RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
Banxso is a South African broker who impresses with a slick presentation and a modern look. However, this broker has much more to offer than a good-looking website – like decent trading conditions, a variety of great trading platforms, a huge number of trading instruments, and the safety of a solid local license. The broker also puts an emphasis on education by providing various online courses, webinars, and coaching sessions. However, Banxso kept us craving more – more information on commissions and non-trading fees (which are less than transparent), and a more international and innovative approach to trading. We admit that Banxso is not a big international brokerages with many branches and a lot of recourses, and for a smaller local company they did a more than fine job. South African clients should definitely consider checking the broker out – for anyone else, however, working with Banxso would not be an alternative.
Banxso REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
Banxso is regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, and as a licensed broker is a more than safe choice. South Africa has become quite the regulatory hub in recent years, and although local authorities are less strict in their requirements than some other top regulators such as the Australian ASIC, or UK’s FCA, they are still doing a good job in making sure that clients are being treated fairly, and that the financial markets are a place of transparency and efficiency.
| The UK and the EU | Australia | Belize | South Africa | |
| Capital requirements by region | €730 000 | A$1 million | $500 000 | enough to cover expenses |
South African brokers are obligated to have a local office and have to prove that they have enough capital – how much that money is, is determined on case by case basis but it should be enough to cover expenses and potential debt. They also have to be evaluated based on the staff’s qualification and knowledge, the broker’s reputation, and their good financial standing. It is advisable for South African clients to work with local brokers – since funding accounts with foreign brokers might turn out to be more expensive as the money would have to pass through foreign banks. That is why a regulated South African broker like Banxso is a good choice for local customers.
Sadly, clients from many countries and regions would not be able to open an account with the broker – Banxso does not offer services to traders from the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the US, Canada, India, Israel, Nigeria, and Philippines (as well as to those from some other countries where trading is illegal). This gives the broker a noticeably local vibe – we struggle to call Banxso an international broker although the broker is also has branches in Seychelles, Mauritius and Saint Vincent & Grenadines. Banxso might be a good choice for South African traders but is not a good alternative for anyone else – simply because many people will not be allowed to open an account with the broker.
However, Banxso is planning on fixing all of that by obtaining licenses by CySEC (Cyprus), the FCA (the UK), and DFSA (UAE) by the end of 2022.
There are plenty of brokers that offer services to clients around the globe – and some of them like FBS and FXTM even have a South African license.
Banxso TRADING SOFTWARE
Banxso offers a very decent choice of trading platforms – not only does the broker use leading software MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 but it also provides clients with access to its own web-based platform, Banxso X, and a mobile app.
Trying the broker’s web platform turned out to be a quite satisfying experience – the software is slick and not overly complicated but still provides access to a huge amount of trading tools, a good number of indicators, and common features like take-profit and stop-loss.
It is obvious that the platform was not designed for advanced analysis, and lacks more unique features – seeing some imagination in a broker-specific platform is always nice but that was not the case here. However, we have to admit that such a platform is more fit for fast and convenient trading on the go – and if that is what you are after, Banxso X will do just fine.
We always like to see the offer of a MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. MT5 is currently the platform with the most clients while MT4 is the one with the biggest trading volume and that is more than understandable – while they are more complicated that platforms like the one described above, MT4 and MT5 are still fairly intuitive and easy to get used to. The biggest advantage of the MT software as a whole are the countless trading tools and features clients will get access to – both experienced traders, and complete beginners will find something that could suit their needs and preferences. You could get access to countless indicators and perform advanced charting and analysis – and if that is not enough, you can customize your experience even more by purchasing additional indicators and add-ons from the MT market. The software is famous for its Expert Advisors – trading bots that track the markets and trade automatically – and for the possibility to create custom scrips. Traders can also set up signals, or subscribe to those set by others for a small fee. Finally, MT5 even comes with a built-in economic calendar. All in all, the ultimate trading platforms and probably the best the industry currently has to offer.
| MetaTrader 5 brokers: | ||||
| XM | FXTM | FP Markets | OctaFX | Pepperstone |
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The only noticeable shortcoming when it comes to trading platforms is the lack of any sort of copy trading solution – many brokers have added such solutions to their offer in order to appeal to beginner traders more. It is always nice to see that a broker is not gatekeeping trading and is trying to provide beginners with the opportunity to earn money without having to perform complex analysis. Another perk of such platforms is that professionals are able to earn extra by sharing their strategies with the community. Social trading has gained huge popularity in recent years, and it is most certainly a trend that will just keep growing. Check out some great brokers who offer copy trading solutions:
Banxso TRADING CONDITIONS
Banxso does not offer a huge variety of trading accounts but still leaves you the option try trading on a demo account first. After that, there is only one real account type. The variety of trading instruments, on the other hand, is more than satisfying – clients could trade forex, stocks, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies. If you are more interested at long-term investments, that is an option too – Banxso offers the opportunity to invest in a huge variety of stocks such as Tesla, Uber, EBay, Disney, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Airbnb, Under Armor, Beyond Meat, Visa, Spotify, Salesforce, and many, many more. The variety of trading instruments the broker is able to offer left us pretty impressed.
The minimum deposit amount Banxso asks for $250 – which is a relatively big sum considering how much more affordable trading has become. However, it is still within reasonable boundaries. The problem is that this information is only available in the Terms and Conditions – if you only believe the broker’s website, you will be left under the impression that they are willing to take much lower deposits – as low as $10.
If you are interested in brokers, with low minimum deposit, here are some alternatives:
We were also pretty impressed with the spreads the broker offers – around 0.2 pips on the benchmark EURUSD pair. Moreover, Banxso does not charge any commissions for the first three months of trading. After that, some commissions will show up – but the broker claims those are not big. However, we are less than satisfied with the lack of comprehensive information about those commissions – Banxso left us in the dark when it comes to their size.
Charging a certain commission is more than natural with such tight spreads – after all, the broker should also earn a wage. Here are the brokers with the lowest commissions in the industry:
| Broker | FXTM | FP Markets | TMGM |
| Commission | $0.4 and $2 per lot (on Advantage accounts) | $3 per lot per side (on Raw accounts) | $7 per lot round turn (on Edge accounts) |
The leverage offered by Banxso is reasonably high – 1:100 for forex majors, between 1:25 and 1:100 for commodities depending on the asset, 1:25 for indices, 1:10 for stocks, and 1:1 for cryptocurrencies. Such rates are higher than what any regulated UK, EU, or Australian broker can currently offer you – since the leverage such brokers are allowed to offer to retail clients is currently restricted to 1:30 on forex majors and is even lower for other assets – but South African brokers can legally provide customers with higher ratios. It is actually quite impressive that the broker is offering such reasonable leverage since South African brokers can go as high as 1:2000 with no difficulty. But always keep in mind that such ratios can not only result in bigger profits but also in bigger, faster losses. Consider factors like market volatility, your own knowledge and experience, and the capital you are willing to put at stake before setting your leverage settings too high.
Banxso DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
Banxso accepts deposit made via credit or debit card, wire transfer, PayPal, China UnionPay, and even Bitcoin – which, admittedly, is less choice than that some other big brokers that are popular in South Africa can offer. FBS, for example, also accepts payments made via popular online payment providers such as like Skrill, Neteller, PerfectMoney, and StickPay as well as different local payment solution. However, for most customers, the already mentioned options would be more than enough. The broker does not mention charging deposit and withdrawal fees.
There is, however, an inactivity fee charged after three months of not logging in to your account – the size of that fee was not specified.
All in all, we would have liked to get a bit more information on the different non-trading fees charged by Banxso since the data we got from the website was quite scarce. Most big brokerages provide extensive information on the matter – it would take one look at the website of a broker like XM, FXTM, or OctaFX to establish what kind of additional fees they charge, and on what occasions. Some brokers (like XM, for example) are even proud to announce that they cover deposit and withdrawal fees. All in all, keeping such information to oneself does not generally leave a good impression – you could simply not be sure what sort of fee will suddenly show up, no matter how tiny it is.
BOTTOM LINE
Banxso is a broker that combines the safety of a solid license with good trading conditions and great customer support. However, the broker is directed specifically at South Africa-based clients, and has a less than clear approach to fees and commissions which will probably be a turn-off for most clients. If you are looking for a smaller brokerage that offers a huge variety of instruments, and a decent choice of trading platforms, consider giving Banxso a try.
