Trading in a low spread broker is important, but what about the currency pairs? If your strategy includes exotic pairs, make sure to check out these low spread brokers.

Let us start by defining what exotic currency pairs are. An exotic currency pair is a cross between a major currency and any other currency from an emerging economy or a developing country. In other words, exotic pairs involve crossing the local currency of countries with smaller economies (e.g. Turkish Lira)  against the currencies of countries with larger economies, typically the US Dollar.

Low Spread for Exotic Pairs

Exotic pairs are ideal for holding long-term and as a result, they provide long-term investment opportunities for swing traders. Here is a list of the most popular exotic currency pairs in the forex market:

  • Euro/Turkish Lira (EUR/TRY)
  • Euro/Hungarian Forint (EUR/HUF)
  • Euro/Polish Zloty (EUR/PLN)
  • US Dollar/Swedish Krona (USD/SEK)
  • US Dollar/Norwegian Krone (USD/NOK)
  • US Dollar/Chinese offshore Yuan (USD/CNH)
  • US Dollar/Czech Koruna (USD/CZK)
  • US Dollar/Russian Ruble (USD/RUB)
  • US Dollar/Singapore Dollar (USD/SGD)
  • US Dollar/South Africa Rand (USD/ZAR)
  • US Dollar/Mexican Peso (USD/MXN)
  • US Dollar/Turkish Lira (USD/TRY)
  • US Dollar/Hungarian Forint (USD/HUF)
  • US Dollar/Danish Krone (USD/DKK)
  • US Dollar/Hong Kong Dollar (USD/HKD)

Beginner traders may be attracted to exotic currency pairs due to the volatility, but it is not recommended for them to trade exotic currencies due to the high risks.

Despite the notion, a number of forex brokers support exotic pairs to give more options to their clients. But since exotic pairs are known for their extreme volatility and low liquidity (compared to major and cross pairs), it is common to see them offered with high spreads.

If it's in your best interest to trade exotic pairs, it will be wise to choose brokers that provide the service with low spreads. Some low spread brokers for exotic pairs are:

 

IC Markets

This is a reputable broker that is known for its low spreads and educational content. It is highly recommended for beginners and also has a wide range of exotic pairs that interested traders can choose from. Some of the available exotic pairs include USD/SEK, USD/DKK, and USD/NOK. Its minimum spread for an exotic pair can reach as low as 1 pip in the Standard account. Apart from that, traders can take advantage of IC Markets' low trading fees, impressive 24/7 technical support, and archive of structured course materials to boost their chances of making profits on the exotic pairs that they trade.

🌐 Website
www.icmarkets.com
Leverage
1:500
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$200
Year Established
2007

Interest rate on funds
Free education
PAMM
MAM
Segregated accounts
Managed accounts
Islamic accounts available
FasaPay
Neteller
PayPal
Skrill
Wire transfer

IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.

Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.

The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.

For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.

As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.

To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.

 

FBS

This broker provides some of the lowest spreads in the industry while offering high leverage. It is an ECN broker as well with competitive trading conditions that will favor the traders and help them maximize the opportunities in trading exotic pairs.

Trading of exotic pairs in FBS can be carried out on the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms, with a minimum spread of 2.0 pips in CNH/JPY trading. Popular exotic pairs that are available on FBS are CNH/JPY, EUR/CNH. EUR/TRY, USD/BRL, USD/CNH, USD/MXN, USD/RUB, USD/TRY, and USD/ZAR.

🌐 Website
fbs.com
Leverage
1:3000
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$5
Year Established
2009

Bonus offers
Trading contests
Free education
Affiliate program
Islamic accounts available
FasaPay
Neteller
Skrill
Wire transfer

Since 2009, the action of FBS Holding Inc. or known as FBS in the world of forex trading has been recognized by various international institutions. With clients reaching 14 million as of 2019, FBS has received the title of Most Transparent Forex Broker 2018, Best Investor Education 2017, Best Customer Service Broker Asia 2016, IB FX Program, and many others.

FBS is regulated by FSC Belize and CySEC Cyprus. This broker has been trusted by millions of traders and 370 thousand partners from various countries. Based on their data, FBS garners about 7,000 new traders and partner accounts every day. And, 80% of the clients stay in the FBS for a long time. No wonder the broker is growing rapidly due to the incredible growth in the number of clients.

Trading products offered by FBS range from forex, CFD, precious metal, and stock. For forex trading, CySEC-regulated FBS offers leverage up to 1:30 on Cent and Standard Accounts. Clients who want to try higher leverage than that can alternatively register an account under FBS Belize.

FBS spread begins from 0.5 pips for Pro account type and from 0.7 pips for Standard and Cent accounts. On a standard account, volume orders can be made from 0.01 to 500 lots. Therefore, this account is recommended for experienced traders.

Whereas on Cent Accounts, volume orders can be carried out with a maximum of 500 cent lots or the equivalent of 5 standard lots. Cent Accounts involve a different level of risk. FBS recommends Cent Accounts for beginner traders. All account types support the following trading instruments: 36 Forex pairs, 8 metals, 3 energies, 11 indices, 127 stocks, 5 crypto pairs.

Before plunging into the real forex market, traders can practice with FBS Demo Account which consists of two types, i.e Standard and Cent.

FBS uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. They offer them on Windows and Mac as well as Android and iOS mobile. These platforms provide a trading experience at traders' fingertips, allowing traders to progress as a trader anywhere at any time.

MetaTrader platforms also have a variety of mainstay features, including the possibility to create, buy, and use expert advisors (EA) and scripts, One-click trading and embedded news, technical analysis tools, the possibility to copy deals from other traders, hedging positions, and VPS service support.

Another advantage provided by FBS is a deposit bonus of 100% for clients who fulfill certain requirements. The process of FSCing and withdrawing funds can be run easily and quickly. Based on clients' testimonies, each process usually takes no more than 3-4 hours, except on holidays.

Traders also have the opportunity to develop a side business when trading with FBS, namely as an Introducing Broker (IB) or Affiliate. The FBS partnership system provides partner commissions that are already in 3 level positions. Only by introducing new clients to FBS according to certain procedures, traders can earn extra income.

Traders will also get trading education experience at FBS. They have prepared a comprehensive forex course. The course consists of 4 levels: beginner, elementary, intermediate, and experienced. Traders can take courses that will turn them from newbies to professionals. All materials are well-structured. Besides, FBS provides various forex analyzes, webinars, forex news, and daily market analysis that can be accessed easily on their site.

Traders can access the FBS website with many language choices. Of course, this will increasingly provide comfort for traders. Available languages include English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Spanish, and others. Live chat support is also provided 24 hours 7 days a week.

In conclusion, FBS is a widely known broker among retail traders around the world. It continually grows to become a preferred broker because of flexible trading conditions that enable its clients to trade with various instruments, low deposit, and other trading advantages.

 

FXTM

FXTM is another ECN broker with high leverage and relatively low trading fees. With its low spread and fast execution of orders, it is an attractive broker for trading exotic pairs. Also, since it is an ECN broker, it means the possibility of slippage is reduced which could be a highly significant factor in traders' profitability. Exotic pairs provided in this broker include USD/ZAR, EUR/TRY, CHF/PLN, etc. The minimum spreads for exotic pairs are recorded at 0 pips on EUR/PLN, GBP/NOK, and USD/ZAR.

🌐 Website
www.forextime.com
Leverage
1:2000
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$10
Year Established
2011

Bonuses
Personal manager
Trading contests
Segregated accounts
Free education
Trading by phone
WebMoney
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller
QIWI
FasaPay

FXTM was initially launched in 2011 with a unique vision to provide unparalleled superior trading conditions. Opening an account in FXTM would also bring about access to advanced education and sophisticated trading tools in the forex industry.

Now, FXTM is registered under the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK with the number 600475. The company is also regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with CIF license number 185/12, and is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, with FSP No. 46614

FXTM has 1 million registered accounts with more traders joining every day. The company continually tries to improve their performance and have got many awards such as Best Trading Experience 2019 by World Finance Awards, Best Online Forex Trading Company Nigeria 2018 by International Finance Awards, Reputable Investor Education Forex Broker Award 2018 by Hexun.com, Forex Brand Of The Year China 2018 by Fxeye.Com, and many more.

As a responsible broker, they determine leverage (expressed as a ratio of transaction size relative to trader's buying power) according to the trader's level of knowledge and experience in trading, which is evaluated by the Appropriateness Assessment. The company also enables trading with leverage up to 1:1000.

As for spreads, FXTM offers low spreads starting from 0.1 pip, so traders can withdraw profits at the start of trading. The company, which has headquarters in several countries, uses No Dealing Desk (NDD) technology and partners with credible liquidity providers to provide the best bid and ask prices.

For beginners, there is an automatic trading facility called algorithmic trading provided. When trading in FXTM, traders can develop their trading strategy or adopt other traders' strategies. Furthermore, the strategy is applied to automated trading systems, such as Expert Advisors. The purpose of this system is traders do not have to worry about losing opportunities while not observing the market so that profits can still be earned.

Three types of ECN accounts use the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. There are also mobile and Tablet Apps trading platforms. Aside of providing many account variants, FXTM goes above and beyond to ensure that their client receives excellent support that they deserve, making their trading experience optimal and user-friendly.

FXTM also provides a diverse range of products. In addition to over 50 currency pairs, they provide gold, silver, CFD on commodity futures (oil), CFD on ETFs, and indices.

Education about the basic concepts of the forex industry is also accessible in this broker. Traders can read all the concepts provided in the form of e-books, video tutorials, articles, webinars, and forex seminars. There are 17 languages provided on the FXTM website to make it easier for traders to learn about forex.

Traders are also given various choices for payment methods, including Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro) and E-Wallet (Neteller, Skrill, Western Union). For withdrawing funds, traders are not charged a fee with a length of 2 hours to 2 days. Traders can live chat to ask further questions and contact the admin via email. There is also a question and answer page about forex trading on FXTM.

 

ATFX

ATFX is a forex broker that provides access to trading exotic pairs while offering competitive spreads that reduce the overall trading costs needed to open a trading position. Favorable trading conditions are also provided by the broker that enables traders to smoothly implement their own trading strategies. ATFX offers 16 exotic currency pairs which include USD/HKD, EUR/HUF, USD/SGD, USD/HUF, USD/PLN, and USD/NOK, just to mention a few. Their minimum exotic spreads start from 11 pips in the Premium account.

🌐 Website
www.atfx.com
Leverage
1:30
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$200
Year Established
2015

Segregated accounts
Free education
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller
CashU

 

Axi

This is an excellent ECN broker which allows it to offer low exotic spreads from 1.2 pips.  Axi offers over 40 exotic pairs thus giving traders a wide range of options to choose from. Some of the exotic pairs available at Axi include EUR/HUF, EUR/PLN, EUR/SEK, USD/SGD, USD/MXN, etc. It also provides excellent trading tools including an education section that points out the necessary information that traders need to know before trading exotic pairs. Furthermore, it encourages traders to carry out proper research and analysis on the exotic pair they are interested in trading before opening a position.

🌐 Website
www.axi.com/int
Leverage
1:500
💼 Regulation
💲 Min Deposit
$0
Year Established
2007

Bonuses
PAMM
Personal manager
Trading contests
Segregated accounts
VPS
MAM
Free education
Trading by phone
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller

If traders are looking for brokers with elite class regulations, Axi can be the right choice. Axi is an Australian broker registered under ASIC and FCA. This is the main point because the two regulators are widely recognized to have strict regulations.

"Created by traders, and for traders" is a mission carried by Axi since its foundation in 2007. They continue to strive to accommodate the needs of traders. Axi had the strongest brand association with being "trustworthy" among current FX Traders in December 2014.

In addition, Axi also received other awards, including the most reliable Forex Broker 2017, Highest Overall Client Satisfaction Investment Trend 2017, Commenced back-office operations in Philippines, Cyprus & Singapore 2018, Best MT4 Broker 2018 by the UK Forex Awards, and the Most Trusted Forex Brokers by the 2018 Forex Forex Awards. With the various achievements that have been obtained, Axi seeks to build the confidence of traders from all over the world.

Traders can monitor the movements of spreads on Live Spreads, which are provided by Axi on its official website. These floating spreads are beneficial for traders when price volatility is not high.

In addition to spreads, the difference is also seen in the commission on each account. There is a commission of around USD7 for Pro Accounts, whereas, for Standard Accounts, traders do not need to spend funds for commission.

Meanwhile, the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots and leverage is up to 1:400. Traders can choose their deposit amount because Axi does not specify a minimum amount. Instead, traders have the opportunity to profit when trading on Axi with a 20% deposit bonus. Opportunities to open positions thus increase, accompanied by deposit bonuses that can be withdrawal easily and quickly.

There are around 80 currencies and CFDs traded on Axi. Besides, the company also offers traders looking for diversified investments in other assets like gold, silver, oil, and 11 indices. To attract the attention of traders from various countries, Axi also provides a variety of currencies that can be used by traders as base currency, including AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, and USD.

Traders at Axi can enjoy free VPS provided by third parties by depositing a certain amount. The Virtual Hosting Service uses an external server to ensure the platform stays running 24 hours a day and prevents Downtime. Of course, this service is very useful for those who use Expert Advisors.

When trading forex, chart analysis becomes an unavoidable activity. Traders do not need to worry about that when trading with Axi. Because one of the advantages of the Axi broker is Autochartist signals. This facility is useful for following market movements precisely. For traders who use MT4 Standard Account and MT4 Pro Account, they will get Autochartist signals for free.

Besides being able to easily understand the pattern of price movements through Autochartist, Axi also provides easy access to sophisticated trading tools under the name of MT4 NexGen. The advantage of this platform is to find out trading sentiments, Market Insights, Correlation Traders, and Alarm Managers. With this technology, traders can easily access super-fast networks and can handle any high-frequency inflows to scalping.

Traders can also add knowledge about forex trading with the Webinar facility, which is provided by Axi for free. Professional traders and experienced analysts will provide traders with a variety of new trading knowledge in this education program.

Not only that, opening an account in Axi can lead to other experiences such as copying trading strategies from professional traders, with tools like as DupliTrade, Myfxbook, and ZuluTrade. Traders are free to copy trading strategies from professional traders and apply them to their own trade.

If there are still other questions, traders can contact Axi support that is active 24/5. Their staff comes from all over the world, so they got a global team that speaks traders' language from various countries in the world.

Overall, exotic pairs do not have the same level of reduced volatility or high liquidity that major currencies have due to the volume of trading. This is why it might not be possible to adopt similar trading strategies or risk management tools used in trading major currency pairs. Therefore, traders must choose the right broker that will fit in with their most effective strategy, and this can start from carefully ing brokers with low exotic spreads.