Where is Forex Trading Allowed, Restricted or Banned?

A discussion of forex trading online can never be complete without reviewing the state of forex trading across the world. Where is forex trading online allowed? What countries have restrictions on forex trading online and where is the trading of forex banned? Here is a short list of countries that fit these three descriptions.

1) Countries where forex trading is allowed

United States
United Kingdom
Italy
Cyprus
Australia
Canada
Japan
Malta
Indonesia
Bulgaria
Switzerland
Romania
Germany
Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe

2) Countries where forex trading is restricted

Forex trading is allowed in these countries, but with restrictions from the central governments. These restrictions border on the amount of money that can be transferred to a broker for trading, how much can be kept in foreign currency in a domiciliary account, and how forex is accessed for trading purposes. These restrictions could also be due to anti-money laundering laws.

China
Nigeria
South Africa
Russia
Ukraine
Egypt

3) Countries where forex trading is banned

Forex trading is banned completely in the following countries:

India – Restrictions on the way Indian citizens are allowed to trade in the Forex markets are being regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
Belgium
North Korea
Malaysia
France
Bosnia Herzegovina
Israel
Countries with strict Sharia laws such as Pakistan

The Best Countries to Trade Forex
The best countries to trade forex are countries which fulfil the following criteria:

Have easy access to the major trading hubs, with ability to open forex trading accounts with brokers in these hubs.
Countries with good internet systems.
Countries with a sound technology backbone which can support the placement of servers and systems required to enhance the forex trading experience.
Countries with easy and unlimited access to any payment system offered by the forex brokers.
Countries that have a solid financial technology presence.
Countries with no restriction on forex trading activity.
Only very few countries can fulfil all the criteria spelt out. However, if a country can fulfil four out of the six listed criteria, it can still be classified as one of the best countries to trade forex.

Conclusion
In conclusion, forex trading online is indeed a complex business which goes beyond simply opening an account, funding it and trading with a click of a few buttons on the computer. A lot of factors come into play. These have to come together to provide the entire environment that can support the forex brokerages, financial technology companies and software providers that deliver access to the market on one hand, and the forex traders who constitute the end-users on the other.

Traders in some countries will find themselves unable to compete at a particular level with traders from well-developed countries due to gaps in technology, payment access and infrastructure. But the situation can be managed as companies that have seen these gaps are creating solutions to fill these needs. For instance, the development of the forex virtual private server technology is allowing traders in technologically-challenged countries to get above the limitations and still trade as if they were in resource-rich countries.

The forex market is undergoing continuous evolution, and as the years go by, it is clear that the state of forex trading in countries will continue to undergo change that will impact the markets.