Find the very best Romanian Forex brokers, and start trading today

Contents

1 Best Forex brokers in Romania
2 Romania’s Forex regulations
3 Forex trading opportunities in Romania
4 Pros and cons of the Romanian Forex market
5 Our verdict of Romanian Forex trading brokers

This Eastern European country may not be the most prosperous and richest, but with its population of 20 million people and a GDP of $236 billion, its economy is definitely among the biggest ones in Eastern Europe. Before reaching this state, the country had to undergo massive waves of growth.

When Romania joined the European Union back in 2007, it started massively campaigning for growth and advancement of the economy. Its main targets were to boost the productivity of the workforce and increasing the GDP of the country. Needless to say, the country succeded, as Romania has been showing some of the fastest growth rates in the past decade, becoming the 40th largest economy in the world, which is definitely nothing to sneeze at.

Thanks to this impressive and demonstrable progress made by the country, Romania has been steadily increasing its attractiveness as an investment destination, and many international companies have been making moves there. Of course, this means that the popularity of Forex trading in the country has also been increasing, and with that, so has been the need for the strong and effective regulation of the market.

In this guide, we will be talking about exactly that – how the regulatory environment looks in the country, how it works, how it relates to you, the trader, and what kind of measures are set in place to guarantee your safety and increase your chances of winning. Having read this, you can expect to have a decent understanding on how to get started with your trading journey, and what steps you need to take to achieve success. You will also learn how to stay safe while doing so, and how to identify a good broker from a bad one. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Best Forex brokers in Romania

If you are a beginner, it is definitely understandable if you find it a bit hard to find and choose your broker to trade with. With so many details to keep a track of, it can sometimes get a bit overwhelming, and making a choice becomes all that more difficult, and takes so much more time; time which is very precious and valuable. As someone who has spent hours upon hours studying and researching the best Forex brokers in the world, this is why we compiled the following list, so you don’t have to! The list contains the very best of the Forex brokers that Romania has to offer, based on pretty much every important factor, such as safety and security, diversity and variety of options, customer feedback, and more.

XM

Min. Depo

Licences

FCA, CySEC, IFSC, ASIC, DFSA

Leverage

1:888

1:200

Platforms

MT4, WebTrader, Copykat

Global GT

Min. Depo

Licences

FSA, FSCA

Leverage

1:1000

Platforms

MT5,

Plus500

Min. Depo

$100

Licences

FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FMA, MAS

Leverage

1:30

Platforms

WebTrader, Windows 10 Trader

Romania’s Forex regulations

The official government body that is in charge of regulating the Romanian financial market, and of course including the Forex market, is the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority, abbreviated as ASF, which stands for Autoritatea de Supraveghere Financiara. ASF is an independent body that was actually installed after dismantling and replacing several regulatory bodies that were in place at the time, the National Securities Commission (CNVM), the Insurance Supervisory Commission (CSA), and the Private Pension System Supervisory Commission (CSSPP).

ASF is currently in charge of many different sorts of tasks and responsibilities. Its main functions include monitoring the market and all its participants, regulating the credit companies and agencies, and more. ASF itself is a member of several international financial regulatory organizations such as the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). ASF is very dedicated to maintaining the stability and making room for growth and has adopted many standards and guidelines set forth by these acclaimed international organizations, as well as introduced many of its own implementations and changes. Let’s take a quick look at them below.

Licensing and authorization

Brokers who want to offer trading services in Romania need to be authorized to do so by the relevant authorities. However, being a member of the EU, and therefore being subjected to the laws and rules of the MiFID environment, makes things a lot easier for the brokers. Why? Because due to this, if a broker is licensed in any other EU country, they can legally offer their services to each and every EU country, including of course Romania as well. Thanks to this, the brokers don’t have to follow the specific rules and requirements of all the countries they operate in, which is a huge help.

Due to these laws, what many brokers do is to register with the regulators like CySEC, who are are more relaxed in their approach, and have much more lenient rules, allowing for more flexibility and freedom. This is not to say that these regulators are less safe or anything like that. In fact, CySEC is regarded as one of the best Forex regulators in the world, as despite their ability to be more relaxed and flexible, they are also known to be very effective in their approach, allowing for diverse markets full of options, while at the same time maintaining necessary safety and security.

Specific Forex rules and laws in Romania

Due to the reasons mentioned above, it is likely that most of the brokers you will find in Romania will be licensed with other internationally-recognized regulators such as CySEC, FCA, etc, who, also, for the most part, have very similar or same requirements and standards as the ASF. With that being said, let’s take a quick look at the regulatory specifics, restrictions, demands, and laws that are in place on the Romanian Forex market.

Restrictions on leverage and CFDs

As is the case with pretty almost every Forex environment, Romania has certain restrictions on leverage. Leverage itself has been one of the most common points of disagreement for many people. On the one hand, many people have been successfully utilizing it to make a lot of money despite low capital investment. On the other hand, many people have been also losing a lot of money thanks to leverage, and many governments, Romania included, decided to restrict them by placing limits on them.

In many cases, limits are quite strong, and this is the case with Romania as well. Although they’re not the strictest in the world, the highest allowed limits on leverage in Romania are definitely on the lower end, as compared to many other countries. As an example, maximum allowed leverage in Romania is 30:1, and this is for the major currency pairs such as USD/EUR, for which the limits are usually much more relaxed and liberal. As the volatility of the assets goes up, so does the strength of the leverage limits. As an example, for assets like gold, the limit is 20:1, for CFDs 10:1, 5:1 for things like individual equities, and for cryptocurrencies, which are considered to be among the most volatile assets by many, maximum leverage is as low as 2:1.

As mentioned, CFDs are also one of the biggest focuses for the local authorities. While a great way to make a profit, they are very risky and pose a great danger to those who are not aware of how to utilize them properly. Brokers in Romania are required to stay within certain restrictions when offering CFDs, all with the aim of making sure that the traders are in a safer spot, and are not putting themselves in situation where the losses could be devastating. Additionally, the brokers themselves are not allowed to actively advertise CFD products to the traders. As an example, offering bonuses for using CFDs is strictly prohibited.

As you can see, leverage and CFDs are some of the things that the local authorities make sure to keep under close control. The reason, as we said, is the fact that they’ve been one of the leading causes of a lot of loss for many people. However, the limits are quite restrictive in Romania, even in terms of international standards. If you are interested in trading with higher leverage, luckily, as we said, you don’t have to go exclusively with the Romania-based brokers that follow these exact same standards. You can feel free to go with brokers that are based in other jurisdictions, with other major regulators such as CySEC, with whom the restrictions on leverage are not as severe.

Negative balance protection

A great layer of protection that is offered in Romania, as well as with almost every other major Forex regulatory environment, is the rule of negative balance protection. What does negative balance protection mean, and how can it be of help? Well, it can be of help in a multitude of different ways, but it’s mostly great for the people who are using high leverage. Negative balance protection, in a nutshell, states that the trader can not lose any larger amount of money than they actually have in their account.

How can this happen? Well, this mostly happens with highly-leveraged products. If you were to open a position with quite a high leverage and lost, sometimes it is likely that the loss may exceed the actual amount of the money in your account. This has been the case for thousands of traders for many years, leading to a lot of unnecessary financial loss. Due to this, regulators started introducing the negative balance protection, which makes sure that the traders can’t lose more than they have available in their account. You can expect negative balance protection not only with the local brokers based out of Romania but with the brokers licensed with regulators such as CySEC as well.

Account segregation

In Romania, with the locally-based brokers, as well as with the brokers licensed with regulators such as CySEC, your funds are given extra security and assurance thanks to the rule of account segregation. This rule mandates, that the brokers are required to keep your funds in a different dedicated account, which will be separate from the one where their own capital is kept. Why is this important? Well, this can be a huge help when something negative happens to the broker, which may put your own funds at risk. As an example, in case your broker goes bankrupt, your funds will be safe and sound in a different account.

As you can see, the regulatory environment in Romania is quite a bit dedicated to ensuring the stability, safety, and prosperity of the market. As a trader, you can definitely feel safe when engaged in Forex in Romania. With the regulators dedicated to ensuring your safety, as well as only the brokers that are licensed by established regulators being allowed on the market, you are definitely in good hands!

Forex trading opportunities in Romania

Now that you have acquainted yourself with the regulatory and legal environment of the country, it’s time to discuss what actual trading opportunities you can expect as a Romanian trader. The said opportunities are pretty standard and are what you can expect from almost any other EU country, the reason being the MiFID harmonization of the markets, and their aim to strive towards a more centralized and standardized Forex environment that is common throughout whole Europe. With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the specifics that constitute the whole Forex trading experience in the country, among them being its economy, specifics of its exports, and other metrics that make up the whole trading profile of the country.

Two of the trading specifics that most people are interested in is currency trading and commodity trading, so let’s discuss what you can expect in this department. As a member of the European Union, Euro is used extensively in Romania, but it’s still not the national currency of the country. Romania still has its currency, the Romanian Leu, which is abbreviated as RON in the Forex market.

RON is not a strong currency. This is to be expected because as compared to the other EU countries, Romania is one of the least economically-advanced countries. Because of this, it is likely that if you’re interested in currency trading, your best bet will be to go with major currencies such as EUR/USD, as the RON will be considered as an “exotic” currency by many international Forex brokers. Now, as a disclaimer, we would like to underline the fact, that although as we mentioned Romania is not a very economically-advanced country, it is one of the fastest-growing economies in the EU. Despite the fact that they’re not where they would like to be at the moment, they are definitely getting there, as there have been some huge investments and economic progress in the country within the last years. If longevity is your aim, then you can definitely expect that in Romania.

When you look at the top exports of Romania, you can see that it’s all quite balanced, which is definitely a great thing, as it opens you a door to a lot of opportunities, options, and choices. Last year, Romania is believed to have exported around $77 billion’s worth of goods around the world, which is definitely not unimpressive. The biggest export for Romania would be electrical machinery and equipment, with a total of $13.6 billion, constituting 17.7% of the country’s total exports. The close second would be Vehicles, totaling $13.1 billion, with a 17% share. This should definitely not be a surprise, with Romanian car companies such as ASTRA and Dacia.

Beyond that, Romania also has a great manufacturing industry for machinery and computers, with $8.7 billion (11.3%), mineral fuels and oil for $3.1 billion (4.1%), furniture, lighting, and signs for $3 billion (3.9%), and the list goes on. As we mentioned, the diversity of Romania’s economy is one of the main reasons as to why it’s showing such a fast rate of growth, and why so many international investors are now seeing the huge potential in Romania.

Pros and cons of the Romanian Forex market

Here are what we believe to be the pros and cons of Forex trading in Romania

Pros

The fast-growing economy of the country
Dedicated local regulators
Diverse economy

Cons

Not a lot of locally-based brokers
The national currency is weak

Our verdict of Romanian Forex trading brokers

Although by far, Romania is not one of the most prosperous countries in the world and its region, as you may have learned from this guide, it’s definitely got a great Forex environment. Thanks to some dedicated and lengthy efforts made by the government and specific financial regulators, Romania has become one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe, and therefore one of the most interesting new Forex environments.

Additionally, thanks to Romania’s dedication to harmonizing the market with the international MiFID standards, you can expect the top-notch, industry-standard practices in place, which will not only give you the biggest and best chances of success, but also allow you to keep trading in safety, with peace of mind.