IG
CMC Markets
FOREX.com
XTB
FP Markets
Plus500
AvaTrade
BlackBull Markets
TickmillBest Forex Brokers Pakistan for 2023
Written by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by John Bringans
Fact-checked by Joey Shadeck
ForexBrokers.com has been reviewing online forex brokers for over six years, and our reviews are the most cited in the industry. Each year, we collect thousands of data points and publish tens of thousands of words of research. Here's how we test.
Trading forex (currencies) in Pakistan is popular among residents. While recommended, online forex brokers are not required to become authorised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to accept residents of Pakistan as customers.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regulates the exchange of physical currencies, such as with money service businesses and money exchangers that convert currency at local kiosks (at the airport, for example). It’s important to note that money exchangers are not ordinarily used for speculating in forex markets, which can only be done with an online broker. Banks in Pakistan are regulated by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Department (FERD), which was established by the SBP to bring integrity to the local forex markets in Pakistan.
The Securities and Exchange Board of Pakistan is the financial regulatory body in Pakistan. Website: https://www.secp.gov.pk. We recommend Pakistan residents also follow the SECP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SECPPakistan.
The SECP was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. For a historical breakdown, here's a link to the Securities and Exchange Board of Pakistan webpage on Wikipedia.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 65% and 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Best Forex Brokers Pakistan
To find the best forex brokers in Pakistan, we curated a list of forex brokers that currently accept new clients from Pakistan, and ranked those brokers by their Overall scores. Learn more about how we test.
Here is our list of the best forex brokers in Pakistan:
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IG
- Best overall broker, most trusted
- Saxo Bank - Best web-based trading platform
- AvaTrade - Great for beginners and copy trading
- XM Group - Good for algo trading
- Admiral Markets - Great for MetaTrader
- FP Markets - Excellent pricing, great for MetaTrader
- IC Markets - Best MetaTrader broker overall
Pakistan Forex Brokers Comparison
Compare Pakistan authorised forex and CFDs brokers side by side using the forex broker comparison tool or the summary table below. This broker list is sorted by the firm's ForexBrokers.com Overall ranking.
| Company | Accepts PK Residents | Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | Minimum Deposit | Overall Rating | Visit Site |
 IG
|
0.86 | ÂŁ250.00 |
|
Visit Site
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 Saxo Bank
|
0.9 | €2,000 |
|
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 AvaTrade
|
0.92 | $100 |
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 XM Group
|
1.6 | $5 |
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 Admiral Markets
|
0.8 | $100 |
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 FP Markets
|
1.2 | $100 AUD |
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 IC Markets
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0.62 | $200 |
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 Tickmill
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0.51 | $100 |
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 HFM
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1.2 | $5 |
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 HYCM (Henyep)
|
0.6 | $100 |
|
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 Vantage
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1.22 | $50 |
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 Trade Nation
|
0.6 | $0 |
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 Moneta Markets
|
1.27 | $50 |
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 ACY Securities
|
1.2 | $50 |
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 easyMarkets
|
0.9 | $100 |
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 OctaFX
|
0.9 | $25 |
|
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 Libertex (Forex Club)
|
N/A | $10 |
|
Is forex trading legal in Pakistan?
Yes, forex trading is legal in Pakistan, albeit with restrictions. The physical exchange of money at a local kiosk or bank is regulated in Pakistan by the SBP and SECP. However, there are currently no brokers in Pakistan that are locally licensed by the SECP to provide the ability to speculate with derivatives such as spot forex contracts or CFDs.
As a result, forex traders in Pakistan use international forex brokers (such as the brokers covered in this guide). Regardless of where your international forex broker is based, it’s important to choose brokers that are well-regulated and properly licensed. If your broker lacks regulation, and you are scammed in any way, you often have no recourse for recovering your funds (learn more by reading our guide to avoiding forex scams).
Did you know?
Forex trading is sharia-compliant, and many international forex brokers offer Islamic accounts to residents of Pakistan following the Shariah Governance Regulations of 2018.
How to verify SECP authorisation
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was founded in 1999. Mandated by the SECP Act of 1997, the SECP regulates local capital markets, insurance companies, and other corporations and fnancial institutions. The SECP oversees all market participants for the local stock and futures exchanges and maintains a list of all regulated securities brokers that can be downloaded from the SECP’s official website in Excel format. There are currently 334 brokers regulated by the SECP that operate on local and regional stock exchanges across Pakistan.
Note: Banks and local money exchangers in Pakistan are regulated by the central bank, also known as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Which forex broker is best in Pakistan?
IG is the best forex broker for residents of Pakistan in 2023. IG offers the ultimate forex trading package, delivering an impressive range of markets, excellent trading platforms and mobile apps, and award-winning research and educational content (IG was ranked #1 in both our Research and Education categories for our 2023 Annual Awards).
IG is also publicly traded, well-capitalized, and holds dozens of regulatory licenses in major jurisdictions around the world. Not only does IG accept clients from Pakistan, but we’ve consistently ranked IG as one of the best, most trusted brokers in the industry. IG won the top ranking for our Trust Score category for the ForexBrokers.com 2023 Annual Awards.
For these reasons (and many more – read our full review of IG), IG is our top choice for residents of Pakistan in 2023.
What is the best forex trading app in Pakistan?
Saxo Bank’s mobile app, SaxoTraderGO, is the best forex trading app for forex traders based in Pakistan in 2023. The SaxoTraderGO mobile app seamlessly blends elegant design and a host of powerful features, creating a trading experience that I describe as an “absolute pleasure” in my full-length review of Saxo Bank.
Whether you are exploring markets to trade, looking for investment research, or plotting trend lines and conducting technical analysis within Saxo’s powerful charts, the SaxoTraderGO user experience is highly fluid and nearly identical to Saxo Bank’s SaxoTraderGO web app. Other highlights include the ability to sync trend lines across devices and watchlists, and a smart trade ticket that lets you switch between instruments for a given asset class directly within the SaxoTraderGo app.
Check out some screenshots of the SaxoTraderGO mobile app, taken by our research team during our testing.
Simply put, Saxo Bank’s SaxoTraderGO mobile app is a favorite of mine and helped Saxo Bank take home the award for #1 Mobile Trading Apps for the ForexBrokers.com 2023 Annual Awards.
Who are the most trusted forex brokers in Pakistan?
We’ve tested over 60 of the best international brokers in the industry and conducted thorough research into each broker’s range of regulatory licenses to determine their individual Trust Score. Trust Score is a proprietary ranking system that is based on our independent research and data collection, which allows traders to get an at-a-glance rating of a broker’s overall trust. Rankings range from 1 to 99 (the higher a broker’s Trust Score, the better – learn more by visiting our Trust Score page).
Of the brokers that accept residents of Pakistan, the following brokers are the Top 3 most trusted forex brokers in Pakistan in 2023:
#1 - IG
99 Trust Score - Most trusted broker in 2023, Best Overall Broker in 2023
IG is the most trusted broker in Pakistan in 2023. IG holds more licenses across the world than any of the 60+ forex brokers reviewed on ForexBrokers.com. IG is also the only forex broker that holds licenses from both the U.S. and Switzerland (both of which are highly coveted and extremely difficult to acquire). IG has been in business for nearly 40 years and has a long track record of being highly regulated and well-capitalized. Check out our in-depth review of IG to learn more about why IG was our top-ranked forex broker in 2023.
Check out a gallery of screenshots from IG's trading platforms, taken by our research team during our product testing.
#2 - Interactive Brokers
99 Trust Score - Publicly traded and well-capitalized, earned our top 2023 Annual Award for Offering of Investments
Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers is publicly traded (NASDAQ: IBKR) and regulated in six Tier-1 jurisdictions. Interactive Brokers is well-capitalized with USD 373.8 billion of ending client equity and USD 10.01 billion of equity capital. Learn more by reading our full-length review of Interactive Brokers.
Here are some screenshots of Interactive Brokers' trading platforms, taken by our research team during our product testing.
#3 - Saxo Bank
99 Trust Score - Operates three banks, earned our top 2023 Annual Award for Platforms & Tools
Saxo Bank operates three fully regulated banks and is licensed in six Tier-1 jurisdictions across more than a dozen international jurisdictions. Saxo Bank holds over €85 billion in client assets and has been in operation for over thirty years. Check out our full-length review of Saxo Bank to learn more.
Browse a gallery of screenshots from Saxo Bank's trading platforms, taken by our research team during our product testing.
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2023 Review Methodology
At ForexBrokers.com, our reviews of online forex brokers and their products and services are based on our collected data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research and detailed forex guides, and we monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).
Our research team conducts thorough testing on a wide range of features, products, services, and tools (collecting and validating thousands of data points in the process). We test all available trading platforms for each broker – whether they are proprietary or come from third-party providers – and evaluate them based on a host of data-driven variables.
We also take an in-depth look at each broker’s commissions and fees, such as bid/ask spreads – including the average spread data for some of the most popular forex currency pairs. We research other trading costs, such as inactivity or custody fees, minimum deposit requirements, VIP rebates and/or discounts, and a range of other important fee-based data points.
Some of the other important research categories that are factored into our testing include mobile trading accessibility and capability, availability of market research and educational content, and each broker’s overall Trust Score.
Read our full explanation and accounting of our research and testing process to learn more about how we test.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Read more on forex trading risks.
About the Editorial Team
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
John Bringans is the Senior Editor of ForexBrokers.com. An experienced media professional, John has close to a decade of editorial experience with a background that includes key leadership roles at global newsroom outlets. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and conducts research on forex and the financial services industry while assisting in the production of content.
Joey Shadeck is the Content Strategist and Research Analyst for ForexBrokers.com. He holds dual degrees in Finance and Marketing from Oakland University, and has been an active trader and investor for close to ten years. An industry veteran, Joey obtains and verifies data, conducts research, and analyzes and validates our content.