About This Review
Brokers were selected for Kuwaiti traders based on regulation, swap-free account terms, trading costs, minimum deposits, platforms, Arabic support, and tax considerations.
Commercial Disclosure: DailyForex may earn commissions from links on this page, but brokers cannot pay to improve their rankings. We have independently reviewed Forex brokers since 2008.
Important Risk Warning
Between 70% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Kuwait sets no local leverage cap, so the account limit comes from the foreign entity that licenses it.
Best Kuwait Forex Brokers Ranked
Kuwait Broker Comparison
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Regulators | BdL, CBB, CBRA, CFS, CMA (U.A.E.), CySEC, FCA, FRA, FSC Mauritius, FSCA, JSC, SFSA, VFSC | CMA (Kenya), FCA, FSC Mauritius, FSCA, SCA | CMA (Kenya), CMA (U.A.E.), CySEC, DFSA, FSA, FSC Belize, FSCA | ASIC, CMA (Kenya), CySEC, FSCA | ASIC, CFTC, CySEC, DFSA, EFSA, FCA, FMA, FSA, FSCA, JFSA, MAS, NFA, SCA |
Year Established | 1998 | 2011 | 2009 | 2005 | 2008 |
Execution Type(s) | ECN/STP, Market Maker | ECN/STP, Market Maker | Market Maker | ECN/STP | Market Maker |
Minimum Deposit | |||||
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD | 0.4 pips ($4.00) | 0.1 pips | 0.1 pips | 1.2 pips | 1.1 pips |
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD | 0.4 pips ($4.00) | 0.2 pips | 0.2 pips | 1.4 pips | 1.4 pips |
Average Trading Cost Gold | $0.12 | $0.18 | $0.19 | $0.16 | - |
Trading Platform(s) | Other, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform, Trading View+ | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Proprietary platform | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Proprietary platform, Web-based | Proprietary platform, Web-based |
Islamic Account | |||||
Negative Balance Protection | N/A | N/A | |||
| Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Get Started Visit Website80% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
CFI
In Summary Well-regulated long-established low spread brokerCFI is the top-ranking broker on this list and the best broker for traders in Kuwait. It onboards Kuwaiti clients through CFI International Ltd, regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, and holds a Kuwaiti commercial license with an office in Kuwait City. Traders can request swap-free status on the Zero Commission and Dynamic Trader accounts. No free period or published replacement fee applies, as CFI ties swap-free status to a daily volume requirement of ten round lots for every lot held overnight in the same asset. The maximum leverage is 1:500.
The Zero Commission account offers commission-free EUR/USD trading between 0.4 and 1.1 pips, while Dynamic Trader features raw spreads from 0.0 pips for an unpublished volume-based commission. CFI maintains MT5, TradingView, the CFI app, and CFI Social Trading. Kuwaiti clients can fund through KNET or a wire in Kuwaiti Dinars, and customer support is available 24/7. CFI is ideal for active traders who want swap-free trading without a time limit.
Pros & Cons
- Kuwaiti commercial license & an office in Kuwait City
- KNET deposits & withdrawals in Kuwaiti Dinars
- Swap-free with no expiry while the volume requirement is met
- Swap-free ends without notice if daily volume falls short
- No negative balance protection under the Mauritius entity
FXTM
In Summary Strong all-around broker with high floating leverage and fast executionTraders can switch to swap-free status through the FXTM client portal, which enables a three-day swap-free period in Forex majors, minors, and spot metals, and seven days for the top five indices. After that, FXTM imposes a daily fee of $5.00 on some of the major pairs and $15.00 on EUR/USD. Clients who reach Gold status in the FXTM rewards program extend their Forex and metals allowance to seven days.
Edge accounts require a $50 deposit, with $200 for Advantage, Advantage Plus, and Advantage Stocks. Advantage provides raw spreads from 0.0 pips for a commission of $0.80 to $4.00 per 1.0 standard lot, and Advantage Plus has commission-free spreads from 1.5 pips. FXTM features MT4/MT5 and the FXTM Trader app, with 24/5 Arabic support. FXTM Invest offers copy trading, and strategy managers are paid only when there is a profit.
Pros & Cons
- Swap-free is available on every FXTM account type
- Swap-free fees are in USD per lot, per instrument
- Arabic website, platform, and support, 24 hours a day
- Swap-free lasts three days on Forex before a daily fee applies
- The seven-day allowance requires reaching Gold in the rewards program
XM
In Summary Exception range of assets + negative balance protectionXM provides swap-free trading as a standard feature across all account types. It offers swap-free trading to clients for religious reasons that prevent them from using swaps and may require evidence of this need. XM states that it charges no administration fee to replace the removed swap and imposes no limit on how long a position can remain open. If one account is converted to swap-free, then all of the client’s other live accounts are also converted. Swap-free trading without a replacement fee makes XM one of the best Forex brokers in Kuwait.
The minimum deposit is $5, and on the Ultra Low account, commission-free EUR/USD trading starts at 0.8 pips. Traders can use MT4/MT5, XM WebTrader, and the XM app, which features copy trading. The asset selection includes 1,400+ instruments across Forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, indices, and equity CFDs. Live chat and telephone support are provided 24/7 in both English and Arabic.
Pros & Cons
- Swap-free is offered as standard across XM’s account types
- Terms and conditions name no fee that replaces the removed swap
- Live chat and phone 24/7, in English and Arabic
- Requesting swap-free converts every account you hold
- XM can revoke swap-free status without explanation
FP Markets
In Summary ECN trading with leverage up to 1:500FP Markets runs a dedicated Kuwait page, and Kuwaiti traders open accounts with the entity regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles. Swap-free status applies to the Standard and Raw accounts, and traders can request it by email from the registered address. It covers selected instruments for five nights before FP Markets levies an administration fee, but it absorbs the fee on triple swap nights instead of charging at a triple rate.
Both accounts require a minimum deposit of $100. The Raw account offers raw spreads from 0.0 pips for a commission of $6.00 per 1.0 standard lot, while the Standard account is commission-free with spreads from 1.0 pip. FP Markets offers MT4/MT5 and cTrader. The MT4 and MT5 range covers 250+ instruments, including 70+ currency pairs, indices, commodities, shares, and cryptocurrencies.
Pros & Cons
- Swap-free status on both the Standard and Raw accounts
- Five nights free of administration fees on selected instruments
- Raw spreads from 0.0 pips, with a $100 minimum deposit
- Swap-free status applies to listed symbols only, with swaps elsewhere
- Conversion requires an email request & possibly proof of faith
Plus500
In Summary A world renowned CFD broker in more than 60 countries.Plus500 onboards Kuwaiti Forex traders from its FSA-regulated Seychelles entity. Traders can request swap-free status, which Plus500 grants at its own discretion. An administration fee begins after a grace period, and Plus500 publishes it as a daily charge by position size, from $2 on positions up to $1,000 to $30 above $500,000. The maximum Forex leverage is 1:300.
Trading starts from 50 KWD, and Plus500 accepts credit/debit cards, PayPal, Skrill, or bank transfer, while covering most processing fees. Trading is commission-free, with minimum spreads on EUR/USD from 0.6 pips or $6.00 per 1.0 standard lot. A currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% on realized profit and loss may apply. Traders use Plus500’s own web platform and mobile apps. Support is available 24 hours a day through chat and WhatsApp, with Arabic among its languages. Plus500 is ideal for traders who want sentiment-driven data from +Insights and solid trading tools.
Pros & Cons
- Negative balance protection
- A published daily swap-free fee, from $2 to $30 by position size
- A demo account with no time limit
- Swap-free status and its grace period rest on Plus500’s discretion
- A currency conversion charge of up to 0.7% on realized profit and loss
The Legal Position in Kuwait
CMA Circular No. (06) of 2021 states that the Authority does not regulate brokerage in foreign exchange, metals, or commodities, so Kuwaiti residents trade with brokers licensed overseas. The same circular places derivatives brokerage inside Kuwait under Law No. 7 of 2010, so the disclaimer is narrower than it appears.
Forex Trading in Kuwait: 5 Quick Questions
Which Broker Is Right for You?
Your Situation | Best Broker |
You want the swap removed with nothing charged in its place | XM, whose published terms name no substitute fee and no time limit |
You want the swap-free charge published before you trade | FXTM, which lists the daily fee in USD per lot for each instrument |
You want a Gulf regulator behind your account | AvaTrade, which onboards Kuwaiti clients through its ADGM entity |
You hold positions for several weeks at a time | Pepperstone, which charges $100 per standard lot per five-day stretch |
You want the charge waived on triple swap nights | FP Markets, which absorbs the administration fee on those nights |
You want to start with the smallest possible deposit | XM from $5, or Pepperstone with no minimum and $200 recommended |
You want to deposit and withdraw in Kuwaiti Dinars | CFI, which accepts KNET and Dinar wires in both directions |
You want losses capped at the money in your account | Plus500, which provides negative balance protection |
Is Forex Trading Legal in Kuwait?
The Kuwait Capital Markets Authority regulates securities activity and Boursa Kuwait under Law No. 7 of 2010 and, in Circular No. (06) of 2021 concerning financial derivatives transactions, the Authority states that it does not have the power to regulate brokerage in foreign exchange, metals, or commodities. That circular also requires companies whose objects include brokerage in financial derivatives or the promotion of derivatives trading services to bring their situation into line with Law No. 7 of 2010, and it restricts the Authority’s control to derivatives which are issued or traded within Kuwait; trades outside this scope are subject to the law of the country in which the broker is licensed.
The Central Bank of Kuwait oversees local banks and exchange companies licensed to buy and sell currencies, attend to travelers’ cheques and drafts, and deal in precious metals. On 13 September 2011, the Central Bank handed over supervision of investment companies to the CMA. Since neither authority grants licenses to retail Forex brokers, no broker holds a Kuwaiti Forex license, and none can claim to have one.
Check the Offshore Entity
Kuwaiti Forex traders can legally trade with offshore Forex brokers, but protections depend on the offshore broker’s jurisdiction and its foreign regulator. The CMA publishes a register of licensed entities and a separate list of unlicensed entities on cma.gov.kw.
Which Entity Holds These Brokers’ Kuwaiti Accounts?
Broker | Entity | Regulator |
CFI | CFI International Ltd | Financial Services Commission, Mauritius |
FXTM | Exinity Limited | Financial Services Commission, Mauritius |
XM | XM Global Limited | Financial Services Commission, Belize |
FP Markets | First Prudential Markets Limited | Financial Services Authority, Seychelles |
Plus500 | Plus500SEY Ltd | Financial Services Authority, Seychelles |
Pepperstone | Pepperstone Markets Limited | Securities Commission of The Bahamas |
AvaTrade | Ava Trade Middle East Ltd | Abu Dhabi Global Market |
Each broker’s group holds additional licenses, including from the FCA, ASIC, CySEC, and the Central Bank of Ireland. Still, those cover other companies within the group and clients in other countries. The relevant license is the one held by the company named in the client agreement.
Kuwait’s Digital Commerce Law
Decree-Law No. 10 of 2026 was published in the official gazette on 1 March 2026 and became effective six months later.
The law consists of 45 articles. It creates a register at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that digital commerce businesses must join, and sets out obligations on consumer protection, invoicing, influencer disclosure, and record-keeping, with fines of up to KWD 10,000. Under Article 44, the Minister has one year from the date of publication to issue implementing regulations, though none have been issued yet.
The law contains no licensing requirements for Forex brokers, and it remains unclear whether it applies to the marketing activities of a foreign broker aimed at Kuwait until those regulations are published.
What Kuwaiti Traders Trade
Because Kuwait’s economy depends on oil, crude oil CFDs, and the energy stocks listed on Boursa Kuwait share the same underlying price. As a result, an investor who holds both positions is essentially concentrating risk rather than diversifying it. This is an important consideration when determining how large his positions should be.
Gold is also important for a second reason since, as a metal, it is one of those covered in the swap-free arrangements discussed on this page: AvaTrade’s Islamic accounts include both gold and silver, FP Markets combines its spot metals with Forex within the five-night limit, and Pepperstone’s $100 administration fee extends to both Forex and precious metals.
None of the brokers on this page provide Kuwaiti shares. A trader based in Kuwait must use a domestic broker licensed by the CMA to access the local market.
Leverage for Kuwaiti Traders
Kuwait sets no leverage cap. As a result, Kuwaiti Forex traders who open accounts with a Belize, Bahamas, or Seychelles Forex broker can get higher leverage than an ADGM or Tier-1 Forex broker offers.
Islamic (Swap-Free) Accounts
A swap fee, or rollover interest, is imposed each time a position stays open past the daily rollover time; it represents the interest rate differential between the two currencies in the pair, and because this interest component is present, brokers offer an account with no swaps. All the brokers featured on this page offer such an account; the differences lie in the swap substitute, the time that must elapse before the charge is applied, and the range of instruments covered by the arrangement.
What Each Broker Charges Instead of Swaps
Broker | Free Period | What Replaces the Swap |
CFI | No day count, a daily volume test instead | Full swaps return when volume falls short |
FXTM | 3 days on Forex and spot metals, 7 on the top five indices | $15.00 per lot daily on EUR/USD, $10.00 on USD/CAD, $5.00 on other majors |
XM | No stated limit | No substitute fee named in its terms |
FP Markets | 5 nights on selected instruments | An administration fee from the sixth night, published in USD per lot per night |
Plus500 | Grace period, length not stated | $2 to $30 daily, by position size |
Pepperstone | Up to 4 days | $100 per standard lot on the fifth day, then every fifth day, on Forex and precious metals |
AvaTrade | 5 days | A daily administration fee, with no figure published, plus an increased spread on FX pairs |
FXTM extends its three days to seven for clients who reach Gold status in its rewards program, which is earned through trading volume. FP Markets absorbs the charge on triple swap nights rather than levying it at a triple rate. Pepperstone sets a different schedule for each entity, and the figure above applies to the Bahamas company that holds a Kuwaiti account.
What Assets Are Not Covered by Each Broker’s Islamic Account
AvaTrade does not include cryptocurrencies in its Islamic accounts, along with the ZAR, TRY, RUB, and MXN currency pairs, and to trade cryptocurrencies, customers must give up their Islamic status. FP Markets offers swap-free treatment for a specific list of symbols and imposes normal swap charges on all other symbols. Pepperstone’s Bahamas fee schedule lists only Forex and precious metals, whereas its European and UK branches charge fees for indices, commodities, equities, and crypto.
How to Check What a Swap-Free Account Costs
- The contract specifications page lists the charge per instrument, which is where FXTM and FP Markets list theirs
- The costs and charges document lists it by entity, which is where Pepperstone’s figures differ between its Bahamas, UK, and European companies
- The client agreement sets the conditions attached to the status, and traders should check whether and how the Forex broker can revoke swap-free status
- A financing cost policy can set conditions rather than a fee, which is where CFI states the volume needed to keep swap-free status
- The fees page can band the charge by position size, which is where Plus500 sets its daily administration fee
- When in doubt, traders should request a written answer from customer support that covers what the available data does not provide, such as AvaTrade’s undisclosed fee
Important note: This is not religious guidance. This page reports what each broker’s own documents say about how its swap-free accounts work. Whether a particular account structure meets Sharia requirements is a question for a qualified scholar.
Demo Accounts
Broker | Demo Terms |
CFI | 30 days, reactivated through the dashboard or app |
FXTM | No listed time restriction, deleted after 30 days of inactivity |
XM | No expiry |
FP Markets | Unlimited |
Plus500 | Unlimited, with a resettable virtual balance |
Pepperstone | 60 days |
AvaTrade | 21 days, renewable on request |
Kuwaiti Forex traders can use a demo account to confirm that a swap-free account behaves as the broker’s documents say. Traders should hold a leveraged position past the rollover point and check their account statement. This matters most at Forex brokers like FXTM, Pepperstone, and FP Markets, as the charge starts on a specific night.
The Kuwaiti Dinar
The Kuwaiti Dinar is the world’s highest-valued currency against the US dollar. Following a Council of Ministers decision, the Central Bank of Kuwait has set the Dinar’s exchange rate against a basket of major world currencies since 20 May 2007 rather than the dollar alone, and it does not disclose the basket’s composition.
What the Basket Peg Means for a Trader
Since the Kuwaiti Dinar is pegged to a currency basket, price movements in USD/KWD reflect multiple currencies rather than currencies that track only the US Dollar, like the UAE Dirham and the Saudi Riyal.
When a broker does not offer a KWD-denominated trading account, deposits convert to the account base currency, usually US dollars, and convert back on withdrawal. So, a Kuwaiti Forex trader pays a currency conversion fee twice.
Funding a Kuwaiti Trading Account
KNET is Kuwait’s national electronic payment network and has shaped the country’s banking system since the 1990s. Payments are made in Kuwaiti Dinars using debit cards provided by member banks, and the network also includes merchants that have installed a Kuwaiti payment gateway. As a result, people can pay for things such as utility bills, government services, food delivery, and domestic online shopping, which is why KNET does not operate beyond the border.
Most global brokers do not list KNET as a deposit method, and the few that do hold a Kuwaiti commercial license. Kuwaiti traders fund the other accounts with an international card, an international bank transfer, or an e-wallet such as Skrill or Neteller. Each route converts Kuwaiti Dinar into the account currency on the way in and converts it back on the way out.
What This Means for Funding
KNET works only where the broker holds a Kuwaiti commercial license. Although many Kuwaiti debit cards have a Visa or Mastercard co-badge, it is this international network, not KNET itself, that handles the deposits.
Tax on Forex Profits in Kuwait
Kuwait has no personal income tax. Therefore, trading profits are not taxed at the individual level. No broker listed on this page deducts tax at the source from payments made to Kuwaiti clients, and each provides account statements through its trading platform. While Kuwait taxes corporate income and collects Zakat from Kuwaiti companies that hold shares, these measures do not apply to an individual trading through a personal account.
Expatriate traders in Kuwait must consider a second question: while some nations tax their residents on all income, others tax their citizens regardless of where they reside. How Kuwait handles profit is only part of the story for someone who files a tax return in another country.
Consult a Verified Tax Advisor
This page does not provide tax advice. It presents the general view of Kuwaiti law as it is known in international tax practice; nevertheless, individual cases might vary, and it is therefore recommended that you check with a qualified tax advisor as to how any of this applies to a specific trader.
Checking a Broker Against the CMA Lists
The Capital Markets Authority publishes a register of licensed persons and separate lists of unlicensed local and Gulf entities on cma.gov.kw. Because the CMA does not license Forex brokers, Kuwaiti Forex traders should expect their broker to remain absent from the licensed register. Presence on an unlicensed-entities list is the key signal.
A broker’s footer may state a Kuwaiti business license and a regulatory approval number, which allows commercial operation without bringing Forex activity under the CMA.
The second check is the web address. When researching this page, I found that there are websites which present themselves using the broker’s own voice on addresses which the broker does not own, the addresses combining the broker’s name with a country name or an unrelated word. Traders should verify the registrable domain rather than the page design, since it is very cheap to produce a convincing copy.
Kuwait’s Trading Week and the Forex Week
The Forex market is open from Monday to Friday. At the same time, the Kuwait Stock Exchange is open from Sunday to Thursday, with continuous trading between 09:00 and 13:00 Kuwaiti time, and Friday and Saturday are the Kuwaiti weekend.
Day | What Is Open |
Sunday | Boursa Kuwait trades; the Forex market is closed |
Monday to Thursday | Both Boursa Kuwait and the Forex market trade |
Friday | Kuwaiti weekend; the Forex market trades, including US data releases |
Saturday | Both are closed |
This creates two consequences for a Kuwaiti trader. Sunday is a working day with no Forex market to trade, and Friday is a rest day that carries some of the week’s heaviest movement. Positions left open into the Kuwaiti weekend run through the Friday close, when weekend gap risk begins.
The Weekend Counts Against a Swap-Free Allowance
FXTM, Pepperstone, and FP Markets calculate their free period in days or nights, and the clock keeps ticking even when the market is closed. A position opened on a Thursday and held over the weekend uses part of its free period on days when trading is not possible.
Non-Trading Fees
Broker | Inactivity Fee |
CFI | None published for Kuwait |
FXTM | $10 per month after three months without trading |
XM | $5 per month after 90 days without activity |
FP Markets | No inactivity fee |
Plus500 | Up to $10 per month after three months without a login |
Pepperstone | No inactivity fee |
AvaTrade | $50 after three consecutive months, plus $100 annually after twelve |
Inactivity charges matter more for Kuwait Forex traders, since swap-free accounts usually mean holding positions longer. A dormant account could lose more capital to inactivity fees than to spreads.
Currency conversion is the second non-trading expense. Since none of the brokers listed here offer an account in KD, each deposit and withdrawal requires a currency conversion, and this cost is separate from both spread and commission charges.
Customer Support
Broker | Support for Kuwaiti Clients |
CFI | 24/7 chat, phone and WhatsApp, with an Arabic site and a Kuwait office |
FXTM | Arabic website, platform, and support, 24 hours a day, five days a week |
XM | 24/7 live chat and phone in English and Arabic |
FP Markets | Arabic among its support languages, on chat, phone, email, and WhatsApp |
Plus500 | 24 hours a day on chat and WhatsApp, with Arabic available |
Pepperstone | Arabic support through its UAE-based team |
AvaTrade | Arabic website, with a Kuwait telephone number on its support page |
The entity, not the brand, determines the support hours; XM’s 24-hour chat and phone service belongs to the Belize company with an account in Kuwait, while the European branch lists different hours on the same website.
If Something Goes Wrong
Kuwaiti Forex traders have no domestic remedy, since no Kuwaiti regulatory authority has licensed the broker. The broker initially handles the complaint under its own procedures, and if that does not resolve it, it passes it on to the regulatory organization that licenses the broker.
Broker | Where a Complaint Escalates |
CFI | Ombudsperson for Financial Services, and the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius |
FXTM | Financial Services Commission, Mauritius |
XM | Financial Services Commission, Belize |
FP Markets | Financial Services Authority, Seychelles |
Plus500 | Financial Services Authority, Seychelles |
Pepperstone | Securities Commission of The Bahamas |
AvaTrade | Abu Dhabi Global Market |
These regimes differ in the services they offer. The Abu Dhabi Global Market has a formal complaints procedure and is therefore most similar to Kuwait in terms of distance and legal background. Traders should keep account statements, correspondence, and screenshots from the beginning rather than gathering them once a dispute starts.
What FXTM’s Client Agreement Says About Disputes
Disputes involving Exinity Limited are subject to arbitration in Mauritius, not in Kuwait or at a regional level. Likewise, the agreement provides that segregated client funds can be kept outside Mauritius or transferred to an intermediate broker, where a different legal system applies.
Common Mistakes Kuwaiti Trader Should Avoid
- Reading a group’s Tier-1 licenses as protection for a Kuwaiti account, when the license that applies is the one held by the entity in the client agreement
- Treating swap-free as free, when most brokers here replace the swap with an administration fee
- Comparing swap-free costs without checking which entity’s fee schedule applies, since the same broker can publish more than one
- Expecting every broker to take KNET, when only one on this page does
- Holding crude CFDs alongside Boursa Kuwait energy names and counting it as diversification
Bottom Line
As Kuwaiti authorities do not license retail Forex brokers, traders need to look closely at two mainthings: which foreign entity will hold their account and how the broker structures its swap-free offering. These factors differentiate the seven brokers on this page more clearly than spreads or trading platforms alone.
- CFI, our number one choice, combines the strongest Kuwait-specific offering on this list. It holds a Kuwaiti commercial license, has an office in Kuwait City, supports KNET deposits and withdrawals in Kuwaiti Dinars, and offers swap-free trading with no fixed expiry period or published replacement administration fee, provided its daily trading-volume requirement is met.
- XM removes the swap with no substitute fee named in its terms and no stated holding limit, alongside 24/7 Arabic support.
- FXTM publishes its replacement fee in USD per lot for each instrument, making the cost calculable before a position is held beyond the free period.
- Plus500 publishes its swap-free fee as a daily charge based on position size and provides negative balance protection.
- AvaTrade is the only broker here that onboards Kuwaiti clients through a Gulf-regulated entity.
- Pepperstone has no minimum deposit and documents its administration charge at $100 per standard lot for every five-day period after the initial allowance.
- FP Markets operates a dedicated Kuwait page and absorbs the administration fee on triple-swap nights.
