konversi_timezone(10 May 2021 3:52, America/New_York, 'full date') Best Forex Brokers in United Arab Emirates (UAE)
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Best Forex Brokers in United Arab Emirates (UAE)



May 10, 2021  
The UAE has one of the biggest financial markets in the world and the leading center in the Middle East and Gulf area. What are the best brokers to trade in the UAE?

With the GDP per capita reaching $43,103 (2019) according to World Bank, UAE is undoubtedly one of the biggest financial centers in the world and the main leading center in the Middle East and Gulf region. Consisting of seven emirates, the most important hubs are the capital Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which host the two main financial exchanges in the country.

Over the years, the advanced development of the UAE has created many opportunities for trading and investment. The high-income population of UAE then began to diversify their investment to various markets, including forex. That is why many forex brokers are entering the UAE market.

Here is our list of the best brokers in the UAE:

  1. XM: Excellent all-rounder broker.
  2. Swissquote: Reputable bank and bokerage firm.
  3. AvaTrade: Multilingual broker for novice traders.
  4. ADSSOffers instant deposit for UAE traders.
  5. Plus500: Best for commission-free trading.
  6. Axi: Trusted low-cost forex broker.
  7. Admiral Markets Jordan: Best for beginner traders.
  8. FP Markets: Regulated broker with various trading platforms.
  9. FBS: Offers various promotional campaigns.
  10. easyMarkets: Great multi-regulated forex broker

But before we explore each broker, it's important to know the legality of their situation and what you should be looking for in their services.

 

Is Forex Trading Legal in UAE?

First of all, forex trading is 100% legal in UAE. In fact, since forex trading became entirely legal in the country, more and more retail investors living in the Emirates have started investing their money in this highly dynamic field, creating a solid base for online forex trading activities.

Compared to other countries, forex trading in the UAE is relatively safe and well-regulated. The financial regulation zone in UAE is divided into two central local regions, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the rest of the UAE. The UAE has a regulatory system that consists of the Central Bank of Dubai, the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA), and the Ministry of Economy and Planning, whereas Dubai has its own regulatory authority called the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

All brokers that operate in the UAE must be regulated and obtain a license either from the SCA, Central Bank, or other regulatory authorities. They should also comply with Sharia law, which means that certain operational requirements must be fulfilled.

In addition, any non-resident international entity or forex broker that wishes to offer its service within the Emirates should have a local or domestic representative in the country, either in the mainland or in any financial zone. So before they can operate, they must be listed under the SCA or DFSA and gain approval from either of them.

 

Things to Consider When Choosing a Broker in the Emirates

If you are in the process of selecting a broker in Emirates, make sure to follow these criteria so you don't end up in a broker that is not ideal for you:

 

1. Regulated in the UAE

As mentioned before, the regulation for forex trading in the Emirates is pretty strict compared to other countries. Therefore, it is highly recommended to choose a broker who has been regulated by at least one of the financial authorities in the UAE. This ensures that the broker is allowed to operate legally within the country's borders and is able to meet the standard imposed by the regulator.

Official regulators in the UAE are as follows:

  • The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
  • The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
  • The Securities Commission Authority (SCA)
  • Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE)

It is important to understand that the UAE is divided into two financial areas, namely the Mainland and Free Zones. Brokers who operate in the Mainland are regulated by the SCA or CBUAE. Meanwhile, DFSA and ADGM regulate brokers in the Free Zones, which are designated to encourage foreign investments and allow foreign-owned companies to be located.

 

2. Sharia Law Compliant Account

Brokers who operate in the Mainland are basically brokers who aim to do business with the locals. They must comply with certain rules, such as having a local office and having at least 51% local ownership. Thus, these brokers are usually safer for UAE-based traders

As a Muslim-majority country, the country mainly uses the Sharia law. Consequently, regulators also need to ensure that financial activities such as forex trading that take place in the Mainland are Sharia compliant. This means, brokers must offer a swap-free account for clients in the UAE.

 

3. Local Deposit and Withdrawal

Another factor to consider is whether the broker offers the ease of making deposits and withdrawals through local UAE-based banks. While it's not mandatory, such a feature can certainly help traders to reduce costs and trade more efficiently. It is even better if the broker allows traders to deposit or withdraw using United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED). This allows you to make payments without having to worry about conversion fees.

 

4. Support for Local Language

The official language of the UAE is Arabic, but in the court, there are five other official languages used namely English, Chinese, French, Hindi, and Russian. It would be great if you choose a broker that provides at least one of these languages on their website as a form of customer support and care. Also, find out if the customer service and mobile apps are available in your local language.

 

5. Bonus Promotions for UAE Traders

Last but not least, some brokers may provide bonus promotions for UAE clients. These bonuses can be exclusive to UAE clients only or available in other countries as well. This can be a great opportunity to earn extra money or practice trading without risks. The latter is particularly beneficial for beginner traders or any trader who wants to try out different strategies on live markets for free.

 

Best Forex Brokers in UAE

Based on the criteria and the conditions of forex trading in the Emirates, here are some recommended forex brokers to choose:

 

1. XM

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: Yes
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Korean, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Indonesian, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

Since it was founded in 2009, XM has matured into a massive forex broker with more than 1,500,000 clients worldwide. With clients from well over 190 countries, XM supports more than 30 languages and claims to process most of the orders instantly with no re-quotes and no rejections. XM is regulated by two top-tier regulators, CySEC and ASIC. In the Emirates, XM is under the regulation of DFSA with license number F003484 and has a local office in Dubai.

The broker offers various instruments including forex trading, CFDs on equity, indices, precious metals, and energies. The broker also offers more than 25 secure payment methods across 16 full-feature trading platforms. The minimum deposit to open a trading account in this broker is $5.

For Muslim traders, XM offers a swap-free account with no additional fees. The service is available by request to the broker's support. As for deposit and withdrawal payments, traders can choose between cryptocurrencies, debit/credit cards, local banks, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

 

2. Swissquote

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, French, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), German, Italian, Spanish, Czech
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

Swissquote Bank Ltd is an online forex, CFDs, and derivatives trading broker that was founded in 1996. It is a part of the Swissquote Group Holdings Ltd and represents the swiss-based trading division of the company. It is a low-risk regulated entity that operates under the jurisdictions of four tier-1 regulatory bodies: SFC, MAS, FINMA, and the FCA. In UAE, Swissquote MEA Ltd is headquartered at the DIFC and has obtained 3A licenses from the DFSA.

Swissquote offers a comprehensive and highly diversified asset base consisting of more than 400 forex and CFD instruments suitable for almost any kind of trader. They also provide an excellent education suite for beginners who want to learn forex trading as well as an insightful Newsroom that provides daily reports and market analysis. The customer support is very supportive and available in more than 10 languages.

 

3. AvaTrade

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, UAE, English-UAE, English, French, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Indonesian Malaysian, Mongolian, South African, and more  
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

AvaTrade is a well-known broker that has been around since 2006. With no less than 200,000 registered clients worldwide, AvaTrade has become one of the best brokers worldwide that has won many awards in the past few years. The broker offers quite a wide range of more than 1000 trading instruments including indices, commodities, forex, bonds, etc. The broker is regulated by several trusted regulators, including the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) Financial Regulatory Services Authority (FRSA).

AvaTrade aims to offer multilingual services for international traders, making it an excellent broker for UAE traders. The website is available in a wide number of languages, including Arabic, UAE, English-UAE, and more.

Clients in the UAE can open an Islamic account that is mainly similar to a regular account except that it is not subjected to any special fees or interests. Using this account, clients may keep their positions open for a maximum of 5 consecutive days without incurring any overnight fees or swaps. On top of that, AvaTrade offers access to Islamic halal trading of gold, silver, oil, and indices.

 

4. ADSS

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: Yes
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

ADSS is a global broker that was established in 2010. It offers a wide access to various instruments and is fully regulated by two top-tier regulators, namely FCA in the UK and SCA in the UAE. Additionally, ADSS has a local office in Abu Dhabi to assist and support the local market.

In ADSS, there are many interesting features specifically intended for the Emirates and Middle East traders. First, you can open a swap-free Islamic account which allows you to hold positions overnight without having to worry about swaps. You can also enjoy the same spreads as regular accounts as long as your equity level exceeds $30,000. The swap-free feature is available to any account type, including Classic, Elite, and Elite+.

Secondly, ADSS offers easy deposit using various payment methods. For UAE traders, there is an option to make instant deposit via UAEPGS, which is a transfer payment gateway introduced by the Central Bank of the UAE. With this method, you can fund your account in less than 30 minutes.

Lastly, the company also allows traders to open an Elite/Elite+ account with AED as one of the available base currencies. This makes it easier to fund your account and helps you avoid conversion fees. 

 

5. Plus500

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese, and more.
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

Plus500 was founded in 2008 and is authorized by the CySEC, ASIC, MAS, as well as the Israel Securities Authority (ISA). In the Emirates, Plus500 operates under the regulation of DFSA with license number F005651. Plus500 offers commission-free trading for more than 2,500 leveraged CFD instruments covering forex, commodities, indices, shares, cryptocurrencies, and others.

The company has a separate entity for UAE customers called Plus500 UAE. It also provides all services and tools fully in the Arabic language, particularly convenient for non-English speakers.

6. Axi

  • Regulated in the UAE: Yes
  • Local Office: Yes
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

Axi is an Australian-based broker that was established in 2007 and is regulated by FCA and ASIC. In the Emirates, Axi is regulated by the DFSA with license number F003742. The broker has grown to be one of the largest forex brokers in the world with traders from all across the countries, including the UAE.

Axi's web-based trading platform is available to use for free, along with the desktop version and mobile apps. Trading fees are low compared to other brokers, and the deposit and withdrawals are free of charge. Customer support can easily be reached via phone, email, or live chat using various languages to communicate with people all around the world.

To open a live trading account, you only need to deposit at least $1. Swap-free Islamic accounts are also available for Muslim traders. The deposit methods vary starting from credit cards to bank transfers. Interestingly, some methods allow you to deposit in AED, so you don't need to worry about conversion fees.

 

7. Admiral Markets Jordan

  • Regulated in the UAE: No
  • Local Office: No
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, French, Dutch, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

Founded in 2001, Admiral Markets is a leading forex and CFD broker that now operates in no less than 130 countries worldwide. The company is quite popular in the UAE as well.

Admiral Markets Jordan provides access to various tradable instruments, namely forex CFDs, share CFDs, indices CFDs, bonds CFDs, and commodity CFDs. you can easily choose a trading account type based on the trading platform that you use. To open an account, you must complete the registration process and deposit at least 100 AED. Moreover, the broker offers many beginner-friendly features such as educational content and frictional shares.

The swap-free option is only available for Trade.MT5 accounts. It basically has the same trading conditions as regular accounts, except that it charges administration fees instead of overnight swaps.

 

8. FP Markets

  • Regulated in the UAE: No
  • Local Office: No
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, German, Russian, Indonesian, Greek, Dutch, Korean, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: Yes
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: None

First Prudential (FP) Markets was first established in 2005 and headquartered in Sidney, Australia. The broker is regulated by the main regulator in Australia, ASIC, and already has a long track record.

Traders can choose to trade on the famous MT4 or its predecessor MT5. Aside from that, there is also an option to use copy trading and social trading platforms.

In FP Markets, there is an Islamic account for Muslim traders that follows four main principles: the prohibition of gambling, prohibition of Riba, risk and benefits distribution, and immediate exchange. So, instead of overnight fees, traders will be charged an administration fee on positions which is automatically deducted from the account balance.

 

9. FBS

  • Regulated in the UAE: No
  • Local Office: No
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Indonesian, Malay, Korean, Chinese, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: No
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

FBS is a highly reputable broker that was established in 2009 and is regulated by the IFSC in Belize and the CySEC in Cyprus. Over the years, the company has developed into one of the biggest brokers in the world with advanced technology and capability, supporting over 12 million traders from 190 countries, including the UAE. The broker offers a wide variety of trading assets including forex, commodities, metals, cryptocurrencies, and more.

With only $100, you can open a live trading account in FBS and get a flexible margin of up to 1:500. Islamic account is also available for Standard, Demo, and Cent accounts.

In addition, FBS offers many interesting contests and bonus programs from time to time. For instance, to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, FBS held an event called Trade & Aid Charity Promo. During the event, traders can open a special account and get a 300% bonus for making a deposit of at least $100. After the event ended, the broker donated half of the spread and commissions earned to various charities.

 

10. easyMarkets

  • Regulated in the UAE: No
  • Local Office: No
  • Swap-free Account: Yes
  • Local UAE Banks for Deposit and Withdrawal: No
  • Supported Languages: Arabic, English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Portuguese, and more
  • UAE-based Customer Support: No
  • Bonuses for UAE clients: Yes

easyMarkets was founded in 2001 with a mission to provide favorable trading conditions that anyone could access. Users should deposit at least $25 to open an account and can fund their money via credit card, bank wire transfer, e-wallets, or crypto deposits.

The broker is under the regulation of several top regulators such as ASIC and CySEC. There are several trading accounts to choose from, and a demo account is available for beginner traders. easyMarkets offers MetaTrader 4 as their main trading platform, which can be accessed from PC, tablet, and mobile apps. To top it off, the broker offers a number of promotional campaigns such as the 50% first deposit bonus of up to $2000, refer a friend, and affiliate program.

 

Conclusion

UAE has a large financial market that can present a huge opportunity for many investors, as well as a great destination for many forex brokers to operate and offer their services. Trading in the UAE market is relatively safe because it is well-regulated and consistently monitored by legal authorities. The list above can provide a good preference if you're interested in trading within the area.