Although Nigeria is the largest economy on the African continent and the number of Nigerian traders keeps growing, there is not an abundance of forex brokers who offer trading accounts in the local currency – the Nigerian Naira. This could mostly be explained by a lack of liquidity. Brokers willing to offer Naira accounts are few and far between which means that local clients are mostly forced to open accounts in other currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP. However, there are still some well-known brokers willing to open Naira accounts and accept local payment solutions – this means Nigerian traders can avoid inconveniences, not worry about exchange rates, and withdraw money faster.
If you are currently trying to choose a broker who could open an account in your local currency, here are some options you should consider.
FXTM
FXTM is a true powerhouse of a broker – this is one of the most well-known brands in the industry with over 4 million clients from 150 countries. It is not surprising that so many people have chosen the services of FXTM – the broker offers great trading conditions and provides access to a wide range of instruments including currency pairs and CFDs, metals, commodities, indices, and stock baskets. FXTM is also licensed by some of the most reputable financial authorities in the world – the FCA, CySEC, and FSCA – and has a Mauritius-regulated offshore branch.
Nigerian clients can open accounts in Naira and fund those accounts through a local bank. The fact that such transactions are performed at a fixed rate and there are no conversion fees is an additional plus. FXTM has a local Nigerian office and provides efficient Live Chat Support 24/5.
The minimum deposit the broker asks for in order to open an account is just $10 (or ₦10 000). You will surely get your money’s worth – FXTM offers decent spreads (around 1.5 pips), leverage of up to 1:2000, and access to the renowned platforms MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 as well as its own mobile trading app and copy-trading solution.
OctaFX
CySEC-regulated broker OctaFX is another reputable, well-known brand that is a good option for Nigeria-based customers who want to open an account in the local currency. OctaFX offers local Nigerian payment solutions with no additional commissions or third-party fees – the minimum for opening an account is $100 (around ₦41 850).
OctaFX offers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, leverage of up to 1:500 on forex majors, and very tight spreads starting from 0.6 pips on EURUSD. The countless attractive promotions and bonuses and OctaFX’s copy trading solution are also worth checking out. The broker’s customer support is available 24/7 via live chat or email – however, keep in mind that OctaFX does not have a local Nigerian office.
HFM
HFM is a multi-regulated international broker that has a local office and phone support in Nigeria and offers Naira accounts. The broker is licensed by the likes of CySEC (Cyprus), the FCA (the UK), the FSCA (South Africa), and DFSA (Dubai) which makes it a very reliable choice. The broker provides access to a wide range of instruments including currency pairs, metals, commodities, bonds, energies, indices, shares, and ETFs, and offers very tight spreads (starting from 1 pip on EURUSD) and high leverage of up to 1:1000. HFM offers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 and supports swap-free Islamic accounts.
The only thing you would have to do in order to open an account with HotForex is deposit $5 (or around ₦2000).
Exness
Exness is a brand that has been on the market since 2008 and is licensed by multiple strict financial authorities – the FCA, CySEC, and FSCA in South Africa. The broker has managed to become relatively popular among clients by offering excellent trading conditions – you can start trading with as little as $1 and still get access to unlimited leverage, tight spreads starting from 0.3 pips, and excellent trading platforms (MT4 and MT5). The range of instruments you would be able to trade with Exness is also more than decent – currencies, metals, energies, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. However, Exness does not have anything impressive to offer in terms of promotions (unlike all other brokers on this list), and their client support is slow and inefficient.
Exness offers various deposit and withdrawal options for Nigerian customers with accounts in the local currency – local bank transfer, as well as various e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, PerfectMoney, and StickPay, credit or debit card, and popular cryptos such as Bitcoin and Tether.
7BForex
7BForex is much less popular than the other brokers on this list and is not regulated by any reputable authority. The reason for that is that this is a local Nigerian broker who only has an office in Lagos, and who offers services specifically and only to Nigerian traders. 7B Forex has been around since 2010 and currently has around 1.3 million clients.
The broker prides itself on offering clients the possibility to trade in their own currency without having to bother with exchange rates or the cost of conversion. There are no deposit and withdrawal fees on such deposits. The instruments 7B Forex offers are forex, precious metals, energies, stocks, cryptocurrency, and indices, and the minimum amount you would have to invest is ₦5000 (around $12). Clients can get access to leverage of up to 1:1000, and trade on MetaTrader 4 only. The broker’s commissions are quite low – starting from ₦12 (or about $0.03) per lot for trading currencies on some account types. However, the spreads 7B Forex offers are not particularly impressive – starting from 2.1 pips on Standard accounts, and from 1.3 pips on Classic accounts.
We feel obligated to point out that since the Nigerian forex market is not regulated, this broker is not under the supervision of a financial authority. However, 7B Forex seems to have won the trust of its client base – Nigerian traders.
Alpari
Initially founded in Russia in 1998, Alpari has become a trusted international broker with over 2 million clients from all over the world. The broker currently has offices in Belarus and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as in Abuja – Nigeria’s capital.
Clients can open a Micro account in Naira for as little as ₦1000 (or $5) and trade with leverage of up to 1:400 and spreads starting from 1.7 pips. However, if you are willing to invest ₦20 000 ($100) and open a Standard account, you would get access to both higher leverage (1:1000), and tighter spreads (starting from 1.3 pips). The broker offers access to both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, and a copy trading solution. Clients could choose from a variety of deposit methods, including local Nigerian bank deposit options, and would not have to pay any additional fees. There are also some bonuses for both new, and veteran clients that are worth checking out.
