After a record decrease to -5.32% in GDP in July, 2020 due to Covid-19, the Indonesian economy is going through a critical phase of the financial crisis. Forex trading is one the most popular work-from-home business options in Indonesia.
Besides the availability of local forex brokers, there are a few highly reputable foreign regulated brokers that could be the best option for getting started with forex trading in Indonesia.
Read: Forex Trading In Indonesia
In this piece, we review some best forex brokers in Indonesia.
Best Forex Brokers in Indonesia
#1 Plus500
Plus500 is the most reliable forex broker holding multiple regulations from the world’s most reputable regulatory authorities such as ASIC, and FCA. The broker’s diversified trading services provide traders complete flexibility to trade across hundreds of financial markets.
Offering a wide range of tradable assets, including forex, CFDs, shares, indices, commodities, options, futures, and cryptocurrencies, the broker offers leverage of upto 1:300 for enhanced trading exposure.
Whether you prefer trading using the web trader or like to access markets from the ease of your desktop, Plus500 facilitates you in any case. For on-the-go users, the broker offers a powerful mobile trading app featuring one-touch trading.
Plus500 offers tight spreads with no commission being charged besides. Price alerts and push notifications keep traders well informed of any possible market fluctuation. Instant trade execution, dynamic charting options, no fee on deposits and rollovers, and round the clock customer support usually become difficult to find at one place without Plus500.
- Founded: 2008
- Regulation: FCA, ASIC
- Headquarter: United Kingdom
- Minimum Deposit: $100
- Trading Platforms: Online, Desktop & Mobile
Read: Plus500 Review
| PROS | CONS |
| FSCS funds protection Multiple Regulations Low deposit accounts Tight Spreads Fast execution | No US Clients No Fixed spreads Limited options for research Slow customer support |
#2 Forex.com
Forex.com is an online forex brokerage firm that allows traders to trade over 500 markets in forex, indices, commodities, and equities. The broker offers straight market pricing to cater to traders’ customized needs.
With low spreads and fast trade execution, Forex.com takes every step to provide clients unparalleled services. Advanced charting and trading tools help users to make difference while opening positions using state-of-the-art trading platforms at Forex.com.
Making the sign-up process easy for its clients, the broker offers low deposit accounts with multiple payment options.
As far as the risk management tools are concerned, traders can make the best use of trailing stops, limit orders, stop loss, order expiration, and contingent orders.
Along with the facility of free VPS hosting, the broker also offers a wide range of educational resources to help clients remain well educated.
- Founded: 1999
- Regulation: CIMA, FCA, FSA, NFA, ASIC
- Parent Company: Gain Capital UK, Ltd
- Headquarter: New Jersey, US
- Minimum Deposit: $100
- Trading Platforms: Online, Desktop & Mobile (MT4, MT5)
Read: Forex.com Review
| PROS | CONS |
| Strong regulatory framework Content-rich educational section Easy operating interface Accepts US Clients | Unclear margins Average Customer Support Retirement/IRA accounts unavailable |
#3 IG
Being the world leader in offering cutting edge services to trade CFDs, IG offers unlimited trading opportunities across 17000+ financial markets. Besides easy-to-use trading platforms, IG also offers expert trading ideas and friendly support to its clients for a seamless trading experience.
Reasonable margin requirements, volume-based rebates, and reduced minimums are some prominent features of the broker. With the facility of auto trading, IG allows integration of APIs with renowned industry-standard trading platforms such as ProRealTime and MT4.
Clients looking to trade digital currencies can also consider investing in the crypto10 index in addition to investment in other available crypto assets with IG.
IG Markets also offers advanced technical tools along with supported versions of trading platforms for both desktop and mobile-based operating systems. Helping clients to learn how to deal with weekly, volatile, and knockout trading markets, IG offers a content-rich educational library.
The availability of demo accounts and round the clock customer support features provide enough confidence to traders going live.
- Founded: 1974
- Regulation: FCA
- Headquarter: London, UK
- Minimum Deposit: $300
- Trading Platforms: Online, Desktop & Mobile
Read: IG Trading Review
| PROS | CONS |
| Variety of payment options Accepts US clients Enhanced educational section Intuitive trading platforms | Webchat not available Minimum deposits are high High fees for CFDs |
#4 HotForex
The multi-regulated HotForex provides cutting-edge trading opportunities to its clients all over the world. The broker offers excellent trading platforms along with some exciting account types and features, especially for the newbies.
Traders having low funds can sign up for the micro account with HotForex for a deposit as low as $5 only. Others can opt for the standard account with a minimum deposit of $100. Ensuring safety of client’s funds, the broker keeps investment from clients in segregated bank accounts. The broker also holds membership in the civil liability insurance program against the liability of up to €5,000,000.
With advanced auto chartist tools and in-depth market analytics, the broker equips clients to trade the market volatilities with confidence. The broker has recently introduced DMA accounts for clients seeking high volume trading to experience increased market exposure. The availability of PAMM accounts, Islamic accounts are some of the promising services at Hotforex.
- Founded: 2010
- Regulation: Cysec, FCA, FSA, DFSA,
- Headquarter: Cyprus
- Minimum Deposit: $5 for Micro Account, $100 for Premium Account
- Trading Platforms: Online, Desktop & Mobile (MT4, MT5)
Read: HotForex Review
| PROS | CONS |
| Offers DMA accounts Variety of tradable assets Non-dealing desk broker Low spreads | Commission on zero spread account Slow customer services Limited educational resources |
#5 XM
XM is one of the ever-evolving forex brokers offering premium trading services in forex and commodities. The broker offers multiple financial instruments to trade for a competitive cost. Being transparent, the broker provides a clear pricing schedule.
Helping clients to get started with forex trading, XM offers a convenient account opening process following low-cost deposit accounts. With multiple methods to deposit and withdraw funds, the broker makes the payment process quite easy. Fast execution policy, rich educational resources, and exclusive trading tools make XM one of the supreme options available around.
XM offers world-class trading platforms including MT4 and MT5 across all major channels i.e web, desktop, and mobile. With low spreads, high leverage, and round the clock customer support, the broker can be the best choice for traders residing in Indonesia.
- Founded: 2009
- Regulation: ASIC, CySEC, IFSC
- Headquarter: Limassol, Cyprus
- Minimum Deposit: $5
- Trading Platforms: Online, Desktop & Mobile (MT4, MT5)
Read: XM Review
| PROS | CONS |
| Transparent prices Strong Regulations Islamic account Low deposit requirements | High forex fee No fixed spreads Does not accept the US Clients |
How Did I Select The Above Forex Brokers?
Being a professional forex trader, I’ve been offering funds management services to more than two dozen clients for the past 08 years. During my trading career, I have tried so many brokers. Some of them were good but most of them were average with dishonest practices in place.
After years of experience and research, I can easily differentiate between a legit and dishonest broker. While selecting the above-listed forex brokers, I filtered out five best brokers in terms of regulations, account types, trading platforms, fees, and customer support, from the list of nearly 50 forex brokers operating in Indonesia.
BAPPEBTI and the Bank of Indonesia
Even though a large number of individuals practice forex trading, Indonesia had no strictly defined regulatory framework concerning foreign investment procedures until 2013. A formal regulatory body Badan Pengawas Perdagangan Berjangka Komoditi (BAPPEBTI) has been looking after financial intermediaries involved in forex trading since 2005.
The increased number of scam incidents reported in the forex world compelled the Indonesian government to come into action. The Bank of Indonesia then stipulated an applicable framework defining the scope of forex intermediaries with strict guidelines across the country.
Now, all forex brokers seeking permits in Indonesia need to comply with the strict rules and regulations the BOI has put forward. Due to legal implications and steep fines on brokers violating the regulations, the Indonesian forex environment is well regulated now.
Factors To Consider When Choosing A Forex Brokers
Indonesia has witnessed a sharp surge in the number of forex brokers over recent years because of being a potential market of forex aspirants. Almost every other forex broker in Indonesia claims itself to be the best. However, that’s not the case. You need to be careful while selecting the best forex broker. Let me share some factors that you should consider before making the final move.
Regulation
Keeping regulation at the top of the list of factors makes sense. Regulated brokers are known to be safe as compared to the non-regulated ones. It is the regulatory obligation that makes them secure for investment purposes. Otherwise, brokers without regulations might be offering more attractive deals when it comes to forex trading. However, what to do with lucrative investment opportunities when you are not sure whether your hard-earned money is safe or not.
Regulation at least ensures that the broker has sufficient funds available even in case of an unforeseen economic outflow occurs.
Always choose the broker with proper regulation and traceable history. Brokers holding regulation from FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, FSA, etc. are more likely to be safe.
Security of Data
Signing up with a broker follows information sharing. You might need to share the details of your credit card with the broker for funds deposits, or you could well be linking your bank accounts with the broker for quick payments. Unless the broker has advanced security protocols installed, such as web encryption, HD verification, and 2F authentication, your information could be at risk of being stolen.
Trading Platforms
According to a survey published in FXStreet.com, the best broker is the one offering an easy-to-navigate trading interface along with instant trade execution facilities. On the other hand, if your trading platform can’t handle fast trades execution, it doesn’t worth your investment. A delayed trade execution means a loss of trading opportunity leading to a financial loss.
Other trading tools, such as negative balance protection, trailing stops, economic indicators, and auto chartist tools with real-time price quotes, are also crucial for a good trading platform.
Transaction Cost
There is some cost associated with each trade you place in the forex market. Careful examination of fee schedules of your prospective broker could save you from paying extra fees. It is imperative to know that you could well be getting charged for various types of fees on top of spreads and commissions. For example, you might need to pay an inactivity fee if you have not been active for more than a specified time. Else, there could be a fee on deposits or for holding overnight positions.
Important: If you are a religious practicing individual, then interest fees might concern you even more. Therefore, go through a detailed pricing structure of the broker before signing up with it.
Verdict
If you live in Indonesia, then I suggest you open a trading account with Plus500 straightaway. I consider Plus500 to be the best broker for Indonesia due to its regulations, low spreads and fast trade execution.
