Best Forex Brokers in New Zealand: 6 FMA-Licensed Brokers Compared

Which forex brokers are licensed in New Zealand?

Any person or business offering New Zealanders contracts linked to an exchange rate must hold a derivatives issuer licence from the Financial Markets Authority, the FMA states on its consumer page for foreign exchange trading. The FMA classes retail forex trading as derivatives trading rather than currency dealing, so the licence that covers it is the derivatives issuer licence, the same instrument that covers CFDs. Of the derivatives issuers on the register, 10 offer retail forex or CFD trading, and this page rates 6 of them. The full list of licensed issuers, with the register entry behind each one, is on our page of FMA-regulated brokers.

The 6 licensed issuers rated here, ordered by published score

The order below is our global published score, which rates each broker’s worldwide offering. There is no New Zealand score, because there is no New Zealand test, and the order below should be read as a global ranking rather than a verdict on any broker’s New Zealand entity alone.

BlackBull Markets

Black Bull Group Limited holds FSP403326, a registration on the Financial Service Providers Register, and its derivatives issuer licence was granted on 12 August 2020. The Financial Markets Authority’s register of licensed providers lists it as active. The Product Disclosure Statement dated 10 September 2025 states, on page 25, that Black Bull Group Limited issues both the PDS and the CFDs it describes, so the entity that promises the contract is the entity that stands behind it. Our review of BlackBull Markets in New Zealand has the rest.

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ThinkMarkets

TF Global Markets (Aust) Ltd holds FSP623289 on the Financial Service Providers Register, was granted its derivatives issuer licence on 17 December 2021 and is listed as active on the Financial Markets Authority’s register of licensed providers. The Product Disclosure Statement dated 11 April 2023 states, on page 26, that a client who will not supply information about their derivatives knowledge and experience cannot be accepted, so the onboarding gate is a stated condition of the account. Our review of ThinkMarkets in New Zealand has the rest.

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IG Group

IG Australia Pty Ltd holds FSP684191, was granted its derivatives issuer licence on 9 July 2021 and is listed as active on the Financial Markets Authority register of licensed providers. The Product Disclosure Statement dated 3 February 2025 states, on page 12, that IG serves New Zealand investors from an office in Australia and has no New Zealand office of its own, so the licence is held by an offshore entity. Our review of IG Group in New Zealand has the rest.

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CMC Markets

CMC Markets NZ Limited holds FSP41187 and was granted its derivatives issuer licence on 12 December 2014, with the FMA register of licensed providers listing it as active. CMC Markets advertises, on its own New Zealand website, twenty years on the ground in New Zealand. Of the 6 issuers rated here, CMC Markets NZ Limited holds the earliest FMA licence. Our review of CMC Markets in New Zealand carries the detail.

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Axi

AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd holds FSP518226, a registration on the Financial Service Providers Register, and was granted its derivatives issuer licence on 1 June 2018. The Financial Markets Authority’s register of licensed providers lists the licence as active. The Product Disclosure Statement dated 9 December 2024 states, on page 6, that a retail client is given negative balance protection, so losses are limited to the money in the account. Our review of Axi in New Zealand carries the detail.

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Plus500

Plus500AU Pty Ltd holds FSP486026 on the Financial Service Providers Register, was granted its derivatives issuer licence on 30 September 2016 and is listed as active on the Financial Markets Authority register of licensed providers. The Product Disclosure Statement dated 17 September 2026 states, on page 2, that it carries the FMA-mandated warning that derivatives are not suitable for most retail investors. Our review of Plus500 in New Zealand carries the detail.

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Is forex trading legal in New Zealand?

Yes, forex trading is legal in New Zealand, and the FMA’s consumer page spells out how it is regulated. Forex trading using contracts linked to the exchange rate between two currencies is classed as trading a derivative financial product, which means individuals or businesses offering those contracts must hold a derivatives issuer licence from the FMA. Trading through a licensed issuer is therefore lawful for a retail client, while offering the contracts without a licence is not.

The FMA recommends New Zealanders avoid overseas forex trading services not licensed by it, even if they appear to be regulated by an overseas authority, so legality for a local trader turns on whether the issuer holds the New Zealand licence. The FMA also opens its page with a warning of its own: forex trading for profit is very risky, and it regularly receives complaints and enquiries from consumers who have lost money in online forex trading.

What leverage a New Zealand broker may offer

There is no FMA leverage cap in force for retail clients, so the limit a New Zealand trader faces is the one the issuer sets. The FMA consulted on a cap between 11 June and 7 August 2024, and no decision from that consultation has been published, which leaves each issuer free to set its own terms. The caps differ by asset class, and the per-issuer figures live on each issuer’s review rather than here.

Leverage itself is the risk the FMA is blunt about. It describes leveraged forex trading as borrowing money to place a bet, with the full borrowed amount repayable on a loss, not only the client’s own margin. A trader deciding how much leverage to accept should read that description before deciding.

What it costs to trade with a New Zealand issuer

A round turn is one standard lot of EUR/USD bought and sold, 100,000 units, and since a pip on EUR/USD is US$10.00 per standard lot, the cost is the spread in pips times ten dollars plus any commission. Across the six issuers the cheapest round turn is US$8.00, at CMC Markets and Plus500, both on one spread with no commission, at 0.8 pips (tested) and 0.8 pips (published average) respectively. The dearest is Axi at US$14.50 on its one spread, no commission account at 1.45 pips (tested). The other issuers sit between these two ends. A raw spread plus commission account charges a commission on top of the spread, while a one spread, no commission account does not. Each issuer’s own figures, with the basis label on every one, are set out on that issuer’s review rather than repeated here.

The document that carries an issuer’s costs is the product disclosure statement. The FMA requires a licensed derivatives provider to give a client a PDS before they trade, so the fees, the margin terms and the close-out rules are all in writing before any money moves. Reading the PDS is not a formality: it is the one place where the issuer’s own charges are stated in the issuer’s own words.

When the market is open in New Zealand time

The trading week opens for a New Zealand trader at 09:00 NZST and closes at 10:00 NZST. During New Zealand daylight time, which runs from 27 September 2026 to 4 April 2027, the week opens at 10:00 and closes at 11:00. The busiest window of the New Zealand day is the London and New York sessions overlap, from 01:00 to 05:00 NZST. The full session times in New Zealand time are on our market hours page.

What to check before you deposit

Check the licence, not the brand. The FSP number identifies who holds the licence, and the licence itself is the derivatives issuer licence, so confirm the legal entity named in the PDS holds an active derivatives issuer licence on the FMA’s register of licensed providers before you fund the account, and treat the FSP number as registration only, not the licence. The register entry behind each issuer rated here is on our page of FMA-regulated brokers.

Read the PDS before, not after, depositing. The FMA requires the issuer to give it to you before you trade, and it names insolvency of the provider as a risk to read for: if your provider became insolvent, you may be an unsecured creditor and have difficulty getting your money back.

Check the leverage terms the issuer sets, since no FMA cap applies and the issuer decides the limit. The FMA’s description of leverage as borrowing money to place a bet, repayable in full on a loss, is the yardstick to measure those terms against.

Finally, check the entity’s jurisdiction. The FMA recommends New Zealanders avoid overseas forex services it has not licensed, even where an overseas regulator appears to cover them, and four of the issuers above hold their New Zealand licences through companies incorporated outside New Zealand. The register confirms which entity stands behind the account you are about to fund.