Forex Trading in Rwanda

You probably have heard about forex trading. You read and watch videos where people are talking about how you can make money trading forex.

But what exactly is forex trading, and how can you enter the market as a Rwandan trader?

There isn’t much info on how you can start forex trading in Rwanda.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of forex trading in Rwanda and tell you all the details you need to know.

So make sure to stick till the end.

Overview

Rwanda’s economy has rapidly industrialized as a result of active government policies. Since the early 2000s, Rwanda has experienced an economic boom that has improved the living conditions of many Rwandans.

In the last decade, the developing country has experienced consistent GDP growth of 5% year on year. While the Rwandan Franc (RWF) has made significant progress during this period, it is often an underrated currency among forex traders.

Rwanda supports a liberal forex market in which commercial banks are permitted to purchase foreign currency at predetermined floating rates. This is due in part to Rwanda’s reliance on foreign investments and export trade.

A broker must be approved by the National Bank of Rwanda and register with the Rwanda Forex Bureau Association Information System (RFBAIS) to trade RWF. Given Rwanda’s pro-business stance on forex, you can easily find a well-regulated international online forex broker to trade from Rwanda.

Getting started

Rwandans are becoming more interested in forex trading. Over the last five years, the amount of forex traded in Rwanda has increased.

Online technology advancements, increased internet coverage in Rwanda, and increased competition among brokerages have made forex trading more available.

Select a broker: The first thing you must do is choose a forex broker. Before opening an account with a broker that offers forex trading to Rwandans, do your research. We will go through the account opening process in more detail later.

Deposit amount: After you have created an account, you will need to deposit to start trading forex. You can choose your account currency and fund your account in several ways, depending on the broker you choose. Wire transfers, debit cards, and electronic payment services such as PayPal and Skrill are some of these funding options.

Make your first trade: Once your forex broker has received and verified your funds, you can start trading currency pairs.

What do you need to know as a beginner Rwandan trader?

1. Understand the basics

Forex trading involves buying and selling global currencies, and the market is one of the most liquid in the world. Individual traders can compete with large hedge funds and banks in forex trading if the right account is set up.

For instance, when you travel and exchange your Rwandan Franc for any other currency, you are participating in the global foreign exchange market.

In the forex market, currencies are traded in pairs. Since there are two currencies involved in the exchange, the transaction frequently shows the value of one currency compared to the other. The USD/RWF rate, for example, indicates how many Rwandan Francs are needed to buy one US dollar.

As a forex trader, you will come across many forex terminologies, so let’s define them:

Pip

Also known as percentage in point, pip is typically equal to $0.0001, although it would be $0.01 for USD/RWF, representing the smallest movement in a particular exchange rate.

Leverage

Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to invest in a currency. Leverage is a term that is often used in forex trading. Borrowing funds from a broker enables you to trade larger positions in a currency. As a result, leverage increases the returns from fluctuations in the exchange rate of a currency pair.

Bid/ask

The bid price signifies the maximum price you are willing to pay for a currency pair. The ask price indicates the minimum price that you are willing to take for that same currency pair.

Both bid and ask prices are given in real-time and are updated regularly. For example, the bid price for the Euro against the US dollar is 1.2020, which is the price at which a seller wishes to sell the EUR/USD.

Spreads

The difference between the buying and the selling prices is called the spread. Your forex broker will determine this spread. Each broker defines its specific spread on currency pair, and it varies from broker to broker.

Forex lot sizes

A lot is a unit of measurement in a forex transaction.

When you place orders on your trading platform, orders are placed in sizes quoted in lots.

There are three lot sizes in forex:

• Standard Lot – 100,000 units
• Mini Lot – 10,000 units
• Micro Lot – 1,000 units

Understanding the above terms will help you understand what is going on when you see a forex pair rising or declining. If you calculate the difference in pips between two prices, you will see the profit potential available from certain moves.

2. How does the forex market work?

Currency pairs are traded on the forex market. A market price is given to each forex pair. The price mentions how much of the second currency is needed to buy one unit of the first currency.

If the GBP/USD currency pair price is 1.3900, it costs 1.3900 US dollars to buy one British pound.

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five and a half days a week (in some parts of the world, you can trade five and a half days), and currencies are traded globally in forex sessions such as London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney—across almost every time zone.

3. Security

Since the forex market has become more accessible, and you can open an account in a few minutes, you want to ensure that everything goes as planned so that you can trade without any doubt. You must understand that one of your top priorities should be security.

So, before you open a trading account, make sure to check out the broker’s website. If you see anything suspicious, do not open an account with that broker.

4. Payment options

The National Bank of Rwanda is in charge of foreign currency operations. The Bank supervises forex Bureaus to ensure that they comply with laws and regulatory requirements under this mandate.

You can pay with VISA, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, and various other online money transfer services such as MTN and WebMoney.  

Forex trading example in Rwanda

Let’s look at an example of how a Rwandan trader can approach forex trading.

Consider the Rwandan Franc (RWF) against the US Dollar (USD). One US dollar equals 995 Rwandan Francs. If you buy USD 1,000, you will pay 995000 RWF. Assume the value of RW rises in the market. In that case, you would pay less RWF for each USD bought. That means that for every USD sold, you will receive more RWF than you charged. The difference between the RWF charged and the RWF earned is the profit you make.

How to open a forex trading account in Rwanda?

You can open an account by deciding on a licensed forex broker and signing up with that broker. We will talk about Rwandan forex regulations after this section.

The first step is to open an account with a forex broker. To get your account set up, you will need to include a lot of personal information, including the following:

Your name, address, email address, phone number, account currency type, trading account password, and date of birth

You may be wondering why forex brokers need all of this information. The easy answer is to follow the rule. The forex trading environment is relatively unregulated, but in recent years, more regulations have been placed to provide some level of security or assurance to account holders.

It’s unlikely that you’ll find a broker who will open your trading account without these questions being addressed. If you come across one who isn’t asking many questions, you should be careful.

After opening an account, you need to deposit funds to start live trading. You can use any of the payment options we mentioned earlier.

Once the broker has verified your payment, you can start taking your positions. Note that read all the instructions that your broker provides about their regulations, trading platform, and spreads.

If you do not want to open a live trading account, you can also open a demo account. A demo account lets you trade with virtual money. It is really helpful if you want to learn forex and don’t want to trade your money.

Rwandan forex regulations

As mentioned earlier, the National Bank of Rwanda regulated all forex-related activities in the country.

The BNR checks forex bureaus to ensure that they comply with applicable laws and regulations.

The primary operation of forex bureaus is the buying and selling of foreign currencies. In this context, no person or company can transact in foreign currencies unless approved by the National Bank of Rwanda.

Anyone who unlawfully sells or trades national or foreign currency commits a crime and is convicted under the penal code’s provisions.

In addition, the Bank has established a system that works with the global forex market and a regulatory framework that allows for online forex trading. Rwanda will almost certainly maintain its generous forex trading policies, which means that an opportunity for an aspiring retail forex trader exists.

According to BNR,

“Among several other requirements, forex, you are expected to have management information system tools and modern technology equipment.”

The National Bank of Rwanda also revised the minimum capital requirements for forex bureaus upwards from RWF 20 million to RWF 50 million.

How much capital do you need to start trading in Rwanda?

When it comes to opening a forex trading account, most forex brokers have a very low minimum requirement. On average, you can start trading with as little as $10.

In certain cases, forex brokers will also allow you to open a micro or a cent account, allowing you to trade with as little as USD 1.

When it comes to trading, you must follow risk management guidelines. This means that you should adopt the rule of thumb and adhere to the 1% principle.

The one percent risk management theory notes that you can never risk more than one percent of your capital in your trading.

In other words, if you have $100 in your account, you should not risk more than $1 per trade.

Best forex trading platforms for Rwandan traders

The best forex trading platforms for Rwandan you are those provided through forex brokers. The MT4 platform is available at every broker, while some brokers also provide the MetaTrader 5 and cTrader platforms. You can download these platforms through brokerage websites on your desktop, or you can install their apps from Google Play and the Apple store.

What is the best time to trade forex in Rwanda?

The best time to trade forex in Rwanda is between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. when both the London and New York sessions are active, and you overlap. During these trading hours, volatility is at its peak.

While you can trade at any time, the London/New York overlap works best if you do not want to devote full-time to trading.

The best time for trading forex in Rwanda according to four major forex sessions is:

• 11 p.m. – Sydney session
• 3 a.m. – Tokyo session
• 11 a.m. – London session
• 3 p.m. – New York session

If you can trade during the overlapping sessions between Tokyo and London or London and New York, you can take advantage of the most liquid and volatile sessions.

Is forex trading legal in Rwanda?

The National Bank of Rwanda is the main governing body of financial markets. The Bank is in charge of developing policies and enforcing regulations in the financial sector.

There is a common misconception that forex trading is not safe in Rwanda. However, this is not the case.

The country created a regulatory environment that allows online forex trading. Rwanda will likely continue with its liberal forex trading policies.

So, forex trading is legal in Rwanda.

Forex trading strategies for Rwandan you

The key to forex trading success is developing a strong trading strategy, which will be part and parcel of your trading plan. Without these strategies, you’ll end up losing more than earning.

Here are some of the common forex trading strategies you can utilize:

Trend trading

Trend trading is a basic forex strategy that is used by many traders of all levels of experience. Trend trading seeks to generate positive returns by capitalizing on a market’s directional momentum.

Day trading

Day trading is a method for trading financial instruments on the same trading day.

That is, all positions are closed before the end of the trading day.

This may be a single trade or a series of trades in a day.

Scalping

Scalping is a forex approach that describes the process of taking small profits multiple times a day. This is accomplished by repeatedly opening and closing trades during the day. This can be achieved manually or through an algorithm that follows predefined rules on when and where to enter and exit positions. In scalping, traders pick the most liquid forex pairs as spreads are tighter on these pairs and suit this type of strategy.

News trading

If you want to keep up with economic and geopolitical news, news trading might be for you. Following a major economic news release, the approach involves taking advantage of rapid swings in the exchange rates of major currency pairs such as EUR/USD or GBP/USD.

Carry trading

Carry trades include investing in one currency at a lower interest rate, then selling in another currency at a higher-yielding rate. This will eventually result in a favourable trade carry. This strategy is most commonly used in the forex market.

Momentum trading

Momentum strategies consider both price and volume, and you often use visual instruments such as oscillators and candlestick charts.

Swing trading

Swing trading is a strategy that seeks to profit from both range-bound and trending markets. You can enter long and short positions by choosing highs and lows.

FAQ

Is forex trading illegal in Rwanda?

No, trading forex is legal in Rwanda. Although there isn’t any regulatory body for forex trading, the National Bank of Rwanda deals with the capital markets.

How do you get started with forex trading in Rwanda?

You can start trading forex in Rwanda by looking for a broker who meets your trading needs, opening an account, and depositing funds.

How much money do I need to start trading forex?

Some forex brokers will let you begin trading with as little as $1. Others require you to start with $100 and work your way up to $1000. It all depends on how much money you want to invest.

Which African countries are known for forex trading?

• South Africa
• Kenya
• Zimbabwe
• Tanzania
• Swaziland
• Rwanda
• Namibia
• Nigeria

Pros of forex trading in Rwanda

• Since the forex market is one of the largest in the world, there are usually many opportunities for liquidity in trading, particularly in major currencies.
• Short selling in the forex market is much easier than in many other markets, where borrowing assets can expose you to unexpected risks. Currency is bought and sold in pairs, which means that when a trader buys one currency, he or she is selling another. If you think that a currency’s value will fall, you’ll only have to sell one currency to buy another, with no borrowing required.
• Having access to leverage can mean the difference between making small gains and making significant ones. When trading forex, you use this leverage.
• Because of the factors mentioned, there is a real opportunity for fast returns in this market. Returns tend to be higher with forex trading due to the higher leverage opportunities, while other markets require you to wait longer for value growth.
• The forex market is one of the most accessible markets out there, especially for individuals like you. You can set up an account within one to three days and begin trading from just $1. Trading online and 24 hours a day/5 days a week, forex trading can easily fit into any trader’s schedule.

Cons

• When you don’t understand capital exposure and how to measure leverage, you’ll suffer huge losses. Smart traders start trading with as little as 2% of their initial capital and no more. Brokers offering high leverage and excessive margin ratios do not always mean that you should invest.
• Individual traders face a lot of competition, particularly from large financial institutions with highly qualified traders and millions of dollars invested in the best trading software.
• Just because the forex market is open 24 hours, a day does not mean you can trade all day.
• The market moves differently during the day, with just a few peak hours where the moves are big enough to capture.

Bottom line

Forex trading is one of those markets where you must periodically re-evaluate your strategies to meet your targets.

To trade effectively, you must first obtain a forex education. Learn about how forex trading works, making forex trades, successful forex trading times, and risk management.

Trading based on emotion would not profit you as much as trading based on analysis and systematic reasoning.

When you first begin, you can open a forex demo account and practice trading. It will provide you with a solid technical base in the dynamics of making forex trades and assist you in becoming acquainted with a particular trading platform.

It is important to consider the markets and forex trading methods. That way, you can better control your risk, make winning trades, and set yourself up for trading success.

Do not risk more money than you can spare. A strong risk management strategy is to never risk more than 1% or 2% of your trading portfolio.

If you are a beginner looking to get started in the forex market, this guide can help you. If you do not understand anything, reread the guide; you’ll find all the answers here.

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