Forex Brokers For Traders in Kenya

Contents

In the 21^st century, a combination of improved internet connections, faster computers, advanced smartphones, and more brokers catering specifically to retail traders have helped make online forex speculation popular around the globe, and Kenya is no exception.

In Kenya, retail forex trading is both legal and regulated, giving traders a degree of protection. The responsible authority is the Kenyan Capital Markets Authority (CMA). The fact that forex trading is legal and well-regulated in Kenya makes the trading environment safer for traders, and have helped establish forex trading as a legitimate and viable source of income in Kenya. Many different forex brokers have offices in Kenya and operate with a CAM-license. As a forex trader in Kenya, you therefore have many different CMA licensed brokers to chose from, and you can always check directly with the CMA if a broker you are interested in holds an active CMA license.

Note: Choosing properly licensed brokers can reduce certain risks, but it will not make forex trading a low-risk activity. High risks are inherent to forex trading and it is very important for forex traders to implement proper risk-management routines and stick to them. This includes never risking money that you can not afford to lose.

Forex Brokers Regulated in Kenya (CMA-licensed brokers)

Verification

Since it is easy for fraudsters to lie and claim they are regulated by a financial authority, traders should always verify the claim with the applicable authority before engaging further with any broker. You can visit the official CMA web site at Licensees.cma.or.ke.

It is also possible to contact the CMA directly through email (corporate@cma.or.ke) or call +254 20 2264000 or +254 20 2264900.

General Requirements for CMA-licensed Forex Brokers

Kenyan law and CMA regulations contain a lot of demands that CMA-licensed forex brokers must adhere to. Among other things, they must maintain an office in Kenya, which means that a foreign company that wish to become licensed for the Kenyan market must set up and maintain an office within the country. The Director of a CMA-licensed forex broker must fulfill certain requirements when it comes to financial service experience, and the company must meet a 50 million KES capital requirement.

The CMA has rules and mandatory routines in place designed promote transparency and fair trading conditions, e.g. book keeping and auditing rules, and mandatory reporting to the CMA. In September 2023, the CMA released new rules which forced foreign exchange brokers to enhance investor protection, transparency, and disclosure mechanisms, with a special focus on Forex CFD traders in Kenya.

The Money Segregation Requirement

This is an especially important requirement, since it requires CMA-licensed brokers to keep your money completely segregated from the brokerage company´s money. This means that if the company becomes insolvent, it is much easier for traders to get their money back. When company money is mixed with client money, all money goes into the general bankruptcy hearing, an traders rarely get any money back (or only get a fraction of the full amount).

Supervision and Investigations

As per Kenyan law, the CMA has far-reaching rights and powers to supervise CMA-licensed brokers. The CMA can also open their own investigations.

The Investor Compensation Program

The CMA is responsible for granting compensation to investors who suffer pecuniary loss due to the failure of a CMA-licensed broker or dealer to meet its contractual obligations, e.g. because of insolvency. This investor compensation scheme is only available when you use a broker licensed by the CMA; you can not be compensated through this program if a broker that is not licensed by the CMA fails to honor its obligations to you.

Recourse

If an issue arises with a CMA-licensed broker, you can report it directly to the CMA who can open an investigation. This is typically easier for a trader than trying to go to the Kenyan police as a first step (for fraud or other criminal activity) or engage legal representation and start a civil court case on your own (for civil claims). This ability to report directly to the CMA and have them investigate is a big plus of using a CMA-licensed broker when trading forex in Kenya.

The CMA also offers dispute mediation. Many conflicts between traders and brokers can be resolved through mediation instead of having to be escalated.

CMA-licensed Brokers Are Serious About Kenya

CMA-licensed brokers are serious about Kenya and see Kenya as an important market. They are either Kenya-based brokers, or international brokers who care enough about the Kenyan market to set up an office in Kenya and jump through all the hopes required to obtain and maintain a CMA-license and follow Kenyan national law. Being committed to adhering to national law is of course a good sign when you are looking for a reputable broker, and a CMA-licensed broker is also more likely to cater to Kenyan traders in other ways, e.g. by accepting M-Pesa transactions and by offering favorable conditions for speculating on currency pairs involving the Kenyan shilling (KES). You might even be able to open a trading account denominated in KES.

Brokers Regulated Outside Kenya

Traders in Kenya can also reach and sign up with brokers regulated in other countries. There are many brokers without a CMA license that will accept traders based in Kenya.

Using a broker that is not licensed by the CMA puts you in a more complex situation legally and it will be difficult or impossible for Kenyan authorities to act if your broker engages in fraudulent activities. You will need to contact the foreign authority that is licensing the broker, and exactly how much they are willing and legally able to do in individual foreign cases outside their own jurisdiction can vary a lot.

The situation can become even more complicated when brokers don´t even have an office in the country from whence they have their license. Example: If you are a trader in Kenya, using a broker that is licensed by Belize and headquartered in Russia, you are in a complex legal situation if anything happens. It can be difficult for any single national authority to actually do something useful, e.g. if a broker is denying your withdrawal requests.

With that said, some brokers in Kenya still prefer to use brokers licensed by foreign authorities that they have a strong faith in, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in the European Union, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Am I still protected by the Kenya CMA Investor Compensation Program?

No, the CMA can only grant compensation to investors who suffer pecuniary loss due to the failure of a CMA licensed broker or dealer to meet its contractual obligations. If you pick a broker that is not CMA licensed, you are not protected by the CMA program. You will need to do your own research to find out if the foreign authority that is licensing your broker runs a similar compensation program, and if this program protects traders in Kenya.

Non-Regulated Brokers and Brokers Regulated by Laissez Faire Authorities

Using a broker that is not regulated by any financial authority will increase the risk of falling victim to unethical practices (e.g. price manipulation, not permitting withdrawals, identity theft) and not getting any useful help from any legal system when it happens. You will also not be covered by any governmental compensation scheme if the broker files for bankruptcy and fails to honor their obligation to pay back your money.

Using a broker that is licensed by a laissez faire authority that takes a very lax approach to trader protection will put you in a similar situation, even though technically speaking you are using a licensed broker. Around the world, different governments and financial authorities have very different views and approaches when it comes to trader protection – especially when it comes to the protection of retail traders using online brokers. Some provide high levels of trader protection and broker supervision, while others take the stance that this is something the market should handle without governmental interference. There are also financial authorities that have very strong trader protection rules on paper, but a horrible track record when it comes to actually supervising brokers and protecting retail traders.

One reason why traders sometimes sign up with non-regulated brokers and brokers regulated by lax financial authorities is that they may get access to very high leverage. Many of the stricter financial authorities around the globe have limited how much leverage brokers are permitted to give to retail (non-professional) forex traders.

Choosing a Good Forex Broker For FX Trading in Kenya

Above, we have looked at the various aspects of regulation and why they are important to keep in mind when picking a forex broker. Of course, regulation is not the only factor to consider – a lot of different elements need to be right to provide a great and profitable forex trading experience. Below, we will look at a few points that are important when Kenyan forex traders pick a broker.

Chose a broker that is suitable for your particular trading style

It is not possible to say than one particular broker is the best one for all fx traders in Kenya, since you need to find one that is suitable for your particular trading strategy, needs and preferences. e.g. when it comes to currency pairs, order types, trading costs, platform speed, and technical analysis tools.

Using a broker where the cost structure is unsuitable for your trading strategy can keep you in the red and prevent you from becoming a profitable forex trader. Generally speaking, we look for tight spreads and low commissions in brokers, but exactly how to handle this trade-off will depend on your trading strategy. For some strategies, high fixed commissions are fine, if they come with really tight spreads. For many other strategies, high fixed commissions will quickly erode all the profits, and permitting a somewhat larger spread is better.

It is also important to check for other fees, e.g. withdrawal fees, platform fees, and overnight fees. Only sign up with brokers where the entire cost and free structure is transparent and easy to understand. Calculate what it would cost you to use this particular broker with your particular trading style.

Traders who employ more than one trading plan (e.g. different currency pairs and different strategies) can sometimes find that it is best to sign up with more than one broker instead of trying to find a lukewarm compromise. You may for instance need Broker A for your EUR/USD scalping and Broker B for your USD/KES swing trading.

Chose a broker that suitable for your transaction needs and preferences

Brokers that are licensed by the CMA are more likely to accept payment methods that are common in Kenya, but there are also foreign-licensed brokers that see Kenya as an important market and includes common Kenyan payment methods in their list of accepted transaction methods.

It is, of course, important that you pick a broker that accepts at least one transaction method that you are comfortable with using, and where you do not have to pay large fees. Examples of transaction methods that are popular among fx traders in Kenya are M-Pesa and transfers to and from local Kenyan bank accounts.

Make sure the broker has a good reputation when it comes to processing withdrawal requests. It can take some time before the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process has been carried out, but a broker that is slow after that is a red flag. The same is true for brokers who seem to have an inordinate amount of issues with the KYC process; either for Kenyan traders or for traders in general.

Trading Platform

Some brokers open to Kenyan traders have their own proprietary trading platforms, while others will give you access to a third-party platform, such as cTrader, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

It is always a good idea to test-run the platform in Demo Mode before you sign up with any broker.

Be suspicious if a broker does not allow you to access the platform before your first deposit.

Leverage

If you plan on using leverage as a part of your trading strategy, make sure the broker is offering enough leverage and will give you suitable terms.

For a beginner, it is best to abstain from using leverage until you gain more experience. Leverage will amplify both profits and losses, and many novice forex traders wipe out their trading account very quickly when using leverage. Do not start using leverage until you are a bit more experienced, know exactly how leverage works with this broker, and have adjusted you risk-management plan to account for the added risks that comes with leverage usage.

Before you use any leverage, it is also important to find out if your account has Negative Account Balance Protection and exactly what that entails. Negative Account Balance Protection will protect your account from ever dropping below zero; you will not end up owing the broker money if the market goes against your on leveraged positions. This sounds great, but has both pros and cons. It normally gives the broker far-reaching rights to automatically close one or more of your leveraged positions if the market goes against you beyond a certain point. Learn about both standard margin calls and negative account balance protection before you use any leverage.

Bonus

A broker offering a big welcome bonus might feel great, but it is actually a bit of a warning sign. Many of the brokers regulated by strict financial authorities have stopped using bonuses to lure in new retail customers, since strict financial authorities typically ban this practice. Many of the reputable brokers stick to this rule even for traders in countries where there is no such ban, since they want to apply the same rules across the board and make sure they remain in stellar standing with the licensing authority.

Support

Does this broker have a good reputation among Kenyan traders when it comes to providing support?
How can you reach the support? Live chat, email, and phone are common channels.
If phone support is important to you, is there a local Kenyan number to call, or will you be forced to make a potentially expensive phone call to another country? Maybe the broker is offering a call-back service, online phone support, or an international toll-free number?
Is the support staffed 24/7, 24/5, or at least during the hours when you are most likely to be trading?
Is the support actually staffed during the advertised hours, or will you be sent to a low-quality chat robot that can´t really solve anything beyond the most basic issues?

Security

Does the broker seem to take security seriously and live up to best practices?

Can you use strong passwords and turn on two-factor authentication?

Is the information properly encrypted?

Are security routines in place for the channels of communications? You should be able to communicate with your broker after logging in. That way, you can ignore any suspicious emails or cold calls from people claiming to represent your broker – because you can log in instead and deal directly with the support staff that you 100% know is your broker´s support staff and not a scammer.

History & Reputation

Even if you go with a well regulated broker, it is a good idea to do your own due diligence before you trust a broker with any money or private information. Here are a few examples of things that are good to know:

Does the broker have a good reputation within the Kenyan trading community?
How long has the broker been active?
Does the broker generally have a good track record?
Has there been any major changes in ownership and management lately? Sometimes, a long-term reputable broker is acquired by someone else, management is swapped, and shady things start to happen.

Why Should FX Traders Use A Demo Account BEFORE Signing Up With Any Broker?

See if the broker and platform is suitable for you and your trading style before you share any sensitive personal information or deposit any money.
Familiarize yourself with the platform. You want to make all the beginner mistakes using play-money in a free demo account.
Develop a feel for the forex markets without putting real money on the line.
Test-run your trading strategy and risk-management plan, and see how it all stacks up against true market price data.

How to Start Real-Money Trading in Kenya

When you have vetted a broker, learned how the platform works, and ironed out the kinks in your trading strategy and risk-management plan in demo mode, it is time to start thinking about real-money trading.

You will need to provide the broker with more information about yourself than what´s required for a mere demo account. As a part of the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process, you will be asked to verify your identity (usually with a photo ID) and your residence (typically with utility bills). You can also be required to answer questions about your previous experience and knowledge of trading and investing.
The broker may be offering different account types, and it is important to pick the one that is best for you and your strategy, e.g. when it comes to minimum deposit size and how commissions are calculated. Novice hobby traders often start out with a small budget, and there are forex brokers for traders in Kenya where you can start with a KES 1,000 deposit. (This is equal to roughly 10 USD.)
When you have opened a real-money account, you need to make your first deposit, using one of the approved deposit methods. Typically, you will only be permitted to make withdraws using the same method, so make sure you pick a method that is affordable for both deposits and withdrawals. M-Pesa is very popular in Kenya and many brokers that are open to Kenyan traders permit M-Pesa transfers.
Even if you have done a lot of trading in your demo account, it will not prepare you for the emotions that come with putting real money on the line. Therefore, it is advisable to start out very small.
When you are trading using real money, the Kenyan tax law comes into play. It is important to know the rules, keep accurate records and plan in advance, to make sure you file and pay taxes correctly, and avoid paying too much or getting into legal troubles. More information can be obtained from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

This article was last updated on: April 1, 2025