How To Start Forex in South Africa

More and more South Africans are thinking about entering the Forex market and taking an active part in ensuring their financial stability. This trend is on the rise for many reasons, and some of them might be good enough to try trading Forex in South Africa.

1. The internet connection speed has doubled in the past ten years, and its reliability grew tremendously, making all online activities more accessible. The difference in downloading a movie for 30 minutes instead of an hour is quite significant. Still, the difference in being or not being able to open or close your trade at the exact second you need to might be worth hundreds of dollars or more.
2. ZAR took 20th place in the list of most traded currencies globally, which puts South Africans way above the citizens of most other developed countries in terms of Forex trading activity.
3. South African timezone allows trading in relatively convenient hours while the most influential markets are open simultaneously. Forex trading isn’t strictly tied to the market working hours as stock trading is. Still, most movements happen when the stock market operates, and therefore, it’s reasonable to trade during these hours.
4. South African Forex trading market is not only legal but also regulated by the FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority). It means that there is a licensing body that checks the brokerage firms’ reliability before letting them accept your money.
5. Forgiving tax legislation regarding Forex trading incomes allows you to pay less in taxes than in any other field. Be it stocks trading or production business – the difference is up to 30% which is quite substantial.

The Beginner Forex Trader’s Mistakes

Forex Trading in any developing country, including South Africa, is increasingly popular because of its accessibility and promises of wealth. Unfortunately, the existing South African legislation cannot cover all of the Forex trading aspects, let alone ensure fair play countrywide. Moreover, there are no reliable national internet resources to provide beginners with factual and structured trading information on Forex trading, allowing many of them to fall into the hands of scammers. If you want to learn more on the subject for free – here’s a detailed article about how to trade Forex in South Africa. You might want to check the other articles on JustForex as well, but if you’re only here for a quick summary – stay with us. Here are some traps you, as a beginner Forex trader, should avoid falling into.

1. The web is ripe with all sorts of online courses, trainers, and quick 101’s on Forex trading, supposedly allowing you to trade safely after a day of research. But a day or even a week is undoubtedly not enough. No one ever made a fortune after attending a 3-day crash course, and the mere existence of these courses proves that the ones selling them cannot trade proficiently enough to pay for their luxurious living.
2. Don’t pick the advertised broker. Always choose organic over ads. If the website is in the first place among ads – it only means they pay a lot to attract potential customers. If the website’s in the top-3 of organic search – they were helpful to most of their readers, have many citations, and are popular.
3. Don’t rush, because the market won’t go anywhere. Investing your money should be a conscious decision, not a knee-jerk reaction to a seemingly profitable offer or a success story you read on Instagram.
4. Start small. Beginners should always look for brokers offering cent accounts to get the feel of the actual market.

Having all this in mind, you’ll probably get a good start and be able to understand whether it’s worth relying on Forex trading as your primary source of income. Good luck, and may the gods of Forex be on your side!