Pepperstone Review

 

Pepperstone is a well-established retail broker that focuses exclusively on forex and the most popular CFD markets. Pepperstone is an excellent choice for copy traders as the broker offers multiple third-party social copy trading options.

 

Trading margined products carry a high level of risk. Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited, CMA Licence No. 128

 

Forex Trading Africa annually reviews forex brokers regarded as the best in the world who accept South African traders. We provide valuable information on the platforms, analysis and tools as well as pricing for you to base your decision on when choosing the right broker for your trading needs.

 

To trade forex in South Africa, you need to open an account with a regulated broker. Forex is traded over-the-counter through a network of brokers and financial institutions as opposed to a centralised exchange. Forex is a risky instrument to trade. You can minimise the risk by trading through a regulated forex broker who you can trust.

 

Pepperstone overview

 

The Melbourne-based broker was founded in 2010 by a team of highly-experienced traders and has quickly grown to be one of the largest forex trading companies in the world by trading volume. Pepperstone was established by a team of traders who were on a mission to improve speed of executions, offer more competitive pricing and improve customer support through superior technology, low-cost spreads and providing excellent research and educational content on their site.

 

Pepperstone has a strong reputation for reliability and safety. It is regulated by several top-tier authorities, including the FCA UK, ASIC Australia and CySEC Cyprus. Pepperstone is regulated by the CMA in South Africa and accepts South African forex traders.

 

Pepperstone fast facts

Founded

2010

Founded by

Owen Kerr

Joe Davenport

Based in

Melbourne, Australia

Regulation and license

ASIC       Australian Securities and Investment Commission, Australia

FCA        Financial Conduct Authority, United Kingdom

CySEC    Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Cyprus

DFSA      Dubai Financial Services Authority, UAE

CMA      Competition and Markets Authority, Kenya

SCB        Securities Commission of The Bahamas

BaFin     Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, Germany

Does Pepperstone accept forex traders in South Africa?

Yes

Products

Forex

Indices CFDs

Commodity CFDs

Share CFDs

Currency indices CFDs

Note: Cryptocurrency trading is available through CFDs but is not available through trading the underlying asset e.g. buying Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available from any broker’s UK entity nor to UK residents.

 

Pepperstone is best forex broker for

Pepperstone is recommended for beginners, intermediate and advanced forex and CFDs traders who are interested in trading multiple financial assets via the popular MetaTrader platforms or cTrader.

Pepperstone is an excellent broker for copy traders as it offers multiple third-party social copy trading platforms.

Trading platform

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 5

TradingView

cTrader Spotware

Social trading

• Myfxbook
• MetaTrader Signals
• DupliTrade

Trading model

Straight Through Processing (STP) and No Dealing Desk (NDD)

All transactions are 100% automated without a dealing desk. All transactions are immediately processed and settled with no delays, no order rejection and no re-quoting.

Web-based trading platform

Yes

Pepperstone is a MetaTrader broker and offers cTrader suites. Pepperstone also offers TradingView.

MT4 and MT5 is available for desktop and web, cTrader for desktop and web and cAlgo.

Pepperstone traders can use any platform on both accounts; Standard or Razor.

Mobile trading app

Yes

Minimum deposit

Minimum deposit US$200 (R3 100)* on Standard account

* Conversion rate at January 2020

 

Leverage

CMA 400:1

SCB 200:1

CySEC 30:1

BaFIN 30:1

 

Leverage up to 30:1 in ASIC jurisdiction

Leverage up to 30:1 in DFSA jurisdiction

Leverage up to 30:1 in FCA jurisdiction

 

Spreads

Standard account: commission free with average spreads on the EUR/USD are 0.77 pips avarage

Razor account: Average spreads of 0.16 pips on the EUR/USD; comparable to the industry average after including the commission of 0.70 pips to calculate the all-in cost of 0.86 pips on MT5 and cTrader.

Scalping and hedging

Allowed

Razor account is most suited to this type of trading

 

Deposit methods

Bank transfer

Visa and Mastercard

POLi

BPay

PayPal

NeTeller

Skrill

Union Pay

MPESA for Africa

Withdrawal methods

Log into your secure client area and open the Funds tab.

Select the tab named Withdraw Funds where you’ll find all your withdrawal options.

Funds can only be returned to a bank account in the same name (or joint) as your Pepperstone trading account due to third party transaction regulations.

Client base

Approximately 300 000 registered clients (2023)

Average trading volume

12.5 billion USD in trades on average per day

Most recent awards

Awards in 2023

• Best forex broker overall
• Best MetaTrader 4 forex broker
• Best no-commission trading account

Professional Trader Awards 2020

• Best Tailored Professional Trading Conditions
• Best Trading Performance Tools

Professional Trader Awards 2019

• Best Tailored Professional Trading Conditions
• Best Client Relationship Manager Service

Global Forex Awards 2019

• Best Global Forex ECN Broker
• Best Forex Trading Support – Europe

Customer support

Multilingual 24-hour, Monday to Friday

Live phone support operates in several locations on a toll-free number

Live chat available on the Pepperstone mobile app

Trading margined products carry a high level of risk. Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited, CMA Licence No. 128

 

Is Pepperstone safe to use

Pepperstone has been in business for over 10 years and has a reputation for being a reliable, regulation-compliant and safe retail broker for forex and CFDs traders. Pepperstone is licensed and regulated by several top-tier regulatory authorities, including the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia and CySEC in Cyprus.

Pepperstone is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in South Africa and is considered safe to use by forex traders in South Africa.

The Markets in Financial Directive (MiFID) allows the company to operate as a regulated entity throughout the European Union.

 

Deposit insurance

Pepperstone customers are insured against major losses in the unlikely event that the company goes bankrupt. The deposit insurance applies up to a monetary value of 85 000 GBP

Segregation of funds

Pepperstone is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

All client funds are held in segregated client bank accounts at regulated banks.

All retail client money is distributed across major banks and regularly assessed against Pepperstone’s risk criteria.

Negative balance protection

Pepperstone has an automated stop-out policy to protect against negative balances. Pepperstone warns that in a fast-moving market, this stop-out may occur after the account has already incurred a negative balance.

The level at which Pepperstone’s automated stop-out occurs and the policy regarding covering negative balances vary depending on the circumstances and the jurisdiction.

Note: There is no guaranteed negative balance protection outside the UK/Europe.

What does Pepperstone offer it’s clients

 

Leverage

Pepperstone offers leverage up to 400:1 on the Standard and Razor accounts.

Leverage refers to how much of a position a trader can control with funds allocated to it by the broker. A leverage of up to 400:1 means a Pepperstone client can control a position of US$50 000 with only US$100 of his or her own funds.

Competitive spreads and fees

Standard account	Commission-free; has higher spreads instead and is not as competitive as the Razor account – spreads on the EUR/USD are 0.77 pips on average
Razor account	Commission-based pricing structure in addition to spreads; average spreads of 0.16 pips on the EUR/USD – comparable to the industry average after including the commission of 0.70 pips to calculate an all-in cost of 0.86 on MT5, cTrader and TradingView
Active Traders account	Rebates a portion of the spread, depending on your monthly trading volume and the applicable tier

 

Web-based and mobile trading

Pepperstone offers clients three trading platforms: MT4, MT5 and cTrader as well as multiple social copy trading platforms.

The popular electronic trading platforms can be accessed via desktop or a mobile device.

Social copy trading

Pepperstone offers multiple platforms for copy traders. Pepperstone finished Best in Class in the Social Copy Trading category for the fourth consecutive year in 2023.

• cTrader
• DupliTrade
• myFxbook for MetaTrader

Pepperstone app

Pepperstone’s mobile trading app is available in both iOS and Android.

Derivative trading instruments

Pepperstone offers multiple derivative trading instruments with a focus on forex and CFDs.

A derivative is a contract between two or more parties where the value of the underlying asset is agreed upon and settled when the contract is closed. Parties do not take ownership of the financial asset, they merely speculate on price changes.

Spreadbetting

Spreadbetting is only available to Pepperstone clients residing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Pepperstone product portfolio

Forex	60 plus : majors, minors and exotics
Indices	25 diversified instruments that reflect changes in the overall value of the world’s biggest stock markets – from the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia
Shares CFDs	Trade CFDs on the Shares of 900 global companies
Commodity CFDs	Trade gold and silver, as well as coffee, cocoa, cotton, orange juice, sugar, oil, gas and more
Currency index CFDs	USDX; the most traded currency index can be traded with Pepperstone as a CFD with leverage of up to 100:1
Cryptocurrencies	Not available in Africa

Note: Cryptocurrencies are no longer be available to clients of Pepperstone UK as per the new FCA regulation which prohibits investment firms from offering Crypto CFDs to retail clients.

Free demo account

Pepperstone offers beginner forex traders a free Demo account that they can use to hone their trading skills before trading on a live account with real money. The Pepperstone demo account is equipped with a virtual credit of 50 000 Euros. The market prices are real and appear in real time.

There is zero risk trading forex with a demo account because clients only use ‘fake’ money to open positions. Pepperstone clients then progress to a Mini trading account when they feel confident trading with their own money.

Note: Pepperstone Demo accounts expire after 30 days. There is an option for clients with live funded accounts to request non-expiry.

MetaTrader trading platforms

Pepperstone is a MetaTrader broker which means its clients have access to one of the world’s most popular electronic trading platforms. MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) offer virtually all the charting, analysis and indicators a forex broker in South Africa needs, regardless of level of expertise.

MT4 and MT5 are available for desktop, web trading, multi-terminal trading and trading on mobile devices. This includes Android, iPhone and iPad.

cTrader

cTrader is a user-friendly software which is equipped with a multitude of useful functions and tools. cTrader Automate allows traders to test and perfect strategies they themselves have developed.

The main goal of cTrader is to offer both simple tools as well as more complex functions in order to have something for beginners and advanced traders. The advantages of cTrader can be summarized as follows:

• detailed trading analyses for traders
• wide range of indicators to choose from
• detailed order tickets, including base currency value in US dollars or pip distance
• multiple take profit orders can be placed
• variety of helpful learning videos

TradingView

TradingView offers Impressive charting technology and access to economic calendar and news features to keep up with key market moves.

 

Autochartist

The Autochartist tool hides irrelevant market data and highlights those currency pairs, market data and technical indicators that indicate large market movements.

Autochartist is an important tool to identify relevant movements in the markets. It also provides automated notifications as soon as emerging and complete chart patterns such as “triangles, wedges, tops and bottoms“ are recognized.

MAM and PAMM

Pepperstone offers MAM (Multi Account Manager) and PAMM (Percentage Allocation Management Modules) to qualified and experienced fund managers with relevant licenses or industry experience.

MAM and PAMM are available through Pepperstone’s Partners programme.

MAM software allows clients to easily manage hundreds of sub-accounts from one centralised place with virtually no delay in allocation.

PAMM is a form of pooled money forex trading. An investor gets to allocate his or her money in desired proportion to the qualified trader(s)/money manager(s) of his or her choice.

Multiple analysis and trading tools

Pepperstone offers clients a wide choice of market analysis and trading tools.

The most popular are:

• Fundamental analysis
• Technical analysis
• Sentimental analysis
• Forex daily signals
• Support resistance
• Expert Advisors
• Free education series
• Social Trading
• Economic Calendar
• Daily forex news

Algorithmic trading

Pepperstone offers traders algorithmic trading though cTrader which is an advanced algo and technical indicator coding application. cTrader allows traders to create and built algorithmic trading strategies and custom indicators.

Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Pepperstone offers Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting that allows clients to upload and run MT4 Expert Advisors (EAs) and algo bots 24-hours a day without needed to keep a trading terminal running.

The benefits of trading using VPS hosting include minimising the chance of system downtime due to technology and connectivity failures. VPS is also used to create applications for backtesting trading strategies.

Research

Pepperstone provides quality daily market updates and analysis as well as a broad range of social copy trading platforms. Content in video and written format is published on a regular basis, including the Daily Fix and a Chart of the Day series.

Pepperstone offers traders access to AutoChartist which is a popular software provider of automated pattern recognition and trading signals.

Pepperstone also offers Smart Trader Tools, an MT4 add-on with tools such as sentiment indicators, which is available to clients with an account balance of at least AUD 500.

 

Educational resources

Pepperstone produces a great selection of educational videos and webinars. Webinars and training videos offer clients valuable industry tips on trading strategies and market insights. These are designed to improve clients’ trading knowledge and help them hone their trading strategies.

Pepperstone has over 20 free trading guides for traders of different levels of experience.

Pepperstone’s YouTube channel has a huge selection of educational videos covering beginner to advanced themes, including the Master the Trade series.

 

Islamic account

Pepperstone Islamic trading account is offered only in specific Muslim countries and at the sole discretion of the company.

Key features or this account include straight-through processing and average spreads of 1.0-1.13 pips. The account does not pay or receive swaps for religious Muslim traders.

Trading margined products carry a high level of risk. Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited, CMA Licence No. 128

 

Types of Pepperstone accounts

Standard account
Minimum opening balance	AUD$ 200
Minimum lot trading size	0.01
Maximum lots trading size	100
Leverage	400:1 retail and 500:1 professional
Base currencies available	AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EURO, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD and HKD
Scalping	Allowed
Hedging	Allowed
Expert Advisors	Allowed
No dealing desk execution	Yes
Institutional grade spreads	Yes
Average EUR/USD spread	0.6 – 1.2 pips
Commission	$0
Best account for	Beginner forex and CFDs traders

Razor account
Minimum opening balance	AUD$ 200
Minimum lot trading size	0.01
Maximum lots trading size	100
Leverage	Up to 500:1
Base currencies available	AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EURO, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD and HKD
Scalping	Allowed
Hedging	Allowed
Expert Advisors	Allowed
No dealing desk execution	Yes
Institutional grade spreads	Yes
Average EUR/USD spread	0.0 – 0.3 pips
Commission*	From AUD$7 round turn 100k traded
Best account for	Algorithmic traders and scalpers

*Commission may change based on your account, platform and base currency.

Note: For cTrader, the commission rate is determined by the currency you are trading rather than the deposit currency of your account, as is the case with MT4/MT5. The commission rate on cTrader Razor accounts is 7 units of the first quoted currency in the currency you are trading. For example, a one lot trade of NZD/CAD will cost $7NZD in commissions.

In summary

Pepperstone is a well-established online retail forex broker with a solid reputation for being reliable and regulation compliant. In terms of trading volume, Pepperstone is one of the largest forex and CFDs trading companies in the world.

The global forex and CFDs broker is regulated by several top-tier authorities, including the FCA in the UK and ASIC in Australia. Pepperstone accepts forex traders in South Africa and is regulated by the CMA. Overall, Pepperstone is considered safe to use and its customer support is generally very good.

Pepperstone was established by a team of trading experts who were frustrated by delayed executions, expensive prices and poor customer support. They set out to offer the forex trading world superior technology, low-cost spreads and a genuine commitment to help new traders master their trading strategy.

Pepperstone has achieved their goals, more so through the Razor account than the Standard account. When combined with the Active Trader programme for high-volume traders, the Razor account offers excellent pricing. The Standard account is commission-free but its spreads are higher in comparison to competing brokers.

Forex tradinng africa dislcaimer

Trading foreign currencies on margin carries a high level of risk and it may not be suitable for all traders and investors. Forex is a highly leveraged financial instrument and these high risk stakes can result in you losing a substantial amount of money. Consider your appetite for risk before trading forex using real money on a live account.