ON THE FSCA REGISTER · RANKED BY TRUST SCORE
Best forex brokers in South Africa.
TrueBroker is a free broker safety checker, and this page is its ranking of forex and CFD brokers that hold a South African licence. Every broker below has an FSP number we found on the FSCA’s own register, with the legal name the register returns, and the order is trust score alone. Nobody pays to be on it.
On 15 October 2026, TrueBroker holds 29 brokers whose licence it found on the FSCA register; Exness holds the highest trust score at 8.0 out of 10, the lowest on the list is 5.3, and no position is paid for.
Which forex brokers are licensed in South Africa?
1 Exness 8.0 LEGIT ✓
- FSCA · FSP 51024 Exness ZA (PTY) Ltd
2 FP Markets 7.9 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 50926 FP Markets (Pty) Ltd
3 AvaTrade 7.5 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 45984 Ava Capital Markets (Pty) Ltd
4 Moneta Markets 7.5 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 47490 Moneta Markets (Pty) Ltd
5 HF Markets 7.4 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 46632 HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd
6 Trade Nation 7.4 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 49846 Trade Nation Financial (Pty) Ltd
7 Plus500 7.3 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 47546 Plus500AU (Pty) Ltd
8 Vantage Markets 7.3 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 51268 Vantage Markets (Pty) Ltd
9 Easy Markets 7.1 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 54018 EF Worldwide (PTY) Ltd
- Watch By its own disclosure this company acts solely as an intermediary. The CFD counterparty is EF Worldwide Ltd in Seychelles, outside FSCA oversight.
10 FXCM 7.1 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 46534 Stratos South Africa (Pty) Ltd
11 Swissquote 7.0 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 43908 Swissquote South Africa (Pty) Ltd
12 JustMarkets 6.9 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 51114 Just Global Markets (Pty) Ltd
13 Fxview 6.8 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 50410 Finvasia Capital South Africa (PTY) Ltd
- Watch The footer shown to South African visitors names this company, but the entity our review found them dealing with is FC Global Ltd, licensed in Anjouan.
14 Tickmill 6.8 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 49464 Tickmill South Africa (Pty) Ltd
15 NAGA 6.7 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 37166 JME Financial Services (Pty) Ltd
- Watch The licence holder does not carry the NAGA name, so search the number.
16 STARTRADER 6.6 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 52464 STARTRADER International Pty Ltd
17 FXTM 6.4 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 50320 Exinity Limited
- Watch An older number, FSP 46614 under ForexTime Ltd, shows on the register as Lapsed.
18 FXGT 6.3 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 48896 GT IO Markets (Pty) Ltd
19 ATFX 6.2 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 44816 AT Global Markets SA (Pty) Ltd
- FSCA · FSP 55142 AT Global Capital Markets Africa (Pty) Ltd
- Watch Per the firm's own pages, the second company takes new South African registrations from 5 September 2026 while trading accounts stay with its Mauritius entity.
20 Colmex Pro 6.2 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 46990 Colmex Pro Limited
21 CPT Markets 6.2 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 45954 CPT Markets (Pty) Ltd
22 PrimeXBT 6.1 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 45697 PrimeXBT (Pty) Ltd
23 EC Markets 6.0 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 51886 EC Markets Financial Limited
24 Traze 6.0 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 48248 Traze (Pty) Ltd
25 VT Markets 6.0 OK-ISH
- FSCA · FSP 50865 VT Markets (Pty) Ltd
26 IronFX 5.6 RISKY
- FSCA · FSP 45276 Notesco SA (Pty) Ltd
- Watch The pages IronFX showed us disclose only its British Virgin Islands entity.
27 Trive 5.5 RISKY
- FSCA · FSP 27231 Trive South Africa (Pty) Ltd
28 CMTrading 5.3 RISKY
- FSCA · FSP 38782 Blackstone Marketing SA (Pty) Ltd
- Watch CMTrading's South African company is described as a juristic representative of this licence holder.
29 XM 5.3 RISKY
- FSCA · FSP 49976 XM ZA (Pty) Ltd
- Watch In our sweep, South African visitors were served XM's Belize entity on three of four homepage samples and on every inner page, never XM ZA.
Does an FSCA licence mean you trade with the South African company?
Not always, and this is the part other lists leave out. A group can hold a real FSCA licence in one company and open your account in another. Five cases from our own reviews:
- XM: XM ZA (Pty) Ltd is authorised under FSP 49976, but South African visitors in our sweep were served the Belize entity on three of four homepage samples and on every inner page.
- Easy Markets: EF Worldwide (PTY) Ltd holds FSP 54018 and, by its own disclosure, acts solely as an intermediary. The CFD counterparty is EF Worldwide Ltd in Seychelles, outside FSCA oversight.
- IronFX: Notesco SA (Pty) Ltd holds FSP 45276, while the pages the firm showed us disclose only its British Virgin Islands entity.
- Fxview: the footer names the FSCA company, and the entity our review found South African visitors dealing with is FC Global Ltd, licensed in Anjouan.
- ATFX: by the firm’s own pages, registration sits with one FSCA company while trading accounts stay with its Mauritius entity.
None of this is hidden law breaking. It is how multi entity brokers are built, and it decides which regulator you can complain to. Before you deposit, read the company name on the account agreement you are actually given, and match it to the register.
Whose name is on the licence?
Often not the brand’s. The register lists NAGA’s licence under JME Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, CMTrading’s under Blackstone Marketing SA (Pty) Ltd, FXCM’s under Stratos South Africa (Pty) Ltd, FXTM’s under Exinity Limited and IronFX’s under Notesco SA (Pty) Ltd. A search for the brand name can come back empty for a broker that is properly licensed, which is why every entry above gives the number: search the FSP number, then check the legal name against your contract.
Which South African licence claims did not hold up?
Four on our record. The FSP number cited for FBS’s South African company, 51931, is on the register under a different licence holder, not that company. Naxex Invest‘s FSP 47709 is recorded as Lapsed, after the register had shown it as authorised with a lapse requested, checked on 16 September 2026. So is FxPro‘s FSP 45052, held by FxPro Financial Services Ltd, read on 23 September 2026. And an older ForexTime number, FSP 46614, shows as Lapsed while FXTM’s current licence sits under Exinity Limited. FBS, Naxex Invest and FxPro are therefore not in the ranking above, and FXTM is listed under its current licence.
What happens to your money if an FSCA broker fails?
There is no compensation fund to claim from. South Africa operates no investor compensation scheme for the failure of a financial services provider: the FAIS Ombud hears complaints, but a failed firm’s clients stand as ordinary creditors. That is a fact about the country’s rules and not about any broker on this list, and it is why the company you sign with matters more here than the badge. The money protection tool sets out what each regulator’s scheme pays, read at its official source on 6 September 2026.
How do you check an FSCA licence yourself?
Search the FSP number on the FSCA’s own FSP search, match the legal name it returns, and read the status field to the end, because Authorised followed by a lapse request means the firm has asked for its own licence to end. The full walk through is how to check an FSCA licence.
Is a trading app in South Africa safe to use?
A trading app is the front end of a broker, so the question is the same one: which licensed company is behind it. An app that names no company anywhere fails the first check, and an app that names one can be checked the way every entry above was. Paste the app’s name or its website into the legit check, which reads the board, the regulator warning lists, clone detection and the domain’s age before you install anything.
How is this ranking made?
The order is the live output of our scoring method: five criteria, verified at source, recomputed daily, with nothing paid. Being on this list means one thing only, that we found the licence on the register. The score beside each name is the judgement, and the review behind it holds the receipts. The global ranking is on best CFD brokers, and the full catalogue is on the board.
Fair questions
What is the best forex broker in South Africa?
TrueBroker does not name one by opinion. It ranks the brokers whose South African licence it found on the FSCA's own register by trust score, re-ranked daily, and the list at the top of this page is the answer on the day you read it. Nobody pays for a place on it.
Which forex brokers are regulated in South Africa?
On TrueBroker's record more than twenty brokers hold a licence confirmed on the FSCA register, among them Exness (FSP 51024), AvaTrade (FSP 45984), Plus500 (FSP 47546) and Tickmill (FSP 49464). Each entry on this page gives the FSP number and the legal name the register returns for it.
Does an FSCA licence protect my money if the broker fails?
Not through a compensation fund. South Africa operates no investor compensation scheme for the failure of a financial services provider. The FAIS Ombud hears complaints, but a failed firm's clients stand as ordinary creditors.
Does an FSCA licence mean I trade with the South African company?
Not always. In our reviews, XM's South African visitors were served its Belize entity, Easy Markets' FSCA company says it acts solely as an intermediary for a Seychelles counterparty, and the pages IronFX showed us name only its British Virgin Islands entity. Read which company is named on the account agreement you are given.
How do I check an FSP number myself?
Search the number on the FSCA's own FSP search, never on a link the broker sends. Match the legal name it returns to the name on your contract, and read the status to the end: Authorised followed by a lapse request means the firm has asked for its own licence to end.
Is a broker with a lapsed FSP number still regulated in South Africa?
No. A lapsed number is a former licence. On our record Naxex Invest's FSP 47709 and FxPro's FSP 45052 are recorded as Lapsed, as is the older ForexTime number FSP 46614, and the number cited for FBS's South African company is held by a different licence holder.
THE SHORT VERSION
Every broker on this page holds a South African licence we found on the FSCA register, ranked by a trust score nobody can buy. A licence confirms a company exists on the register; it does not tell you that company holds your account, and South Africa has no compensation fund if it fails. Check the name on your agreement, then check the number yourself.