Is OANDA Legal in Philippines? Is it Safe?
Reliability is the key criterion for choosing any broker. If you have doubts about the reliability of a company, it is not recommended to work with it. Traders from Philippines often ask “Is OANDA safe? Does the company operate legally in the territory of the country, can it be trusted?" Traders Union analysts have prepared a detailed analysis, where we will see whether OANDA is legal in Philippines and whether you can work with this broker.
Short summary about the broker OANDA
The name OANDA is an acronym for “Olsen & Associates” or “Olsen AND Associates”. It is registered in the United States and provides its clients with a wide range of financial services in most countries of the world. The company was founded in 1996 and is currently regulated in four jurisdictions. The main regulator of the broker is the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Oanda Canada is licensed by IIROC. The company has several significant awards to its credit, including a victory in the category "Best Forex Trading Technologies" from the UK Forex Awards, "Best Trading Platform" from FX Week, as well as "Best Customer Service" from the US Foreign Exchange Report.
| 💰 Account currency: | USD, EUR, HKD, SGD |
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | No |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | Up to 1:200 |
| 💱 Spread: | From 0 p for currency pairs |
| 🔧 Instruments: | FX, Indices, Bullion, Commodities, Crypto |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | Stop Out - 50% |
Pros and cons of OANDA
👍 Advantages of trading with OANDA:
•Minimum deposit from 1 dollar.
•A large selection of the most popular trading instruments.
•Several reliable and reputable financial regulators.
👎 Disadvantages of OANDA:
•Inconvenient and poorly functioning site.
•Lack of cent accounts.
•Lack of bonus programs.
What information should a broker disclose?
Only the broker that discloses all legal information can be considered reliable. You need to take notice of this factor when choosing the company.
The official website of the broker should contain the following information:
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The name of the legal entity.
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Country of registration.
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Number of the registration certificate.
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Legal address, factual addresses of the offices of the broker.
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License to conduct financial activity.
The information must be published either in a special section on the website of the broker or in the disclaimer. Make sure to check it.
The official website of the broker must also provide internal regulatory documents. Before you start working with a company, review Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Risks Notice, and other documents.
Broker regulation
ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the official financial regulatory body of Australia. The commission regulates the operation of banks, investment companies, Forex brokers, and participants of exchange and over-the-counter trading.
ASIC is a reputable authority. The license of this regulator is recognized as reliable in the entire world. Brokers with licenses issued by ASIC also operate outside Australia, for example in the EU countries, the UK, Asia, etc.
IIROC
IIROC is the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. It is a non-government self-regulatory organization in charge of overseeing participants of the stock and investment markets and their transactions. The IIROC sets requirements for the minimum equity, is responsible for preserving an attractive investment climate in the country and supports fair competition.
The IIROC is one of the most reputable financial regulators in the world. The licenses issued by the IIROC are recognized all around the world. They are primarily obtained by brokers who offer their services in North and South America, although companies licensed by the IIROC can operate also in other regions.
FCA
The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is the financial regulator of the UK. It is a non-government body that operates in cooperation with the Bank of English and the HM Treasury. The mission of the FCA is to regulate the operation of financial and investment companies, including Forex brokers.
A broker with the FCA license is fully legal in the UK. The document issued by this regulator is highly regarded also outside the UK. Also, the companies with licenses issued in other jurisdictions can operate in the UK.
NFA
The National Futures Association (NFA) is a self-regulatory industry organization for companies in the futures and other derivatives markets. The organization obtained the status of a regulator in 1982 and currently fully reports to the CFTC – the Commission does not register brokers without the NFA license. All participants of the U.S. derivatives industry, including futures market, are supervised by the regulator.
The NFA is the most reputable financial regulator in the world for brokers offering access to trading futures and other derivatives. Companies with such a license are reliable. The NFA license is recognized all around the world.
Is OANDA legal in Philippines? Broker’s license
Security (Protection for Investors)
Information
The OANDA is legit and trusted broker is licensed by four financial regulators.
The main regulator is the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the license number is 542574. Other OANDA regulators include FSC - BVI (2026433), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC, ACN: 603 856 551), and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
👍 Advantages
- Regulations and rules for the provision of financial services of a broker are available on the official website for free.
- The broker has licenses from four financial regulators
- Relations between market participants are monitored and regulated by the most reputable regulator FCA
👎 Disadvantages
- The process, from the moment of acceptance of the complaint to its consideration, takes at least six months
- Claims of traders with small amounts are not considered
- Complex and lengthy complaint procedure
- Claims that relate to compensation for moral damage are not considered
Brokers that are similar to OANDA
In addition to license and reliability, you also need to take notice of the trading conditions of brokers. This is important both for beginners and experienced traders, as the demands of the clients with different experience differ. Traders Union analysts have prepared a comparison table of OANDA with similar brokers.
Comparison of OANDA with other Brokers
| OANDA | Eightcap | XM Group | RoboForex | TeleTrade | InstaForex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
WebTrader, MetaTrader4, Mobile platforms, MetaTrader5 |
MT4, MT5, TradingView |
MT4, MT5, MobileTrading, XM App |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
MT4, MT5 |
MT4, MultiTerminal, MobileTrading, MT5, WebTrader |
Min deposit |
No |
$100 |
$5 |
$10 |
$10 |
$1 |
Leverage |
From 1:1 |
From 1:30 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
10.00%% |
1.00%% |
No |
Spread |
From 0 points |
From 0 points |
From 0.8 points |
From 0 points |
From 0.2 points |
From 0 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Market Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Instant Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Cent accounts |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
OANDA is the optimal broker for experienced traders and professionals. However, it should be noted that the broker focuses primarily on English-speaking clients.
Eightcap has favorable working conditions due to a large choice of instruments, tight spreads, high leverage, and no withdrawal fees. Integration with popular trading platforms and basic deposit/withdrawal options greatly facilitates work with the broker and reduces the entry threshold. In addition to comfortable conditions and low financial costs, traders get free educational materials and special services for technical analysis. A relative disadvantage is the absence of opportunities for passive income. Also, the broker works only with CFDs, so other groups of trading instruments are not available.
XM Broker is a broker for professional trading. Trading conditions correspond to the average market; there are technical advantages that distinguish XM Broker from its competitors.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
TeleTrade is a broker for traders who value the variety of trading instruments and trade using their PC or a mobile app. The company is a good broker both for beginners and experienced traders.
InstaForex is the best option for traders with any level of experience. For active professional traders, there is a large pool of non-standard technological solutions for more accurate analysis. For novice traders, there are comfortable starting conditions, such as a $1 minimum deposit under the regulation of FSC and a $200 minimum deposit with the broker regulated by CySEC. There are PAMM accounts and social trading for investors.
Conclusions
Traders Union showed that OANDA is indeed very reliable and legal in Philippines. The company holds all necessary licenses to conduct financial activity; it complies with all key requirements of the regulator. Legality of the broker’s operation in the country is one of the key criteria for choosing the company for trading. It is important to take this into consideration, as well as the trading conditions. In this case, we can say that the broker meets all the reliability requirements.
FAQ
Can I work with a broker who does not hold the license?
Trading with a broker without the license involves high risks. The license guarantees that the company performs its obligations. Working with a broker without the license creates a risk of manipulations with quotes, failure to pay, and other schemes.
Where can I complain if a broker with a license violated its obligations?
If a broker allows a violation of the conditions, you can appeal to the authority that issued the license and to the court.
How do I choose the best broker in Philippines for beginners?
Novice traders need to consider the brokers with licenses issued in Philippines or other European Union countries, availability of a demo account or cent account, the level of commissions and fees and minimum deposit, as well as educational materials.
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Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.