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Pepperstone in South Africa — review, licence and costs
Score (6 of 6 axes scored)
ranked against full-basis brokers
- Reviews25%75
- Round-turn cost20%90
- Safety20%10
- Payouts15%80
- Track record10%80
- Platforms10%70
Numbered by weight: axis 1 counts for most.
Key facts (6 facts)
- Onboarding entity
- Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited
- Founded
- 2010
- Retail leverage
- 400ZA
- Round turn
- 7 USDZA
- Currencies
- 10 base currencies (AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, HKD); no ZAR account - ZAR deposits are converted to USD/EUR.
- Swap-free account
- yes
Licence check
Open an account with PepperstoneThe broker's own website. Not a partner link — we earn nothing from it.
Who actually onboards you
- Entity that onboards South Africa residents
- Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited
- Local standing
- Offshore (CMA Kenya); no FSCA licence and no South African statutory investor-compensation scheme.
- Licence as the register states it
- Serving entity holds CMA (Kenya) Licence No. 128; no FSCA (South Africa) authorisation for local clients.
- Leverage for this entity
- Up to about 1:400 on forex under the CMA entity; not capped by a local SA regulator.
- The firm behind it
- Founded 2010 in Melbourne, Australia; large ECN/STP forex and CFD broker with global offices.
- What we hold against it
- Caveat: served via offshore Kenya CMA entity, not FSCA-licensed, so no local SA investor protection; not on an FSCA warning list at review.
Leverage by entity
The licence belongs to the firm; a leverage figure belongs to one entity. Only the entity that onboards South African residents enters the score.
Scale from 1:10 to 1:3000, logarithmic.
Client protection
- Local entity onboards youOffshore (CMA Kenya); no FSCA licence and no South African statutory investor-compensation scheme.
- Regulator warning on filenone found
— means the broker does not state it in any source we captured. It is not read as “no protection” and it is not scored.
Price against South Africa market median(priced from 80 of 103)
Medians run over the 80 of 103 brokers that publish a price for South Africa, never over the whole base. A spread without its commission is not a price and is not counted.
Accounts
Account types the broker names for this country: Standard (spread-only, no commission), Razor (raw-spread ECN + commission from ~USD 3.50/lot per side), no minimum deposit (USD 200 recommended). The figures below are the broker's own and do not differ by account in any source we captured.
Swap-free account terms
Terms read from the account page on 01.10.2026. The cap on open positions is not published.
Where Pepperstone sits in the South Africa base(103 brokers)
Round-turn cost, USD (80 of 103 priced)
Median 7 USD · range 1-20 · this broker 7 USD · 23 of 103 brokers do not publish it
Minimum deposit, USD (49 of 103 priced)
Median 50 USD · range 0-1000 · this broker 200 USD · 54 of 103 brokers do not publish it
Retail leverage (72 of 103 with a South Africa figure)
Median 1:500 · range 20-5000 · this broker 1:400 · 31 of 103 brokers do not publish it
Withdrawal time published (103 brokers)
Payouts
Identical for every row: Deposit, h 24 · Fee, USD 0 · Min, USD 50.
Deposit and withdrawal methods (6 methods · 0 local rails)
ZAR deposits via bank transfer and Visa/Mastercard (converted), plus Skrill, Neteller and PayPal;
- ZAR deposits via bank transfer
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Skrill
- Neteller
- PayPal
- Account currency
- 10 base currencies (AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, HKD); no ZAR account - ZAR deposits are converted to USD/EUR.
- Fee declared
- 6 of 6 methods
- Withdrawal back to
- the funding method
Where it does not serve(61 countries)
From the client agreement, clause 2.3. A country missing from a translated page is not read as “served”.
Platforms and markets(10 platforms)
- MT4
- MT5
- cTrader
- TradingView
- Pepperstone's proprietary TradingView-powered platform
| Class | Count | Min spread |
|---|---|---|
| MT4 | — | 1 |
| MT5 | — | 1 |
| cTrader | — | 1 |
| TradingView | — | 1 |
| Pepperstone's proprietary TradingView-powered platform | — | 1 |
| Forex pairs | 93 | — |
| Shares | 1162 | — |
| Indices | 26 | — |
| Commodities | 40 | — |
| Crypto | 31 | — |
184 further account types are named by their brokers but publish none of these figures, so they are not in the comparison: IC Markets Raw Spread MT4/MT5, IC Markets Raw Spread cTrader, Eightcap Standard, Eightcap Raw, Fusion Markets Classic account, Pepperstone Standard and 178 more.
Identical for every row: Leverage 400 ZA.
Reviews(1 platform · 25% of the score)
| Snapshot | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| 02.10.2026 | 4.5 | 434 |
Share of reviewers in South Africa: — The platform does not publish it.
Pros and cons(4 for and 3 against, each tied to a figure on this page)
- Withdrawal in 24 h, one of 86 of 103 brokers here that publish a time
- Swap-free account available
- Round-turn cost 90 of 100, its strongest of 6 scored axes
- 5 platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView
- No South Africa authorisation on file: the entity that onboards you is licensed elsewhere
- Min deposit 200 USD, over the South Africa median 50
- Safety 10 of 100, its weakest of 6 scored axes
Alternatives in South Africa(6 of 103 scored in South Africa)
- Round turn, USD
- 7.5ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 200ZA
- Leverage
- 500ZA
- Rank in this country
- #21
- Round turn, USD
- 6ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 0ZA
- Leverage
- 500ZA
- Rank in this country
- #34
- Round turn, USD
- 6ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 200ZA
- Leverage
- 500ZA
- Rank in this country
- #37
- Round turn, USD
- 8ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 100ZA
- Leverage
- 500ZA
- Rank in this country
- #40
- Round turn, USD
- 7ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 100 groupZA
- Leverage
- 500ZA
- Rank in this country
- #45
- Round turn, USD
- 8ZA
- Min deposit, USD
- 300ZA
- Leverage
- 200ZA
- Rank in this country
- #12
"group" marks a figure the broker publishes for the group rather than for this country. It is shown because the broker states it, and it is not ranked, averaged or used to sort.
Methodology(6 axes · formula v1.0)
Score = 2 + 3 × weighted mean of six axes scored 0–100. Range 2.0–5.0. An axis without data drops out and the remaining weights are renormalised; it is never scored zero or estimated. Group-wide figures never enter a South Africa score. Full methodology
| Axis | Weight | What is measured | Pepperstone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 25% | Rating, volume and recency on one public review platform | 75 |
| Round-turn cost | 20% | Round turn on 1 lot EURUSD: spread plus commission, against the country median | 90 |
| Safety | 20% | Local authorisation, the entity that onboards you, any regulator warning | 10 |
| Payouts | 15% | Published withdrawal time, fees and the methods available in the country | 80 |
| Track record | 10% | Years since the firm was founded, from its own filings | 80 |
| Platforms | 10% | Which trading platforms the broker confirms for this country | 70 |
FAQ
- Does Pepperstone accept residents of South Africa?
- No. Offshore (CMA Kenya); no FSCA licence and no South African statutory investor-compensation scheme. Onboarding entity: Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited
- Is Pepperstone licensed to serve clients in South Africa?
- Serving entity holds CMA (Kenya) Licence No. 128; no FSCA (South Africa) authorisation for local clients. Checked on 09.07.2026.
- How much does one round turn cost at Pepperstone?
- About 7.0 USD per standard lot on EUR/USD. The median across brokers measured for South Africa is 7.0 USD.
- What leverage does Pepperstone offer to retail clients in South Africa?
- Up to 1:400. Up to about 1:400 on forex under the CMA entity; not capped by a local SA regulator.
- Which trading platforms does Pepperstone support?
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, Pepperstone's proprietary TradingView-powered platform. Instruments: 1,200+ instruments: 90+ forex pairs, indices, commodities/metals, share CFDs, ETFs and crypto CFDs.
- How can I withdraw money from Pepperstone in South Africa?
- ZAR deposits via bank transfer and Visa/Mastercard (converted), plus Skrill, Neteller and PayPal; no verified ZAR instant-EFT native account at review.
- What account types does Pepperstone offer?
- Standard (spread-only, no commission) and Razor (raw-spread ECN + commission from ~USD 3.50/lot per side); no minimum deposit (USD 200 recommended).
- Does Pepperstone offer a swap-free (Islamic) account?
- Yes. Pepperstone offers a swap-free (Islamic) account to South Africa residents.
Taxes for a South African resident(1 rule)
- SARS taxes residents on worldwide income.https://fxscouts.co.za/broker/pepperstone
Not tax advice. Check with SARS.