Forex Brokers with Direct Market Access

Compare Forex brokers with Direct Market Access (DMA) in South Africa. Trade directly with Tier 1 liquidity providers in the Forex interbank market.

This blog is reader-supported. Please open a trading account through our links to tip us. Affiliate commissions keep our reviews impartial and ad-free.

HFM (HFM.com), formerly known as Hot Forex, is an award-winning Forex and CFD broker, with accounts tailored to new and experienced traders. Trade a wide range of markets including Forex, stocks, indices and commodities through MetaTrader 4 or 5.

  • Markets: Forex (CFD), Stocks (CFD), Indices (CFD), Metals (CFD), Energy (CFD), Commodities (CFD), Bonds (CFD)
    * Availability subject to regulation.
  • Platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Currenex, Copy trading, Mirror trading
  • Regulated entity (South Africa): HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd (FSCA No. 46632)

$5
deposit

1:1000
leverage

Market
execution

$100
deposit

1:500
leverage

Market
execution

$100
deposit

1:500
leverage

Market
execution

What's an STP/DMA broker?

An STP broker with Direct Market Access (DMA) aggregates prices from liquidity providers in the Forex interbank market and forward your trades directly onto these liquidity providers.

Three things to look for in a DMA broker:

  • Always variable spreads
  • Always market execution
  • Always 5 digit pricing (fractional pricing)
  • Optionally: depth of market access

Benefits of Direct Market Access

Tight spreads

Your broker aggregates prices from competing liquidity providers and shows only the best bid and the best offer. The more liquidity providers your broker works with, the greater the competition and the tighter the spreads.

In addition, fractional pricing also helps reduce spreads because it prevents brokers from rounding them up. Compare brokers with 5 decimal pricing.

Instantaneous execution

Your orders go directly to liquidity providers for execution at the prevailing market price. There are no dealing desk (NDD) and no re-quotes even during news events or data releases. This supports a broad range of trading strategies, including scalping, news trading and swing trading.

No conflict of interest

Brokers with a dealing desk (DD) make a market for your trades. They sit on the other side of your trades and, for this reason, profit when you make a loss. This can give rise to conflicts of interest if your broker has an interest in seeing your lose money.

In contrast, DMA brokers face none of these issues. They act as intermediaries rather than market markers and earn money from a mark-up they apply to the spreads rather than your losses. This aligns their interests with yours.

Featured Brokers

HYCM

Classic Account

Trade CFDs on variable spreads from 1.2 pips on MetaTrader 4 or 5. This account supports all Expert ... More

  • $100 deposit
  • 1:500 leverage
  • 1.2 pips EUR/USD
  • Regulators: Cayman Islands, Cyprus (EU), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, UAE, UK
Risk warning: 85% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

4XC

Standard Account

Trade 74 currency pairs and CFDs on stocks, oil, metals and crypto with leverage up to 1:500. 4XC ... More

  • $10 (MT4), $ 100 (MT5) deposit
  • 1:500 leverage
  • 1.4 pips EUR/USD
  • Regulators: Cook Islands
Risk warning: Trading Forex/CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors as you could sustain losses in excess of your deposits. You should carefully consider your financial situation and experience level before trading.

AvaTrade

AvaTrade Account [BVI]

Trade 55 currency pairs on fixed spreads, plus CFDs on crypto-currencies, stocks, indices, bonds and... More

  • $100 deposit
  • 1:400 leverage
  • 0.9 pips EUR/USD
  • Regulators: Australia, BVI, Cyprus (EU), Gibraltar, Israel, Japan, South Africa, UAE
Risk warning: 77.82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.