Can foreign forex trading companies have offices in India?
No, they cannot. Only brokers who are licensed under SEBI or RBI are legalized and allowed to have offices in this country and it is also legal for traders to trade through these brokers. Brokers who claim to setup an office in India and that they are authorized is a fraud. So, there is no reason to trust them. However, that does not mean that you cannot trade with offshore trading companies. You need to know the right rules and regulations about trading before doing that though.
Is trading legal in India?
The first thing you need to understand that binary trading is illegal in India and you may have to face grave consequences if you get involved in binary trading. So, always make sure to avoid brokers that offer binary trading services. You can go for brokers that offer CFD trading on forex, shares, indices, and commodities instead.
Forex trading or currency trading is legal in India, where you trade in a currency pair. However, the scope of currency trading is limited in this country due to strict regulatory restrictions. Except three cross currency pairs, you can only trade a currency pair that involves the Indian Rupee. Currency pairs that are allowed to trade in India are USDINR, JPYINR, EURINR, GBPINR, EURUSD, USDJPY, and GBPUSD. With these things in mind, you can choose any of the offshore brokers popular in India that accepts Indian clients.
Popular Brokers That Offer Trading Services In India
The first step of forex trading is choosing a good forex broker. There are a few crucial factors that you need to consider before choosing a broker. First, the broker must offer high level of security. Forex trading is full of risks. So, it you do not want to be scammed, it is important to choose a regulated broker with superior risk management tools. Next is transaction cost. No matter what kind of trader you are, you will always have to pay transaction cost.
So, try to find a broker that does not charge too high costs. It is also important to check the deposit and withdrawal methods, as well as the time taken to initiate any transaction. Other factors that you should check are the accessibility and user-interface of the trading platform offered by the broker, execution speed, and customer service.
There are many offshore brokers you may choose to start trading. Most popular among them in India are –
eToro
eToro is a leading broker regulated by several authorities and trusted by millions of traders. It offers a multi-asset platform where traders can invest both in stocks and cryptocurrencies besides CFD assets. CFDs are complex instruments and they come with a high risk of losing money rapidly because of high leverage. So, you must understand how CFD works before considering if you can afford the risk.
Features:
- Currency trading, stocks, indices, commodities, and more in one portfolio
- Low spreads as low as 1 pip for USDJPY and EURUSD
- Leverage up to 1:30; higher for professional clients
- Security with advanced risk management features like live alerts and customisable stop loss
- Demo account for risk-free CFD trading with $100,000 virtual money
- Innovative CopyTraderTMto follow other traders and copy their trades automatically
- Dedicated customer support 24/5
Click here to start trading with eToro.
IG Markets
IG offers award-winning platforms and apps to take advantage of price movements in the world’s most-traded financial market. Founded in 1974, IG Group has been at the forefront of forex industry ever since. The broker is licensed to conduct investment business and digital business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. At present, IG serves clients from all over the world, from sales offices in 17 countries from across five continents.
Features:
- Fast and easy-to-use web platform
- Specialist platform and charting – ProRealTime, L2 dealer, and MT4
- Full suite of alerts and risk management tools
- Clear and fast charts to identify FX opportunities and up-to-the minute analysis
- Quick and easy account opening
- Online peer and staff support in IG community
- Free trading courses and webinars on IG Academy
Visit the IG Markets official website to start trading.
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is another popular broker in India that offers forex trading services. One of the most regulated brokers in the world; it offers daily exclusive market analysis to brokers. The broker has more than 15 years in the industry. AvaTrade makes trading easier for traders with its free advanced trading tools.
Features:
- Vital financial news
- In-depth analysis techniques
- Popular trading strategies
- Money management tips
- Ultra-low spreads
- Regulation across 6 jurisdictions
- Multilingual live customer service
- Next generation trading tools including AvaTradeGo, MetaTrader4/5, WebTrader, AvaSocialTM, and AvaOptionsTM
Visit the official website of AvaTrade by clicking here.
XM Group
XM offers forex trading for ultra-low spreads on its multi awarded trading platforms. Found in 2009, it has grown to be a large and well-established international investment firm. Currently, the broker has more than 3,500,000 clients from over 196 countries. Its support in over 30 languages makes XM the broker of choice for all types of traders.
Features:
- Personal account managers
- Free access to forex market research
- Free access to daily forex webinars and video tutorials
- Daily access to forex trading signals
- 16 platforms to choose from; accessible from any device
- Free daily technical analysis
- Daily forex market outlook
Click here to start forex trading with XM Group.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers offers next level investing to traders with its advanced trading platforms. The company has completed its 43rd year as a broker dealer this year. The objective of Interactive Brokers is to create technology to offer liquidity on better terms and competing on price, size, diversity, and speed on global products and advanced trading tools.
Features:
- Tight spreads as narrow as 1/10 pip
- Professional forex trading tools like FXTrader
- FX risk management of foreign stocks and large-size order facility
- Deep liquidity and real-time quotes from 17 major forex dealers across the world
- Low commissions, 0.08 to 0.20 bps times trade size
- No hidden spreads or markups
- Advanced leverage technology with trading platforms, free trading tools, order types and Algos, and comprehensive reporting
Start trading with Interactive Brokers,
- Forex.Com
Forex.Com is a global industry leader to trade forex, the most traded market in the world. The company has been connecting independent traders to the potential of the universal currency markets since 2001. Forex.Com offers quality execution on every trade and you can also view it on its execution scorecard.
Features:
- Access to full suite of downloadable, web, and mobile apps
- The new and improved MetaTrader5
- Over 500 markets including forex, commodities, equities, and indices
- One-on-one professional support with Active Trader program
- Competitive pricing to suit the trading style or every trader; spread as low as 0.8 pips
- Multiple account types such as Standard, MT4, MT5, DMA, and Commission
- Protection of customer funds with strict regulations
Click here to start trading with Forex.Com.
- Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is best for research, trusted global brand. The company offers access to spot metals apart from currency trading. It is a fully regulated industry leader that complies with strict regulatory requirements in 15 jurisdictions. The technology of Saxo connects all sizes of companies to global exchanges, brokers, banks, fintechs, financial advisors, and other partners.
Features:
- Ultra-competitive FX spreads starting from 0.6 pips
- Best-in-class execution with tier-1 liquidity
- Fewer premature stop-outs
- Full transparency of execution statistics
- Powerful forex trading tools with 50+ trading indicators and integrated trade signals
- Award-winning platform SaxoTraderGo with innovative risk-management features
- Actionable insights into current market movements
Visit the official website of Saxo Bank by clicking here.
With a regulated broker, you can trade forex in India without any hesitation. Just make sure that the broker is not breaking any law of this country, and neither are you. You can visit the official website of RBI and SEBI to know more about the rules and regulations on forex trading in India.