Forex traders in South Africa looking to minimise brokerage should choose a broker with an ECN account to lower spreads, reduce slippage and benefit from ECN forex broker execution speeds.
Compare the top ECN brokers in South Africa below with STP.
Updated: 08/06/2021
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Our team of industry experts at Compare Forex Brokers evaluated the best brokers with no dealing desk execution:
Pepperstone is among the best ECN forex brokers in South Africa to give clients direct market access (DMA) without dealing desk intervention. To access Pepperstone’s ECN environment, you will need to sign up to the broker’s Razor account that is available with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or cTrader. If you prefer a no commission fee trading structure, Pepperstone also offers a standard account type.
Below you can review a short comparison of the three powerful trading platforms and their main features:
South African traders can combine the benefits that come with the ECN brokers and STP brokers into one trading account. Retail clients can choose between two account types offered by Pepperstone (Standard accounts for commission-free trading and Razor accounts for ECN spreads). Below you can discover why Pepperstone ECN trading platform is the best forex brokers for spreads and ultra-fast order execution.
Pepperstone display price from a diverse pool of liquidity providers transparently through the use of Electronic Communications Network (ECN). Pepperstone sources and aggregates its Forex quotes from over 22 liquidity providers and tier-one banks.
Additionally, to being one of the best ECN brokers operating in South Africa, Pepperstone operates a no dealing desk model NDD. No dealing desk brokers send the orders directly to the liquidity providers without hedging. The Straight Through Processing STP forex brokers come with the following advantages:
The automated ECN solution offered by Pepperstone allows buy and sell orders to be matched with lightning-fast execution speed. Pepperstone clients can be assured that their orders are processed in less than 30 milliseconds. Trading forex and CFDs with no requotes or delays are now possible for South African residents if they open a live trading account with Pepperstone.
The trading software technology offered by Pepperstone is designed to give retail forex traders an edge. Comparable with the most advanced proprietary trading platforms on the Forex market, SA retail traders can benefit from using a host of trading tools, including:
Pepperstone easy-to-use ECN trading environment is accessible with a minimum deposit of $200 (or equivalent in South African Rand). The STP/ECN trading model offered by Pepperstone is equipped with the best forex trading platforms, which can unleash the untapped potential of your trading strategy. You’re just one click away from reserving your Pepperstone demo account, which mimics the same trading conditions that come with a live trading account. Start trading with the best ECN forex brokers regulated by ASIC, FCA, CySEC, BaFin, CMA, SCB and the DFSA by clicking the button below.
View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>
The overall rating is based on review by our experts
IC Markets is a true ECN broker offering the lowest EUR/USD spreads that can go as low as 0.0 pips. Retail traders in South Africa can benefit from the lowest spreads in the world only if they opt for the IC Markets Raw Spread trading account types. At the same time, our team of industry experts found that the average EUR/USD spread is 0.1 pips.
ECN forex brokers use an execution model that can provide several advantages, including:
Our devoted team of investing professionals hand-checked all forex brokers in South Africa that offer ECN trading accounts. Throughout a meticulous examination, we found that IC Markets advantages are superior. Below we’re going to list the advantages that come with an ECN account.
To compare the spread among the top forex brokers in South Africa, read our full review here: Low Spread Forex Brokers in South Africa.
IC Markets offer institutional grade ECN trading from the world’s leading institutions. The ECN pricing is derived from a diverse pool of 25 liquidity providers you can trade on. The institutional grade liquidity offered by ECN brokers can offer the following advantages:
IC Markets can offer the best forex quotes because its data feed servers and order machine engines are co-located in the world’s largest financial data centres:
The combination of the world’s major financial centres located in New York and London allows IC Markets to process over half a million orders per day. The secure fibre optic cable that connects IC Markets’ price matching engine with the ECN Liquidity Providers LP translates into the following advantages:
IC Markets are also equipped with the latest technologies in terms of the trading tools offered to its clients. The most advanced trading tools offered by IC Markets are listed below:
IC Markets intermediates transactions between retail clients and the interbank market that is worth over $15 billion daily. Additionally, this online Forex CFD provider is regulated by the most important Forex regulatory bodies, including the ASIC, CySEC and the FSA. Forex traders can trade with no restrictions and with the peace of mind that they are using one of the best ECN forex brokers. Click the button below to claim your FREE demo account.
Open a demo account >>Visit IC Markets >>
Our best-in-industry methodology of ranking the best online platform revealed that FxPro offers the best WebTrader platform. FxPro is authorised and regulated through a total of 33 well-established financial watchdogs, including the FSCA, CySEC and FCA. South African traders can choose between a wide range of desktop, web-based, tablet and mobile trading platforms, including:
FxPro offers the option to trade from your browser for both PC and MAC. The browser-based trading platform allows SA traders to trade 7 different CFD asset classes with no dealing desk execution, including:
Our team of industry experts will outline below the advantages that come with the FxPro price execution model. Our team examined the key features of the FxPro ECN model, including the:
Not many ECN brokers can boost an average order execution speed of 11.06 milliseconds. FxPro advanced trading technology is able to execute up to 7,000 client orders per second. On its best day, FxPro managed to fill 199,397 client orders.
FxPro has industry recognition for its impeccable trading conditions and its no-dealing desk NDD model. FxPro won over 70 international awards since 2006, when it started providing financial services to retail clients. The most prestigious awards include:
The secret behind FxPro ECN (Electronic Communication Network) execution model relies on its deep network of liquidity providers. The deep liquidity provides SA traders with tight bid and ask spreads.
FxPro order-matching technology is able to achieve superior trading conditions for South African residents. We assessed all aspects of their execution engine and found the following advantages:
Trading forex through ECN forex brokers it also means reduced requotes. FxPro only rejected a small portion of their client orders. Around 1.40% of orders received a requotes among which 0.72% of orders received improved prices. Overall, 98.60% of the orders received no requote.
Please note that while FxPro isn’t the counterparty of your trades, client orders are matched internally against other market participants. This is the reason why FxPro can’t be classified among true ECN brokers. At the same time, FxPro can’t be classified among market maker brokers either because they act as an intermediary between forex traders and liquidity providers.
For a full comparison of the best forex trading platforms for South African traders, please read our unbiased review here: Best Forex Broker for Each FX Platform.
FXTM is another ECN regulated broker offering SA residents access to the forex market with unbeatable leverage of 1000:1. If you want to find an ECN broker with high leverage, then ForexTime FXTM can satisfy your trading needs. To access higher leverage, you need to select the FXTM Exinity Limited.
With so many ECN forex brokers to choose from, it’s important to consider the regulatory status and the safety of your funds. FXTM is given permission to provide financial services by the following regulatory bodies:
Note* for our ECN forex brokers review, our team of industry experts only rated regulated brokers. See the complete list of the best FSCA regulated forex brokers in South Africa.
The advantages of an ECN trading account are significant. FXTM offers 3 different ECN-style account types:
All of the FXTM ECN accounts come with high flexible leverage, a swap-free option available, scalpers friendly, no requotes and fast order execution of 53 milliseconds. The following leverage comparison table highlights the highest ECN trading leverage offered by forex brokers in South Africa.
FXTM range of ECN trading accounts offers South African residents the flexibility to choose a trading environment that suits best their trading style. Additionally, FXTM has made a good impression in our proprietary scoring system for ranking online forex brokers due to the following features:
View FXTM Review >>Visit FXTM>>
IG Group is the world’s number one CFD provider that is FSCA regulated. Additionally, the ECN trading environment offered by IG is also supervised by regulatory entities from the UK, Australia and even the USA. IG has provided financial services to retail clients and professional traders since 1974. As of today, over 178.000 clients from across five continents are trading with IG across 16,000 different financial instruments, including:
Our team of forex industry experts will give you a quick overview of the forex direct market access (DMA) that IG offers to its clients.
The DMA trading account gives South African traders direct access to the interbank market without the need for a middleman. The forex DMA advantages include:
IG doesn’t charge you the spread, but SA traders would need to pay a commission. IG commission is based on the volume traded in the last month. If South African traders are doing less than 100 million in volume, the commission charged is $6 per standard lot or $60 per million traded. The round-turn commission would be $120 per million traded. In the chart below, you can review the different levels of the commission charged by IG.
IG offers retail traders a trusted ECN account style with an extensive list of financial instruments, competitive spreads, and a modern trading platform solution. The L2 Dealer platform is IG’s proprietary trading platform that has no dealer intervention and prices directly from the interbank market. South African residents can trade with IG Forex Direct with a minimum deposit of Rand 4,000. Click below to view the complete list of Top 5 Forex Brokers with ZAR Accounts.
Open a demo account >>Visit IG >>
There are various types of brokerage houses in the world, but broadly speaking, there are only two forex broker types:
A dealing desk broker is also known as a market maker or in the Forex jargon is also known as a bucket shop. As the name suggests, a dealing desk broker acts as a market maker and feeds you the forex quotes retail traders trade on. With the DD execution model, the broker will act as the counterpart of all your trades. This implies a conflict of interest as the forex broker will make a profit each time you lose on your trades.
The no dealing desk execution model is the solution to avoid trading against your broker. The ECN brokers are a type of no dealing desk brokers that will give retail traders direct access to the foreign exchange market. With the ECN execution model, your orders will be forwarded automatically to the interbank market. All forex orders are matched against various liquidity providers LP, eliminating the conflict of interest between the broker and the trader.
Our team of industry experts viewed the top 3 advantages of a true ECN broker as:
Risk Warning: Additionally to the inherent high risk that comes to Forex trading, the total costs that come with an ECN account can be high. Make sure you choose an ECN broker with competitive fees and commissions. If you’re looking internationally, view our Global best ECN broker page.
Justin Grossbard has been investing for the past 20 years and writing for the past 10. He co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014 after working with the foreign exchange trading industry for several years. He also founded a number of FinTech and digital startups including Innovate Online and SMS Comparison. Justin holds a Masters Degree and an Honours in Commerce from Monash University. He and his wife Paula live in Melbourne, Australia with his son and Siberian cat. In his spare time, he watches Australian Rules Football and invests on global markets.
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