This OANDA review starts with the risk. OANDA is an MAS-licensed provider of leveraged forex and CFDs in Singapore, and its Singapore client agreement says plainly that it does not provide negative balance protection: you are liable for any amount your account goes below zero. OANDA’s Singapore site does not publish the share of clients who lose money. Its UK site states that 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with its UK entity, as at November 2026.
MoneySense’s warning applies in full: with leveraged products you may lose more than you originally invested. OANDA’s own Singapore site adds: “Leverage trading is high risk. Losses can exceed deposits.” This is a factual review of what OANDA offers and charges. It is not a suggestion to open an account or to trade.
What OANDA Offers in Singapore
OANDA Asia Pacific offers CFDs on forex, indices, shares, precious metals, commodities, cryptocurrencies and bonds. You trade on OANDA’s own web and mobile platforms, MetaTrader 4 or 5, TradingView or its API.
Retail clients get leverage of up to 20:1, and OANDA says MAS sets the retail margin rates. Accredited investors can get up to 50:1. Our explainer on what forex trading is shows what 20:1 does to a deposit.
OANDA Review: MAS Licence and Client Terms
The MAS Financial Institutions Directory lists OANDA Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. as a Capital Markets Services licensee for dealing in over-the-counter derivatives contracts. It is also an exempt financial adviser for advising on, and issuing analyses of, over-the-counter derivatives.
Money held with a forex or CFD provider is not covered by SDIC deposit insurance.
Margin close-out and negative balances
OANDA’s customer agreement, effective 15 August 2025, sets the margin requirement at 50% of the margin needed to open your positions. If your available funds fall below that, OANDA closes positions at the market price “at the earliest possible time”, and it does not need to give you notice first.
The same agreement states: “We do not provide our clients with negative balance protection.” All clients are liable for all negative balances, which are immediately due and payable.
OANDA Fees and Spreads (as at November 2026)
All figures are from OANDA Asia Pacific’s charges, financing and pricing pages.
| Item | OANDA Singapore charge |
|---|---|
| Standard pricing | Variable spread only, no commission |
| Core pricing | Spreads from 0.0 pips plus S$4.40 per 100,000 units each way (SGD account) or US$3 (USD account) |
| Forex overnight financing | Tom-next rate plus an admin fee of 0.75% a year for most pairs (2% for some exotic pairs, 4% for TRY pairs) |
| Gold and silver financing | Tom-next rate plus 0.75% a year |
| Index and share CFD financing | Reference interest rate plus 2.5% a year |
| US and UK share CFDs: commission | 0.06% of position value each way |
| Currency conversion of profit and loss | 1.0% mark-up on the mid price (v20 accounts) |
| Deposits | No OANDA fee; PayNow is free |
| Withdrawals | SGD back to SGD free; other currencies US$20 for the first each month, US$35 after |
| Inactivity fee | Up to S$20 a month after 12 months without trading, unless a position is open |
Withdrawal fees can add up for anyone funding in foreign currency. Two US dollar withdrawals in the same month would cost US$20 and then US$35, or US$55 in total. Keeping deposits and withdrawals in Singapore dollars avoids that charge, though currency conversion of profits and losses still applies.
OANDA also publishes a historical spreads page. Check it to see how far spreads have moved from the minimum figures at different times of day.
OANDA runs welcome and referral offers. They change and we do not quote them.
The short version: OANDA publishes its financing formula and fees clearly. The two numbers to remember are 20:1 leverage and no negative balance protection.
Worked Example: A Euro Position With US$550 of Margin
Our illustration: you buy 10,000 euros against the US dollar at an exchange rate of 1.1000 on a Core pricing account in Singapore dollars. The position is worth US$11,000, and at 20:1 you put up US$550. Rates are assumptions for illustration.
- Commission: 10,000 units is a tenth of 100,000, so about S$0.44 each way, under S$1 for the round trip.
- Financing admin fee: 0.75% a year of US$11,000 is about US$82.50 a year, or nearly US$7 a month, before the interest rate gap between the two currencies, which can add or subtract.
- Conversion: profit or loss in US dollars is converted to your Singapore dollar account with a 1.0% mark-up. On a US$300 loss, that is about US$3 more.
Now the risk. The 50% close-out level means that with only US$550 in the account, OANDA would start closing the position once your funds fell to about US$275. That happens after a 2.5% move against you, about 275 pips. If the market gaps past that point, you can lose the full US$550 and owe more.
Who OANDA Does Not Suit
- Anyone saving for a goal or for retirement. Currency trading does not produce income, and leverage magnifies losses.
- Beginners, and anyone relying on “signals” or a mentor’s trades.
- Anyone who cannot watch positions overnight, since currency markets keep trading while Singapore sleeps.
- Anyone who could not pay a negative balance after a sudden market move.
We review IG and CMC Markets on the same factual basis and do not rank them. If you want to invest rather than trade, start with our investment platforms compared guide and our explainer on CFDs vs stocks.
What To Do Next
- Look up OANDA Asia Pacific in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
- Read the customer agreement’s sections on margin close-out and negative balances in full.
- Check the daily financing rates table on OANDA’s site for any pair you are considering.
- Compare with steady, unleveraged investing using our compound interest calculator.
