Safety: FXTM is registered and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mauritius as Exinity Limited, an Investment dealer with license number C113012295. Nigerian Traders are under this regulation.

The FXTM brand is also licenced by FCA as Exinity UK Limited and authorised by CySEC as ForexTime Ltd.

FXTM Trading Fees: FXTM spreads charges depending on the account type and is on a floating spreads basis. Advantage Accounts have spreads starting from 0.1 pips while the Advantage Plus Account spreads start from 2.1 pips.

There are no commission charges for Micro and Advantage Plus Accounts, while the FXTM Advantage Account has commission fees from $0.2 to $4.88 per lot side of trade opened.

Swap fees on FXTM are based on the trade positions opened, although no swap fees are charged on the Islamic Account.

Typical spreads for major pairs on the FXTM Micro Account are shown in the table below:

FXTM Non-Trading Fees: Deposits on FXTM are free of charge and withdrawals to Nigerian bank accounts are free as well. Although withdrawals via debit/credit cards attract fees of $3 per transaction and 2% of the amount of withdrawal via WebMoney is charged as a fee while there is also no fee for Neteller withdrawals.

FXTM charges a $5 inactivity fee if you do not log in for 6 months to your trading account.

FXTM Account Types: There are 3 trading account types on FXTM, Micro Account, Advantage Account, and Advantage Plus Account. There is also a provision for Islamic accounts which is swap-free, but holders of this account are not allowed to trade exotic Forex Pairs. The maximum leverage on FXTM can be up to 1:2,000 (floating).

FXTM Account Currency: FXTM trading account currencies are NGN, EUR, GBP, and USD.

Negative Balance Protection: FXTM offers negative balance protection for clients’ trading accounts, so they never lose more than the funds they have in it.

FXTM Trading Platforms: Trading platforms supported by FXTM are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) & MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Traders can access the platform via the web, or download it on a desktop and from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. FXTM Trader is a proprietary app by the broker which is available on Android and iOS devices as well as web version.

FXTM Copy Trading: FXTM offers a social trading program called FXTM INVEST. They have no special app for copy trading, clients simply need to create an investment account. A minimum investment of $100 is required before you can start copy trading.

FXTM Trading Instruments: There are about 598 tradable instruments on FXTM, including Forex 60 currency pairs and CFDs on 5 metals (gold and silver pairs), 3 spot commodities, 17 spot indices, 6 FX indices, 5 stock baskets, 452 US stocks, and 50 European stocks.

FXTM Order Execution: FXTM offers Instant Execution for Micro Accounts and Market Execution for Advantage Account and Advantage Plus.

FXTM Deposits: The minimum deposit on FXTM is $200 or ₦350,000 for Advantage and Advantage Plus Accounts.

FXTM accepts deposits from many deposit methods, including local instant bank transfers, debit or credit cards and e-wallets which are credited instantly while wire transfers are credited in 3-5 business days.

FXTM Withdrawal: For Nigeria’s local instant bank transfer, the minimum amount you can withdraw is ₦500 or $1 on FXTM and processed instantly, e-wallets and cards require a minimum of $3 and are processed within 24 hours or 1 business day.

FXTM Customer Support: FXTM offers customer support 24/5 for traders via live chat, email, and local phone support in Nigeria from Mondays to Fridays.

#4 Octa- Swap-free Forex Trading Platform in Nigeria

Octa Regulation/Safety: Octa is licensed and regulated as Octa Markets Inc., by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines with licence number 19776, which is an offshore-based regulator. Nigerian traders are under this regulation.

Octa is also licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), a Tier-2 regulator, as Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd, European clients are under this license for trading.

Octa Trading Fees: The trading fees on Octa is often dependent on the account type. Octa operates a floating spreads system and their spreads begin from o.6 pips for all accounts. Octa charges zero commission for MT4 and MT5 trading accounts.

Swap fees are not required to be paid by traders in Nigeria.

The average spreads on Octa for major pairs for MT5 Accounts are shown in the table below:

Octa Non-Trading Fees: For any payment methods used, Octa makes no charges on either deposit or withdrawal fees. No charge is also made on dormant accounts.

Octa Account Types: Octa offers two types of trading accounts – Octa MT4 Account and Octa MT5 Account. All accounts are considered to be Islamic as no Swap fees are charged. Maximum leverage in Octa is 1:500.

Octa Account Currency: Octa supports only USD & EUR as base account currency for traders.

Negative Balance Protection: The negative balance protection policy that Octa provides resets the trader’s account to zero accounts when a trader loses more than what is available in their account.

Octa Trading Platforms: Octa offers their proprietary Octa Trader for web and Octa on iOS and Android devices. The broker also supports MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading applications available on the web, desktop, and Android devices.

Octa Copy Trading: Octa offers social trading for clients via its dedicated Octa CopyTrading App on which beginners can copy the trades of experienced Forex traders. The copy trading app is only available on Android.

Octa Trading Instruments: Octa offers trading instruments such as; Forex on 35 currency pairs, CFDs on 10 indices, 30 cryptos, 2 metals, and 3 energies.

Octa Order Execution: Octa offers Market Execution for trade orders on its platform.

Octa Deposits: Nigerian Traders can deposit to their Octa accounts via several methods. Deposits can be made online using debit or credit cards, cash deposits at a bank branch or an online transfer.

The Minimum deposit on Octa is ₦15,000, there is no limit on the maximum amount. Deposits via a Nigerian bank account are credited within 1-3 hours, card deposits with a minimum deposit amount of $25 for Visa are credited within 5 minutes while e-wallets and MasterCard deposits are credited instantly and require a minimum deposit of €50. Crypto deposits are credited within 30 minutes.

Octa Withdrawal: The Minimum withdrawal on Octa is ₦3,000 via a Nigerian bank account and $5 for e-wallets, all of which are processed within 1-3 hours and takes additional 5 mins to 1 hour for you to receive the funds.

Octa had partnered with Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) directly, so deposits and withdrawals are made faster, and more secure, with no currency conversion fees and no intermediaries.

Octa Customer Support: Octa offers live chat and email support 24/7. Their email address and live chat are available on their website.

#5 Exness- Well Regulated Forex Trading Platform in Nigeria

Exness Regulation/Safety: Exness is registered in Seychelles as E​xness (SC) Ltd with registration number 8423606-1. They are authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Seychelles. Traders in Nigeria are under this offshore regulation.

Exness is also regulated by FCA as Exness (UK) Ltd, CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) as Exness (Cy) Ltd, and FSCA as Vlerizo (Pty) Ltd.

Exness Trading Fees: Spreads on Exness are relatively low, starting from 0.0 pips for Professional Accounts and 0.3 for Standard Accounts.

Exness offers zero commission for Standard Accounts and Pro Accounts, while the Raw Spread Account attracts a commission of $3.5 for each lot side and $0.2 for Zero Account.

Swap fees on Exness depend on the trading instrument and the swap rate is determined based on your order, whether sell (swap short) or buy (swap long). Exness offers swap-free trading for select instruments with Islamic Accounts.

Average spreads for major pairs on Exness Standard Account are shown on the table below:

Exness Non-Trading Fees: There are no deposits or withdrawal fees on Exness, no matter the payment method used. Exness does not charge dormant account fees.

Exness Account Types: Exness has 5 trading account types for clients. The Standard accounts comprising Standard Account & Standard Cent Account are designed for new traders, while the Professional accounts comprising Raw Spread Account, Zero Account, and Pro Account are designed for experienced traders.

Exness has swap-free options on all account types for Muslim traders. The maximum leverage on Exness is 1:2,000.

Exness Account Currency: There are many base account currencies on Exness including USD, NGN, EUR, AED, GBP, and others.

Negative Balance Protection: Exness offers negative balance protection for traders if their trade order is not successful, traders cannot lose more than the money in their account.

Exness Trading Platforms: Exness supports the MT4 & MT5 trading applications which are available on the web, desktop, and mobile devices (Android, tablets, & iOS) and Exness Trader App is available for mobile devices.

Exness Copy Trading: Exness has copy trading features, called social or mirror trading, and new traders can copy the trades of professionals through the Exness Social Trading App. Copy traders need to make a minimum investment of $10.

Exness Trading Instruments: Exness offers about 200+ instruments for trading including 99 currency pairs (majors, minors & exotic), 10 precious metals pairs, 3 energies, 92 US & Chinese stocks, 10 indices and 35 pairs of cryptocurrencies.

Exness Order Execution: Exness is a market maker with a dealing desk and offers Market Execution for all account types except the Pro Account, for which they offer the Instant Execution type.

Exness Deposits: Exness accepts many payment methods for deposits. The required minimum deposit on Exness is $10 for Standard Accounts and $500 for Professional Accounts.

Deposits via Nigerian online bank transfer and e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, etc.) are credited within 5 hours, deposits via bank cards are credited within 1-5 business days, and bitcoin deposits are credited within 72 hours.

Exness Withdrawal: The minimum withdrawal on Exness is $3 for online bank transfers and $10 for cards. Withdrawals to Nigerian local bank accounts from Exness are processed within 24 hours, e-wallets are also processed in 2-3 business days, while bitcoin and card withdrawals take 72 hours to be processed, card withdrawals take about 10 business days.

Exness Customer Support: Exness offers 24/7 customer support to clients via live chat on their website, email, and international phone number.

More on Forex Trading Platforms

A forex trading platform begins with regulated brokerage companies. These companies have a system of accepting traders and connecting them to the forex market. A Trading platform is a major way forex brokers let traders access the markets.

Once you are registered and your trading account is activated, you can then use the trading platforms to trade forex. Trading platforms are broadly divided into two — third-party platforms and proprietary platforms. The former is developed by other companies for forex brokers. Examples of third-party platforms include MT4/MT5 (from MetaQuotes) and cTrader (from Spotware Systems).

On the other hand, proprietary platforms are developed by brokerage companies. They are designed and built by brokerage companies. eToro, FxPro, and City Index are examples of brokers with their own platforms. Some brokers support both types of trading platforms. However, there are a few brokers like XTB who only support their proprietary platforms.

What is the Difference Between Dealing Desk and Non-Dealing Desk Platforms

Forex trading platforms can be divided into dealing desk and non-dealing desk (NDD) platforms. Dealing desk platforms are market makers. They take the opposite sides of your trades. In simple terms, when you buy a currency pair, they are selling it to you and vice-versa.

Most dealing desk brokers usually have an in-house price book so they set the price of trading instruments. Because of this, there’s likely to be a conflict of interest where the broker stands to benefit from your trades. This does not mean dealing desk brokers should be avoided. You can review their legal documents to see how they deal with conflicts of interest.

NDD brokers, on the other hand, do not take opposite sides of your trades. They have no dealing desk and in-house price book. an NDD broker could be an ECN or STP broker. ECN brokers give direct market access. They connect you directly to buyers and sellers in their market.
STP brokers connect you to buyers/sellers through their liquidity pools which could be banks or other financial institutions.

How we Selected the Best Forex Trading Platforms in Nigeria?

Forex trading in Nigeria is largely unregulated & it is carried out through online platforms. Today, a broker is just a click away. This situation has led to the proliferation of Forex brokers consisting of the good, the bad and the outright scam brokers.

1. Broker’s Regulation/Trust

When choosing a Forex platform, one of our top priorities is the broker’s regulation and licence, this determines their level of trust.

it is important to deal with a broker that is regulated by at least one Tier-1 regulator like FCA or ASIC and Tier-2 regulators like FSCA, CySEC, CMA, and DFSA.

Regulators help to ensure that the traders are protected from unfair treatment by brokers.

2. Customer Support of the Platform

Our choice of broker was also influenced by customer support. A helpful, accessible and responsive broker customer care service made a difference in our decision.

A good customer support system will help you to make complaints and enquiries and get a resolution in a timely manner.

3. Ease of Use and Supported Platforms by Broker

The trading platforms supported by a Forex broker are considered when selecting the best brokers’ platforms in Nigeria.

You need to choose a broker whose trading platform is compatible with the trading platforms of multiple applications, and that is available both on your computer, tablet, and smartphone.

You will also want to consider the ease of use of their website and trading app. It should be easy to navigate, and placing trades should be straightforward.

4. Number of Trading Instruments Available on the Platform

The trading instruments offered by a broker, as well as the ease of use of its software, were taken into consideration when selecting the best forex brokers.

You will want to make sure that your broker offers the instruments you would like to trade in addition to available currency pairs.

5. Deposits and Withdrawal Options of Broker

We considered how easy it was to deposit money and withdraw from the brokers’ platforms.
Brokers who offer many options for deposits and withdrawals on their platforms tend to be the best.

It is best that you use an online broker that allows you to fund your account from your local bank account in Nigeria and withdraw funds to it.

When choosing a forex broker, look for one that processes all deposit and withdrawal requests quickly.

Finding the right forex broker in Nigeria is not an easy task as you can see, but it is worth it if you want to make profitable forex trades.

6. Educational Resources

Starting a successful forex trading journey often depends on having the right knowledge. A good trading platform should offer the tools and resources you need to learn the ropes, improve your skills, and experience. So, make sure to choose a trading platform with comprehensive educational resources such as:

Tutorials and Guides: A good platform should break down forex trading concepts in a way that’s easy to understand, especially for beginners; and

Webinars and Seminars: Live webinars and seminars hosted by experienced traders or analysts can provide real-time insights and strategies. Good trading platforms usually host these sessions and they are great for learning from the pros and staying up-to-date with market trends.

7. Platform Tools

When choosing a forex trading platform, there are some key features you want to look for that will make trading smoother and efficient. First, check if the platform has customisable charting tools. You will want the ability to personalise your charts with different indicators, and timelines.

If they have chart types like candlestick or Renko, even better. From experience, advanced tools like Fibonacci retracements and moving averages help you make technical analysis.

Another thing to look out for is Fast order execution, this is important as it helps you avoid slippage, and having various order types—like market, limit, and stop orders—gives you more control over your trades. A good platform will typically also offer research tools, such as an economic calendar to track key events/news as well as fundamental analysis for market news and company reports.

If you are serious about strategy, make sure to choose a platform that allows you to backtest your trades using historical data. Finally, if you are interested in social trading, then choose a platform with copy trading features that let you follow and replicate successful traders’ moves. This is why you should check if a forex trading platform has this tool before signing up.

FAQs on Best Forex Trading Platforms in Nigeria