Many business people are very familiar with opening an offshore bank account, and most want better privacy protections and access to better banks that are not available in their region.。

For similar reasons, many traders also prefer to use offshore brokers。However, many also doubt the safety and legitimacy of offshore brokers.。

Is an offshore broker legal?？

The answer to the question is yes。It is important to recognize that the term "offshore" does not mean unregulated or illegal, but refers to any account located in a different jurisdiction than the country of residence.。So, for example, if a US resident opened a bank account with Barclays in the UK during a trip to London, it is an offshore account。The same logic applies to any two countries, not only to banks, but also to brokerage firms。

A common saying about offshore accounts is that people often use them to hide illegal funds or avoid tax。Although this situation exists, it is still a minority, and some of these violations also use domestic accounts.。

In addition, being offshore does not necessarily mean a tax haven, nor does a tax haven necessarily mean an illegal。In fact, most offshore activity takes place in high-tax areas such as the US and UK.。Even if money flows through tax haven areas, most businesses are legal。In addition, the OECD and the international community have begun to impose stricter rules on tax havens, including tighter account opening rules and due diligence requirements.。

So, it's safe to say that offshore accounts are 100% legal, whether it's an offshore bank account or a brokerage trading account。There may be some restrictions in non-democratic countries like North Korea, but in most countries it's perfectly legal.。

Having an offshore account is not prohibited in other countries like the US, but traders must meet some mandatory requirements.。Therefore, if your country does have certain restrictions or rules for offshore accounts, it is best to consult a tax lawyer or accountant。

Whether to choose an offshore broker？

This question can be a bit tricky。First, not all countries have local forex brokers。In this case, if you want to trade forex, you can only go offshore.。Even if there are domestic brokers in your country, you may find their quotes less attractive than leading international brokers。

It cannot be denied that not all countries have an equally developed financial sector。Even in many developed countries, it is difficult to find a retail forex broker with small spreads and high leverage。If you plan to invest a lot of money in Forex trading, you need a highly trustworthy broker with the best conditions for you。

In general, the best countries with excellent domestic forex brokers include the US, UK, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, Cyprus, Hong Kong, South Africa, Japan and Ireland。However, there may not be a good (or no) domestic broker in other regions, so it is entirely possible to consider choosing an offshore broker for a lucrative product。

In addition, the use of offshore brokers can minimize some of the risk。If you live in a conflict-affected area and have only a domestic account, you will be completely exposed to your home country's financial system when there is a financial crisis.。Sometimes, local banks will also force you to exchange hard currency for local currency, which may depreciate later。But with an offshore bank, you can protect your money under the jurisdiction of a more well-regulated country。The same principle applies to the opening of offshore brokerage accounts。

However, trading with offshore brokerage firms is not without risk。We have already mentioned that using an offshore broker means that your funds are no longer subject to the jurisdiction of your country's local jurisdiction。So if something goes wrong with your assets, your government can't provide protection。

Therefore, carefully consider the location of the broker。If the country has strict regulatory rules and is economically and politically stable, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, it is safe to choose。Also, make sure that brokers are well regulated to ensure that funds are more secure。

Use debit cards for foreign exchange transactions

Using a debit card at an offshore broker, you can freely use your funds without any additional charges。Transactions can also be processed immediately, with negligible time differences。This way you can always shop online or easily withdraw cash from your local ATM。

Another benefit is having a debit card in an international currency (such as US dollars or euros), you don't need to pay conversion fees when you shop online or go abroad。

MasterCard and Visa are the best debit cards for international transactions。Many local banks do not offer debit cards that can be used internationally, so making international purchases is almost useless。In this case, it would certainly be more helpful to have a MasterCard issued by a reliable international forex broker。

1. Pepperstone

Pepperstone is one of the leading Forex brokers since its inception in 2010 with a strong reputation among traders and currently has headquarters in a number of countries including Australia, China, Kenya and the US.。Pepperstone is heavily regulated by ASIC, BaFin, Kenya Capital Markets Authority, CySEC and DFSA。

In addition to the demo account, you can also choose two other account options, namely the standard account and the Razor account。To open an account, you need at least $200。In terms of payment methods, Pepperstone offers a variety of options, including debit cards, credit cards, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, wire transfers, BPay and UnionPay。

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Founded in 2010 by a team of experienced traders working together to improve online trading, Pepperstone is based in Melbourne, Australia and has grown into one of the world's largest forex brokers.。If a trader wants to find a broker that offers low spreads, fast execution and award-winning support, the answer is Pepperstone。

Pepperstone has strong legal safeguards as it is licensed by Australian regulators ASIC and FCA.。Traders "funds can be deposited into separate accounts at Australia's top banks, one of which is National Australia Bank (NAB).。Therefore, if a trader chooses to open an account in Pepperstone, the safety of funds is not an issue。

They successfully partnered with 23 top banks to bring bids to investors instantly via fiber optics, which enabled all orders to be executed 100% automatically with delays as low as zero..05 milliseconds, no need for trading desk intervention and re-quotation, and ultra-low transaction costs。

Pepperstone is trusted by more than 73,000 traders worldwide, processing an average of 125 per day..$500 million in trading volume and won awards for such things as:

2019 World's Best Forex ECN Broker and Best Forex Trading Support (Europe) Best Australian Broker and Best Trading Platform 2018 UK Forex Awards Best Forex ECN Broker, Best Forex Trading Support and Best Forex Trading Conditions by Compare Forex Brokers

With numerous awards, Pepperstone attracts more and more traders from all over the world。Pepperstone's performance rose not only because of its ultra-low spreads and fast execution services, but also because many traders were keen to trade in currencies other than the US dollar.。

As a result, Pepperstone is one of the most responsive brokers to the market because it is willing to accept deposits in 10 currencies, including the Australian dollar, the US dollar, the euro, the Canadian dollar, the British pound, the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen, the New Zealand dollar, the Singapore dollar and the Hong Kong dollar.。

Pepperstone allows traders to choose between 11 trading platforms: MT4 Desktop, MT4 Mac, MT4 iPhone, MT4 Android, MT4 iPad / Tablet, MT5, WebTrader, cTrader WebTrader, cTrader cAlgo and cTrader Mobile。The choice of trading platform is very practical for novices because it executes quickly。

When trading Forex, traders can enjoy 0 on their Razor account.0 pip original spread, over 61 currency pairs, and commission-free account funds for various deposit options。In addition to currency pairs, Pepperstone offers several types of trading tools, including indices and stocks, commodities and cryptocurrency CFD。

Commodity trading tools are very diverse, not only metals, gold and silver, but also soft commodities such as cotton, sugar, coffee, cocoa and orange juice.。Pepperstone also offers energy (oil and gas) trading.。

Pepperstone offers two types of accounts, Razor accounts and Standard accounts。If you are a beginner, it is recommended to choose a EUR / USD average spread of 1.0-1.3 point and commission-free standard account。

Traders with specific trading styles (such as scalping traders and algorithmic traders) may enjoy the traditionally lower-cost setup of Razor accounts, with a trading commission of 7 Australian dollars and a trade of 100,000 US dollars per round..01 (micro) and 1: 400 leverage to start trading。

As Pepperstone customers, traders can deposit and withdraw money through Visa, Mastercard, POLi Internet Banking, Bank Transfer, BPay, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill and Union Pay。

If you are new to trading or want to practice your trading skills in a risk-free environment, you can create a demo account, but if you are experienced or prefer to learn by doing, Pepperstone offers live accounts that allow you to trade with real-time execution and pricing.。

Traders can also use third-party services to follow popular trader scenarios while learning how to improve their trading abilities。Pepperstone works with a range of social trading platforms for traders to choose from, such as Myfxbook, ZuluTrade, Mirror Trader, MetaTrader Signals and Duplitrade。

2. HotForex

HotForex is a well-known Forex broker, founded in 2010。The broker accepts clients worldwide and is headquartered in Cyprus, Mauritius, Poland and UAE。HotForex is regulated by several top regulators, including CySEC, DFSA, FCA and others。

You can choose from a variety of payment methods, including MasterCard debit cards, to quickly withdraw funds from your account。You can instantly transfer money from your account to your debit card without paying any fees。In addition to this, there are various useful trading tools and other features that can improve your trading experience。

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HF Markets is an award-winning Forex and commodities broker founded in 2010, offering trading services and facilities to retail and institutional clients.。More than nine years since opening, HF Markets has opened around 1,500,000 live accounts worldwide with 200 employees.。

From the point of view of its services, HF Markets can be regarded as middle class, customers do not need to prepare a large deposit to join the broker to trade。In addition, there are a variety of account types, trading software and tools for both individual and institutional clients to trade Forex and CFD online。

HF Markets is the registered brand name of HF Markets (Europe), which is regulated by various financial regulators according to its location。Details are as follows:

HF Markets (SV) Ltd, registered as an international business company in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with registration number 22747 IBC 2015。HF Markets (Europe), licensed and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), license number 183 / 12。HF Markets SA (PTY) is a financial service provider (FSP) licensed and regulated by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) under license number 46632.。HF Markets (Seychelles) is incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Seychelles, registration number 8419176-1, regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA), securities dealer license number SD015。HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd, licensed and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), license number F004885。HF Markets (UK) Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), company reference number 801701。

Traders can become professional clients, manage and assess risk if they are more experienced, knowledgeable and have a more mature trading environment。As a result, professional clients can get better rates but less regulatory protection。

Trading through HF Markets gives traders access to a variety of trading tools, such as Forex CFD, cryptocurrencies, rare metals (gold, silver, etc.), energy (oil and gas), commodities (such as coffee, copper and sugar), indices, bonds and popular stocks (such as Google, Apple and Facebook)。

HF Markets offers the lowest spreads on the market, with spreads in zero accounts starting at 0。The broker's quotes for major forex currency pairs are accurate to five decimal places。As a result, traders have the opportunity to obtain more accurate pricing and optimal spreads。

HF Markets has received a number of prestigious titles, including the great honour of being among the world's top 100 companies in world finance.。Other awards include the "World's Best Customer Money Security" award from Global Brands magazine, the Best Global Forex Documentary Trading Platform award from the 2019 Global Forex Awards, and the 2019 Fastest Growing Forex Broker Mena Award from International Business Magazine.。

After opening an account in HF Markets, traders will be able to meet all their trading needs through various forex trading platforms。Whether traders prefer to trade on desktop or mobile, MetaTrader 4 can be used on desktop (terminals, multiterminals and web terminals) and mobile phones (iPhone, iPad and Android)。

Clients' funds are held in separate accounts and only the major banks are used by the market, as successful traders must focus their full attention on trading rather than worrying about the safety of their funds。

HF Markets does not charge any transaction fees when making deposits and withdrawals, and has a variety of payment methods, with a choice of wire transfers, bank cards and online payments (Neteller, iDeal, Soport Banking and Skrill), ensuring that traders can trade quickly 24 / 7 on weekdays.。

Traders can earn extra income by joining affiliate programs offered by Markets。Clients who join the program will get some advantages, such as a 60% net spread based on sub-client trading volume, and net income of up to $15 per lot.。More information about HF Markets can be found on its official website, which supports 27 languages。

In summary, HF Markets is one of the award-winning Forex and Commodities Brokers。Traders can choose from a variety of account types in HF Markets, and the broker itself is a trader's favorite due to its low spreads, ideal for traders with limited funds and a desire to have more opportunities to maximize profits。

3. Forex.com

Forex.com is a leading broker founded in 1999 with headquarters in various countries including Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom。Forex.com is heavily regulated by the CFTC / NFA, UK FCA, Japan FSA and IIROC。

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FOREX, also known as FOREX.com, one of the global market leaders in the financial industry。FOREX was founded in 2001 as part of GAIN Holdings and is dedicated to trading Forex and CFDs on the powerful trading platform and popular MetaTrader 4.。

Similar to its parent company, FOREX has been licensed by a number of financial regulators, including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA), the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), investment industry regulators in Canada, and the Financial Services Agency of Japan.。

For traders in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, FOREX has been operating under the supervision of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.。

High-quality execution, transparency and competitive pricing per trade is FOREX.One of the most optimized services in com。As of the third quarter of 2019, the broker's total assets amounted to 12.$8.8 billion, with total customer assets of 8.$49.8 billion。

FOREX provides customers with the best freedom to trade in more than 300 global markets, including more than 80 foreign exchange currency pairs, more than 220 stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies。The spread of each asset is in FOREX..In real time on the official website of com, the spread of EUR / USD is as low as 0.8 o'clock。

For trading platforms, FOREX offers two main options: its internal platform and MetaTrader 4。Both types can be used on a variety of devices and can be accessed as web-based platforms and mobile applications。In addition, FOREX's proprietary platform is equipped with advanced charting tools such as more than 70 technical indicators, a large number of time intervals, multiple chart types, more than 50 drawing tools and customization functions。

FOREX.com's trading offers a variety of trading conditions to meet the needs of many types of traders。In addition to the service, FOREX provides guidance and support in the form of real-time trading signals and analysis tools from Autochartist and Recognia。Trained market strategists work with them to develop trading plans and market analysis, keeping clients informed of real-time market insights and viable trading ideas from the FOREX research team.。

Account capital injections and withdrawals can be made by bank transfer.。However, no further details on the minimum amount for each process are available.。FOREX also does not appear to offer other payment options such as credit cards or even electronic payments.。

In general, FOREX is a reliable Forex and CFD broker based on its regulations and long history since 2001。Customers can trade on the FOREX platform or MetaTrader 4 and enjoy competitive spreads and pricing。Despite this, Forex remains one of the top brokers in the brokerage industry, complying with the strict rules of renowned financial regulators.。

Some of its trading conditions may not be suitable for less experienced or less funded retail traders, but the broker still has one of the most well-established packages in the financial trading space.。

In this broker you can start trading from $250 and enjoy a maximum leverage of 1: 200。About payment methods, Forex.com offers debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers and SOFORT and accepts customers from most countries, including the U.。

4. eToro

eToro has enjoyed a reputation since 2007 and is headquartered in China, Cyprus and the UK, regulated by a number of prominent regulators including ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FRN, FINRA。eToro is known for its unique features such as social trading, replication portfolios and investor programs, making it suitable for beginners and professionals alike。

Payment options include debit card, credit card, wire transfer, WebMoney, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, UnionPay and Yandex.Money。

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Founded in early 2007, eToro's mission is to make transactions available to anyone, anywhere, and to reduce reliance on traditional financial institutions.。The company has headquarters in the UK, Cyprus, USA and Australia。

eToro (Europe) Limited is a financial services company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) with license number # 109 / 10.。Meanwhile, eToro (UK) Limited is regulated and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under license number FRN 583263.。

As for eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd, its legal status is recognised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial services under Australian Financial Services Licence 491139.。

As a 4-figure broker, eToro offers both short-term options for day traders and long-term options for investors, such as their innovative CopyPortfoliosTM, a fully managed thematic portfolio.。

Since 2007, eToro has been at the forefront of the fintech revolution.。The latest is CopyPortfolio, which was launched in 2017 and is powered by machine learning Al。In addition to developing CopyPortfolio, the company also integrated Microsoft's machine learning technology into Momentum DD.。

The new CopyPortfolio investment strategy uses artificial intelligence to find the most stable traders who are most likely to earn double-digit returns and bundles traders into a fully managed portfolio.。eToro has hundreds of financial assets available for trading, including stocks, commodities, crypto assets, currencies, indices and ETFs。Each asset class has its own characteristics and can be traded using multiple investment strategies。

Certain positions on eToro involve ownership of underlying assets, such as non-leveraged positions in equities and crypto assets。Using contracts for difference (CFD) will make various options possible, such as leveraged trading, short (sell) positions, fractional ownership, etc.。For example, a trader can invest in gold at a minimum amount of $100, even if the price of a single unit of gold is $1,000.。eToro's most popular CFD commodities include gold, oil, gas, silver and platinum。

Currency can only be traded as CFD on eToro。In addition, CFD allows for short selling (short) positions and leveraged trading, even for assets that do not offer this option in traditional trading.。Some popular currency pairs include EUR / USD, GBP / USD, AUD / USD, USD / JPY, and USD / CAD。

In addition, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a financial instrument consisting of several assets and is used as a tradable fund.。After opening an eToro account, traders can invest at least $250 in an ETF that sells for $500.。Some popular ETFs on eToro include SPY, VXXB, TLT and HMMJ。

However, eToro also offers other features through the use of CFD trading。All leveraged ETF positions in the UK are regulated by the FCA。Meanwhile, all CFD positions executed by eToro Australia are regulated by ASIC.。

The company also has other advantages。Of all tradable financial assets, eToro does not charge any deposit or transaction fees other than spreads。

eToro charges $25 for withdrawals, with a minimum withdrawal amount of $50。Non-leveraged long positions held in cryptocurrencies, stocks and ETFs are not executed as CFD and are not charged。eToro charges overnight or weekend fees for CFD positions, such as leveraged positions and short (sell) orders。

Update of fees always applies to open positions。Fees are subject to change at any time and may change on a daily basis based on market conditions without prior notice。

As a beginner, traders can use eToro's copy trading feature。Unlike the features of other brokers, traders can copy the strategies of professional traders for free without splitting into profits。As a result, 100% of the profit goes entirely to the trader.。For example, when Trader A, copied by Trader B, generates 10% profit this month, Trader B also earns 10% profit。

The company is the world's leading social trading network.。Since eToro operates in complete transparency, each trader has valuable information in their eToro profile, so it is helpful for other traders interested in copying their trades when creating their best portfolio。

Another unique feature of eToro is personalized social news subscriptions。Just like on any social media, traders can post their own updates in a subscription, comment on other people's posts, and gradually create a subscription that suits a trader's trading and investing interests.。On the eToro social trading platform, traders will also be notified when there are new posts and other important updates from traders。

5. OANDA

Founded in 1995, OANDA has headquarters in Canada, Germany, Japan, Malta, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries.。The broker is well regulated in countries like US, UK, Japan, Singapore。

For just $1, you can open an account and start trading with a maximum leverage of 1: 50。As for payment methods, OANDA accepts debit cards, credit cards, Neteller, Skrill and wire transfers。

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OANDA can be an option for traders looking for a precision broker。This is because OANDA is a broker that offers 5-digit accuracy quotes and active price movements that follow market developments.。The broker's orders are also executed faster。

It provides benefits for novice traders because they can use a calculation system based on currency value for smaller trading volumes, which is different from other brokers that use lot systems。

OANDA was founded in 1996 by Dr. Michael Stumm, Lecturer in Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues at The Olsen Ltd, one of the leading econometric research institutes..Dr. Richard Olsen co-founded the institution。Their headquarters are located in San Francisco, USA。

OANDA Branches Everywhere。Some of these offices are located in the UK, Singapore, Japan and Canada。With the distribution of the number of offices, OANDA increasingly attracts the attention of global customers。

OANDA's companies are registered in several well-known jurisdictions in the field of financial transactions。They are regulated by the US CFTC and NFA, UK FCA, Australian ASIC and others。Traders no longer need to worry about security when trading OANDA。However, these advantages make OANDA's trading rules more stringent than other brokers。

For example, OANDA only allows a maximum leverage of 1: 20 because the rules in the United States and Japan do not allow higher than that leverage。In addition, the registration process is more complicated due to various additional requirements that other forex brokers do not submit。Most importantly, hedging is not allowed in one trading account, as the client must open another account to hedge。

Nevertheless, OANDA is known as a leading broker and offers many advantages。OANDA faces greater market risk during periods of price volatility, such as economic and political news announcements。When market spreads increase or decrease, their pricing engine expands or reduces spreads accordingly。In this way, traders can be more quickly updated on market price movements。

Prices in the market move very quickly, especially when news releases have a large impact on market volatility。Brokers often exploit this situation to take advantage of clients by re-quoting。However, traders do not need to worry about additional fees when trading with OANDA。

Firms never withdraw re-quotes, so traders get maximum profit。When traders cannot monitor open positions, they can set take profit orders to lock in profits and stop loss orders to help prevent further losses。

As an experienced and well-known online forex broker, OANDA is committed to maintaining an efficient trading environment, reducing delays and providing tools to help clients manage acceptable levels of slippage.。

With OANDA's fast and reliable trading platform, customers can trade at 0.Execute within 012 seconds。This is suitable for traders who choose a broker based on execution speed。

Due to this outstanding executive service, it is no surprise that Oanda has won many awards, including the world's best retail forex platform award in the prestigious e-FX awards.。The broker was also rated number one for consistency in executing trades on quote, execution speed and platform reliability.。

There is no minimum deposit or minimum balance requirement to open an OANDA account, both deposits and withdrawals can be done easily。OANDA offers multiple payment method facilities including Paypal, wire transfer, credit and debit cards。Traders can adjust according to the region they live in。

OANDA offers more than 100 trading instruments, including 71 currency pairs, 16 indices, 8 commodities (Brent, copper, corn, natural gas, soybeans, sugar, etc.), 6 bonds and 23 metals.。

fxTrade and MetaTrader platforms available on OANDA。These platforms are available for desktop and mobile devices。Another advantage is that they have OANDA technical analysis in cooperation with Autochartist technical analysis provider。

With these platforms, customers can more easily monitor price movements and automatically identify patterns created on charts and receive alerts when waiting patterns appear。The technology can be used for free。

In summary, OANDA is the ideal broker for traders who need fast execution backed by years of experience.。The firm is also a good choice for those looking for a broker with good regulation and flexible trading and deposit conditions。

Conclusion

All in all, an offshore broker is perfectly legal and safe as long as you choose a broker that is well regulated and rules-compliant。

Offshore brokers have both pros and cons, so it is highly recommended to choose a regulated offshore broker with a good reputation and multiple foreign exchange licenses to reduce the risk of fraud or other illegal activities.。