Over the years, Forex trading has gained a lot of popularity in Pakistan. The economy of the country is developing very fast, which is creating a lot of opportunities for Forex traders. Before you start trading in Pakistan, you first have to find yourself a trustworthy Forex broker.
The thing about Pakistan is that local laws do not require Forex brokers to be licensed in the country to offer services to Pakistani traders. While it is opening up a lot of opportunities for traders, it also increases the risks. The country has a Forex regulatory agency, however, any broker can offer trading services without being registered locally.
Forex trading in Pakistan is becoming more and more popular every day. The country is committed to making the Forex trading market safer for all participants, which is making it easier for traders to find a trustworthy broker.
Forex regulations in Pakistan – How to stay safe
In Forex trading, regulations are among the most important factors that every trader should keep in mind. The regulations of Forex trading vary from country to country. In Pakistan, although the market is regulated, there is no law that requires Forex brokers to be registered locally.
This means that any company can offer Pakistani Forex traders their services. Although it can give you a lot of opportunities and access to a lot of different companies, it also increases the risks. You can very easily end up with a broker that is not regulated, and in case it turns out to be a scam, there is nothing that can protect you.
Because of this, it is recommended to only trust Pakistan Forex brokers that own local licenses. The main financial regulator of the country is the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, SECP.
The regulatory agency was established in 1999 and is responsible for the regulation of the corporate sector and capital market of the country, supervision, and regulation of insurance companies as well as non-banking finance companies and private pensions schemes and oversee different types of services providers, which includes Forex trading.
Online trading laws in Pakistan
Although the country does not require Forex brokers to be registered locally, it is heavily recommended to trade with the ones that are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
Once Forex brokers in Pakistan sign up with the regulatory agency, there are several laws that the company has to follow.
The trading guidelines of the regulatory agency extend to all internet trading service providers, including Forex brokers. To be registered at SECP, brokers will first have to provide details of their services to the regulatory agency.
Online brokers are required to make sure to adopt needed measures to prevent illegal transactions, fraud, or any malpractice. The brokers registered at the commission are also required to follow KYC policy and conduct periodic audits about the number of clients that must be sent to the regulatory agency every month.
Compared to Forex trading laws in other jurisdictions, the regulatory framework of Pakistan is not as strict. That said, trading with locally regulated Forex brokers is a lot safer than trading with brokers that do not own any license.
How to find regulated Forex brokers in Pakistan?
Unlike many other regulatory bodies around the world, SECP does not list the regulated companies on its website. This makes it a little hard to double-check the regulatory status of the Forex broker that you want to use.
That said, there still is a way to make sure that you are trading with a regulated Forex broker. For this, you can contact the regulatory agency directly using email or online chat and ask them questions about the brokers that you are interested in.
Steps to start online Forex trading in Pakistan
As we have already said, Forex trading is legal in Pakistan. To be able to get started in the market, there are several steps that you might have to take. First of all, you will need to find yourself a trustworthy Forex broker.
Because the market is growing so fast in the country, the number of Forex brokers that offer services to Pakistani traders is increasing very fast as well. To be able to safely trade Forex, it is recommended to go with brokers that are registered with the local regulatory agency.
That said, regulations are not the only thing that you should focus on. In addition to regulations that the broker follows, traders should also take time and focus on the offerings of the broker.
This includes available trading assets, trading platforms, payment methods, and many others.
Most popular payment methods in Pakistan
Before you start trading with the best Forex broker in Pakistan, you will have to deposit funds into your account. While there are numerous local as well as internationally well-known payment methods available in the country, conventional methods tend to be more popular than online solutions.
However, online payments are becoming increasingly popular in the country, especially in the Forex trading world. Among the payment methods that you might come across at Pakistani Forex brokers are Bank Transfers, Credit/Debit card payments, the first digital payment methods in Pakistan EasyPaisa, JazzCash, Upaisa, as well as internationally well-known payment methods, such as Payoneer, WesternUnion, MoneyGram, and many others.
Trading platforms offered by Pakistani brokers
There are many trading platforms available in Forex trading and Forex brokers in Pakistan offer many of them. One of the most popular trading platforms in Pakistan stands to be MetaTrader 4, which should not come as a surprise considering its huge popularity around the world.
In addition, Forex Pakistan brokers also offer traders other platforms, including MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and so on. It should also be noted that there are many Forex brokers that offer traders customer trading platforms.
Trading Pakistani rupee
Pakistani rupee, PKR, is the national currency of Pakistan. Introduced in 1947, it was initially pegged to the British pound before it was allowed to float freely starting from 1982. The value of the currency has been on a decline for many years.
The currency is managed by the Bank of Pakistan, which is the central bank of the country. Although there are many people trading the currency locally, it is not as popular around the world.
In most cases, Pakistani Forex traders also prefer to trade Major currencies, such as USD, EUR, GBP, and so on. If traded, PKR is mostly traded in pairs with the US dollar. Most of the local Forex brokers in the country offer traders access to PKR currency pairs.
Forex trading conditions in Pakistan
Because the Forex brokers are not required to register locally, the trading conditions offered by the brokers vary. You might come across brokers offering you the leverage of as much as 1:1000, while others might limit the maximum leverage to 1:30. As for the minimum deposit to get started in Pakistan, it varies largely as well. While some brokers might accept clients with as little as $1 of minimum deposit, there might be others that require a minimum deposit of a few hundred dollars.
Forex brokers are also able to offer Pakistan Forex traders bonuses and promotions. There are some brokers that offer traders a no-deposit bonus, which means that you might even be able to start trading Forex in Pakistan without making any deposits.
Should you trade with Pakistani Forex brokers?
Forex trading is growing very fast in Pakistan and there are more and more Forex brokers that offer services to the citizens of the country. However, because of the lack of strict local regulations, there are many challenges that trades in Pakistan might have to face.
That said, Forex trading in the country is very popular and there are dozens of well-known trustworthy Forex brokers that offer services to Pakistan Forex traders.