When you're looking to trade forex, you need to find a good forex broker. This is essential if you're going to profit from any foray into the international currency markets. You may have specific requirements regarding trading or trade tools, and the better you understand your needs as an investor, the easier it will be to choose the right forex broker.

A forex broker is a financial services provider who enables you to buy and sell currency. They're like a go-between that links the trader and the interbank, the global market that makes it possible for you to trade foreign currency.

A good forex broker must be reliable. If possible, you should choose one who is licensed, regulated and based in your country of residence. When searching for a broker, check out different forex brokers ratings online before making your decision to help you get an idea of whether they're trustworthy. Below is a look at some of the forex brokers that require you to operate with a minimum deposit.

Forex Com

Forex Com is easily one of the biggest operators in the forex industry, if not the biggest itself. The operators have a massive amount of assets, so in terms of being well protected, you're safe if there's a major issue in the market that damages trading account. The platform is heavily regulated, which again offers reassurance for users.

To open an account, you must make a minimum deposit of $100. This investment is worth it though. You can work with three different platforms: the industry standard platform, the Metatrader ecosystem; the Advanced Trading platform, which is the proprietary platform; and the web platform. Each option features plenty of technical analysis to help you make decisions. You can also trade using your cell phone.

XM.com

XM.com is another huge forex broker and is also one the most regulated in the world, being under the regulation of several more countries than a lot of brokers. If you're looking to speculate on FX or contracts for difference (CFD) markets for shares, equities and commodities, XM offers these markets. This provides you with the opportunity for diversification and, as a result, to cancel out a significant amount of risk. It's a tremendous way to build and expand your portfolio.

It's possible to open up an account on XM.com without paying a minimum deposit. If, however, you want to fund your account using an electronic method, the minimum is $5. If you want to make the most of leverage, the amount you can request will depend on the asset you're trading, but some pairs will offer as much as 1:500. Note that leverage also increases risk, however.

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FXTM

Cyprus-based broker FXTM has offices in the UK and Mauritius, and is regulated in multiple jurisdictions around the world. They use the Metatrader ecosystem and, because of the heavy regulation they're under, make it possibly for you to trade globally knowing that your funds are well protected.

FXTM is growing fast and is one of the most generous brokers when it comes to leverage. Although it depends on the CFD market, the amount of leverage the broker can offer you is as much as 1:1000 for some currency pairs. If you wish to trade, you can open an account with as low a minimum as $10. This minimum increases to as much as $500, though, if you're looking to trade more professionally.

Hot Forex

Hot Forex originally started life in 2010 in St Vincent and Grenadine, in the Caribbean. The broker has its headquarters in Cyprus and is regulated by several regulators, providing reassurance for investors who wish to use this broker. You can trade via the spot Forex market and CFD markets with this broker. Note that Hot Forex don't take the other side of the trade, but rather pass the trade to third-party liquidity providers.

Hot Forex has been growing rapidly. One of the big reasons for this is its generous leverage offering. Like FXTM, the broker can provide up to 1:1000 on currency pairs. If you like lots of leverage you may well be drawn to this broker, especially if you're a short-term trader, but the opportunity to trade globally will also be appealing to you if you're thinking more long term. It's possible to open an account with this broker for as little as $5.

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The benefits of low deposit minimums

If you're new to the world of forex trading, or even if you're not, low minimum deposits are a real advantage. You can dip your toe in with small amounts, rather than speculate with large amounts and risk large losses. Working with the small amounts enables you to develop and refine your investment strategy and progress towards better returns.

A lot of platforms will even allow you to open an account with a deposit, just so you can learn the ropes. Then once you feel confident enough, you can fund your account and start betting on currencies, which sooner or later you're going to have to do if you wish to make money from your investing.

FX trading is a chance to make a lot of money very quickly within the economic market, which is part of the reason for its popularity. Better still, you may even be able to do this with only minor investments if you get good enough at it. The brokers above allow you to open accounts with only small amounts of money. Why not give one of them a try?