HFM (HFMarkets) South Africa Review 2024

HFM South Africa, a member of the HF Markets Group, provides its clients with secure and transparent trading services. The broker has won 55 industry awards, including the Best Forex Broker of Asia from the Global Business Review Magazine and the Most Trusted Forex Broker of Asia from the Global Forex Awards.

Ever since its establishment in 2010, HFM has registered more than 2,500,000 live accounts for its clients. HFM South Africa is a licensed member of five international regulators, namely the IBC of St. Vincent & the Grenadine, DFSA of Dubai, FCA of the UK, FSCA of South Africa, and FSA of Seychelles.

HFM South Africa offers six different accounts, namely Micro, Premium, Zero Spread, Auto, PAMM (Premium and Premium Plus), and HFCopy. After registering an account and depositing at least 5 USD, traders can trade in more than 1,200 trading instruments, including Forex, metals, energies, shares, indices, bonds, commodities, DMA stocks, and ETFs.

Traders can also enjoy high leverage up to 1:1000, low spread starting from 0 pip, and low to no commissions. Moreover, they can conduct their trading activities on 12 trading platforms (MT4, MT5, WebTrader) using desktop and mobile applications. All strategies are welcome, including EAs, scalping, hedging, and copy-trading.

HFM South Africa offers more than 15 methods for making deposits and withdrawals, including debit and credit cards, local and international bank transfers, as well as various e-wallets (WebMoney, Perfect Money, Bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, etc.). Almost all of these methods require a zero deposit fee.

HFM South Africa provides its services in 29 different languages. In case of any problems or questions, traders can easily contact the broker via the contact form, email, call, and live chat (in 27 languages) 24/5.

Account types offered by HFM South Africa

HFM South Africa provides six different trading accounts based on the preferred risk appetites and trading volumes of the clients. These accounts come with accurate pricing, i.e., 5 decimal places in addition to market execution.

Micro Account

Minimum Deposit: $5
Leverage: 1:1000
Minimum trade size: 0.1
Spread Type: Floating from 1 pip
Commission: No
Account Currency: USD, EUR, NGN, JPY
Platforms: MT4, MT5, Web, Mobile

👉 Open Micro Account

Premium Account

Minimum Deposit: $100
Leverage: 1:500
Minimum trade size: 0.01
Spread Type: Floating from 1 pip
Commission: No
Account Currency: USD, EUR, NGN, JPY
Platforms: MT4, MT5, Web, Mobile

👉 Open Premium Account

Zero Spread Account

Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: 1:500
Minimum trade size: 0.01
Spread Type: Floating from 0 Pip
Commission: Yes, starting from 0.03 per 1,000 lots
Account Currency: USD, EUR, NGN, JPY
Platforms: MT4, MT5, Web, Mobile

👉 Open Zero Spread Account

Auto Account

Minimum Deposit: $200
Leverage: 1:500
Minimum trade size: 0.01
Spread Type: Floating from 1 Pip
Commission: No
Account Currency: USD, EUR
Platforms: MT4, Web, Mobile

👉 Open Auto Account

PAMM Account

Minimum Deposit: $250
Leverage: 1:300
Minimum trade size: 0.01
Spread Type: Floating from 1.3 Pip
Commission: No
Account Currency: USD
Platforms: MT4

👉 Open PAMM Account

HFCopy Account

Minimum Deposit: 500 USD (Strategy Provider) - 100 USD (Follower)
Leverage: 1:400
Minimum trade size: 0.01
Spread Type: Floating from 1 Pip
Commission: No
Account Currency: USD
Platforms: MT4, Web, Mobile

👉 Open HFCopy Account

1. Micro Account

This account is intended for new traders who trade in smaller volumes. The minimum deposit is just 5 USD with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots and a maximum of 150 open orders. Using the Micro account, traders can enjoy leverage up to 1:1000 and variable spread from 1 pip with no commission. Traders can choose USD, EUR, NGN, or JPY as their base currency on MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms.

2. Premium Account

The premium account, same as the standard account, is available in USD, EUR, NGN, and JPY. It is more suitable for experienced retail traders. To make use of leverage as high as 1:500 and variable spread from 1 pip on MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms, traders only need to deposit 100 USD. They can open up to 300 orders with a minimum trade size of 0.01 lots. All transactions are free of commission.

3. Zero Spread Account

This account offers a variable spread as low as 0 pip. The Zero Spread account is suitable for scalpers, high-volume traders, and traders who use Expert Advisors. The minimum deposit is 200 USD, but traders will be able to enjoy leverage up to 1:500, open a maximum of 500 orders, and trade a minimum volume of 0.01 lots. This account is accessible on MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms in 4 currencies, namely USD, EUR, NGN, and JPY. This account requires a commission starting from 0.03 USD per 1,000 lots.

4. Auto Account

The Auto account enables traders, especially new and inexperienced ones, to subscribe to free as well as paid trading signals from the MQL5 community. By depositing at least 200 USD, traders can make use of leverage as high as 1:500, floating spread from 1 pip, and zero commission. The minimum trade size lots and the maximum open orders are 0.01 and 300, respectively. All transactions can be conducted on MT4, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms in USD and EUR.

5. PAMM Account

The PAMM account is different from the previous four accounts. In this account, traders can invest their funds by joining Fund Managers as opposed to trading on their own. The Fund Managers will act as professional traders who trade on behalf of the clients.

There are two available options for a PAMM account, namely Premium and Premium Plus. Both accounts are only available in USD with maximum leverage of 1:300 and a maximum of 500 open orders on the MT4 platform. To use this account, traders must deposit at least 250 USD. The PAMM Premium account offers a floating spread starting from 1.3 pips with no commission, while the Premium Plus account offers a tighter spread starting from 0.4 pips and an $8 commission per round turn.

6. HFCopy Account

As a USD-based social trading account, the HFCopy account is offered to both Strategy Providers and Followers. The Strategy Providers (SPs) are professional traders who provide strategies in exchange for a performance fee of up to 50% and Followers are those who copy the trades offered by SPs.

The minimum required deposits for strategy providers and followers are 500 USD and 100 USD, respectively. The maximum leverage in this account is 1:400 with a floating spread as low as 1 pip. Traders can have up to 300 open orders and trade a minimum of 0.01 lots on MT4, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms.

All traders are welcome to try HFM South Africa's Demo Trading account to simulate a real trading environment. There is no usage limit for this account, and it can be accessed on MT4, MT5, WebTrader, and mobile trading platforms. Traders will receive up to 100,000 USD virtual balance to trade using this account.

How to deposit and withdraw funds at HFM South Africa

In the trading world, deposit and withdrawal processes are essential for traders. HFM South Africa understands this, and thus provides more than 15 quick, easy, and secure methods to do so. There are no additional deposit fees for almost all methods, even for bank wire transfers. However, some banks and card providers may impose fees.

Traders from South Africa can deposit and withdraw funds via:

🔸 wire transfer à deposit: min. 100 USD, no maximum amount, 2-7 business days, no fees for deposits over 100 USD; withdrawal: min. 100 USD, 2-10 business days, no fees (but banks may charge)
🔸 In addition, payment method via credit or debit cards (Mastercard, VISA, etc.) is also available. The minimum deposit is 5 USD and the maximum is 10,000 USD with up to 10 minutes of processing and no fees. The minimum withdrawal amount is 5 USD and it is processed within 2-10 business days with no fees.
🔸 Neteller à deposit: min. 5 USD, max. 10,000 USD, up to 10 min, no fees; withdrawal: min. 10 USD, up to 10 min, no fees
🔸 Perfect Money à deposit: min. 100 USD, max. 10,000 USD, up to 10 min, no fees; withdrawal: min. 5 USD, instant, no fees
🔸 Skrill à deposit: min. 10 USD, max. 10,000 USD, up to 10 min, no fees; withdrawal: min. 5 USD, instant, no fees
🔸 VLoad à deposit: min. 10 USD, the maximum amount depends on the account tier, up to 10 min, possible fees by the payment processor will not be covered; withdrawal: min. 100 USD, up to 10 min, no fees
🔸 WebMoney à deposit: min. 5 USD, max. 5,000 USD, instant, no fees; withdrawal: min. 5 USD, up to 10 min, no fees
🔸 Bitpay à deposit: min. 5 USD, max. 10,000 USD, up to 10 min, no fees; withdrawal: min. 5 USD, up to 2 business days, 1% fee

This broker does not accept any third party payment, so make sure that the name registered on your payment method and your trading account are the same.

Is HFM South Africa reliable and safe?

HFM broker has obtained five licenses from different regulators:

👉 Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa under the name of HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd.
👉 Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in Dubai under the name of HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd.
👉 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK under the name of HF Markets (UK) Ltd.
👉 Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles under the name of HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd.
👉 International Business Company (IBC) in St. Vincent & the Grenadine under the name of HF Markets (SV) Ltd.

HFM also implements negative balance protection for a more improved trading experience. Therefore, even under highly volatile conditions, clients are not responsible for covering a negative balance. In addition, HFM South Africa keeps the clients' funds at major banks segregated from its operational funds. This broker is also audited by Deloitte to make sure of its compliance with international standards.

Furthermore, HFM South Africa has prepared a Civil Liability insurance program with a limit of 5,000,000 EUR in the event of a financial loss. The insurance covers errors, omissions, negligence, fraud, and several other risks.

Types of spreads in HFM South Africa

HFM South Africa provides tight floating spreads with fractional pip pricing.

The lowest spread, starting from 0 pip, is available for the Zero Spread account with a $0.03 commission per 1,000 lots. The Micro, Premium, Auto, and HFCopy accounts offer floating spread starting from 1 pip without any commission. The PAMM Premium account offers variable spreads starting from 1.3 pips with zero commission, whereas the PAMM Premium Plus account offers floating spreads as low as 0.4 pips with an $8 commission per round turn.

At HFM South Africa, the most typical spreads for common currency pairs are counted in pips as follows:

Trading platforms offered by HFM South Africa

HFM South Africa offers various platforms to suit all trading styles and needs. Traders can download the desktop platforms on the website, and the HF app on Google Play and App Store.

Traders can conduct their trading on MT4 and MT5. All transactions are market executed on both platforms; additionally, hedging is allowed. These platforms are available on desktop, iPhone, iPad, Android, web terminal, and multiterminal.

Some of the useful features and tools of the MT4 platform include 9 timeframes, 30 technical indicators, 31 analytical objects, 4 pending order types, and a single-threaded strategy tester. Unfortunately, this platform does not come with a built-in economic calendar or EA creation. The features and tools of the MT5 platform include 21 timeframes, 38 technical indicators, 44 analytical objects, 6 pending order types, multi-threaded strategy tester, built-in economic calendar, and EA creation.

HFM (HFMarkets) South Africa Review 2024

Account types offered by HFM South Africa

How to deposit and withdraw funds at HFM South Africa

Is HFM South Africa reliable and safe?

Types of spreads in HFM South Africa

Trading platforms offered by HFM South Africa

Key advantages of trading with HFM South Africa