Best Forex Broker in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa: 6 Brokers Compared (2026)

How we compare brokers

There’s no single best forex broker in Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa for everyone, so we compare six on the same points. The table above comes from our broker dataset, checked against regulator registers and the brokers’ own sites on 8 November 2026. “Not yet verified” marks figures we’ve only seen in search extracts or couldn’t check on a register.

We haven’t tested any of the six on a live account yet; when we do, results will be labelled and dated. See how we review brokers.

We compare on seven points:

1. The company that serves your country, and which regulator oversees it. A licence held by a sister company elsewhere doesn’t cover you.
2. A Kenyan CMA licence, the clearest local check our readers have.
3. Islamic (swap-free) terms: who gets them, and what, if anything, replaces the swap.
4. Minimum deposit, including the payment method’s own minimum.
5. Leverage. We show it, but we don’t score higher leverage as better.
6. Platforms.
7. Local deposits and withdrawals that the broker documents itself.

Regulation: which company serves your country

Broker	Kenya (CMA)	South Africa	Main international company
Exness	Exness KE Limited, licence 162	Exness ZA (Pty) Ltd, FSP 51024 (from Exness’s own site)	Exness (SC) Ltd, FSA Seychelles SD025
XM	TPXMGLOBAL Kenya Limited, licence 233	XM ZA (Pty) Ltd; FSP number not confirmed	XM Global Limited (Belize; XM’s documents give conflicting numbers) and XM (SC) Limited (Seychelles)
HFM	HFM Investments Limited, licence 155	HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd, FSP 46632, an intermediary for HF Markets Ltd (Mauritius)	HF Markets (SV) Ltd (St Vincent, no licence listed)
FXTM	Exinity Capital East Africa Limited, licence 135	Exinity Limited, FSP 50320 (from FXTM’s site)	Exinity Limited, FSC Mauritius C113012295
IC Markets	IC Markets (KE) Limited, licence 199	None listed on ic.com’s global page	Raw Trading Ltd, FSA Seychelles SD018
Octa	Not on the CMA register	Orinoco Capital (Pty) Ltd, FSP 51913, intermediary (Octa-sponsored article only)	Octa Markets Ltd (Comoros) and a Mauritius FSC licence

South Africa. HFM is ahead: the FSCA itself cited FSP 46632 in a 2024 warning about impersonators. FXTM and Exness state their FSP numbers on their own sites, and Octa’s appears only in an article it sponsored. We haven’t confirmed XM ZA’s number, and IC lists no South African company. We couldn’t read the FSCA register for any of them, so check it yourself. See forex trading in South Africa.

Nigeria and Ghana. None of the six lists a Nigerian or Ghanaian licence, so clients there deal with a company registered abroad. For most of these brokers we haven’t confirmed which one; the client agreement shown at sign-up names it. See forex trading in Nigeria.

Kenya: five of the six hold a CMA licence

Exness (162), XM (233), HFM (155), FXTM (135) and IC Markets (199) all have Kenyan companies on the CMA register as non-dealing online forex brokers. Octa doesn’t. Exness’s help centre and FXTM’s FAQ both give 1:400 as the maximum leverage for Kenyan clients; we haven’t confirmed the Kenyan limits at XM, HFM and IC Markets. Exness also says its Kenyan clients can’t use its Social Trading service. Our Kenya page explains what the CMA’s rules require.

Islamic (swap-free) accounts

Broker	How you get it	Limits or charges
Exness	Automatic on a published list of instruments for clients in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa (full status only for countries on Exness’s “Islamic countries” list, which doesn’t include them)	Exness can withdraw it
XM	On request, for religious reasons; XM may ask for justification or refuse	Converts all your real accounts; no replacement fee in the documents we saw
HFM	On all five account types for clients who observe Sharia law, on specific instruments	Carry charges after consecutive rollovers and extra commission possible; HFM can revoke it
FXTM	Switched on in profile settings or requested; not on Micro or Advantage Stocks	3 days per position on forex majors, minors and spot metals by default (7 at Gold tier and above)
IC Markets	On request, for religious reasons, on Raw Spread and Standard	Flat holding fee per lot after up to 5 grace days; from day 1 on oil and natural gas
Octa	All accounts, nothing to switch on	No overnight commission, according to Octa; withdrawal terms not found

On paper, Octa’s terms are the simplest. Exness comes next for our readers: nothing to apply for, on a published list of instruments. The others each add a condition: a request that can be refused (XM), a day limit (FXTM), a holding fee after the grace days (IC Markets) or possible carry charges (HFM). Our Islamic accounts guide explains what to check. Scholars differ on forex and CFD trading, and whether a swap-free account meets your religious requirements is a question for a qualified scholar.

Minimum deposit

Exness (Standard and Standard Cent), HFM (Cent, Zero and Premium) and IC Markets (Standard and Raw Spread) list no account minimum. XM advertises USD 5, Octa USD 25 and FXTM USD 30 on its Micro account. Two cautions:

• The payment method has its own minimum. Exness lists USD 10 for naira online bank transfer, HFM USD 100 for bank transfers, and Octa’s guide gives NGN 30,000 for Nigeria.
• Some brokers contradict themselves. HFM’s pages give USD 0 or USD 25 for Zero, and FXTM’s payment page gives a USD 100 minimum first deposit against USD 30 on Micro.

Exness, HFM and FXTM offer cent accounts for very small positions; IC Markets and Octa don’t, and we couldn’t confirm one at XM. See cent accounts.

Leverage

All six offer leverage far above the 1:400 that applies to Kenyan clients at Exness and FXTM: up to 1:1000 at XM, 1:2000 at HFM and Octa (Octa’s FAQ says 1:1000), 1:5000 at FXTM and IC Markets, and 1:2000 by default at Exness, with “unlimited” leverage at Exness and on HFM’s InfinityX under conditions. We don’t treat any of this as an advantage. Leverage magnifies losses as much as gains, and on a small account a small move can wipe out the balance. Read leverage and margin explained and use the margin calculator.

Platforms

All six offer MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. IC Markets has the widest choice, adding cTrader and TradingView. The others add their own apps: Exness Terminal and the Exness Trade app, the HFM App and WebTrader, the XM App, the FXTM App, and OctaTrader.

Local deposits and withdrawals

• Exness documents naira online bank transfer (USD 10 minimum deposit, USD 3 minimum withdrawal, no Exness fees) and M-Pesa on exness.ke, according to its help centre. You only see the methods after registering, and they depend on your registration country.
• FXTM’s Kenya page lists bank transfer and mobile money.
• Octa’s guide gives a NGN 30,000 minimum for Nigeria, with local bank transfers depending on your country.
• XM, HFM and IC Markets: no African local method on the official pages we saw.

On what’s documented, Exness is ahead, followed by FXTM.

Why Exness is our first pick, and where it isn’t

Exness ranks first because, on the information we have, it’s the only one of the six that combines all four of these: local payment methods documented with figures for Nigeria and named for Kenya; no account minimum on Standard and Standard Cent, plus a cent account; a CMA-licensed Kenyan company; and swap-free status on a published list of instruments without an application.

It isn’t first on everything. HFM has the better-backed South African licence number, IC Markets has more platforms, Octa’s swap-free terms are simpler, and FXTM’s terms were easier to check because we could read them directly. Exness has weaknesses too: no Nigerian licence, Pro, Raw Spread and Zero minimums set by region from USD 200, and “unlimited” leverage on accounts under USD 5,000 once its conditions are met.

The six brokers in brief

Exness

Best for: beginners in Nigeria and Kenya who want to fund locally and start small. Documented naira bank transfer and M-Pesa, a cent account and CMA licence 162. Read the Exness review.

XM

Best for: Kenyan traders who want a CMA-licensed company (233) and a low advertised minimum of USD 5. Swap-free is on request, XM’s Belize licence numbers conflict, and we found no local African payment methods. Read the XM review.

HFM

Best for: South African traders who want an FSP number the FSCA itself has cited, and traders who want a naira or cedi balance on InfinityX (USD 500 minimum, very high leverage). Swap-free can carry charges, and bank withdrawals take up to 10 business days. Read the HFM review.

FXTM

Best for: Nigerian traders who want a naira-denominated account, and Kenyan traders who want a CMA-licensed company with mobile money listed. Swap-free lasts a set number of days per position, and there’s a monthly inactivity fee. Read the FXTM review.

IC Markets

Best for: experienced traders who want cTrader or TradingView and commission-based pricing. No cent account, no African local payment methods, and no South African company on its global page. Read the IC Markets review.

Octa

Best for: traders outside Kenya whose priority is swap-free on every account. No CMA licence, offshore companies with conflicting names, and USD-only accounts. Read the Octa review.

Best forex broker in Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa, by type of trader

If you are…	Our pick	Why	Also consider
A beginner in Nigeria funding in naira	Exness	Documented naira bank transfer, USD 10 minimum, cent account	FXTM, for a naira-denominated account
A trader in Nigeria who wants a naira balance	FXTM	NGN accounts confirmed on its own accounts page	Exness (NGN listed in its help centre); HFM InfinityX
A trader in Kenya who wants M-Pesa	Exness	M-Pesa on exness.ke	FXTM (mobile money on its Kenya page)
A trader in Kenya who mainly wants a CMA licence	Any of Exness, XM, HFM, FXTM or IC Markets	All five on the CMA register	Not Octa
A trader in South Africa who wants to check the licence first	HFM	FSP 46632 cited by the FSCA	FXTM and Exness, which state their FSP numbers
A trader in Ghana who wants a cedi balance	HFM (InfinityX)	GHS listed; note the USD 500 minimum and very high leverage	None found
Someone who wants swap-free on everything without applying	Octa, if you’re outside Kenya	All accounts swap-free, according to Octa	Exness (published instrument list)
An experienced trader who wants cTrader or TradingView	IC Markets	The only one of the six with both	None found

Whichever broker you choose, check the company named in your client agreement on its regulator’s register, practise on a demo account, and make a small withdrawal before you deposit more. How to choose a forex broker walks through each check.