Zornitsa Stefanova
Zornitsa Stefanova is a Financial Research and Platform Testing Analyst at BestBrokers.com, specialising in hands-on reviews of forex, crypto and stock trading platforms. She evaluates brokerage companies from a user-focused perspective, testing key areas such as account setup, trading conditions, platform usability, available markets and overall reliability.
| Expert Editor 
Matthew Levy, CFA
Matthew Levy, CFA, is a Senior Research Analyst at BestBrokers.com with experience in financial services, securities analysis, portfolio management and trading. His work supports the broker testing process through detailed research, clear financial analysis and a strong understanding of what traders and investors need from reliable online trading platforms. 
| Updated: Brokers operating in compliance with the principles of Sharia finance are difficult to find. To assist Muslim traders in finding a suitable platform, the team at BestBrokers has created a shortlist of trading sites offering Islamic accounts. The ranking below is based on first-hand analysis and research conducted by our in-house team of experts. We evaluated each broker’s swap-free trading conditions, including but not limited to its fee structure, selection of instruments, and supported platform.
Plus500 USThis content applies only to Plus500 US and clients from the United States. Trading futures involves the risk of loss.
eToro52% of retail investor accounts lose money
Fusion Markets74-89% of retail's CFD accounts lose money
FP Markets73.33% of retail investor accounts lose money
BlackBull MarketsTrading leveraged products is risky
Eightcap59.57% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone72.9% of retail investor accounts lose money
FxPro74% of retail investor accounts lose money
VantageTrading leveraged products is risky
AvaTrade57% of retail investor accounts lose money
IC Markets70.64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Tickmill70% of retail investor accounts lose moneyTop 13 Brokers with Islamic Accounts
Fusion Markets is a top-ranking discount broker praised for offering ECN execution, lower-than-average commissions of $2.25 per side (ZERO Account), and spreads from zero or 0.9 pips depending on the account type. Licensed in Vanuatu, Australia, and the Seychelles, the broker offers over 250 financial instruments and two main account types (Classic and Zero).
The swap-free account operates on a spread-only pricing model, with spreads from 1.4 pips for major pairs like EUR/USD, as our tests revealed. The spreads for US500 and XAU/USD average 0.21 pts and 1.93 pips. The account is compatible with the MT4 and MT5 platforms and is available in several base currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, and CAD. We were able to hold leveraged positions open for a grace period of 7 days, during which no administrative fees were charged.
Said fees are instrument-specific, ranging from as little as $1 for indices like CA60 to $500 for XAU/USD. The administrative fees for US500 are $10. Positions in major currency pairs incur administrative fees of $15 for AUD/USD to $120 for USD/CHF and USD/JPY. Our testing revealed that only 50 or so of the most liquid markets are available for swap-free trading. Instruments with higher swap rates make it more difficult for the broker to administer these fees and are, therefore, unavailable to Islamic traders. We also established that all administrative fees are settled at 12:00 AM MetaTrader server time, which translates to 5:00 PM New York time.
Gleneagle Asset Management Limited (ABN 29 103 162 278) trading as Fusion Markets, is the issuer of the Fusion Markets Products described in this communication. Trading in Fusion Markets Products involves the potential for profit as well as the risk of loss which may vastly exceed the amount of your initial deposit and is not suitable for all investors. You should read all of these Financial Product Service Terms, the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the Financial Services Guide (available on our website) carefully, consider your own financial situation, needs and objectives for investing in these Fusion Markets Products and obtain independent financial advice.- 2. FP Markets
Launched in 2005, FP Markets is a broking firm whose operations are overseen by the regulators of Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, and other jurisdictions. Our hands-on testing of the broker revealed competitive conditions for swap-free trading across Standard and Raw accounts. Muslim traders can place orders via MT4, MT5, and cTrader, with average execution speeds under 50 milliseconds.
We found the pricing structure at FP Markets transparent enough as all administrative fees and grace periods are clearly listed. We incurred administrative fees after holding majors like NZD/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/USD for more than 5 nights. Roughly 100 markets are available for swap-free trading across asset classes like forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Trading shares is not an option with Islamic accounts.
We noticed many of the available tickers have no grace periods. For example, we started incurring administrative fees during the first night of holding instruments like ETH/USD, BTC/USD, and XAU/EUR. Fees generally ranged from as little as $1 for LTC/USD to $80 for XNG/USD. Our tests revealed that spreads for EUR/USD, XAU/USD, and US500 averaged 1.29 pips, $0.22, and 0.25 pts, with administrative fees of $6, $50, and $2, respectively.
Another thing we noticed is that when triple swaps applied on Wednesdays or Fridays, we did not incur triple administrative charges as the broker absorbs these costs. We implemented different strategies like scalping, day trading, and swing trading without any restrictions.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.33% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. BlackBull Markets, a forex brokerage founded in New Zealand, is a viable option for traders who cannot engage in interest-bearing transactions due to their religious beliefs. The Islamic account at BlackBull Markets allowed us to participate in the global markets without paying or receiving interest on overnight positions.
We tested the swap-free trading environment using MT4 but the broker also supports MT5 for Islamic accounts. We were able to access over 26,000 markets, including forex and CFDs, and tested strategies like scalping, algorithmic trading, and hedging without any restrictions. However, we counted only 51 markets available for swap-free trading.
We set up an ECN Prime swap-free account where spreads start from 0.0 pips with a $3 commission per side, per standard lot. It enabled us to trade without incurring swap fees over a 5-day grace period. For positions held past this timeframe, we incurred administrative fees of $75 for EUR/USD, $10 for the US500, and $100 for XAU/USD. Administrative fees generally range from $0.5 for oil to $170 for USD/CHF.
As for spreads, we noticed they were floating and averaged 0.1 pips for EUR/USD, 0.12 pts for gold, and 0.6 pts for the US500 index during testing. Islamic accounts at BlackBull Markets are available to customers from 22 countries, including Egypt, Malaysia, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, India, and the UAE.
Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and, therefore, you should not invest money you cannot afford to lose. You should make yourself aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any questions or concerns as to how a loss would affect your lifestyle.- 4. Pepperstone
Pepperstone is a Melbourne-based broker with a global presence extending to over 750,000 customers from 170 countries. During the registration process, we found that swap-free traders can open a Standard spread-only account where spreads for EUR/USD average around 1.2 pips. XAU/USD and US500 have average spreads of $0.23 and 0.4 pts. Our account was connected to MT4, with MT5 and cTrader being the other two options. On that note, it is also worth mentioning that we had to submit a request with Pepperstone’s customer support after verifying our live account to transition to a swap-free status.
Once approved, we had to fund our swap-free account with at least $200, and started our test. What we found was that the number of available instruments was significantly reduced from over 1,400 to around 95 markets, mostly currency pairs and precious metals. Position size ranged from 0.01 to 100 lots. We were able to trade swap-free for a 5-day grace period for open positions.
However, we noticed somewhat of a caveat when holding positions past this period as we incurred fixed administrative fees of $100 on the 6th night. One final point to keep in mind is that Pepperstone limits swap-free account availability to Muslim-majority countries like Turkey, Albania, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Indonesia, Jordan, and Morocco.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 5. eToro
In business since 2007, eToro runs the world’s largest network for social and copy trading. It currently caters to a global community of over 40 million registered users from 75 countries, providing them with a choice from 10,000 tradable markets. When evaluating eToro’s swap-free account, we executed all our test orders using their proprietary platform, which also enables Shariah-compliant copy trading.
One major distinction we noted right away was the significantly higher barrier to entry compared to other brokers. We had to fund our balance with at least $1,000 for the swap-free account, while standard swap-based accounts require a minimum deposit of $50 in most countries.
Our live account evaluation showed that swap-free traders do not incur any additional commissions as all costs are covered by the spreads. We traded major pairs like EUR/USD with average spreads of around 1.1 pips, same as those for XAU/USD and US500. We noticed during testing that holding physical, underlying stocks and ETFs is unavailable with swap-free accounts. All equity orders are executed strictly through CFDs.
We also established during our tests that stock CFDs opened with 1x leverage are exempt from administrative fees. The broker extends a 7-day grace period for swap-free traders. Positions kept open beyond this timeframe incur fixed administrative charges, which we recorded at $10 for EUR/USD, $20 for XAU/USD, and $1 for the US500 index per standard lot.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 50% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 6. AvaTrade
AvaTrade is an online broker with 19 years of experience that services over 400,000 customers worldwide. It has earned licenses from strict financial regulators like CySEC, KNF, and ASIC. We established during our tests that opening a swap-free account at AvaTrade involves three steps, starting with the registration of a spread-only account with spreads of 0.8 pips for EUR/USD, $0.37 for XAU/USD, and 0.5 pts over market for US500.
Once we signed up, we had to submit documents for full account verification to proceed. We also funded the balance with $100 initially, which is the minimum deposit amount. Then we submitted our request for transitioning to a swap-free status to the customer support team. It took approximately 2 business days for the support staff to process our request and activate swap-free trading. We opted to connect our account to MT4, but MT5 is also available to customers.
One thing that caught our attention is that not all markets are available for swap-free trading. Some notable exceptions are forex pairs involving currencies like RUB, MXN, TRY, and ZAR. Another notable difference was how overnight costs were addressed. We were not charged flat administrative fees during testing but rather started paying regular swaps after a grace period of 5 days. This caused us to conclude that AvaTrade is a more practical option for short-term traders.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 57% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 7. Vantage
Established in 2009, Vantage is an STP and ECN broker offering spreads starting 1.4 pips for Standard and 0.0 pips for Raw accounts. Over 1,000 CFD instruments are available, including forex, indices, stocks, bonds, and commodities like gold and silver.
Our testing confirmed they offer a flexible swap-free environment, allowing clients to trade across both Standard ECN and Raw ECN accounts.
We chose to manage our test positions using MT4. During live market conditions, our Standard ECN account yielded average EUR/USD spreads of 1.48 pips with zero commissions. However, their Raw ECN account offers lower spreads averaging 0.08 pips for EUR/USD, paired with a $6 round-turn commission per standard lot. Spreads for XAU/USD and US500 averaged $1.26 and 3.60 pts.
Another thing we observed is that the broker does not charge flat administrative fees. We incurred a 10% internal processing fee on top of the base fees charged by Vantage Markets’ liquidity providers. Onboarding was straightforward, and we were able to choose from several base account currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, and AED.
- 8. Tickmill
With 11 years of market experience, Tickmill is known for offering spreads starting at 1.6 pips or 0.0 pips depending on the account type, commissions of $3 per side (Raw Account), and average execution speed of 0.15 seconds.
Our hands-on tests unveiled that Tickmill enables swap-free trading with spread-only Classic and commission-based Raw accounts. We decided to connect our profile to MT4 during testing, although MT5 is fully compatible as well. We opened a Classic account to ensure consistency with the other tested brokers.
We traded EUR/USD with average spreads of 1.7 pips compared to 0.1 pips for the Raw account, where a $3 commission applies per side, per standard lot. Other popular markets like XAU/USD and US500 delivered average spreads of $0.09 and 0.39 pts during the testing period. When trading currency pairs, we benefited from grace periods ranging from 3 to 6 days. The only exception we noticed was USD/TRY, which started incurring administrative charges from the first night onward.
Once the grace period expires, positions held open past market rollover incur fixed administrative fees instead of standard interest swaps. We recorded these carrying costs at $10 for major pairs, $45 for XAU/USD, and $2 per standard lot for US500. We could comfortably trade over 600 financial instruments with our Classic account, including 47 forex pairs, with our swap-free account.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill Europe Ltd. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 9. IC Markets
Established in 2007, IC Markets is a global forex brokerage catering to over 200,000 active customers worldwide. The multi-regulated broker offers trade execution with an average speed under 40 miliseconds, raw spreads from 0.0 pips, and a selection of over 2,850 financial instruments. MT5, MT4, TradingView, and cTrader are all viable platform options for customers of IC Markets.
When testing the broker, we were able to choose from Raw Spread and Standard accounts for swap-free trading. We opted to connect ours to MT4, although MT5 and cTrader are also compatible with Islamic accounts. We opened a live Standard account where average spreads for EUR/USD stood at approximately 0.86 pips, with zero commissions.
We recorded average spreads for XAU/USD and US500 of $1.08 and 0.36 pts, respectively. Swap-free traders can alternatively open a Raw Spread account where spreads average $0.08 for XAU/USD, 0.06 pips for EUR/USD, and 0.36 pts for US500. Raw Spread accounts incur a $7 round-turn commission when connected to MetaTrader and a $6 round-turn commission with cTrader.
Once we activated our Islamic account and started trading, we noticed that IC Markets grants a 5-day grace period for new positions opened in the swap-free environment. One notable exception are positions in natural gas against the US dollar, where administrative fees start accumulating from the first night. During our assessment, we recorded administrative charges of $9 for EUR/USD, $58 for XAU/USD, and only $4 per standard lot for US500. We could comfortably trade over 90 instruments using base account currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70.64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 10. FxPro
Established in 2006, FxPro is an online broker offering fast NDD order execution to over 11 million registered client accounts. The broker operates under the regulatory purview of CySEC, SCB, FCA, and FSCA. It facilitates trading with over 2,100 financial instruments, including 70 currency pairs, stocks, futures, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.
We had to send an email to their support team at backoffice@fxpro.com to convert our verified account to a swap-free account. One crucial thing to note here is that by doing so, all your accounts are automatically converted to a swap-free status. In our case, we opened a Standard MT4 account where we recorded average spreads of 1.62 pips for EUR/USD, 92 pts for US500, and $34.22 for XAU/USD.
Accounts with raw spreads offer better trading conditions in terms of spreads, but incur a $7 round-turn commission per standard lot in forex and precious metals. The swap-free account enabled us to trade currency pairs, indices, and commodities. We used USD as a base currency, but EUR, AUD, and GBP are also available, among others. We started paying administrative fees of $7.50 for major pairs and XAU/USD after grace periods of 8 and 4 days, respectively. Leveraged positions in indices incur no administrative charges and can be held indefinitely.
Trade Responsibly. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 11. Plus500
Plus500 supports swap-free CFD trading accounts that are compliant with Islamic finance principles, but these are available mostly to customers from Muslim-majority countries like Qatar. The broker operates with licenses from several jurisdictions, including FCA, CySEC, and ASIC. During our evaluation of their trading environment, we noticed that they do not support traditional platforms like MT4 or MT5. All swap-free orders are executed exclusively through their proprietary platform.
When testing the Sharia-compliant account, we observed that the broker grants a standard 7-day grace period without administrative fees. Another important thing to note is that we first opened a regular live account and then requested to transition to a swap-free account.
Positions left open beyond this 7-day timeframe automatically incur fixed administrative fees instead of standard swaps. We discovered that these daily charges fluctuate significantly, starting from $2 and scaling up to $30, but the exact amount depends entirely on total position size.
As for trading costs, we incurred no commissions while testing the broker, as all costs are built into the spreads. We traded EUR/USD with average spreads of 0.8 pips, while spreads for US500 and XAU/USD averaged 0.7 pts and $0.71, respectively.
79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 12. ActivTrades
Launched in 2001, ActivTrades is a multi-licensed broker regulated by the FCA, SCB, CMVM, FSC, and CVM. Swap-free trading is available across MT4, MT5, and the proprietary ActivTrader platform, as we established during our tests. We had to satisfy several conditions to qualify for a swap-free status. The broker typically requests applicants to profess the Muslim faith, bear an Islamic name, and be born in a Muslim-majority country.
As we registered from a non-Muslim country, they asked us to provide a certificate of religious affiliation for confirmation. Once we completed the process, we were able to forward cash indices like the US500 under swap-free conditions. However, we were slightly disappointed by the fact that cryptocurrencies and stocks were unavailable for swap-free trading at ActivTrades. Positions in such assets incur regular swap fees. We benefited from a 5-day grace period for all other asset classes.
At the end of the grace period, we incurred administrative charges of $4 per lot for EUR/USD, $13 per lot for USD/JPY, and $15 per lot for metals like gold. While testing the account, we also noticed there are spread markups of 0.8 pips for forex majors and minors and a 2-pip markup for metals. With that said, unmarked spreads average 0.5 pips for EUR/USD, 0.23 pts for US500 cash indices, and 0.25 pts for spot gold.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. - 13. Axi
Axi is a forex broker regulated in the UK, Australia, and Cyprus. During our testing process, we noted that clients can set up an Islamic account directly or request a transition through the client portal. We conducted our tests on MT4, but swap-free trading is also available on MT5 and the Axi proprietary platform. Note that swap-free accounts on the proprietary software are exclusively offered to clients living in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon, and Turkey.
Muslim customers are exempt from swap fees on positions in major and minor forex pairs, precious metals, cash indices, and select cryptocurrencies. However, we noticed during live testing that stocks are unavailable for swap-free trading.
When assessing the cost structure, we found that Axi implements a variable holding fee that fluctuates depending on the instrument traded. Our test positions benefited from a 5-day grace period without fees. Long and short positions kept open from the 6th day onward incurred administrative fees, even if the trades were fully hedged.
As for account types, we conducted our evaluation with a commission-free Standard Axi account, where spreads for EUR/USD and XAU/USD averaged 0.7 pips and $0.16, respectively. Another option is to set up a Pro account with a $4.50 round-trip commission and lower spreads of 0.0 pips for EUR/USD and $0.09 for XAU/USD. We traded indices commission-free, recording average spreads of 29 pts for the US500.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money when trading in CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Comprehensive Comparison of the Top 11 Forex Brokers with Islamic Accounts
| Forex Broker | Min Deposit | Supported Currencies | Spread | Commission | Administrative Fees | Scalping | Hedging | Platforms | Availability | Trust Pilot Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. FP Markets | $50 (AU$100) | 1.0 pips Standard; 0.0 pips Raw | $0 Standard Account; $6 round turn on Pro Account | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, WebTrader, IRESS, cTrader, TradingView | 4.9 ⭐ | ||||
| 2. Fusion Markets | $0 | AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, JPY, THB, SGD, USD | from 0.9 pips Classic; from 0.0 pips Zero | $0 Classic Account, $4.50 round turn on Zero Account | $50 once every 7 days (may vary depending on currency pair | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, DupliTrade, Fusion+ Copy Trade, TradingView | All supported countries | 4.8 ⭐ |
| 3. IC Markets | $200 | USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, CAD. | 0.8 pips Standard, 0.0 pips Raw Accounts | $0 Standard MT; $6 round turn on Raw cTrader; $7 round turn on Raw MT | $2 - $9 per lot (varies depending on currency pair) | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, ZuluTrade | All supported countries | 4.8 ⭐ |
| 4. AvaTrade | $100 | USD, CHF, EUR, GBP | From 0.9 pips (retail), 0.6 pips (pro) | $0 | Fee charged after holding positions open for over 5 days (amount not specified) | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, WebTrader, AvaTade App, AvaSocial, AvaOptions, DupliTrade | All supported countries | 4.7 ⭐ |
| 5. Vantage | $50 ($10,000 for Pro ECN accounts) | USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, SGD, JPY, CAD, HKD | 1.1 pips on Standard STP Account; 0.0 pips on Raw ECN and Pro ECN Accounts | $3 per side on Raw; $1.50 per side on Pro | varies due to floating charge rates of liquidity providers | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, ProTrader, TradingView, Copy Trading | All supported countries | 4.5 ⭐ |
| 6. Pepperstone | $0 | AUD, EUR, GBP, USD | From 0.0 pips (Razor Accounts), 1 pip (Standard Accounts) | $0 (Standard Account), $7 round-turn (Razor Account) | $100 admin charge for trades held open over 5 days | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView | Albania, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Brunei, Brunei Darussalam, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Mauritania, Maldives, Malaysia, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sierra Leona, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Kosovo. | 4.4 ⭐ |
| 7. eToro | $50 or $100 based on country ($10 for the UK, $1 in the US) | USD | From 1 pip | $1 or $2 (stocks only) | $10 - $20 charged after holding a trade for over 7 days (varies depending on currency pair) | No | Permitted | eToro Investing, eToro App, TradingView, eToro CopyTrader, Proprietary | All supported countries | 4.2 ⭐ |
| 8. Tickmill | $100 | USD, EUR, GBP, PLN, CHF | From 0.0 pips (Raw Account), 1.6 pips (Classic Account) | $0 on Classic Account; $3 per side on Raw Account | $10 per lot after holding a position open for over 3 days (charge may vary depending on currency pair) | Yes | Yes | MT4, MT5, WebTrader, ZuluTrade, TradingView | All supported countries | 4.1 ⭐ |
| 9. Admirals | $100 ($1 for Invest MT5 Account) | EUR, GBP, USD, CHF, BGN, CZK, HRK, HUF, PLN, RON | From 0.0 pips (Invest and Zero Accounts), 0.5 pips (Trade Accounts) | $3 per lot | after holding trade for more than 3 days you are charged $10 on starting day; $7 per lot (EUR/USD) | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, WebTrader, MT Supreme Edition, StereoTrader | All supported countries | 3.8 ⭐ |
| 10. FxPro | $0 | USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CHF, JPY, PLN | 0.0 pips (Raw, Elite), 1.2 pips (Standard) | $0 on Standard Account; $3.5 per side on Raw+ and Elite Accounts | Not specified | Yes | Yes | MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, FxPro Edge (proprietary) | All supported countries | 3.2 ⭐ |
Best Forex Brokers with Islamic Accounts Ranked by Trustpilot Score
| Forex Broker | Trustpilot Reviews | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. FP Markets | 9,422 | 4.9 ⭐ |
| 2. Fusion Markets | 4,873 | 4.8 ⭐ |
| 3. IC Markets | 48,248 | 4.8 ⭐ |
| 4. AvaTrade | 11,076 | 4.7 ⭐ |
| 5. Vantage | 10,604 | 4.5 ⭐ |
| 6. Pepperstone | 3,144 | 4.4 ⭐ |
| 7. eToro | 29,171 | 4.2 ⭐ |
| 8. Tickmill | 1,077 | 4.1 ⭐ |
| 9. Admirals | 2,046 | 3.8 ⭐ |
| 10. FxPro | 751 | 3.2 ⭐ |
What Are Islamic Accounts?
Islamic finance adheres to a set of religious principles known as Sharia law. Sharia prohibits activities like charging or paying interest (riba), gambling (maisir), and engaging in financial transactions like short selling that involve excessive uncertainty (gharar). Riba, maisir, and gharar are all “haram”, or unacceptable, according to Islamic law.
Traders dealing in derivatives like contracts for difference normally earn or pay interest on leveraged positions that remain open overnight. Forex brokers pay or charge swap fees when maintaining client positions past the daily rollover point. The practice could prove problematic for Muslim customers as swaps are a form of usury or interest, according to Sharia principles.
To get around this, many brokers cater to Muslim clients with Islamic accounts that incur no swap fees on overnight positions. Brokers compensate for the absence of interest rates by charging administrative fees and fixed commissions per position held overnight. Sharia-compliant accounts thus enable Muslim customers to engage in trading activities without compromising their religious beliefs. They can access most financial markets with these accounts while observing ethical guidelines and risk management practices.
Costs Associated with Islamic Accounts
Islamic accounts facilitate interest-free trading, but alternative charges are in place to compensate for the absence of swaps. Islamic accounts incur fixed administrative fees on positions held past the market’s daily closing time. In some cases, brokers may also widen their spreads slightly to accommodate the requirements of Islamic finance.
In forex trading, the size of the administrative fees depends on trade volume and the type of the respective currency pair (major, minor, crosses). Administrative fees are permissible because they are a service charge rather than a charge calculated as a percentage of the borrowed capital or the length of the loan (riba). This structural difference is key to maintaining Sharia compliance.
There is usually a grace period of several business days before your overnight positions start incurring administrative fees. Many brokers adjust their administrative charges on certain days to compensate for the increased holding costs during weekends. Holding fees for overnight forex positions triple on Wednesdays, while those for indices triple on Fridays. To put it differently, Wednesday and Friday each count as three days, resulting in three times as high administrative charges.
Traders can also incur additional expenses through the spreads, which represent the difference between ask and bid prices. Commissions per lot per side also apply in some cases. Muslim customers may be subject to monthly dormancy fees if their Islamic accounts remain inactive for one to twelve months, depending on the broker. Islamic traders generally benefit from fee-free deposits, but withdrawals below a certain threshold may attract additional processing fees. Currency conversion charges are also in place whenever traders transact in currencies other than their base account currency.
Market Restrictions with Islamic Accounts
While Islamic accounts offer roughly the same trading conditions as standard accounts, Muslim customers often have access to a more limited selection of tradable markets. Sharia-compliant brokers intentionally remove certain “haram” products from Islamic accounts to remain consistent with the principles of Islamic finance.
Bonds, Futures, and Forward Contracts
Customers usually cannot enter into forwards and futures contracts when trading via swap-free accounts. Such products are highly speculative, involve excessive risk, and there is no ownership of the underlying assets. Many Islamic scholars argue that these traits are contrary to the principles of Sharia finance. The same goes for debt securities like conventional bonds, as they involve profiting from interest, making them largely unavailable to Muslim customers.
Exotic Currency Pairs
Some brokers also impose restrictions on trading certain exotic pairs through Islamic accounts. Exotic currencies of developing economies are associated with steeper central bank interest rates. It would be unprofitable for brokers to offer such currency pairs to swap-free traders.
Spread Betting
Spread betting is another impermissible activity according to Sharia law, as it involves short-term speculation on future price movements without ownership of the underlying assets. The practice resembles gambling (maisir) to a great extent and involves excessive risk (gharar) because one party literally risks money on an uncertain outcome while hoping to profit at the other party’s expense.
Shares of Companies with “Unacceptable” Business Activities
Sharia law also restricts investment in companies whose primary business activities are considered ‘haram’. Examples include shares in banks that charge interest or companies engaging in offering alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pork-related products, and certain types of entertainment. Muslim traders typically use “halal screening” provided by their broker or a third-party service to trade only Sharia-compliant stocks.
Commodity Trading with Islamic Accounts
Engaging in commodity trading is a permissible activity (halal), provided that certain conditions are met. For example, trades involving hard commodities like silver or gold must be backed by physical precious metals to comply with Sharia principles. Transactions must occur on the spot with an immediate transfer of funds from buyer to seller or vice versa.
To elaborate further, Muslim traders authorize their brokers to purchase a specific amount of precious metals and deduct the corresponding sum from their available balance. As with forex trading, Sharia-compliant brokers cannot charge rollover fees on overnight commodity positions. Selling deferred commodities for deferred prices is impermissible in Islamic trading.
Criteria and Application Process for Opening Islamic Accounts
Some brokers generally restrict the availability of swap-free accounts to customers from countries with a predominantly Muslim population. Such is the case with Pepperstone, where swap-free accounts are only available to clients from Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Malaysia, Kuwait, Turkey, and Qatar, among several other regions. We recommend contacting customer support to inquire whether your chosen broker has country restrictions on Islamic accounts.
You must register a live trading account by filling in your personal and residential information in the form. The next step in the application process involves verifying your identity by submitting relevant documentation like photos of a government-issued document, utility bill, bank statement, and credit/debit card (front and back).
Once confirmed, you can add funds to your balance. Only customers with verified and funded accounts are eligible for the application in most cases. Applicants must also provide proof of faith if their identity documents do not expressly state their religious affiliation.
Traders who wish to open a swap-free account with a forex broker must keep in mind that applying for an Islamic account eliminates the eligibility for a standard or professional account with the respective broker. Since swap-free accounts are bound up with a series of specific conditions and fees, there is no possibility of mixing swap-free trading with particular conditions that apply to other trading account types.
Most Sharia-compliant brokers request official letters from mosque leaders (imams) or other religious representatives as proof of faith. Otherwise, everyone would apply for Islamic accounts to get the benefits of interest-free trading.
Muslim customers should allow a couple of business days for the broker’s relevant department to assess their applications. Unfortunately, it should be noted that Muslim traders who reside in countries outside of a broker’s list of swap-free trading eligible regions may not be able to apply for Islamic trading accounts.
Pros and Cons of Trading with Islamic Accounts
Key Pros
- Islamic accounts allow Muslim traders to access the financial markets without compromising their religious principles.
- Islamic accounts do not have swap fees on holding positions after the markets close for the day.
- Muslim traders can hold long-term positions without paying daily interest, potentially reducing their overall trading expenses. Administrative fees are in place instead. These are often less costly than having negative swaps deducted from your balance.
Key Cons
- Wider spreads are one potential drawback associated with trading via Islamic accounts. Brokers often build larger spreads into their bid-ask prices to compensate for the lack of swap fees, which account for a substantial portion of their revenue.
- Some online brokerages charge fixed commissions per trade on top of their spreads, further increasing the trading costs for their customers. We recommend you check this beforehand to avoid unpleasant surprises later on. The brokers featured on this page all have transparent price structures, allowing customers to determine what costs they can anticipate.
- While brokers charge administrative fees in place of negative swaps, Islamic accounts offer no alternative to positive swaps. Muslim customers cannot earn interest on their overnight positions, which puts them at a slight disadvantage despite aligning with their religious beliefs.
- Islamic accounts commonly have a more limited range of financial instruments, resulting in fewer trading opportunities for Muslim customers.