A detailed guide on how the Forex brokers in Oceania work

Oceania is one of the global Forex hotspots. Thanks to the extensive and heavy involvement by countries like Australia and New Zealand, Oceania represents one of the exemplary regions on what any Forex trading environment should aspire to. This, of course, should come as no surprise, as these countries are quite prosperous and economically advanced. With these countries having a very high GDP and standards of living, it’s no wonder that Forex trading would be quite popular in the region.

This rising popularity isn’t slowing down. In fact, as more and more people see Forex trading as a reliable and legitimate way to earn more money, it is likely to keep growing. Considering this, it is easy to see why so many brokers are now making efforts towards expanding to Australia and its neighboring countries. The potential is definitely vast, and they know this.

All of this, however, also means, that the importance of being properly informed and educated on how this all works simply can’t be understated. Now more than ever, with so many beginners joining the market, it is ever so crucial to conduct proper research and be aware of all the important details that have a direct effect on one’s safety, security, and ultimately, success rate.

The above is the reason why we wrote this guide with the hopes of helping you identify and determine the best possible environment for your Forex trading goals. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a beginner just starting out, we hope that you will find this guide useful, and will be able to gain value from it.

Top Forex brokers in Oceania

When it comes to choosing your Forex broker, there are tons of things to take into account, which can definitely be a bit of a daunting task, and especially for a beginner who is just starting out. If you don’t want to waste hours upon hours on searching for a “perfect” Forex broker, only to get disappointed in the end, then check out our list of top Forex brokers in Oceania, which we compiled based on which one of them provides the best value to the clients, whether that be in form of the abundance of options and opportunities, safety and security, and everything else.

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

Forex trading in Oceania – guide by country

Throughout years, we have reviewed dozens upon dozens of Forex environments and their countries, and have learned exactly what it takes for a Forex environment to provide safe and secure, and simultaneously favorable conditions for making as much profit as possible. If you are interested in how Forex trading works in your country but aren’t sure where to start off exactly, then take a look at the list below, choose your country, and you will find answers to almost all the important questions you may have regarding how Forex works in your country!

Forex regulations in Oceania

When it comes to choosing your Forex trading destination, pretty much THE most important thing to consider is the regulatory environment. The reason is simple – it’s the most important thing that directly relates to your safety as a trader. By safety, we don’t just mean protecting you from possible scammers and fraudsters. That’s already a given.

The other often overlooked aspect of keeping yourself safe when Forex-trading is avoiding making some of the commonly-made mistakes, which, sometimes, can have you pay dearly. It’s in situations like these that a decent regulator can make a huge difference, whether that be via properly informing you of all the dangers and risks, controlling the behavior of the brokers via restrictions, or anything else.

While different Forex environments around the world are, at least to a small degree, a bit similar, Naturally, there are still some differences as to how each one works individually, in their own way. Let’s discuss some of the specifics of the Oceania Forex market, in the sense of how its licensing process works, what are the specific guidelines and regulations governing it, and what important parts of it all you need to be aware of.

Licensed Forex brokers in Oceania

When involved in Forex trading in Oceania, or petty much anywhere else in the world, it is extremely important to make sure that your broker is licensed. The countries where the licensing of the brokers are held to a high standard are the countries that you can usually consider to be much safer and more reliable. Of course, each country has their own approach when it comes to licensing the brokers.

For a broker to receive the license, they have to display the necessary characteristics to be eligible for it. This itself will depend on the regulator under which the broker is registered, and will be a bit different based on the country itself. We said a bit differently because, for the most part, some of the most common regulatory practices, standards, and demands are usually shared between different Forex regulators around the world. We will discuss what these exactly are below.

As a side note, we would also like to mention, that you are likely to encounter quite a bit of a broker that may not be licensed locally in your country. Logically thinking, for an international broker that may operate in so many countries at the same time, it would be pretty much impossible to obtain a license in so many countries at the same time. Due to this, most Forex regulators in Oceania – and everywhere else – allow brokers licensed from other regulators and countries. The condition is that the broker needs to be licensed from a widely-recognized and respected regulator such as FCA or CySEC.

If, for example, you encounter a broker that is not licensed by ASIC as an Australian but still would like to work with them, there is no reason to disregard them. Just make sure that they’re licensed by a reputable regulator by making your due research, and you will be good to go. With that out of the way, let’s now discuss what are the common practices and standards of behavior for the brokers and traders that you may encounter in the region of Oceania.

Continuous monitoring of the brokers

Even after a broker obtains a license, the regulators are still hard at work for ascertaining the reliability of these brokers. All licensed brokers are subjected to continuous audits and reports on their various activities. This may include, but not be limited to, things like their reports on their transactions and various financial activities, their ratios of failure and success when it comes to trading, their customer service and interactions with the clients, and much more.

All of this info allows the regulators to make sure that the brokers are always following the relevant rules and guidelines, and are not working against the safety and security of the traders. This way, the brokers can identify any possible wrongdoings of the brokers in advance, and take relevant measures. This all means, that your safety and security are cared for by the legal authorities, so you are definitely in good hands!

Capital adequacy

All licensed and regulated brokers in most countries of Oceania are required to display a certain level of capital adequacy. This means that they will need to have a certain minimum amount of funds in operating capital. This will depend on the requirements of the respective regulator. As an example, ASIC (Australian Securities and Exchange Commission) will require the brokers to have a minimum of $1million AUD in operating capital. Obviously, brokers with other regulators such as CySEC and FCA will be subjected to different requirements.

The rules of capital adequacy are implemented with the aim of putting the traders in safer and more favorable conditions. This rule achieves that because it makes sure that the broker is qualified enough in the first place to offer the services. Having this kind of reserve of funds guarantees that the broker will be able to withstand the possible dangers and damage from the volatility of the market.

Leverage restrictions

As is the case with pretty much any other Forex environment, in the countries of Oceania, there are some restrictions on how leverage is to be used. As of now, the most common leverage limits that we see with may Forex environments is 30:1 for Europe, and 50:1 for the rest of the world. Of course, this can definitely vary, but as a rule of thumb, this is what you will commonly see.

If you deal with an international broker licensed with CySEC, as an example, the leverage limit you’ll have to work with is 30:1, as this is the industry standard. However, depending on where you live, if your broker is locally-licensed, then you may have to work with different limits. As an example, if you go with an Australia-based broker, based on ASIC’s regulations, you can enjoy leverage as high as 500:1 for major/least risky assets. This limit is very high and is not something that you can enjoy in many other Forex environments.

However, this is likely to change in the future, as ASIC has recently stated that it’s considering making a large number of changes on things like leverage and high-risk CFDs. According to ASIC, they are seriously considering limiting leverage all the way to 20:1, and even this is only for major currency pairs. As the assets become riskier, the leverage decreases accordingly. As an example, the maximum leverage for all commodities except gold is suggested to be 15:1, 10: for gold, 5:1 for individual equities, and as little as 2:1 for cryptocurrencies.

Needless to say, these are some drastic changes that are being suggested, so for anyone who would be interested in having access to high leverage, this would change a lot of things. This is exactly why it is so important to make sure that you’re always up-to-speed when it comes to these major changes that the regulators make to the market conditions. As such, make sure that you’re always keeping yourself updated when it comes to these important changes to the market by looking for information on many different sources, such as your regulator’s website, various news outlets, etc.

The above was only a few quick examples as to what you should be expecting in terms of the regulatory environment for the Oceania countries. Depending on which regulator your broker is licensed with, this may look a bit different. Therefore, always take a few extra minutes to familiarize yourself with the exact laws, regulations, and conditions that your respective broker’s regulator has. This will pay off in a major way well into the future.

The verdict on the Oceania Forex market

Forex trading has been gaining huge popularity all over the world for many years now. However, Oceania happens to be one of the hotspots when it comes to Forex. The huge public interest has been increasing as the countries in Oceania have been getting more and more involved with the global financial market. Thanks to this, the local populace now is heavily involved with Forex trading in many different forms, and it’s only expected to keep growing well into the future.

If you are interested in getting started with Forex in an environment where you can enjoy trading in a safe, reliable and profitable manner, while the relevant authorities will work hard to make sure that you are given the highest chances of success, then the countries of Oceania really can offer you a lot. If you are looking for a broker to get started with, but are only interested in the best of the best, make sure to check out our list of Forex brokers in Oceania, which only contains the very best of the brokes that this region has to offer.