Best Forex Brokers that accept MPesa

#6 Scope Markets Kenya – Local forex broker that accepts MPesa

Rating: 8/10

Visit Scope Markets

Regulations: CMA

Minimum Deposit: $20

Commission/Trading Fees (benchmark): Lowest, 1.1 pips for EUR/USD

Scope Markets (SCFM Limited) is licensed with CMA as non-dealing online foreign exchange broker with license no. 123. So, they are considered low-risk for depositing you funds with.

Scope Markets accepts MPesa with Instant Deposits & Withdrawals when you are using this payment method. Their minimum deposit is 100 USD, but they only offer USD account currency, KES base currency accounts are not available.

There are 2 trading account options at Scope Markets Kenya. One is ‘Silver Account’ which is a spread only account type, with typical spreads of 1.1 pips for trading EUR/USD.

The second account type is ‘Gold Account’ which is a commission based trading account, with typical spreads for EUR/USD of 0.2 pips plus 0.7 USD commission per 10,000 units (mini lot). Therefore, this would be equivalent to an average spread of 0.9 pips for EUR/USD.

You can trade CFDs on 96 currency pairs, CFDs on indices, stocks & commodities. So, the total CFDs on asset classes is wide at Scope Markets Kenya, compared to FXPesa & HFM.

Scope Markets have a local phone number & address in Kenya. They also have live chat on their website, but there is a hold time of few minutes.

#7 FXTM – CMA Regulated Forex Broker accepting MPesa

Rating: 7.5/10

Visit FXTM

Regulations: CMA, FCA, FSCA, CySEC

Minimum Deposit: $10

Trading Fees: From 2.1 pips for EUR/USD with Cent account

ForexTime is regulated in diverse jurisdictions globally. Their top-tier Financial Regulations are with CMA, FCA, CYSEC, and FSCA (FSP No. 46614).

But a higher average spread is charged with FXTM’s Standard accounts as per our benchmark test for EUR/USD. The Standard Account has an average of higher than 2.1 pips spread. The FXTM Cent Account has even higher spread.

FXTM charges commission for its ECN Account. This is $2 for each side which adds to $ 4 per trade for 1 Standard lot. All deposits are free of charge at FXTM, including for MPesa. However, there are fees for withdrawals depending on the method.

The minimum deposit to open an FXTM Cent Account is $10. The Standard Account requires $100.

You can trade with FXTM through the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms. Their financial instruments include Forex Currency Pairs, Cryptocurrencies, Stocks, CFDs, Commodities, and Precious metals.

FXTM offers fair customer support. Live Chat offers a quick response and we did not find any hold times of over a minute during our test. We got a response to our queries within 3 hours through E-mail on a weekday. They do not have a local phone number in Kenya.

FXTM Pros

• Well regulated with multiple regulators.
• Account opening process is fast.
• Good educational section on their website.

FXTM Cons

• High trading fees on forex & CFDs. Also, fees for Withdrawal and Inactivity.
• No local phone number dedicated for Kenya.

How we selected the Best MPesa Accepting Forex Brokers?

Here are the major factors that we have considered while reviewing the Forex Brokers accepting MPesa:

1. Top-tier Regulation(s): The most crucial factor is the number of Tier-1 Regulators that regulate the Forex Broker. FCA, ASIC, NFA are considered as Tier-1 by the Forex industry. FSCA and CYSEC are Tier-2 Regulators. If the Forex Broker is listed publicly in a major Stock Exchange, then it is an extra trust factor.

Also, if the forex broker is regulated by CMA in Kenya then it is considered safe. This is most important to check in your forex broker.

If a broker is licensed by CMA & other major regulators as well, then it means the broker is reputed & can be trusted. For example, HFM is regulated with the CMA, but they are also licensed by FCA, FSCA & CySEC. This makes them a well-regulated forex broker with low risk.

There are just 9 Forex Brokers licensed with Kenya’s CMA, if you are looking to trade with only a local broker. One of them is FXPesa.

You should always check the forex broker’s license number & verify it from the regulator’s website. Regulated brokers like FxPesa have a ‘regulations’ related page on their website where you can check & verify the regulators with whom the broker is regulated.

Once you have the license no. then go to CMA’s website for the ‘List of Licensees’. Verify the broker under ‘Non-dealing Online Forex brokers’. If your broker is in that list, it means they are considered legal & safe for you to trade with.

Avoid any fake & unlicensed broker. If the broker is not regulated with CMA or any other Top-tier regulation, don’t open account with such broker. There is a high risk that you could lose your deposits with such broker.

Some fake brokers also create clone websites which imitate that of regulated brokers. For example, a fake broker can create a similar looking website & domains (website address), but they might actually be fake. Don’t trust any messages on Whatsapp from people claiming to be associated with the broker. Such scammers can try to get your account passwords, or even make you deposit on scam websites.

2. Overall Fees: The factors considered here are spread, commissions, and charges on withdrawals and deposits.

Majority of the brokers charge fees for Dormant/Inactive Accounts too. Some of them also levy extra fees where you are trading other CFD instruments. So, it is vital to research the overall fees of the asset that you are seeking to trade.

All regulated CFD brokers have spread comparison table. Make sure to check the fees for the instrument that you want to trade, and see if there is any other regulated broker offering the same instrument at lower fees.

As an example, if you want to trade CFDs on Gold, then compare the fees for XAU/USD instrument offered by the broker. Also check the contract’s lot size & if there are any extra commissions.

Like, the broker in the below table has 0.32 pips typical fees for Gold CFDs. There are other brokers with lower fees also.

There may even be extra commissions involved apart from the spreads if your account type is Commission based. FxPesa for example has ‘Premiere account’, which involves commissions per lot for your trading activity.

If you look at their table of typical spreads, you will notice lower spreads with Premium Account, compared to Executive Account. For example, the spreads on trading GBPUSD is 0.2 pips compared to 2.2 pips with Executive account.

But there is a commission of $7/lot (or $0.7 per 10,000 units) with the Premiere account. If you add this up, the total cost of trading GBPUSD will be 0.7+0.2 which is equivalent to 0.9 pips spread. This is very low compared to the fees they charge for same instrument with spread only account

Therefore, you must carefully examine & calculate the trading fees which you will pay.

Also, some brokers may charge fees for funding & withdrawals via MPesa, or during conversion. For ex. FXPesa, Pepperstone, Exness don’t charge any extra fees on funding & withdrawals via MPesa in KES.

But if your account is in another base currency like USD, then your funds may be converted into KES at a lower exchange rates than the actual rates. So, you need to consider this commission too. Although it is not necessarily that the broker is charging this fees, it could be their gateway charging this conversion commission.

For example, if the broker charges KES100 for every withdrawals, and your withdrawal amount is KES10,000, then in percentage terms, the fees is 1% of your capital. Giving 1% of your capital just to withdraw funds is not viable, and you should avoid any broker that charges extra (excess) fees via other methods such as withdrawal charges, or inactivity fees.

Important Note: Many brokers charge inactivity fees if your account does not have any transaction or trade over a period of time. For example, if you have not placed a trade for 3 months & your broker has an inactivity period of 3 months, they would deduce the inactivity fees from your balance every month, till your account balance goes to Zero.

It is not uncommon for forex brokers to charge $5-10 of inactivity fees per month. You should carefully read the terms of the broker, or ask the broker’s support before signing up, if there is any inactivity fees involved.

3. Solid Trading Platform on Mobile & Desktop: The Broker must offer a well-equipped and user-friendly trading platform.

Also, there must be multi-device support, quick execution, no freezing, and multiple order types. These can significantly enhance your trading comfort.

All the 4 regulated forex brokers in Kenya offer the MetaTrader platform. It is available on mobile, desktop & web, so you will have more choice. But it does not mean that all the 4 brokers will have the same MetaTrader, there would still be difference in order execution & some features may not be available.

If you are using custom EA, or some indicator, then make sure to check on the broker’s demo platform if they do allow/support it or not. Also, does the broker’s platform & app has news feature? Look for all the features that you would need to actively manage your trading positions.

4. Easy & Quick Account Opening: The Account opening must be easy and fast. The approval of the account upon submission of documents (ID & Address proof) must not take more than 48 hours.

In generally, all the 6 regulated forex brokers have the same KYC procedure. And the trading account is normally approved within the same day, if all the documents are complete.

You must make sure to submit your genuine documents, otherwise you would face issues during withdrawal of funds from your trading account.

5. Overall Trading Conditions: The execution of orders must be fast without slippage or re-quotes. The best option is to choose a Broker offering Direct Market Access than Market Maker Brokers.

The forex brokers that are regulated by CMA are ‘non-dealing members’ which you can see in the screenshot below. This means these brokers cannot act as the counter-party to your trades & can only link you to other participants.

So, when you are trading through HF Markets for example, your order would likely be sent through the broker’s interbank partner which will link your order to another party. And the broker will make money off of your spreads.

But if the broker is a market marker broker that acts as the counter-party to your trades, there is a conflict of interest. Some brokers like XM uses their offshore entity as the counter-party to your trades (which they claim is to offer better execution).

Therefore, you must decide if you are okay with a market maker or you want to trade via a non-dealing broker.

You must also be offered negative balance protection so that the loss does not exceed the account balance. Availability of guaranteed stop-loss protection is also an advantage.

The Broker must also offer funds segregation for the security of funds. The number of available product classes/trading instruments is also a factor. You must also check if the instrument that you are looking to trade is offered for the lowest fees or not.

6. How is the Customer Support: Customer Support must be accessible 24X5 through Live Chat, E-mail, and Phone. The Chat Support must be helpful with minimal hold time. The E-mail revert to your queries must be quick and preferably within 1 or 2 hours max.

The local phone number support in Kenya will be another plus point. The Knowledge base must provide instant solutions.

Check if the broker has a Kenyan phone number on their website. Also, the local brokers will have an Office address where you can visit. All the 6 regulated Non-dealing forex brokers in Kenya have these info on their website.

Let’s take CMA Regulated Forex broker Pepperstone as an example. They have listed their Kenyan phone no. on their contact page.

Similarly, all the other brokers will list their phone & other contact details on their contact page. Try reaching out to those contacts & see how well the broker responds to your questions asked.

Which Trading App has the lowest Mpesa deposit?

According to our research, Exness, FxPesa & HFM have the lowest deposits when you are funding via MPesa. In general it is around $10 or equivalent in KES.

But it is important to note that when funding via MPesa, there are restrictions on the maximum deposit amount & withdrawals. For example, at Exness the max. deposit for MPesa users is USD 620 (equivalent in KES). You cannot deposit more than that amount in a single transaction.

Also, there are similar restrictions on deposits & withdrawals at other brokers when you are using MPesa.

How much do MPesa Forex Brokers charge for trading?

The exact fees is varaible in the form of spreads between bid & ask prices. For example, the lowest spreads at MPesa accepting forex brokers for trading GBP/USD is 0.5 pips in normal market conditions.

This is $50 per million USD of trading, or 10 Standard Lot contracts. Some brokers have higher fees as well, of around 200 USD per 1 million units traded.

Check the fees that your broker charges for spreads. You will see this exactly in your Metatrader platform at your broker.

Frequently asked questions: Forex Brokers that accept MPesa