New Zealand Foreign exchange trading requires a NZ forex broker regulated by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) with the best forex brokers offering ecn low spreads, a mainstream forex trading platform and a range of CFDs financial services.
View the forex broker NZ comparison list below.
By Justin Grossbard / Updated: Monday, February 17th, 2020
Best NZ Forex Brokers
The 2020 best forex broker in NZ that are regulated by the FMA are:
CMC Markets – Best NZ Forex Broker
IG Markets – Best Range Of Financial Markets
Plus500 – Best crypto CFD trading
Hantec Markets – Best MetaTrader CFD Broker
OMF – Best cTrader Platform CFD Broker
NZ forex traders should only consider a CFD provider that shows as active on the Financial Service Providers Register. Only FMA brokers are listed on this page (last updated in February 2020). New Zealand forex traders should understand the high risks of leveraged products. Regulatory bodies have guides providing risk warnings and risk management suggestions including this article.
CMC Markets allows trading CFDs across the world with FCA regulation in the UK to ASIC regulation in Australia. Within New Zealand they offer contracts for difference (CFD trading) and countdowns across:
Forex
Indices
Shares
Commodities
Treasuries
Cryptocurrencies
CMC Markets Spreads
Below shows the spreads on the core markets offered from Forex to Cryptocurrencies. There are several further trading costs when CFD trading with CMC Markets including holding costs (often called overnight fees) for positioned held overnight. There are commissions only for Share CFDs while data subscription costs exist to view share CFDs price data within the trading platform. The final charges occur when a guaranteed stop-loss order (GSLO) is made and then triggered.
Leverage With CMC Markets
CMC Markets offers leverage on major currency pairs of up to 500:1. There is a high level of risk when trading at this level so only experienced traders with a high-risk threshold should consider choosing the maximum leverage available. Maximum leverage ranges for other products with 500:1 of indices, 400:1 for treasuries and 200:1 for commodities. You can view more leverage information on the CMC Markets review.
IG is one of the largest retail fx broker worldwide marketing itself as an all-in-one trader solution. They are a stockbroker, currency broker and CFDs provider. They offer a number of forex platforms and account types that impact the spreads and commissions on trades. The broker has a lower leverage level which excludes many intermediate and expert forex traders. They are also are regulated by the Australia Securities Commission. Read more…
IG offers CFDs on shares for NZ traders with market-based spreads and a 0.09% commission per side (minimum of NZ $7). For the spot AUD/USD and EUR/USD CFDs the average spread is 0.75 pips. Overall, spreads and commissions vary by CFDs with some more competitive than others. CMC overall spreads and commissions were viewed as more competitive compared to IG.
Plus500 allows individuals to start trading on a not just forex markets but also on cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. Other CFDs and commodities can also be traded online. Leverage is up to 300:1 and unlike CMC a there are no commissions on trade. The fx broker has a presence globally and in addition to NZ (FMA regulation), they are regulated by CYSEC in Cyprus and ASIC in Australia. A number of CFDs can be traded by Plus500.
Unique features for Plus500 is their trading tools. They allow for stop-loss, trailing-strop and stop-limit functionality. They also for an additional fee provide guaranteed stop, ensuring a trader can’t lose more than the amount set for a CFD trade. Another feature which is standard is negative balance protection. This ensures a trader doesn’t go into a negative balance and the NZ forex broker exists the trader when they approach $0. If the trader does go into negative, Plus500 will cover the additional losses.
Hantec offers the most popular forex trading platform, MetaTrader 4. This is the platform the most used by online brokers worldwide and by the good brokers across-the-globe. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is suitable by a range of trading experience forex traders with Hantec Markets offering based currency including GBP, USD and EUR. There is also the option of a demo account to trade virtual funds before real money.
OMF – Best cTrader NZ Broker
The best cTrader forex broker in NZ is OMF Markets. OMF are specialist when trading forex and cTrader has a range of financial instruments to trade currencies and other services including:
FX Hedging and Payment – An advisory service for forward and spot contracts
Equity Markets – Connects NZ investors to equity products from EFTs, CFDs to equities
Futures Market – Acces to the most active exchanges to trade commodities to interest rates
Carbon Trading – A facility to trade OTC derivatives and spot carbon markets
Power – Exchange-traded OTC electricity future contracts to help power companies hedge
It’s their range of financial instruments which gives OMF a unique value proposition over their currency brokers.
NZ Forex Frequently Asked Questions
What forex broker should i use?
The best fx broker for New Zealand forex traders is FMA regulated with a valid FSP number and has:
An advanced forex trading platform such as MT4/MT5 or cTrader
A range of currency pairs and other tradable CFDs such as Bitcoin
Strong customer service and reputation with traders
Our NZ broker review found CMC Markets was the best forex broker for NZ fx traders.
Is Forex Trading Legal In NZ
The local regulator for New Zealand is the Financial Markets Authority who regulate forex brokers trading in NZ. Those looking to trade forex or other CFDs should find an FMA regulated broker that suits their trading needs. Other regulators include the CFTC and NFA in USA and ASIC in Australia.
Which brokers in New Zealand trade Crypto?
Most forex brokers trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as a contract for difference (CFDs). This means you don’t tangibly buy and sell crypto but rather speculate on its movement with leverage involved. You can view our review of IG who have a wide range of crypto CFD to trade.
What Is The Best Forex Trading Platform In NZ?
The most popular forex trading platform is MetaTrader 4 created by MetaQuotes. Most forex brokers offer MetaTrader 4 to trade with while MetaTrader 5 is also offered for those looking to trade a wider market. CMC Markets offers the choice of MetaTrader 4 or their own forex trading platform and is the recommended NZ fx broker.
Selecting The Right NZ Forex Broker To Suit Your Needs
When selecting a New Zealand forex broker to consider the following 5 aspects:
1) Brokerage Fees which primarily is spreads. Spreads are similar to those traveller views when going to a foreign exchange provider with a different price for ‘buying’ a currency compared to ‘selling’ the same currency. The foreign exchange provider makes the difference which is called the ‘spread’. Some forex brokers will move to minimise these spreads and instead charge a commission. This increases the transparency of forex brokerage costs and can lead to a lower overall brokerage. These types of NZ brokers are called ECN brokers. It should be noted that some NZ forex broker charge other fees for holding positions, trading exotics and certain funding methods.
2) Forex Trading Platforms help individual online forex brokers match individual traders with overseas liquidity markets. The main markets are in New York and London so the trading platform servers need to be close to these locations. Choosing the right forex trading platform will mean finding one that has a good interface, fast trading execution and it’s popularity. By using a popular forex platform like cTrader or MetaTrader 4 a broker can relatively seamlessly change the NZ forex broker they trade with.
3) Leverage is critical for currency trading to make it worthwhile for traders. With currencies often moving by fractions of a percent each day, leverage makes these changes more substantial. The leverage levels can up to 10x different so this element needs to be considered. It’s also worth noting that higher leverage is not necessarily better. This is because higher leverage increases the risks of forex trading.
4) Risk Management features can help forex brokers reduce the level of risk associated with leverage. Some management tools are in-built such as minimum balance protection which ensures an NZ trader doesn’t lose more than their deposit. Other features need to be enabled on individual trades such as guaranteed stops where a broker can determine the most they are willing to lose on a transaction. It should be noted that these features can increase the brokerage costs of the trader.
5) Regulation: The NZ financial service providers register created by the Financial Services Market (FMA) show locally regulated fx brokers. There are many requirements of the New Zealand regulators so choosing these fx brokers will reduce the risk of forex scans. The brokers listed on this page meet FMA requirements and you can view the FSPR (financial service provider registry) website. Another key regulatory bodies to note is the Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) where complaints of financial institutions can be made.
FMA Derivatives Issuers
To view the NZ licenced provider list you can view the FMA register. The top derivative issuers which offer retail forex broker NZ services are listed below. As further licences can be added or suspended it’s recommended to check the FMA register website to ensure details are up-to-date. The list below was updated in January 2020.
Licensed Entity (Updated 12/2019)
FSP Number
Licence Granted
Carrick Just Capital Markets Limited
FSP569807
27/08/2018
CMC Markets NZ Limited
FSP41187
12/12/2014
Hantec Markets
FSP539286
07/11/2018
IG Markets Limited
FSP18923
26/02/2015
OM Financial Limited
FSP15922
1/10/2016
Pacific Financial Derivatives Limited
FSP28944
27/02/2015
Plus500AU Pty Ltd
FSP486026
30/09/2016
Rockfort Markets Limited
FSP509766
26/02/2018
Before trading, make sure you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Any leveraged product increases your chances to lose money when trading. Most fx providers will provide details of the percentage of retail investor accounts lose money. Make sure our aware that you can lose money when trading CFDs which may exceed your deposit.
Forex
Leverage With CMC Markets
