FBS

Regulatory Overview: FBS is an international broker regulated in multiple jurisdictions through separate legal entities. These include:

• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) – Tradestone Ltd (Licence No. 331/17)
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 426359), trading as FBS Oceania
• Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) – FBS Markets Pacific Ltd
• Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Belize – FBS Markets Inc. (Licence No. IFSC/000102/198)
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa – Trade Stone SA (Pty) Ltd (FSP No. 50885)

Regulation for South African Traders: Although FBS holds an FSCA licence through its local entity, Trade Stone SA (Pty) Ltd, South African traders are currently not onboarded under the FSCA-regulated entity. Instead, new clients from South Africa are registered through the broker’s Belize-based offshore entity, FBS Markets Inc. This means traders do not benefit from the full protections offered under FSCA oversight, such as local dispute resolution or access to compensation mechanisms.

Client Protection Measures

When trading under the offshore entity, South African clients still receive several important protection features:

• Segregated client funds: All client deposits are held separately from the company’s operational funds in top-tier banks.
• Negative balance protection: Ensures clients cannot lose more than their deposited funds, even in highly volatile markets.
• AML and KYC compliance: Offshore entities maintain strict anti-money laundering procedures and ID verification protocols.

While FBS is accessible and offers a regulated trading environment through its offshore entities, South African traders should be aware that they will not be protected under FSCA regulation unless FBS updates its onboarding structure in future.

Overview: South African traders using FBS—most likely onboarded through the Belize-based FBS Markets Inc. entity—can access a wide range of over 240 CFD instruments across multiple asset classes. Traders benefit from flexible leverage, fast execution, and a variety of trading opportunities across global markets.

• Forex (up to 1:3000): Trade over 40 currency pairs including majors, minors, and exotics such as USD/ZAR and EUR/ZAR. Leverage can be set manually in your FBS client area.
• Metals (up to 1:500): Access spot gold and silver trading with competitive conditions and fixed leverage.
• Indices (up to 1:200): Trade CFDs on global indices such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ, FTSE 100, and DAX 40.
• Commodities (up to 1:200): Includes energy products like crude oil and natural gas.
• Stocks & ETFs: Trade CFDs on leading global companies and exchange-traded funds.

⚠️ Caution on High Leverage: While FBS offers leverage of up to 1:3000, such high ratios can dramatically increase both potential profits and losses. Trading with high leverage is risky and not suitable for beginners. Traders should use appropriate risk management tools, such as stop-loss orders and position sizing, to limit potential downside.

All instruments are available via MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the FBS mobile app, providing access across devices and platforms.

Note that FBS does not currently support cryptocurrency trading. All available instruments are CFDs, meaning you are not trading the underlying asset but speculating on its price movements.

It took us about 5 minutes to open an account at FBS, and once we submitted our documentation, our accounts were ready for trading immediately. As a South African trader, you are eligible to open an account at FBS as long as you meet the following minimum deposit requirement of 5 USD.

FBS Trader

We quickly realised that the FBS Trader app is not a trading platform but a portal that allows traders to manage their MT4 and MT5 platforms from a mobile device or tablet. We were pleased to see that the FBS Trader App is now also available on iOS, whereas previously, it was only available for Android devices. 

FBS Trader Features: We enjoyed how easy it is to use the FBS Trader app. After you register an account, it takes you through a tutorial to help you easily navigate the platform. The app also has an intuitive home screen and a sophisticated dashboard that allows you to easily skip between a real or demo account. The app allows you to view educational videos, has an integrated economic calendar, and allows you to contact customer support. Traders can also track real-time stats, open/close/edit positions, add stops to open positions and delete working orders.

FBS MT4/MT5 Mobile Trading App

FBS offers support for MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. Traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.  

In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, deposits and withdrawals at FBS cannot be made to/from third-party accounts.  

Trading Account Currencies: We were disappointed to find that although deposits can be made in most national currencies, they are subsequently converted into USD and  EUR. Because FBS does not support accounts denominated in ZAR, South Africans will have to pay conversion fees on all deposits and withdrawals.  Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and affect profitability.

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees: FBS does not charge for making deposits to a live trading account, but it charges fees for withdrawals under certain conditions. Deposits made via electronic payment systems are processed instantly, and deposit requests via other payment systems are processed within 1-2 hours.

The education section at FBS is well-structured and well-organized, and all material is free. Education is split into five sections:

• Forex Guidebook – the core of the education section, this is one of the better guides to Forex trading we have seen. It is split into chapters for Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate, and Experienced traders. This guidebook will be useful in some form for almost all readers.
• Tips for Traders – a frequently updated blog with useful posts covering various aspects of trading in an erudite and informal format. Recent blog posts include Triple Screen Trading Strategy and Bill Williams Fractals Indicator.
• Webinars – includes a schedule and register of upcoming webinars. FBS holds webinars weekly from its office, and registration is a simple procedure.
• Video Lessons – as you would expect, this is a collection of short videos covering various aspects of Forex trading – good for those who prefer watching to reading, but not as comprehensive as the Guidebook
• Glossary – FBS offers a good glossary of Forex terms.

Overall, the education section at FBS is more comprehensive than the material that is available at other brokers.  

FBS’ market research is average compared to most other large international brokers.

The FBS Market Analysis is divided into technical and fundamental analyses. The technical analysis is somewhat limited, but the fundamental analysis is more detailed and offers Forex traders basic coverage of key topics.

Market analysis materials at FBS are free of charge for all visitors, and are divided into three separate sections:

• Forex News – A regular news feed of the day’s important events that will have fundamental effects on Forex trades. It is concise, updated frequently, and well written.
• Daily Market Analysis – Here you will find short analytical articles on the day’s events, which is very useful for new traders.
• Forex TV – a collection of videos on everything from suggested trading plans for the week ahead to historical webinars. The trading plans, in particular, are beneficial for new traders.

Overall, FBS offers a range of market analysis materials that are useful for traders of all experience levels, but it is not as comprehensive as what other brokers offer.

Customer service is available in multiple languages, 24/7 – which is exceptional for an industry where the standard is 24/5. Support is available by email, live chat, and social media, in 14 different languages.

We found the customer service responsive, polite, and resourceful.  They were able to answer all our questions satisfactorily.