Forex trading by country

SEBI · RBI

Offshore and leveraged retail forex is illegal for Indian residents under FEMA and the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) — remitting funds abroad to trade margin forex is prohibited. The only legal route is a small set of INR currency-derivative pairs traded on SEBI-registered exchanges (NSE, BSE). This is an honest-legality information page only: we do NOT promote offshore brokers to Indian residents.

Bappebti

Forex trading is legal in Indonesia only through brokers licensed by Bappebti (the commodity-futures regulator); offshore brokers are not supervised here and routinely appear on Bappebti's warning list. As a Muslim-majority country, swap-free (Islamic) accounts are the central trust question for most traders. We explain the Bappebti-vs-offshore trade-off honestly and never tell you an offshore broker is locally licensed when it is not.

SC

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) does not license retail spot-forex brokers, so residents who trade use internationally regulated (offshore) firms — many of which appear on the SC's Investor Alert List, meaning 'not licensed locally', not necessarily 'scam'. The SC tightened enforcement against unlicensed finfluencers and promotions through late 2025. As a Muslim-majority market, swap-free (Islamic) accounts are a first-class concern. Verify any firm against the SC list before depositing.

SEC · BSP

The Philippine SEC and BSP do not license local retail forex brokers, so Filipino traders use internationally regulated (offshore) firms. The SEC publishes advisories against specific unlicensed entities — check those before signing up. Local payment rails (GCash, Maya) are widely used for funding. We publish information and an honest broker shortlist; verify the offshore entity on its home regulator's register before depositing.

SEC

Thailand's SEC does not license retail spot-forex brokers, and the Bank of Thailand restricts moving baht abroad for speculative margin trading, so residents who trade do so via offshore firms in a legal grey area. The SEC publishes an investor-alert list of unlicensed operators. We explain the grey-area status plainly and do not present offshore brokers as locally authorised.

SBV · SSC

Vietnam restricts retail forex: the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) prohibits individuals from trading forex through online brokers, and only licensed credit institutions may conduct foreign-exchange business. Promotion and operation of online forex platforms have been the subject of enforcement action. This is an honest-legality page: we explain the restriction rather than route residents to offshore brokers.