Best Forex Broker Singapore 2026

Best Forex Broker Singapore 2026: MAS-Licensed vs Offshore

Q: Is forex trading legal in Singapore?

Yes. It is legal and regulated. A firm offering leveraged FX to Singapore residents needs a MAS Capital Markets Services licence covering the leveraged-FX sub-activity — 48 firms hold it. Trading with an unlicensed offshore broker is not itself illegal for you, but it places you outside MAS supervision and outside any Singapore recourse.

Q: What is the maximum leverage in Singapore?

20:1 on FX for retail clients, from a 5% minimum margin requirement. Equity CFDs on index constituents are 10:1, non-index equities 5:1, and gold and other commodities 5:1 — considerably tighter than the UK or Australia. Accredited investors get 50:1 on FX.

Q: Is Pepperstone regulated in Singapore?

No. Pepperstone holds no MAS licence. Singapore clients are onboarded to Pepperstone Markets Limited, regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas under SIA-F217. It is a legitimate, licensed entity — but it is not MAS-supervised, and MAS protections do not apply.

Q: Is my money protected if a Singapore broker fails?

Not by any compensation scheme. Client money must be segregated under the SF(LCB) Regulations, but Singapore has nothing equivalent to the UK’s FSCS for investment firms. SDIC covers bank deposits only and explicitly excludes investment products. If the segregated pool is short, nothing makes up the difference.

Q: What is the MAS Investor Alert List?

A list of persons who “may be or may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or in any other way authorised or regulated by MAS”. It holds 918 entries and MAS states it is not exhaustive. XM’s offshore entity was added on 16 March 2020. Check it at mas.gov.sg/investor-alert-list before depositing anywhere.

Q: Do Singapore brokers publish a loss percentage?

No, and MAS does not require it. Notice SFA 04-N15 prescribes a CFD Risk Fact Sheet with ten set questions, none of which is a loss percentage. So unlike the UK or the EU, you cannot compare Singapore-licensed brokers on that number — it does not exist.

Q: Which broker is best for Singapore shares?

Saxo or IBKR on cost, moomoo or Tiger on the app experience. Note one oddity: IBKR’s own site states it “is unable to offer trading in Singapore stocks to Singapore residents” on one page while publishing a full SGX commission schedule on another. Confirm directly before opening an account for SGX access.

Which forex broker is best for Singapore traders in 2026? MAS-licensed CMS firms compared with offshore options, plus leverage caps and real costs.

At a glance

The question that decides this is not spread. It is whether the firm holds a MAS Capital Markets Services licence at all. Several of the best-known names serving Singapore do not — they onboard you to a Bahamas or Seychelles entity outside MAS supervision entirely.

MAS caps retail FX leverage at 20:1 via a 5% minimum margin — not a leverage ratio in the rules.
There is no compensation scheme. SDIC covers bank deposits only and expressly excludes investment products.
Pepperstone, Capital.com, IC Markets, XM, Exness and Vantage are not MAS-licensed. IG, Saxo, IBKR, moomoo, Tiger, CMC, POEMS, Plus500, eToro and OANDA are.
No MAS-licensed broker publishes a loss percentage. MAS does not require it.

Which forex brokers are actually licensed in Singapore?

A firm offering leveraged FX to Singapore residents needs a Capital Markets Services licence for “Dealing in capital markets products”, with the sub-activity Spot Foreign Exchange Contracts for the Purposes of Leveraged Foreign Exchange Trading. Since 8 October 2018 there is no standalone leveraged-FX licence — it is a sub-class. 48 licensees hold it.

Check the MAS Financial Institutions Directory yourself. Search eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid → Capital Markets → Capital Markets Services Licensee → Dealing In Capital Markets Products, then the leveraged-FX sub-activity. One caution: MAS does not display CMS licence numbers in the directory — only the licence type and activities. Any number you see quoted comes from the broker’s own disclosure.

Table 1 — MAS licensing status

Table 1 — MAS licensing status
Broker	MAS status	Entity	CMS number
IG	Yes — licensed	IG Asia Pte Ltd (20018682621K)	not published — MAS does not display numbers
Saxo	Yes	Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd (200601141M)	not published
IBKR	Yes	Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd.	CMS100917
moomoo	Yes	Moomoo Financial Singapore Pte. Ltd.	CMS101000
CMC Markets	Yes	CMC Markets Singapore Pte Ltd	CMS100063
Plus500	Yes	Plus500SG Pte Ltd (201422211Z)	CMS100648
Pepperstone	Not licensed	Pepperstone Markets Limited — Bahamas	SCB SIA-F217
Capital.com	Not licensed	Capital Com Online Investments Ltd — Bahamas	SCB SIA-F245

What are the MAS leverage limits?

MAS sets minimum margin percentages, not leverage ratios. The instrument is the SF (Financial and Margin Requirements) Regulations, reg 24A and the Fourth Schedule, in force since 8 October 2018.

Two things that surprise people. There is no separate gold tier — gold falls under “any other CFD” at 20% margin, so 5:1, far tighter than the UK’s 20:1 or Australia’s 20:1. And margin shortfalls must be met within two business days under reg 24A(6).

Table 2 — MAS minimum margin requirements

Table 2 — MAS minimum margin requirements
Product	Minimum margin, retail	Implied maximum leverage
Spot FX for leveraged FX trading	5% (2% for accredited investors)	20:1 (50:1 non-retail)
FX CFDs	5%	20:1
Index CFDs	5%	20:1
Equity CFD, index constituent	10%	10:1
Equity CFD, non-index	20%	5:1
Gold, commodities, all other CFDs	20%	5:1

Ready to start?

Save up to $2,500/yr (roughly S$3,220)

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Open a trading account with Base Markets through our link and deposit $400 (roughly S$515) — the capital stays in your account, yours to trade — and you unlock full signals access free, replacing a subscription worth around $2,500/yr (roughly S$3,220). Base Markets is licensed by the FSC in Mauritius, not by MAS.

1Open a Base Markets account through our link
2Deposit $400 (roughly S$515) — the capital stays yours to trade
3Send your proof on Telegram and get every signal free

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No broker account needed — subscribe through our Telegram bot and start receiving every signal with a clear entry, take-profit and stop-loss, executable at a MAS-licensed firm or anywhere else you already trade.

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Trading forex and CFDs involves substantial risk of loss. Singapore's capital markets are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); the offshore brokers most retail CFD traders use are not MAS-licensed, and our signals are analyst opinions, not investment advice.

Is there any compensation if a broker fails?

No. This is the most important paragraph on the page. Singapore has no compensation scheme covering CFD or leveraged FX losses. The SDIC deposit insurance of S$100,000 covers SGD bank deposits and expressly excludes “investment products such as unit trusts, shares and other securities”. The SFA fidelity fund covers only defalcation by an SGX member. What protects you is client-money segregation under the SF(LCB) Regulations — and nothing tops you up if the segregated pool is short.

MAS itself puts it plainly on MoneySense: “The CFD provider may fail to meet a payment obligation due to you, e.g. if they become insolvent. You don’t have rights to the underlying assets.”

Trading with an offshore broker? Choose the strongest one

If you have decided to trade with a broker outside MAS supervision, Pepperstone is the best-regulated of them — SCB-licensed in the Bahamas, with published dated average spreads, MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, and no minimum deposit. Test it on a free demo first.

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Pepperstone Markets Limited — Securities Commission of The Bahamas, SIA-F217

79.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Pepperstone is not licensed by MAS or the SFC; this is an offshore entity.

Clients outside the UK, EU, Australia, the UAE and Kenya are onboarded offshore: Pepperstone Markets Limited (The Bahamas, SCB licence SIA-F217), where 79.6% of retail investor accounts lose money, and Capital Com Online Investments Ltd (The Bahamas, SCB licence SIA-F245), where 79.75% do. This is a paid affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you open an account. It does not change our ranking or what we publish.

Costs at the licensed brokers

Saxo’s headline “from 0.6/0.5/0.4 pips” on its accounts page conflicts with its own FX table showing EUR/USD at 0.7/0.6/0.5 — use the table. moomoo’s “Commission $0” headline applies to eligible clients only; the schedule is 0.03% with a S$0.99 minimum.

Want fees published without a login?

Capital.com publishes its full fee schedule openly. It is not MAS-licensed — Singapore clients are served by its Bahamas entity — but the pricing is at least readable before you open an account.

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Capital.com — FCA 793714 · CySEC 319/17 · ASIC 513393

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Table 3 — Published costs, MAS-licensed brokers

Table 3 — Published costs, MAS-licensed brokers
Broker	EUR/USD	SGX shares	US shares	SGD base
Saxo	0.7 / 0.6 / 0.5 pips by tier	0.08–0.03%, min S$3	0.08–0.03%, min US$1	Yes — default
IG	min 0.6, avg 0.85	CFD 0.10%, min S$10	CFD 2c/share, min US$10	not published
IBKR	not published (FX commission 0.20–0.08 bp)	Tiered 0.08–0.02%	US$0.0035–0.0005/share	Yes
moomoo	not published — in-app only	0.03% + 0.03% platform, min S$0.99 each	US$0 + US$0.99/order platform	Yes
CMC Markets	from 0.5 points	Share CFD 0.1%, min S$10	Share CFD 2c/unit, min US$10	not published
POEMS	live widget showed 0.9	Cash Plus 0.08–0.06%, no minimum	Cash Plus US$0	Implied

Ready to start?

Save up to $2,500/yr (roughly S$3,220)

Get the signals free

1Open a Base Markets account through our link
2Deposit $400 (roughly S$515) — the capital stays yours to trade
3Send your proof on Telegram and get every signal free

Open a Base Markets account

Prefer to just subscribe?

Subscribe on Telegram

Written and reviewed by

Best Trading Signal — the editorial and analysis team

We rate brokers on licensing, cost and withdrawals — and name the drawbacks, not just the strengths. How our signals are produced · Risk Disclosure · Last updated 12 September 2026

Frequently asked questions

Yes. It is legal and regulated. A firm offering leveraged FX to Singapore residents needs a MAS Capital Markets Services licence covering the leveraged-FX sub-activity — 48 firms hold it. Trading with an unlicensed offshore broker is not itself illegal for you, but it places you outside MAS supervision and outside any Singapore recourse.

20:1 on FX for retail clients, from a 5% minimum margin requirement. Equity CFDs on index constituents are 10:1, non-index equities 5:1, and gold and other commodities 5:1 — considerably tighter than the UK or Australia. Accredited investors get 50:1 on FX.

No. Pepperstone holds no MAS licence. Singapore clients are onboarded to Pepperstone Markets Limited, regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas under SIA-F217. It is a legitimate, licensed entity — but it is not MAS-supervised, and MAS protections do not apply.

Not by any compensation scheme. Client money must be segregated under the SF(LCB) Regulations, but Singapore has nothing equivalent to the UK’s FSCS for investment firms. SDIC covers bank deposits only and explicitly excludes investment products. If the segregated pool is short, nothing makes up the difference.

A list of persons who “may be or may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or in any other way authorised or regulated by MAS”. It holds 918 entries and MAS states it is not exhaustive. XM’s offshore entity was added on 16 March 2020. Check it at mas.gov.sg/investor-alert-list before depositing anywhere.

No, and MAS does not require it. Notice SFA 04-N15 prescribes a CFD Risk Fact Sheet with ten set questions, none of which is a loss percentage. So unlike the UK or the EU, you cannot compare Singapore-licensed brokers on that number — it does not exist.

Saxo or IBKR on cost, moomoo or Tiger on the app experience. Note one oddity: IBKR’s own site states it “is unable to offer trading in Singapore stocks to Singapore residents” on one page while publishing a full SGX commission schedule on another. Confirm directly before opening an account for SGX access.

Related guides

Trading forex, CFDs and crypto carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. In Singapore, capital markets services are licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) — the brokers ranked on this site are licensed offshore and are not MAS-licensed, so you trade outside Singapore's investor-protection framework. Our signals are analyst opinions, not guaranteed profits, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

Last updated 12 September 2026