Best Forex Brokers with ZAR accounts

We opened account with the forex brokers that have ZAR Trading accounts & tested their account opening, trading costs for majors/ZAR crosses.

ZAR Forex Trading Accounts are quite useful for traders in South Africa. This will help you avoid losses in fees during the conversion of currency on deposits or withdrawals.

Having a ZAR Account implies that all your funds with the broker will be kept in Rand. In most cases, this would mean the broker likely has local bank account in SA, so you can access quick and convenient withdrawals and deposits through bank transfer.

However, only a few brokers in South Africa have ZAR Accounts currently. Most of them claim to provide more or less similar trading environment and features. So choosing the best ZAR account broker is not easy.

For this guide, we have done extensive research of Forex brokers offering ZAR Accounts. After shortlisting, we selected only the highly regulated and reliable brokers working in the South African market.

For the safety of your funds, even if your consideration is ZAR base currency account, you must still trade with only brokers that are regulated with FSCA or other Top tier regulators like FCA, ASIC.

Best Forex brokers with ZAR Accounts

Our research offers a comparison of the top regulated Forex brokers offering ZAR Trading Accounts. We tested the exact pips charged for trading EUR/USD, USD/ZAR & other pairs. We also check their account deposit requirements in Rand, plus the safety of funds your have deposited with the broker.

1. Exness Pro Account – Best ZAR Account Broker

2. HotForex Zero Account – Regulated Broker with ZAR Account

3. FxPro – Trusted ZAR Account broker

4. Tickmill Pro – Licensed ZAR Account Forex Broker

5. XMZA Ultra Low – ZAR Account Broker with Low Minimum Deposit

6. Plus500 – Good Forex Trading platform with ZAR account

7. IFX Brokers – Local Regulated Forex Broker with ZAR accounts

8. JustMarkets – Forex Broker with ZAR Accounts & MetaTrader

Why choose a ZAR Account Forex Broker?

There are a few advantages to trading with a broker that offers ZAR base currency accounts.

a. Depends on your mostly traded trading instrument:
This is valid if your account is funded through the most frequently traded quote currency.

For instance, if you mostly trade South African Rand pairs with quote currency being ZAR such as USD/ZAR, EUR/ZAR, GBP/ZAR, then there may be certain advantages to opening your trading account in ZAR base currency.

If your account is funded in ZAR, then your account balance will be in Rand, and all your profits too will by default be converted into ZAR (Rand) once you close the trade. In case you are trading mostly ZAR quote currency pairs, then a conversion transaction will not be required. You will also save the commissions if your broker charges commission for the transaction to convert to another base currency like USD or EUR.

It is preferred that your account currency is the same as the quote currency of your mostly traded currency pairs. If not, you will lose during the re-conversion of funds to your funding currency each time you trade.

You may have to pay an extra commission each time you trade if the broker charges for conversion. This could add up to much eventually.

Let’s say that 70% of your monthly trading volume is in currency pairs that involve ZAR, then it is safe to assume that most of your P&L would be in ZAR. So, it makes less sense to have your account denominated in USD or another currency (as your base currency with your broker).

This is because, first, it can get confusing to calculate your trading exposure of positions in your account in different currencies, and second, you will also have to calculate how much you are losing monthly in active currency conversions of your withdrawals & deposits.

Do the calculation of the brokerage & banking fees you will have to pay if you will pay during these conversion to ZAR, from your broker to your local bank account. We explain this in more detail in the section below.

b. Conversion charges during withdrawal (by your bank and/or the broker):
Once you decide on the withdrawal, you will want to get withdrawal from your broker in your South African bank account.

In case you hold a ZAR account, the broker can directly send your withdrawal in Rand. Instead consider a case where you request the withdrawal in USD (if your base currency is US Dollar), then your bank, broker (or both) may charge you fees for the USD wire transfer to your SA based bank account.

Here, the currency conversion fees/spread on exchange rates of anywhere from 2% – 6% could be charged by your bank. If the USD/ZAR exchange rate is 15, your bank will likely charge its fees on the exchange rate and offer you around 14.8 at the very least. Your broker and bank may also levy wire charges for receipt of USD payments.

But in case of ZAR account, it is very likely that the Rand withdrawal transfer by broker will be from the broker’s local bank account in South Africa.

This will save you the Interbank fees for withdrawal that would be incurred during bank wire transfer withdrawals, as well as the exchange rate spread charged by your bank for conversion to Rand from another currency like USD.

Also, there are regulated brokers that accept deposits in ZAR (South African Rand) via Internet Bank transfer in SA, but don’t offer ZAR account. Instead they only have USD, EUR etc. account base currency options. Or these brokers offer ZAR account currency option but you have selected USD (example) as your base currency instead of ZAR.

In such a case, brokers normally have a mark-up on the exchange rates during deposits in ZAR & conversion into your account currency like USD. And similar there is a markup on the exchange rates during withdrawal i.e. conversion from USD back to ZAR in your South African bank account.

Regulated Brokers will generally show you the exchange rates that were offered during deposit & withdrawal. For example, Exness shows the ‘Conversion Rate‘ that was offered for the withdrawal via Internet Banking in South Africa in ZAR, if your account currency is not in ZAR.

Below is a screenshot from Exness on the conversion fees during this proceed.

You will lose part of your deposits & withdrawals during conversion into another currency. The currency conversion fees can add up, and this could mean lower returns for a trader when you calculate your returns at the end of month or quarter.

But this fees can be avoided by choosing a broker that offers ZAR base currency account & option to fund/withdraw in Rand using local Internet Banking transfer in SA. But one important consideration here is that all your trading activities, including your accounts statement, P&L will be in ZAR.

c. Faster Deposits & Withdrawals
Most of the forex brokers that offer ZAR Base currency option also accept deposit & withdrawals via Internet Banking in SA through most of the major banks.

Generally, this method a lot faster than other methods like wire transfers, which can also be much harder with exchange. For ex. Exness, HotForex & Tickmill have almost instant funding via Internet Banking. Also, the withdrawals are generally quicker than other methods, but can take upto 3 working days at some brokers.

Also, compared to deposit via card, bank transfers at most brokers are free.

For ex. Exness, HotForex, Tickmill etc. offer deposits & withdrawals via EFT in SA without any extra charges. When compared to other methods, those can have extra gateway fees which are normally very high. Also, most brokers support transfer via all the major banks like ABSA, Standard Bank, FNB & Nedbank.

When comparing the withdrawal time for ZAR Transfers via Internet Banking or EFT, the withdrawals at HotForex via Bank Transfer in ZAR can take 2 Days, and at Exness it can take 3 days, and at Tickmill it can take 24 hours. This is generally faster than withdrawals via Bank Wire Transfer which can take upto 7 days.

The below example is the typical deposit time & fees for transfers in ZAR via Bank Transfer at HotForex SA.

Normally with most ZAR Account brokers that offer local bank transfers for deposit & withdrawals, your funds via Bank Transfer will be added within a few minutes (compared to few days via Bank wire transfer), and if your base currency is in ZAR then there is no extra conversion fees.

Similarly, the below table shows the specifications of the deposit & withdrawal time in ZAR at Exness with Internet Banking.

On an average, most brokers offer deposits in few minutes via EFT in ZAR, and the withdrawals are generally processed on the same day (if you request it before the broker’s dealing hours).

d. The deposits are held in a South African Bank Account in ZAR
If your forex broker is locally regulated with FSCA, and your account is in ZAR, then the forex broker is required to hold your funds/deposits with a South African bank in ZAR, in segregated account.

For example, your funds deposited into your trading account in ZAR, might be under account with local bank like ABSA, or a subsidiary of a foreign major bank. You broker cannot use those funds for their own use if there is proper regulatory oversight as in case if the broker has the relevant brokerage license from FSCA.

But in case the broker that has kept your deposits offshore in USD goes out of business, then you are less likely to be able to get your funds back. The funds at foreign brokers are not held with local banks in Rand, and are likely to be in some foreign currency.

Therefore, when you choose a ZAR broker, ensure that they are FSCA regulated. Also verify with that broker where your funds will be held. This will help you in case the broker ever goes out of business, as you will have a higher chance of getting your equity back.

How to check if a Forex Broker has ZAR Accounts?

The important question comes, how can you check whether the broker offers ZAR base currency trading account or not?

Step 1: If a forex broker does offer ZAR trading account they will mostly tell that clearly on their website. You would normally find this option on account types page & during signup where you can choose the account base currency.

For example: HotForex (HF Markets SA Pty Ltd) shows the ‘Account Currency’ options available for each account type & the minimum deposit in ZAR as well.

The below screenshot of their Premium Account types shows their available base currency options.

Similarly, other brokers like XM list ZAR base currency on their trading account types comparison page. While some brokers have FAQ page to check the support account currency options. All brokers would generally allow you to select the base currency during signup process.

Step 2: Choose the account base currency during Account Opening.

You must note that many forex brokers don’t allow you to change the account base currency once the Live account is opened. So you must carefully select the right account currency during Signup.

For example, Exness does not allow traders to change account currency once the trading account has been opened. But you are allowed to open another trading account with a different base currency. You can open as many trading accounts as you want, there is ‘no limit’ to the number of trading accounts under a single client.

So, you can hold multiple trading accounts, and you can open a second or third trading account from your client dashboard. During this process, you can choose ZAR as your account currency for any account. What this means is that you can have multiple trading accounts with different account currencies under your single customer account.

If ZAR account currency option is available at the broker, then you would most likely find this option during account opening steps.

As an example: HotForex SA requires you to choose your “myHF Account Base Currency” during Account opening. They have 2 currency options i.e. USD & ZAR. So, if you want to open a ZAR base currency account then select the ZAR option here. See the below screenshot on how you can select ZAR as your account currency at HotForex during signup.

The account currency option that you select will be your trading account’s base currency.

Do note that most forex brokers don’t allow clients to update their account currency to ZAR for an existing account with different currency.

But in such a situation where you existing trading account is in different currency, and you want to update to ZAR as the base currency, then you can open another trading account with the same broker from your client panel (most brokers support multiple trading account under single client). You should contact your broker if you don’t find such an option.

For example, Exness allows clients to open multiple trading accounts from ‘PA (Personal Area)’ or the client dashboard. You first have to select the account type (Standard or Pro), and then you can choose ZAR as your currency.

Also, you will have an option to select the leverage associated with your ZAR Account. You should always select a lower leverage of not more than 1:20 for your currency trading account.

After you have chosen ZAR as your currency, in MetaTrader, your P&L will be visible under ‘Account history’ in ZAR currency. Whatever your choice of base currency is, that is what your P&L will be calculated in.

Also, if you are still unsure whether your broker offer ZAR account of not, then you should contact your forex broker & ask their support team directly. If the broker offers Live Chat support, then you can contact them during their business hours & ask them: “Do you support ZAR as the Account’s Base Currency?”. The chat support should be able to tell you clearly.

For example, we talked to FXTM’s live chat support, and we got the answer that they don’t offer ZAR Base currency accounts.

But if you are not able to get hold of the chat support, then you should search for the contact email listed on the broker’s website (usually on the Contact page) & send them an email to asking about their available Account currencies.

What are ZAR Account Brokers?

Any brokers that have ZAR as the account currency are ZAR account Brokers. What this means is your trading account, transactions, statements, withdrawals etc. with your broker will all be settled in ZAR, instead of any other currency.

For example, if you are long GBP/USD, and you made a profit of 10 pips on 10,000 units, your profit will be showed to you as R160 instead of $10. Similarly, all your trading losses will also be calculated in Rand.

Most brokers only have USD account currency option, and if you choose that account, your ‘trading account’ will have the trades/activity settled in USD.

How much is the minimum to Open ZAR Trading Account?

You can open ZAR Account for free at forex brokers. But the minimum deposit to trade on a live account will depend.

For example, at Tickmill, the minimum required amount for ZAR Account is R1700 (equivalent of USD 100). The exact deposit that you make should depend on your risk level, like your minimum lot size & risk per trade.

If you are using 1:10 leverage, and you want to trade mini lots, then your deposit will have to be R17,000 or higher. But most ZAR brokers offer the flexibility of leverage & lowest deposit.

Can I trade Forex in ZAR?

Yes, you can open & maintain your trading account in Rand (ZAR). What this does is all your profits, losses, deposits, withdrawals, trading transaction logs etc. will be in ZAR.

For example, if you trade EUR/USD, and place a buy order for 1 Standard lot, you will instantly see your transaction in ZAR. The profit column at your broker’s platform will show you the value in ZAR, which will be calculated automatically based on real time price movements.

But the downside is that you cannot change it later into USD or any other currency.

How do I Open a ZAR Trading Account?

The process is the same as with opening your normal trading account. The only different is that you will select ‘ZAR’ as your base/account currency.

Normally, during account opening, the broker will ask you to select all the options like leverage, account type, currency. You will not be able to change the account currency once it is set.

The way to change your account currency is to open the new account from your broker dashboard. Note that this new ‘trading account’ will be under your broker account. You are allowed to have multiple trading accounts with a single broker in forex/CFDs.

Which ECN Brokers have ZAR Accounts?

There are no pure ECN brokers that offer ZAR accounts. But there are a few hybrid brokers, also STP brokers, which are broadly NDD brokers.

Refer to the example below on a broker that offers ZAR Account. They explain they are a NDD Broker, but they are not an ECN broker, there is a difference.

For example, Tickmill is a ‘Non-dealing desk’ that has ZAR account. HFM is another STP broker that offers ZAR Account. FxPro is also a hybrid broker that offers ZAR account.

On the other hand, Exness & XM for example are market maker brokers, but they do offer ZAR accounts. Being a market maker is not straightforward a good or a bad thing, if the broker offers genuine trading conditions.

But if your preference is to go for ECN type ZAR account brokers, then Tickmill, FxPro & HFM are the major options. Note that none of these brokers are really 100% ECN brokers, but they do claim that they are NDD brokers, meaning, they don’t act as the counter-party to your trades, and route them to their liquidity providers or the interbank market,

Can I change ZAR Account to another Base Currency?

No, brokers don’t allow traders to change the base currency of active trading account from ZAR to any other currency like USD for example. But you have to understand that your trading account currency is different from your broker account.

Your broker will allow you to have multiple trading accounts, each with different base currency unit. For example, you can have one account in ZAR, another in EUR & third in USD. All these accounts are independent of each other.

If you no longer need your ZAR account, what you can do is; transfer the balance from ZAR account to another trading account & then close your ZAR account (this is not required, you can still keep the ZAR account, with zero balance in it).

But in this step, you should ask your broker if they will charge you any currency conversion fees. For example, since your other account is let us say in USD, your broker will be converting ZAR to USD for you, to show your balance in that other account. Your broker could take advantage of this transaction & charge you excessive fees to do the conversion.

What is the Brokerage fees for ZAR Account?

The broker will typically charge average spreads + commissions with ZAR accounts depending on the traded instrument. For example, if you are trading EURUSD, and the spread is 1 pip, without any extra commission, then for every 1 Standard lot, you will end up paying approx. R170 in spread.

The another charge the broker could apply is for ‘conversion to base’, which in in simple terms is the commission you have to pay for converting your profits or losses on a trade from one currency (for example USD when trading EURUSD) to the base currency of your trading account (ZAR).

For example, if you are trading USD denominated pair like EUSUSD, GBPUSD etc. your P&L is actually in USD. But it will need to be converted back to ZAR because your account is in Rand.

During this conversion, your broker with use the USDZAR conversion rates, plus their markup, whatever it is. Mostly, the brokers have 0.5% markup.

The above screenshot is from a popular broker’s website where they have explained how this conversion fees will be charged. Therefore, you must take this cost into account in your trading on a ZAR account.

Which ZAR Account Broker has the lowest spreads?

Out of all the forex & CFD brokers we have compared, Trade Nation has the lowest spreads for trading forex & CFDs on indices, and they support ZAR as one of the base currency for your trading accounts.

On average, their fixed spread cost (on TN Trader account) is 0.3 pips for trading EUR/USD during London & NY sessions or equivalent of $3 per lot. Refer to the screenshot below from their website.

By comparison, Exness which many consider as low cost broker, charges equivalent of $6-7 on average per lot with pro accounts during active sessions.

For CFDs on major indices their fixed spreads are almost 50-60% lower than all major CFD brokers. Note that their spreads on MT4 account are much higher. You will only get lower spreads if you signup & trade on their proprietary trading platform.

But one important point to make is that Trade Nation is a market maker broker & it is not an approved ODP. Currently, the status of their application is ‘applied’.

Frequently asked questions: ZAR Account Forex Brokers