Best forex trading apps in kenya

Their MT5 offers fundamental analysis in addition to technical charts that MT4 comes equipped with and offers additional financial instruments like cfds on stocks and commodities.

Actual forex bonuses

Best Forex Trading platforms in Kenya, best forex trading apps in kenya.

With more charting on multiple timeframes in MT5, the traders can easily implement their strategies, chalk out entry and exit points and finally help themselves to profit. With a freedom to use expert advisors and a one click trading functionality where one can open or close trades with just one click allowing a quick lock-in to profits, professional traders can really benefit. XM also allows hedging to the trading portfolio.

Best forex trading platforms in kenya

We selected the best platforms for kenyan traders after comparing the fees, trading conditions & more of 20+ most popular platforms.

Last updated: april 9, 2020

Trading platform is the interface offered by brokers to facilitate trading. It is arguably one of the most important features to consider before signing up with the broker.

A great trading platform makes it easy for traders to analyse the charts, access the market news feed to understand the emotions at play and lock-in profits by rapidly reacting to the trader’s trade open/close requests without any glitches.

It should have a downloadable desktop app, mobile app or a web-based trading platform with live uninterrupted data feed, an ability to customise the chart views with a clean and aesthetic user interface (UI).

Ease of setup and grievance handling abilities are nice add-ons to a broker with a good trading platform and should have a significant weight in your decision to go with one.

Here, we discuss brokers that offer the best trading platforms and outline their platform’s pros and cons to help you with the final decision.

Comparison table of best forex trading platforms in kenya

5 best forex trading platforms in kenya

Here’s our list of best forex brokers for kenyan traders:

Now we will explore the detailed features of each broker in our list, one by one, starting from hotforex.

#1 hotforex – overall best forex trading platform with low fees

Regulation(s): FCA (UK), FSCA, cysec

Minimum deposit: $5

Trading platforms: MT4, MT5 platforms, webtrader and mobile platforms for ios & android

Hotforex is a global award-winning broker regulated under FSCA since 2016. They offer very low spreads on their trading platforms. The benchmark EUR/USD spread for a zero account is 0.3 pips and for a premium account is 1.3 pips. Commission is charged on a zero account to the tune of $6
per standard lot roundtable.

Hotforex does not charge any on deposits or withdrawals. And withdrawals placed before 10 AM are processed on the same day.

They offer user-friendly and powerful platforms MT4 and MT5 for desktop that are available for windows, mac as well as linux, mobile (available for ios & android) and a web-trader.

MT4 and MT5 are popular trading & charting platforms developed by metaquotes software company and are offered by hotforex and numerous other brokers to access the broker’s available trading assets.

Designed for trading numerous types of instruments, metatrader versions are the most used trading platforms among the trading community for their convenience and rich functionality.

On hotforex’s metatrader, the traders can analyse financial charts, trade on the go using the mobile apps and even run expert advisors (eas) as well as copy trades of other traders.

Their MT5 offers fundamental analysis in addition to technical charts that MT4 comes equipped with and offers additional financial instruments like cfds on stocks and commodities. With more charting on multiple timeframes in MT5, the traders can easily implement their strategies, chalk out entry and exit points and finally help themselves to profit.

#2 plus500 – best platform for mobile trading

Regulations: FCA (UK), ASIC of australia

Minimum deposit: $100

Trading platforms: proprietary, available on web & all mobile device

Plus500 is a CFD broker that offers cfds on a variety of instruments like stocks, forex, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, etfs as well as options. It is regulated by multiple top tier regulators i.E. FCA, ASIC etc. And kenyan traders will be registered under the jurisdiction of cysec of cyprus.

Plus500 has a proprietary trading platform that is easy to use, and beginners can benefit from its look and feel. One can trade multiple markets from the same screen, with real-time quotes available. Its mobile platform is well-developed with multi-asset trading capabilities.

The platform is available for desktop (windows only), mobile (available for ios, android) and a web trader also. You can check the platform by the demo trade capability offered by the broker.

With an attractive leverage and multilingual 24×7 support, it features among the best brokers. It is one of the top CFD brokers by number of active traders in 2018 with more than 300,000 active traders.

Plus500 is compensated through “market spread” which means there are no additional commission-based charges. The typical mark-up to EUR/USD benchmark spread 0.6 pips per lot for forex cfds. The minimum deposit is $100 and withdrawal charge is $6. The charges for inactivity is $10 for 3 months time frame.

#3 FXTM: good metatrader platforms

Regulation(s): FCA, FSCA

Minimum deposit: $5

Trading platforms: MT4 & MT5 for all devices. And FXTM trader app.

FXTM offers the industry-leading trading platforms MT4 and MT5 for PC, mac, mobile or tablet to suit beginners as well as advanced traders. A webtrader is also available for those who want to directly trade from the browser. FXTM even offers a multi-account manager (MAM) on MT4 which lets you trade with multiple accounts.

In addition to metatrader, FXTM has recently launched its own platform “FXTM trader” with unique customizability options for superior trading. It is available for mobile only (android, ios) with access to 250+ instruments with cross-platform trading accessibility with no additional downloads.

FXTM also has ECN accounts, and they are regulated by FCA in the UK, FSCA of south africa and has been in the industry since 2011.

Trading instruments on offer include currencies, spot metals, share cfds, commodity cfds, stocks, cryptos with attractive leverage and a minimum deposit of $10. ECN account has benchmark EUR/USD spreads from 0.1 pips with $4 per lot roundtable commission. Standard account has tight floating benchmark spreads starting from 1.3 pips with no commission.

FXTM has easy deposit and withdrawals, charges no commission on deposits and processes withdrawals usually under 24 hours with commission depending on the mode of transaction.

Pros/cons of FXTM’s trading platforms:
all pros/cons of metatrader platforms are applicable to forextime also. We have mentioned below only the pros/cons of FXTM trader, their proprietary platform

#4 XM forex: best MT4 trading platform

Regulations: cysec, FCA & FSA.

Minimum deposit: $1

Available platforms: metatrader 4 and metatrader 5 for desktop, webtrader & mobile app.

XM forex offers MT4 and MT5 for PC and mac, android and ios as well as for ipad. It also offers MT4 webtrader where one can trade from the web browser itself without downloading anything. XM offers over 1000 trading instruments through its MT4 and MT5 in forex, cfds and futures.

They are regulated and licenced by reputed authorities, but kenyan traders are registered under the jurisdiction of XM global (IFSC). It is a low-cost broker and claims no slippages in the trades executed. The minimum deposit is just $5 for both micro or standard accounts, with spreads as low as 1 pip and zero commission charges. In “XM ultra low account”, a minimum deposit of $50 is charged and spreads typically start from 0.6 pips with no commission charges.

Through MT4 offering, a single login access is provided by XM for all 8 MT4-enabled devices and through MT5 offering, a single login access is provided for all 7 MT5-enabled devices.

With a freedom to use expert advisors and a one click trading functionality where one can open or close trades with just one click allowing a quick lock-in to profits, professional traders can really benefit. XM also allows hedging to the trading portfolio.

XM forex app can be used to track trades or even place trades,, if one registered for MT4 or MT5 platforms.

Regulations: FCA

Minimum deposit: $50

Available platforms: proprietary for web & mobile.

Etoro is a social trading platform setup back in 2007. A unique experience where users can interact with fellow traders and copy their trades, enabling beginners and advanced traders to profit from their combined strategies.

One can check out etoro by opening a virtual portfolio before putting real money. There is a research tab offering market depth. Other notable functionalities include one-click trading, stop loss, trailing stop loss and offline trading capabilities.

2000+ financial instruments comprising commodities, cryptoassets, currencies, indices and etfs can be traded on their platform. Depending on the instruments, there are cfds as well as delivery-based assets.

Depositing funds is safe and quick with a minimum amount of $50. Withdrawals can be done via wire transfer, paypal and even to credit cards to the same account where the funds were deposited. Estimated withdrawal process time is 1-2 days for many payment providers. There is a withdrawal processing fee of $5 for a withdrawal amount exceeding $50.

Etoro has a typical average spread for EUR/USD about 3 pips per lot with no extra commission. It charges an inactivity fee of $10 per month of inactivity.

How to choose the best trading platform?

Here’s our checklist on what you should look for in a FX trading platform:

1. Multi-device support: make sure the trading platform is available on multiple devices, which gives you access to the trades on the move. Being able to access it on mobile as well as tablets, you will not miss major profit-making opportunities.

Some brokers with proprietary platforms like etoro don’t have desktop support, hence if you are looking only for the desktop version you should choose metatrader brokers.

2. Multiple order types: it is important to place the order based on the situation hence different types of order placing capabilities can really make a difference. Stop loss orders, limit orders, market orders, buy stop or a sell stop order are different types which a trader can place depending on the circumstance, hence look for a trading platform that lets you access these.

3. No downtime: some platforms tend to freeze during critical moments of a trade. Some platforms tend to remove stop loss orders and do not close the trade as per the given instructions which is unethical. Hence it is important to go through reviews and choose the one that performs well.

4. Technical tools & available instruments: check for the abundance of technical indicators on the platform, ease of reporting features and intuitive layout view of trading. Available trading instruments should not limit your trading hence it is better to ensure all assets you would like to trade are available

5. News & educational content: educational content on the platform helps you understand various variables that are driving the price moments and will make a better trader in the long run. Also, the content helps to navigate the platform and familiarize with it. Economic calendar also strategically impacts your trades, so a well-built calendar is quite useful.

6. Low trading fees: spread, commission and deposit/withdrawal fee significantly impact your bottom-line, make sure they are low and don’t eat up your profits. Check for reviews on the historical spread, commissions for various accounts on offer as well as minimum deposit and withdrawal fees.

7 unbelievably best forex trading apps in kenya

A trading app or platform refers to the interface/software that traders use to connect and trade the global forex market. Among the most popular forex trading apps includes MT4, MT5, webtrader and ctrader.

Every forex broker that’s worth their salt will offer one or even all of the above choices of trading apps. However, what I have realized in my 6+ years of actively trading the market is that the trading platforms differ greatly among brokers.

So, with that in mind, here is a list of the best forex trading apps for kenyans.

Forex broker	main features	our score
top pick	first CMA licensed forex broker in kenya.

Easy to register and start trading

Superb customer service

Locally available with offices in nairobi

Spreads as low as 0.0 pips

Instant mpesa deposits and withdrawals

Fast trade executions with no requotes

Deposits as low as $1

Offers instant mpesa deposits and withdrawals

Leverage up to 1:2000 for maximum profits

Huge deposit bonuses up to 50% of your deposit

Offers instant mpesa deposits and withdrawals

Leverage up to 1:2000 for maximum profits

Detailed reviews for the best trading apps in kenya

1. Fxpesa – best trading app for beginners

If you’re a beginner forex trader, fxpesa by EGM securities is probably the best forex trading app you can join. The registration is hassle-free, the support is out of this world, and the broker even offers you a chance to go for classes and seminars that they organize across the country.

You can join my free forex trading newsletter to be informed whenever fxpesa is conducting seminars and classes across the country. Click here to join.

What makes fxpesa even more attractive to forex traders in kenya is the deposits and withdrawal methods that they offer. You can easily fund your account and withdraw your profits using local payment methods including mpesa, airtel money, and equity bank’s eazzypay.

Additionally, the minimum deposit at fxpesa is as low as $5 (ksh 500). This gives a chance for anyone interested in online forex trading to sample out the markets without investing too much of their capital. From there, you can decide whether online forex trading is the thing for you or not.

Fxpesa also offers a demo account that you can use to practice and perfect your forex trading strategies.

Fxpesa offers fxpesa mobile apps for both android and ios. They also have the MT4 platform for traders who want to trade forex on their laptops or desktop computers.

And just in case you were wondering whether fxpesa is legit, the answer is a resounding yes. Fxpesa was the first broker to obtain a non-dealing desk trading license from the capital markets authority (CMA). The broker obtained its trading license in 2019 and there has been few to zero complaints about the broker ever since.

2. Liteforex – best ECN trading app in kenya

ECN stands for electronic communications network.

ECN forex brokers like liteforex get their price quotations from a network of computers, meaning that you have a 99% chance of catching trades with very tight spreads. Your trades are passed directly to liquidity providers, leaving the broker little to no chance of manipulating the spread.

Instead of paying the spread, however, liteforex charges a commission of $10 per round lot on all the major currencies. While this commission might seem prohibitive, a deeper analysis will tell you that it is actually among the lowest commission on ECN accounts in the industry.

A commission of $10 per round lot means that you’re paying $10 to control a trade size of $100,000.

This is among the lowest commissions offered by ECN forex brokers, which is why we rank liteforex among the best forex trading platforms in kenya. If you trade using the minimum lot size of 0.01 lots for this account, you will only be paying fractional cents to open and close trades.

Apart from the tighter spreads and low commissions, liteforex also guarantees of fast execution on trades with zero requotes whatsoever. Additionally, any capital you leave untouched in your liteforex trading account earns an annual interest of 2.5%.

Liteforex is also one of the few brokers that offer forex trading in kenya using mpesa. For the ECN account, the minimum deposit is $50. Deposits and withdrawals using mpesa are instant.

To cap it off, liteforex has a copy trading platform that let’s copy trades of the most successful traders on the platform. With enough due diligence, you can ensure maximum profitably on liteforex by copying other traders. Click here to open an account now.

3. Hotforex – best trading app for copy trading

We included hotforex in the list of the best trading apps in kenya because of their superb copy trading platform. In all the research that we did, no other platform came close to the ease with which hfcopy, hotforex’s proprietary trading platform works.

Hotforex is among the few international forex brokers that still accept mpesa deposits and withdrawals. The minimum deposit with mpesa is only a thousand shillings, which is quite affordable for most traders.

Additionally, both deposits and withdrawals by mpesa are instantaneous, taking less than 10 minutes to reflect in your accounts.

However, the reason why hotforex outshines other forex trading platforms must be their revolutionary copy trading platform that’s called hfcopy.

The hfcopy platform gives new traders a chance to improve their trading strategies and profits by following and interacting with more experienced traders.

In comparison with other copy trading platforms, hfcopy has a few wins including:

You retain full control of your trading account. Withdraw your funds whenever you desire

You can copy trades from more experienced traders automatically, therefore saving time and energy

You can copy more than one strategy provider and increase your profit margins.

4. Exness – best trading app for cent accounts

For intermediate forex traders who might not have sufficient capital but still want to feel like they are trading the real deal, nothing beats the exness standard cent account.

For this account, the minimum deposit is $1, with a recommended initial deposit of $50. The money reflects in your account as 100 units (100 cents). Depositing $10 will reflect as 1000 units. And depositing $50 will reflect as 5000.

With the exness cent account, you can use leverage up to 1:2000 which allows you to control a trade size of $2000 with only $1 in your account.

You can easily deposit into your exness trading account using mpesa and withdraw your profits using the same channel.

However, exness does not have an mpesa paybill number. To complete payment on exness using mpesa, you will have to log into your account and navigate to the mpesa deposit option.

After that, you will be redirected to a payment processor where you’ll enter your phone number and click on pay. Have your phone nearby as a pop-up will appear instructing you to put your mpesa pin number to complete payment. And that’ll be it. The money reflects into your exness trading account almost instantly.

5. XM forex- best trading app for intermediary traders

The XM forex trading app scores highly for intermediate forex traders in kenya. XM forex offers several platforms that you can use to trade. Top on the list is their MT4, MT5, and trading apps for both android and ios.

6. Olymp trade – best app for trading binary options in kenya

The olymp trade trading app is a binary options trading platform and is probably the easiest app to download and start tinkering around with the financial markets. You could literally download the app on your phone or tablet and start trading immediately.

Upon registration, traders are awarded a $10,000 demo account. The demo account gives you a feel of the trading platform and let’s you try out different trading strategies.

However, although you can practice trading with the demo account, any amounts earned through demo trading are not withdrawable. To be able to make withdrawals, you’ll need to deposit real money into the trading app.

The minimum deposit at olymp trade is $10. It is however recommended that you start trading with at least $50 (5,000/=). The best deposit and withdrawal options for kenyan traders is through a bank card, and I highly recommend the NCBA loop debit card.

Olymp trade has revolutionized the binary trading industry, and apart from their intuitive mobile trading app, they now also offer the MT4 trading platform for the more advanced traders.

7. IQ option trading app

IQ options started off as a binary options trading app but quickly transitioned into offering other tradeable financial instruments including stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies.

IQ option has won many industry awards and received growing reviews from financial market analysts and enthusiasts. This is due to its reliability and professional services that it offers to traders all over the world. For these reasons, IQ options also makes it in our top 10 list of the best trading apps in kenya.

Best stock trading apps in kenya 2021 (top 10)

Finding the best stock market app as a kenyan investor can be a difficult process. Most especially getting the ones that accept kenyan stock traders and would let you trade stocks on your ios or android device. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

We’ve listed the top best stock investment apps that would let you as a kenyan stock trader, trade growth stocks, tech stocks, small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap stocks.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 best stock trading apps in kenya:

XM – best overall stock trading app in kenya.

Hotforex – most trusted stock trading app.

Etoro – best app for stock copy trading.

IQ option – ideal app for beginner stock traders.

Olymp trade – best online stock trading app experience.

IC markets – best stock trading app with lowest spreads.

Octafx – award winning international stock trading app.

Expertoption– best app for everyday stock investors.

Alpari – great app for dedicated stock traders.

FXTM – best app for online stock trading.

Best stock trading apps in kenya video

Below is the list of all the best stock investment apps that accept kenyan traders. We’ve also included the pros & cons of each of the stock trading apps with links to download them on your device.

Online forex trading in kenya 2020

How does forex trading in kenya work? And how can I start trading forex?, what is online forex trade? Do we have successful forex traders in kenya? How much do I need to start forex trading in kenya?

These are some questions kenyans are asking regarding online forex trading in kenya. Well, we are going to answer your questions.

Forex trading in kenya

Online forex trading in kenya is known as a lucrative business, but only a few people know of it.

Given that, online forex trading is the world’s most profitable and most persistent trading market, and it is as well growing in popularity.

Kenyans have been in forex trading for a long time now and introducing the idea in kenya would be a great way to empower investors in search of financial independence. Forex trading in kenya gives youth access to an investment opportunity in kenya.

How do I start trading forex?

I know there are several successful forex traders in kenya, but this does not stop you from becoming one.

It is a matter of knowledge and brains in online forex trading. So take the following in mind when engaging in forex trading in kenya.

Trading platform & software

Your primary tool as a kenyan forex trader will surely be your computer. It means you will also need a good trading platform. For this review, let us use metatrader 4, which is available with most brokers across the world.

The platform has a lot of useful features inside of it, such as chart station where you can upload as many symbols as you want and change their timeframes from 1 minute to 1 month.

You can also do backtesting of your strategy there. All most popular technical indicators are there, and you can create one of your own if you know how to do some programming on the station.

Somebody else can do that for you too. You can use a robot that will do the trading for you, so you will not have to sit glued to your pc screen all day.

A broker may have a trial version platform, which you should check out. Test out the trading platforms before you deposit.

Forex trading in kenya is not well regulated, and choosing a broker can sometimes be a problem. Some companies offer online trading.

Take note of frauds

But you need to be very careful as the company could be a complete fraud or government officials can charge you with doing something illegal. A recent scandal is that of the VIP portal that scammed some investors in limuru.

If you do decide to start trading, you will need to look for a broker that is recognized by an authorized governmental institution as a legal entity.

You would also want to check what trading platform the company has if any at all. The lower the commissions the company offers, the better.

You should also open the type of account that fits your capital size best. A broker should care about you as a trader and offer excellent customer service. Additional services would act as a bonus for you too.

See a list of forex brokers in kenya

Account types

There are different account types that traders can choose from based on the size of their capital.

How much do I need to start forex trading in kenya?

Micro account – you can start trading currencies with as little as a few hundred. If you do not have much money or are not willing to invest heavily in forex trading, a micro account is an excellent place to start. Some will require as low as $100 or ksh 10,000

Mini account – if you are looking at investing more than ksh100,000 on forex trading, a mini account is a best-suited account for that amount. Your risks and rewards increase exponentially if you trade this type of account.

Official account – if you intend to trade much larger volumes and have over 10 thousand dollars, you can try to apply for a standard account and trade volumes that exceed 100k. Remember, the more considerable the amount you trade with, the higher the risks are.

Brokers make money charging fees on your transactions. As such, it is reasonable to expect excellent customer service on their behalf. It does not matter whether a broker is native or foreign; you should be served well as long as they operate in kenya.

They should also resolve trading-related problems and issues in a fast and effective way. If a broker ignores you, you should not open an account with him or close it if you have opened it.

Additional services

Brokers compete with each other trying to gain as many customers as possible, and they often do it by offering extra services.

Those may include free educational materials in video, audio and text formats, various market analysis on weekly and daily time frames, financial news feed.

You may expect some annual, quarterly or even monthly contests for traders. So, the more extra services they offer, the better for you. After all, it shows whether the broker cares about their traders or not.

Becoming successful forex traders in kenya

The first step is to learn, so visit baby pips and make sure you complete the course.

You can follow the following tips to be safe and be among the successful forex traders in kenya;

Do extensive research online and offline – start on google and look at different online brokerages. To help with your research, look for the following before engaging an online forex broker:

Get someone who has been doing forex trading and is a real successful forex trader in kenya. You can start with a friend or someone you know online. Look for someone who has been in the industry for ten years or more.

Read reviews online; there are plenty. You can also watch some youtube videos.

Check if a significant oversight body regulates that brokerage. As of writing this post, there is one kenyan licenced broker. So you can be assured of their transparency and honesty.

Make sure you check the broker’s website. If it is professional and active, then it may be the right firm but check out for signs that things are not what they seem to be.

EGM securities kenyan forex broker

While the regulations in kenya may not be as strong, the kenyan government through kenya’s central markets authority is working around the clock to ensure that laws regulating both local and offshore forex brokers are put into place.

The most recent achievement is the licensing of EGM securities which quickly becomes the first kenyan forex broker to be authorized by kenya’s central markets authority.

Mr ng’ang’ a says that the forex market is worth over $5.3 trillion and kenya has been a significant contributor in the forex markets.

As such, EGM securities kenya chose kenya since it is a renowned innovator in the financial sector. On that note, EGM securities have made it easy for kenyan traders to deposit money by providing M-pesa deposit and withdrawal processes, among others.

Being regulated by the kenyan government, kenyan traders should not have reason to worry now. Most offshore forex brokers were unregulated which saw many kenyans lose their investments and even lost hope in forex.

Like other forex brokers, EGM provides macro opportunities for its traders by allowing them to trade with precious metals such as gold, oil, and foreign exchange, among other commodities.

For security sake, kenyan traders should move to EGM securities kenya, which is regulated by our government; hence, any problems can be followed closely.

Online forex trading in kenya conclusion

Despite the fact, that legal framework for forex regulation in kenya are weak, brokers there are quite active, and you can always open an account with the most reliable brokers.

If you do not know any, it would be better if you consulted with friends who are familiar with the online forex trading industry to avoid losing your investment.

Two best forex trading apps in kenya

What are the best forex trading apps in kenya? Forex is the largest financial market in the world with over $5.1 trillion traded on a single day. Because of its lucrative nature, there are thousands of forex trading companies seeking to get a share of this revenue.

Due to ever-rising competition, there is an increasing demand to tap the global market and many forex trading companies have added forex trading apps to their platforms. There are numerous forex trading apps and forex trading beginners in kenya can be overwhelmed when choosing the best forex trading app online.

In this review, I highlight 2 best forex trading apps in kenya in 2020.

The review is based on five features.

The best forex trading app must be easily accessible

An outstanding forex trading app must first of all be easily accessible worldwide and by both android and ios users. It can be frustrating when you’re seeking to trade forex on your preferred forex trading app and you realize the app is not accessible from your country or it’s only available for either android or ios users. A top forex trading app must therefore be accessible to all users worldwide irrespective of their location or mobile device. However, accessibility per country is determined by various financial regulations, and therefore, some of the providers of forex trading apps might not meet certain statutory requirements of a given country.

Best forex trading apps are super fast

One of the reasons why there is a shift from a web-based forex trading platform to forex trading apps is the need to boost the efficiency of a forex trading platform. Some web-based trading platforms are sluggish and this has a huge impact on forex trading activity. Forex trading requires a platform that is super fast with no room for bugs. Therefore, a superior forex trading app must be extremely fast; as fast as the speed of light.

Best forex trading apps online are easy to use (user-friendly)

Forex trading beginners have basic forex trading skills and the least they want is a complex trading platform. A user-friendly forex trading app is a must for both beginners and experienced forex traders. A user-friendly app is that which has easy navigation and makes it’s quite simple to make a trade, access assets, access statistics, make market analyses, or access trading news and education. Besides, the app’s platform should allow the user to access various sections concurrently without limit user experience and the trading speed/efficiency.

Best forex trading apps for beginners must offer a wide array of assets to choose from

Besides, the best forex trading apps offer a wide range of assets to choose from, for example, currency pairs, cryptocurrencies, stocks, oil, gold, etc to allow the user to make trades of their liking. Some bogus forex trading apps are so limiting. So, always be on the lookout for forex trading apps with limitless options.

Best forex trading apps for in 2020 must offer education resources and timely market updates

One other important feature of a premium forex trading app is that it offers its users access to education resources and timely market updates. Accesses to such resources are crucial to making profitable trading decisions.

With that said, here are the recommended best forex trading apps for beginners in 2020

IQ option

IQ option is available worldwide in most countries and accepts both android and ios users.

The countries in which IQ option is unavailable, are australia, USA, belgium, canada, iran, israel, japan, latvia, north korea, pakistan, palestine, russia, sudan, syria, and turkey.

The app is super fast and user friendly and it gives users numerous assets to choose from as well as training materials and market alerts.

You can begin trading with deposits as little as a $10 and per trade investments can be as low as $1 with a profitability rate of up to 95%.

Get the IQ option forex trading app here:

Binomo

Binomo is available worldwide in most countries and accepts both android and ios users.

Traders cannot use binomo from canada, united states, australia, mali, austria, belgium, bulgaria, croatia, czech republic, denmark, estonia, finland, france, greece, hungary, ireland, italy, germany, laos, lithuania, malta, netherlands, poland, portugal, romania, slovenia, slovakia, spain, norway, sweden, united kingdom, cyprus, switzerland, israel, singapore, hong kong, new zealand, iran, japan, russian federation, belarus.

Just like IQ option, the binomo app is super fast and user friendly and it gives users numerous assets to choose from as well as training materials and market alerts. The minimum deposit is $10.

Get the binomo forex trading app here:

Compare brokers in kenya

For our kenya comparison, we found 23 brokers that are suitable and accept traders from united states of america.

We found 23 broker accounts (out of 147) that are suitable for kenya.

Forex.Com

Spreads from

What can you trade?

Forex

Crypto currencies

Indices

Commodities

Stocks

Etfs

About forex.Com

Platforms

Funding methods

79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with this provider

Between 54-87% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Based on 69 brokers who display this data.

The ultimate guide to

Best online brokers for kenya

Kenya’s financial services sector dates back to the 1950’s, with the east african’s market-based economy commonly considered one of the economic, financial, commercial and logistics hub of east africa. With 79% of the country’s population of 52.1 million people currently under the age of 35, kenya is considered a “young” country.

The primary stock market in kenya is the nairobi securities exchange (NSE) founded in 1954, nairobi. In 2014, the NSE demutualised itself and self-listed. The NSE provides a basic listing service in stocks and stock derivatives. It also lists real estate investment trusts (reits) and exchange traded funds (etfs). The exchange also provides a market for trading kenyan government and corporate debt securities.

Bonds listed on the NSE include the M-akiba bond for retail buyers, a kenyan government issued bond aimed to raise money for infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the NSE lists green bonds that are a target to helping address risks and social impacts resulting from kenya’s exposure to climate change and environmental degradation.

The primary broad stock index for the nairobi securities exchange is the NSE ALL SHARE index that is a market cap weighted index which includes all the securities listed by NSE. Narrower blue chip indices include the NSE 20 share index and the NSE 25 share index. These are price weighted indices that respectively consist of the top 20 and 25 most actively traded stocks on the NSE.

Kenya’s national currency is the kenyan shilling (KES), which is issued and managed by the central bank of kenya (CBK). The shilling is further broken down into 100 smaller units known as cents. As of 2016, the bank for international settlements (BIS) did not rank the kenyan shilling among the top 35 most actively traded currencies. The KES also did not rank among the most popular currencies held as reserves by central banks in 2018, according to data from the international monetary fund (IMF) .

The primary kenyan financial sector regulator is the capital markets authority (CMA) of kenya that was formed in 1989 under the capital markets act. This regulator aims to help kenya’s capital market become a sound choice for investors and issuer through enforcing strict regulation, encouraging innovation and enhancing investor protections. Any forex broker or other financial institution operating in kenya needs to be authorised by the CMA.

How to trade in kenya

Relatively few reputable online forex brokers are situated or have offices in kenya, although traders living in kenya can deposit money for online trading using accounts with foreign brokers that will accept them as clients.

Most brokers provide a website and customer service in english. If accessing a broker’s website in a language other than english is important, then it is recommended that you ask in advance if that broker can cater for your language needs. Unfortunately, few foreign brokers offer language services in bantu swahili.

Remember also that any broker located outside of kenya should be regulated strictly in its local jurisdiction and ensure client funds are separate from its own in segregated accounts. Brokers should also have good general reputations with their clients, in addition to an acceptable range of products and services.

The majority of online forex brokers allow traders to practice and develop strategies by offering demo accounts that are funded with virtual money. Additionally, online brokers also offer funded accounts that require a minimum initial deposit before live trading begins. Also, some brokers offer sharia complaint accounts which have no swaps on rollovers.

The asset classes available to be traded through online brokers varies considerably between different brokers. The majority of online brokers offer some type of forex trading that encompasses the major currency pairs. Furthermore, contract for difference (CFD) trading is quite common outside of places such as the united states, and cfds typically allow for trading in a broader range of assets.

Moreover, regarding stock trading, the nairobi securities exchange (NSE) aims to provide fair and transparent markets throughout several asset classes, as well as in kenyan stocks. NSE trades are also generally executed in kenyan shillings, and live trading has taken place through the automated trading systems of the NSE since 2006.

Biggest opportunities of trading in kenya

Kenya’s urban areas, especially nairobi, are noted for their large number of educated english-speaking multi-lingual professionals, largely viewed as a positive attribute for foreigners looking to establish businesses there.

Kenya also provides a number of additional opportunities for businesses:

Mining – while kenya’s mineral resources are limited, the country is an important source of high value metals like gold and titanium.

Construction and real estate – according to the U.S department of commerce, construction and real estate make up some of the fastest growing sectors in kenya.

Technology – this is another sector that has seen considerable growth in the last decade. Kenya offers high internet access rates, including fast 4G and 4G LTE services, stimulating ecommerce and other internet-based services.

Tourism – kenya’s tourist arrivals increased by 12% in 2016, and the sector’s earnings increased by 17% to around USD $1 billion.

Overall, when it comes to obtaining credit, kenya achieved a ranking of 8 th among countries surveyed by the world bank . Kenya also ranked favourably at 11 th for protecting minority investors, and 61st in the general ease of doing business there.

Biggest challenges of trading in kenya

As a consistent net importer with negative balance of trade numbers since 1998, kenya’s economy may potentially suffer from trade disputes, tariffs and the failure of key trade agreements. Nevertheless, kenya’s relatively low ratio of trade to GDP of 37% would tend to mitigate its economy’s vulnerability to trade disruptions.

Moreover, the world bank ranked kenya rather low for dealing with construction permits, starting a business, registering property and trading across borders at 128 th , 126 th , 122 nd and 112 th respectively in those areas.

Summary

In summary, traders and businesses may well find kenya a challenging place to do business. Nevertheless, the country did rank well in 8 th place from the world bank on the ease of obtaining credit, as well as an overall 61 st overall ranking by the world bank for the ease of doing business.

While kenyan financial institutions receive oversight by kenya’s CMA, it is advisable to beware of frauds when trading online. Before deciding to choose an online broker to trade through, ensure that the broker offers a decent asset class range, are well regulated, have a good reputation and a fully functioning trading platform. Additionally, brokers should also provide a safe place to make a margin deposit by segregating its clients’ funds from their own.

Why choose forex.Com
for kenya?

Forex.Com scored best in our review of the top brokers for kenya, which takes into account 120+ factors across eight categories. Here are some areas where forex.Com scored highly in:

19+ years in business

Offers 300+ instruments

A range of platform inc. MT4, web trader, ninjatrader, tablet & mobile apps

Forex.Com offers one way to tradeforex. If you wanted to trade EURUSD

The two most important categories in our rating system are the cost of trading and the broker’s trust score. To calculate a broker’s trust score, we take into account a range of factors, including their regulation history, years in business, liquidity provider etc.

Top forex brokers that accept mpesa deposits in kenya

Demo account

:regulated

:MT4 integration

:supports all devices

:fast payouts

:instant deposits

Regulated

:available on all devices

:101 trading tools

:demo account available

:trading signals available

:24/7 support

:trading community

12 trading platforms

:6 account types

:150+ trading platforms

:15+ funding methods

As a writer of forex content; one of the questions that I’m constantly asked is to recommend a good forex broker that accepts mpesa deposits in kenya.

Of course, they aren’t so many.

And just until recently, the few brokers who provided mobile payment solutions were either unreliable or new.

In this post, we list forex brokers that accept mpesa deposits and withdrawals in kenya.

Some of these brokers are strict to forex trading. Others are diverse and also provide options trading on the side.

1. XM forex.

How to fund your XM broker account with safaricom – mpesa.

To deposit money to your XM account with mpesa,

Click on the quick deposit button on top of your trading chart.

You can fund XM with VISA, mastercard, skrill, neteller, astropay, bitcoin, webmoney, and dusupay. But for the purpose of this blog, click on dusupay.

Scroll down to the mobile payment method and click on safaricom mpesa.

Enter your phone number and the amount you wish to deposit.

Confirm that you want to fund XM forex via dusupay.

You will see this message after clicking continue –

Payment pending.

If you have followed the steps correctly, your account will be credited soon.

8. Check your phone for push notification from dusupay and enter your mpesa pin to complete the transaction.

2. Iron trade.

Updated on 8/13/2019 – before opening an account with iron trade or investing your money with the platform, know you can lose all your investments. Another thing, people who have invested in iron trade in kenya have reported trouble in withdrawing their money.

Demo account

:regulated

:MT4 integration

:supports all devices

:fast payouts

:instant deposits

It is owned and operated by bartoli management S.A of address 306 premier building, albert street, victoria, mahe, republic of seychelles .

Iron trade offers forex and options trading with the lowest trading time in the market.

You can open a trade that runs for 30 seconds and get 80% returns (or more) when you win.

The best thing about iron trade is, it operates 24 hours – 7 days a week.

Take note that deals made during the weekend are over the counter deals (OTC).

What’s the meaning of OTC?

Over the counter, trade means a transaction made between two parties without publishing it anywhere. These types of deals are unique to iron trade and can be a source of income when forex is off.

Is the iron trade platform user friendly?

Demo account

:regulated

:MT4 integration

:supports all devices

:fast payouts

:instant deposits

It is easy to open an iron trade account, navigate, and to actually trade on the platform.

To confirm that it is, in fact, easy to use and that the OTC option works just fine; I opened an iron trade account over the weekend;

Traded on the demo account, lost, recovered, and made some profits.

Does iron trade accept mpesa deposits?

Yes, in fact; the system is so easy to use and very convenient.

You will be redirected to the dusu pay page with an option to choose your preferred payment choice.

Payments are localized such that if you are in kenya you can use mpesa; cameroonians can use MTN money to deposit to iron trade; ghanaians can use mobile money; nigerians to use mastercard, verve, and visa; rwandan traders can use MTN mobile money to deposit; tanzanians can use mobile money and the people of uganda can make a deposit to iron trade with either airtel money or MTN mobile money.

Payments in iron trade are safe and secure and you can deposit ksh. 1,000 minimum.

3. Expert option.

How to fund your expert option account in kenya.

There are 11 easy ways to deposit money to your expert option account in kenya. You could use your visa card, mastercard, maestro, yandex money, qiwi, crypto, perfect money, fasapay, webmoney, neteller, or skrill. But perhaps the only method you’d want to learn how works is the newly introduced mpesa deposit method.

How to use mpesa to deposit money to your expert option account.

Login to your expert option account or register here if you are new to trading. Now click on the deposit button on the top right corner of your browser and choose mpesa.

Enter your mpesa number and click continue.

Enter your mpesa number again and click pay. Your number must not have a (+) sign at the beginning. In case of any difficulty in payment, just reply to the live chat pop up on your computer and you will get instant help.

Demo account

:regulated

:MT4 integration

:supports all devices

:fast payouts

:instant deposits

You will get a push notification (on your phone) asking if you want to pay the specified amount to flutterwave account number expertoti… enter your mpesa pin to complete the transaction.

Your account will be updated instantly.

Remember, after your first deposit you won’t be able to change your deposit and withdrawal method.

4. Templerfx.

Templerfx is one of the most popular forex brokers in kenya. And a pioneer of forex deposits via mpesa.

Like most international brokers, templerfx is licensed to the financial services authority (FSA) of saint vincent and the grenadines.

You can trade forex, metals, energies, cfds and spot indices on templerfx.

How to deposit money to templerfx.

Templer accepts deposits from different wallets from across the world.

People in russia can use alfa-bank to make a quick deposit; georgians, kazakhstanis, and ukrainians can use self-service terminals for instant deposits.

Kenyan and tanzanians can use mpesa for mobile wallet deposits. Nigerians, south africans, europeans, and people of aisa – can use: – skrill, perfect money, contact, visa, mastercard, leader, OK pay, paxum, name it..

The minimum deposit in templer is ksh. 100.

Are spreads in templer good enough for newbies?

Here’s a sneak peek of templer contract specifications.

Learn more about templerfx here.

Demo account

:regulated

:MT4 integration

:supports all devices

:fast payouts

:instant deposits

5. Olymp trade.

Olymp trade is so far the best option trading broker in the world.

If you don’t have an account with olymp trade already, register.

Olymp trade does not currently accept mpesa deposits but I believe it is a service that they will soon integrate.

At the moment though, you can deposit from mpesa via skrill to olymp trade.

It is also possible to deposit to olymp trade from mpesa via neteller.

6. EGM securities accepts mpesa deposits.

EGM securities is a local broker in kenya that provides a platform for trading both forex and cfds.

Hard as it is to believe, EGM is the only FX company that is regulated in kenya under the capital markets authority.

To start trading in EGM you need to deposit at least $200 or $5000 depending on if you want to start trading with an executive or a premium account.

Unlike it’s international competitors spreads in EGM are high at 1.6 with a maximum leverage of 1:400.

EGM supports MT4 trading and it also accepts mpesa deposits.

7. IQ option.

When we talk about options trading, which trading platform comes to your mind?

Expert option?

Binomo?

Avatrade?

To most of us, we think IQ option when we think trading.

And even though IQ option isn’t currently as popular to kenyans as the wildebeest migration is to the serengeti; it is still a broker to recon with.

IQ option doesn’t currently accept mpesa deposits.

However, you can still deposit from mpesa to IQ option via skrill or neteller.

8. FXTM accepts mpesa deposits


MT4	✓
MT5	✓
minimum deposit	$10
ECN (minimum deposit	$200
mpesa deposit kenya	available
start trading	register

Did you know that FXTM is now the only international and most reputable forex broker that offers almost all the local deposits solutions to almost all african countries?

Nigerians can deposit to FXTM using nigeria local bank wire transfer

Indonesians can deposit using indonesian local transfer

Algerians can deposit with algerian local transfers (local currency supported)

Kenyans can deposit to FXTM using mpesa ( join FXTM )

Pakistani can deposit to FXTM using local transfer for india and pakistan

People of malaysia can deposit using online banking malaysia services

Traders from afghanistan can deposit with afghani local transfers services

Chinese traders can deposit to FXTM using china online banking (P) services

Traders from tanzania can deposit using tanzanian local transfers (BRK)

FXTM traders from vietnam, thailand, and iraq can also deposit using local transfer services

FXTM also accepts all E-wallets including dusupay which allows rwanda and ugandan traders to deposit using MTN mobile money.

P.S mobile money deposits are instant.

9. Hot forex kenya

Hotforex is the latest forex broker to accept mpesa deposits in kenya.

If offers different account types to different traders. Accounts which include: –

A. A micro account which only needs a $5 deposit to activate

B. A premium account that needs $100 to activate and an auto account.

You can trade over 47 different currency pairs, gold, and metals, oil and energies, commodities, stocks and indices with hotforex.

And even more interesting, you can deposit and withdraw money to the broker via all these methods

Bank transfer

Credit card

Debit card

Boleto

China unionpay

Fasapay

NETELLER

Mpesa

Skrill

Webmoney

Yandex money

Best forex broker in kenya

Online forex trading is fast becoming popular in kenya but so is the risk of falling victim to ponzi schemes. Kenya being a fairly new trading market as compared to south africa and nigeria, requires regulated forex brokers to support new and seasoned traders.

Globex360° is a leading global online trading provider allowing investors to trade in forex and cfds, indices, precious metals, energy and cryptocurrencies. Our state-of-the-art online trading platform (metatrader 4) provides complete quality assurance ensuring the best and most transparent online currency trading experience in kenya.

How to start with forex trading in kenya?

The key to get successful in forex trading is to get the timing right and make a profit based on the price movements. However, if you’re new to the field, the we recommend you to follow the steps mentioned below:

Consult the best forex trading broker in kenya.

Open a trading account for forex trading.

Make a deposit using the suggested payment method.

Download the broker’s forex trading platform on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

Start trading in forex.

The liquidity of the market has made it an attractive investment avenue for traders worldwide. As per BIS, the average tradition volume stands around $6.6 trillion per day over the globe.

Forex trading can be done 24-hours a day so investors enjoy high leverage in this market unlike the stock market. Talk to one of kenya’s best forex trading brokers to develop a workable trading strategy to yield good results.

How globex360 helps with A successful online forex trading experience in kenya?

Kenya’s forex trading market can be extremely rewarding with more than 70,000 forex traders estimated to be currently operating in the market. However, not every online forex trader is fortunate enough to enjoy high returns on investment and thus educating yourself of the risk factors gives you an advantage.

Volatile forex market that fluctuates at slight economic activity

High risk of leverage

Unreasonable high investment

Poor regulatory control

Having a globally recognized and experienced forex trading broker in kenya like globex360 helps traders make informed decisions to earn more than they are willing to invest.

One of the world’s best online forex trading platforms – metatrader 4

Powerful forex trading app for android and apple ios users.

Educational programs such as webinars and seminars

Flexible deposit options

Easy withdrawals with no fees charged

Global presence in south africa, botswana, nigeria, chile and australia

24*7 customer support

A forex broker with a welcome bonus helps you enjoy hassle-free online trading experience in kenya and many other parts of the world. Do let us know of your forex trading concerns so that we can help.

Best forex brokers in kenya 2021

Despite the fact kenya is among the poorest countries in the world, there are still possibilities to invest in the markets there. Unfortunately, forex trading is absolutely new and most companies that provide their services there are often regarded as some financial pyramid schemes. We may hope that the central bank of kenya introduces a regulation for currency trading soon and that the situation for potential traders will improve. In the meantime we have laid out the best brokers serving the region.

The brokers below represent the best forex brokers for trading in kenya

Note: not all forex brokers accept US clients. For your convenience we specified those that accept US forex traders as clients.

FP markets

Regulated by: ASIC, cysec

Headquarters : level 5, exchange house 10 bridge st sydney NSW 2000, australia

Your capital is at risk

FP markets was founded in 2005 and is regulated by the australian securities and investments commission (ASIC), offering segregation of client funds and top tier liquidity. FP markets is a group of companies that includes first prudential markets ltd which is authorised and regulated by the cyprus securities and exchange commission.

FP markets also offers a range of education and market analysis resources through the traders hub which includes technical analysis and fundamental analysis articles and videos, as well as, trading ebooks and video tutorials. Users can access live support via telephone, email and live chat 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

How to choose a forex broker as a kenyan trader

Forex trading is currently unregulated in the country and choosing a broker in kenya can be a problem. There are companies that offer services there and you can do online trading, but you need to be very careful as the company could be a complete fraud or government officials can charge you with doing something illegal.

If you do decide to start trading you will need to look for a broker that is recognized by an authorized governmental institution as a legal entity. You would also want to check what trading platform the company has, if any at all. The lower the commissions the company offers the better. You should also expect possibility to open the type of account that fits your capital size best. A broker should care about you as a trader and offer good customer service. Extra services would act as a bonus for you too.

General regulation & kenya regulation

There are very few places in the world where forex is unregulated. Most countries have gone through various stages in regulation, most from being very loose to being rather strict. Very few regulators allow unregulated brokers to operate in their countries and those who do operate have to follow strict rules and regulation.

Kenya is an exception. It still does not have proper forex regulation and so brokers offering their services in the country operate without any law to govern them. Because of that, they are often targeted and racketeered by corrupt police officers and public officials. Companies are charged with illegal status or some pyramid schemes and the officials extort money from both the brokers and their customers. Brokers now often approach the government and ask them to introduce proper forex regulation, so that brokers can legally operate and traders trade there. Let‘s hope the regulation is introduced soon and everybody can continue working with piece of mind.

Trading platform & software

Your main tool as a kenyan trader will surely be your computer. It means you will also need a good trading platform. It is not that difficult for brokers to get one nowadays as metatrader 4 is available with most brokers across the world. The platform has a lot of useful features inside of it, such as: chart station where you can upload as many symbols as you want and change their timeframes from 1 minute to 1 month. You can also do backtesting of your strategy there. All most popular technical indicators there and you can create one of your own if you know how to do some programming on the station. Somebody else can do that for you too. You can use a robot that will do trading for you, so you will not have to sit glued to your pc screen all day. A broker may have an online version platform, which you should check out. Test out the trading platforms before you deposit.

Commissions & spreads

Brokers charge fees from their customers for transactions. In forex, a fee is a spread, which is the difference between buy and sell price. Spreads are either fixed or variable. Fixed spreads are often between 1-5 pips for major pairs and 5-20 for crosses. Variable spreads are lower. They can be 0.2-0.8 pips for major pairs and 2-6 for crosses. However, when markets are affected by fundamental news such as interest rate decisions spreads tend to widen 10 or even 20 times for a few minutes. Then everything comes back to normal and spreads are the same as under normal market conditions. It‘s up to you what kind of spreads are better for your trading style.

Account types

A great advantage that a trader can have trading forex is an account type based on the size of his capital.

Micro account

You can start trading currencies with as little as a few hundred bucks. If that‘s how much you have you would probably need a micro account and trade micro lots (the size of a micro lot is $1000).

Mini account

If you have over one thousand dollars you may try a mini account and trade mini lots which are 10k. Your risks and rewards increase exponentially if you trade this type of account.

Standard account

If you intend to trade much larger volumes and have over 10 thousand dollars you can try to apply for a standard account and trade volumes that exceed 100k. Remember, the bigger the amount you trade with, the bigger the risks are.

Customer service

As brokers make money charging fees (spreads) on your transactions it is absolutely normal to expect good customer service on their behalf. It does not matter whether a broker is native or foreign, they should service you in your native language or dialect. They should also resolve trading connected problems and issues in a fast and effective way. If a broker ignores you, you should not open an account with him or close it if you have actually opened it.

Additional services

Brokers compete with each other trying to gain as many customers as possible and they often do it by offering extra services. Those may include free educational materials in video, audio and text formats, various market analysis on a weekly and daily time frames, financial news feed (reuters, bloomberg and etc.). You may expect some annual, quarterly or even monthly contests for traders. So, the more extra services they offer, the better it is for you to see whether the broker cares about their traders or not.

Conclusion

Despite the fact, there is no legal framework for forex regulation in kenya, brokers there are quite active and you may cautiously proceed to open an account with the most reliable broker. We have laid out the best of these brokers below. We hope that the information provided in the article will help you to choose one of the best brokers operating in your country.

So, let's see, what we have: compare the best forex trading platforms in kenya for 2020. We've selected platforms based on their fees, trading conditions, regulations & 8 more factors. At best forex trading apps in kenya