Central Bank of Russia (CBR) issues licenses to very few brokers。So, which are the best Forex brokers in Russia？The following is a brief review of them。

Once upon a time, Russia was known for being the birthplace of several popular global forex brokers, but they were also notorious for having a weak legal base.。In response to the challenge, the Russian government has introduced several laws to re-regulate the industry.。How the latest law affects foreign exchange trading in Russia？Which company is the best forex broker in Russia？We will answer these questions for you。

Russian Forex Trading

Russia's foreign exchange boom was linked to the government's decision in 1989 to introduce flexible exchange rates, and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) subsequently established the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) to facilitate currency transactions by banks and businesses.。MICEX has now grown to become the largest integrated stock exchange in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe, but for some time since then, the foreign exchange and CFDs industry has been officially ignored.。

Since the 1990s, many forex brokers have operated in Russia, but there is no adequate legal framework。They are often licensed by independent self-regulatory bodies operating outside the government, such as the Center for the Regulation of Over-the-Counter Financial Instruments and Technologies (CRFIN) and the Center for the Regulation of Financial Market Relations (FMRRC), which issue licenses to Russian forex brokers but are unable to impose any sanctions on their members for wrongdoing, leading to a lack of trust in Russian forex brokers and to rampant fraud in the region.。

In 2004, the establishment of the Federal Financial Market Service (FFMS / FSFR) began the first official regulation of the industry, but the financial market regulator of the Russian Federation was dissolved in 2013.。The Central Bank of Russia has taken over the functions of FFMS, including regulatory functions for Russian forex brokers.。

Russia's central bank has launched a more stringent enforcement action, and forex brokers must obtain CBR licenses before January 2016 or not operate services in the region.。Since then, CBR has issued licenses to only a handful of brokers.。

CBR's official requirements for companies seeking licenses are less complex。Provide at least 100 million rubles ($1.5 million) in capital, join the Association of Forex Dealers (AFD), and contribute 2 million rubles to the compensation fund; however, as experienced by Alpari Forex, InstaForex and TeleTrade Group, which are accused of violations, brokers' licenses can easily be accidentally revoked。As a result, many Russian forex brokers go overseas or seek permission from European regulators.。

Sergey Shvetsov, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, once compared the foreign exchange market to a casino。In 2015 he also mentioned that regulators are not interested in the development of such companies in Russia。

What does this mean for Russian residents who want to trade Forex?？You can legally trade forex in Russia, however, the options to choose the best forex broker in Russia according to CBR policy are very limited, you must also visit one of the broker's offices in person to sign the framework agreement and risk disclosure。

As of 2019, only four Forex brokers are known to still have licenses for CBR, namely Finam Group, PSB Forex, VTB Forex (owned by state-owned Promsvyazbank and VTB) and Alfa-Forex (owned by Alfa-Bank).。Just three days ago (13 August 2020) PSB Forex submitted an application for voluntary licence suspension due to poor financial performance.。CBR does not provide a list of authorized Forex brokers, but Russian residents can contact CBR directly to verify authorization。

What to do if Russian residents want to join a foreign forex broker？Russian citizens are not banned from joining foreign forex brokers, but the central bank bans foreign brokers from activities and advertising in the region.。Therefore, you should take due process on your own to pick the best forex broker and avoid the fraudster trap。

Best Forex Broker in Russia

1. Alfa Forex

Alfa Forex has dual licenses from the Central Bank of Russia and CySEC, so they have sufficient legal background and comply with customer protection rules.。The broker was founded in 2003 to promote forex trading through Metatrader5 (MT5) and Alfa Forex offers plenty of free educational material, perfect for beginners.。

The downside is that brokers are strictly bound by legal requirements and are not free to offer advice or digital payment options, and customers can only process deposits and withdrawals through bank transfers or credit / debit cards.。You will also be asked to provide some credentials to be able to use their live chat。

2. FINAM

FINAM facilitates trading across multiple asset classes, including foreign exchange, stocks, bonds, options and futures outside of banking。Therefore, FINAM provides at least 15 trading platforms for specific trading activities.。These include:

• Automatic follow-up is a unique service that allows you to automatically repeat the trades of successful traders in real time on the customer's personal account。
  TSLab allows you to create trading robots with flexible customization and convenient graphics。
  QScalp provides high-speed execution of market analysis and trading, ideal for scalpers。
  FinamTrade, specifically for traders who want to trade on the Moscow Exchange, with news modules, advanced charts and portfolio options。
  FinamTrade for Android and iPhone / iPad is a mobile application that allows you to trade on the Moscow Exchange and the Forex market。

FINAM also offers asset management services to help investors who need to manage their money。

3. VTB Forex

VTB Forex claims to be the leader in the Russian foreign exchange market, the broker facilitates the trading of 24 currency pairs (including rubles) through Metatrader 5 with a minimum trading volume of 0.5 hands, the maximum lever is 1: 40。They also provide clients with a number of information tools such as the Dow Jones News Stream, the Economic Calendar and the VTB Forex Trader Sentiment Index。

But the broker also has the same restrictions as Alfa Forex and FINAM。VTB Forex only processes deposits and withdrawals online via bank transfer or VTB, you also need to identify yourself before requesting services。

So, which forex broker would you choose？If there is no interest, you can also choose top forex brokers licensed in other countries。Several Russian-originated Forex companies have moved to Europe (mainly Cyprus and the UK) to ease the pressure of global expansion, here are some of them that may be good for you。

European-based Russian broker

1. Exness

Exness is authorised and regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with registration number 730729 and is also registered across Europe through MiFID II.。Exness is ideal for traders with low capital requirements and a wide range of account products, with fast order execution, instant withdrawal of funds and commission-free access to most payment systems.。The official Exness website is available in dozens of languages, including Russian。

2. XM Group

XM Group is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) to legalise its operations in Europe。XM Group offers over 1000 trading tools with zero deposit and withdrawal fees through most available payment gateways, multilingual websites and personal account managers。

3. Alpari

A few years ago, Alpari was the world's most famous Russian forex broker。Its heat dipped after its UK entities suffered heavy losses in 2015。Alpari suffered further losses due to CBR's decision to revoke its Russian license in December 2017.。Currently, Alpari is registered only in Belarus and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.。Despite this, Alpari remains one of the favorite brokers of European and Russian residents for Easter。