Forex Trading Guide in South Africa

If you seek detailed information on how to trade forex in South Africa, we are here to teach and guide you as a beginner trader into the wonderful world of forex trading.

The reason behind the craze among the people for forex trading is that it is one of the most liquid markets in the world. On average trading, amounts exceed $5 trillion every day in the forex marketplace. In South Africa, trading amounts exceed $80 Billion (approximately R120 Billion Rand) on a daily basis.

In South Africa, there are many trading rules and regulations placed to minimize Forex trading risks. These rules and regulations are placed by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) which is formally known as Financial Services Board (FSB). FSCA is responsible for controlling all financial activities in the country. Through FSCA all the Forex brokers can relate with each other without any conflict.

FX brokers who are regulated by FSCA treat their customers in good faith and help them to provide financial guidance. A trader trading with FSCA regulated traders can go to FSCA if that person thinks they have been cheated, scammed, or mistreated by the broker.

Guide on forex trading for beginners:

Let us tell you that forex trading is 90% of preparation. You need to build a solid infrastructure along with the best-laid plans. If you are a beginner in forex trading, check out the guide on forex trading for beginners:

Initially, you need to take care of a few things to start your Forex trading journey. First, you need a broker who will execute your order. There is a high risk involved in Forex trading so everyone needs to be cautious while deciding which Forex broker to invest in Africa. Second, you need to open an account with your broker and you need to connect your bank account with that.  After opening the account with a broker you need to add funds to your account for the trading. Third, you need to have a trading platform. Most brokers have their own trading platforms. That’s all now you can start your trading journey.

Best forex trading platforms:

1.     IG – A global leader in online trading. They have award-winning platforms and applications providing fast and flexible access to over 17,000 financial markets – including indices, forex, commodities, and shares.
2.   Saxo Bank – A leading fintech specialist that helps people to connect and give opportunities in global capital markets. 
3.   Interactive Brokers – They are members of NYSE, FINRA, and SIPC. Their other companies have been building trading technology for over 42 years. Their consolidated equity capital exceeds $8.2 billion.
4.   eToro – Founded in 2007, they aimed to open global markets where everyone can invest in a simple and transparent way. The eToro platform allows investors to invest in the assets; stocks and commodities to crypto assets.
5.     FXCM – Being the leader in CFD trading, online foreign exchange trading, spread betting, and related services, FXCM’s target are to provide global traders with access to the world’s largest and most liquid market.

How to sign up, add funds and withdraw funds on these platforms:

1. IG – To create an account on IG:

•       Filling a simple form – First, you need to fill a form that will ask about basic information and about trading knowledge, to get the best experience.
•       Verification of account – Get verification done. It usually takes a couple of business days to get verified.
•       Add funds and start trading – Once the verification is done you can start trading by adding funds.

How to add funds – To add funds you need to login into your account and click “Add Funds” and specify the amount you like to add. There are multiple options to add funds like a credit card, debit card, bank transfer.

How to withdraw funds – To withdraw your funds you need to login in to your accounts after that go to “Live Account” and select “Withdraw Funds”. Withdrawals back to card usually take two to 5 working days to clear and withdrawals by bank transfer take one to three working days.

2. Saxo Bank – To open an account with Saxo Bank:

•       Select your country of residency.
•       Fill an online form and get it verified.
•       If all the documents that you have provided meet the requirement, you should expect your account to be processed within two working days.
•       Saxo also offers to open a joint account.

How to add funds – To add funds, there are three methods: Card funding, Bank transfer, and portfolio transfer.

Undercard funding you need to select the card type and enter the card number, card owner name, expiry date, CVV/ CVC code, and billing address, and click make payment. For bank transfer you will require an IBAN number, Registration number, Saxo SWIFT, Receiving bank information, Intermediary bank information if required and the account holder/receiver information is your full name and address. And in portfolio transfer only possible stocks that are registered in the same name as the Saxo Bank account holder.

How to withdraw funds – You need to log in to your account, go to the menu after that Deposits and Transfers, and click Withdraw funds. Here you need to select the Saxo account and mention Withdraw amount and the currency and at last click “Transfer”. You will receive an SMS with a code and you need to confirm that.

3. Interactive Brokers – To open an account with Interactive Brokers:

You will be required to have a Social Security Number (SSN) or proof of ID number, employer name, address and phone number, and Bank or 3rd party broker account numbers for funding purposes and routing number.

How to add funds – Click on funding after that Funds transfer, in the transaction type list select deposit, select your currency, select deposit type, type the amount you are willing to deposit; here you can use your saved bank information or can add new bank information to add funds and click continue to confirm your deposit.

How to withdraw funds – Click on funding after that Funds transfer, in the transaction type list select Withdraw, select your currency, select withdrawal-type; here you can use your saved bank information or can add new bank information to withdraw funds and click continue to confirm your Withdraw.

4. eToro – To open an account with eToro:

•       Click “Join Now” or “Trade Now” on the following page you need to enter your personal data, submit your information by clicking the sign-in button.
•       As a part of the KYC process, newly registered investors need to provide a Confirmation of Residence as well as Proof of Identity.

How to add funds – Login to your account, click on deposit funds, enter the amount and select the currency. You also need to select a deposit method, they can be – credit/ debit cards, Paypal, Neteller, skrill, rapid transfer, ideal, klarna / sofort banking, bank transfer, local online banking, online banking – trusty (EU region).

How to withdraw funds – Login to your account, click on withdraw funds, enter the amount and select the currency. Withdrawn is allowed up to the value of the balance of your eToro account, minus the amount of margin used. Funds can be withdrawn using the same method, and sent to the same account, as previously used for your deposit.

5. FXCM – To open an account with FXCM:

Click on “open account” on the following page you need to fill in your personal details and upon completing you will be provided a username and password to login in to the portal, where you can add funds and start trading.

How to add funds – FXCM offers great options to deposit quickly and securely. You need to log in into your account and select deposit funds. Following options are available to add funds – debit/ credit card, bank wire, skrill, union pay, and Neteller.

How to withdraw funds – You need to log in into your account and select deposit funds. You can withdraw the funds with the same methods you have added.

Terms used while Forex Trading:

To get a better understanding of Forex trade we need to be familiar with the followings terms:

1.     Spot forex – Spot forex involves buying and selling actual currency. If you buy South African Rand (ZAR) and exchange it for United States Dollar (USD), you will wait until the value of South African Rand (ZAR) increases and exchange it again and receive more money than what you initially spent.
2.   Currency conversion – Currency conversion is a conversion rate between two currencies. The currency conversion rate fluctuates regularly for all currencies that are traded in the forex market.
3.   CFD – CDF (Contract for Difference) means you don’t have to buy or sell currency to take advantage of the price movements. You don’t need to have anything physically to trade it.
4.   Pip – Term Pip is used to call the base unit in the currency pair’s price, such as South African Rand (ZAR) or United States Dollar (USD). If the bid price between the pair changes the difference represents pip.
5.     Spread – Spread represents the difference in the purchase price and the sale price of a currency pair. The trade shows profitability only when the value of the pair finally exceeds the spread.
6.   Margin – The difference between the account you are trading from when you open a trade is called the Margin. While trading in forex you need to put a specific small amount of money to create a new position. For example, if you are willing to buy $50,000 worth of United States Dollar (USD), in this case you don’t need to put the full amount you need to a specific percent like 3%, the percentage will depend on your forex broker. Margin is expressed as a percentage of full position and also known as “Notional Value”. Margin or Notional value to open a position varies, it depends on the forex broker or currency pair you want to take the position.
7.     Leverage – Leverage is a certain borrowing amount that is needed to invest in something. In terms of Forex trading, this amount is usually borrowed from brokers. To determine the margin-based leverage we can divide the total transaction value by the amount of margin that needed to be put to open the trade. If you have to deposit 2% of your total transaction value as a margin and want to trade one standard lot of United States Dollar (USD), in this case, the margin required should be $2000 United States Dollar (USD), and your margin-based leverage will be 100:2 (100,000/2000).

Best books to learn Forex trading:

Are you interested in learning how to trade forex? Below are some of the Best books to learn Forex trading which is known to stand the test of time, preparation, and the market’s ups and downs:

1.     Currency Trading for Dummies – This book attracts those people who are interested in Forex trading. This book explains how forex works and how you can start trading.
2.   Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Markets – This book gives you knowledge of Intermarket relationships, market volatility of the market, the intervention of the central bank, and much more.
3.   How to Make a Living Trading Foreign Exchange – This book has all the things to put forex trading on your fingertips. This book teaches how to use money-making techniques in Forex markets.
4.   Currency Forecasting – This book tells us about fundamental and technical models of exchange rate determination.

Check out our separate detailed article for Best books to learn Forex trading.

Conclusion –

Being one of the most actively traded markets in the world, people are showing a lot of interest in forex nowadays. For all beginners who want to trade forex in South Africa, we have combined all essential information here, including the complete guide on how to trade forex in South Africa, best forex trading platforms, best books to learn forex trading, and what are the terms used in forex, etc. Hope this information helps you to take a closer look at everything you’ll need to know about forex trading in South Africa.