Rakuten Trade Malaysia Review 2026: Fees, App, and Who It Actually Suits

Rakuten Trade describes itself as Malaysia's first completely online equities broker. It is a joint venture with Kenanga Investment Bank, and it offers Bursa, US and Hong Kong trading from one account.

This review covers the brokerage scale as Rakuten Trade publishes it, the other fees on Bursa trades, the platform, and who it may suit.

Last updated 17 October 2026 · money.com.my Editorial

What Rakuten Trade Is#

Rakuten Trade says it is the result of a joint venture between Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad and Rakuten Securities, Inc., part of Rakuten Group, and that it opened on 19 May 2017 as the country's first digital equity broker (its About page, read 17 October 2026).

It states that it holds a restricted Capital Markets Services Licence from the Securities Commission Malaysia to deal in listed securities and provide investment advice. We could not read Bursa Malaysia's own pages (they sit behind a Cloudflare check), so its Participating Organisation status was not re-checked (HELD).

Markets available: Bursa Malaysia, the US (NYSE and NASDAQ) and Hong Kong. Its Bursa fee page covers shares, REITs, ETFs, rights, warrants and structured warrants. Foreign market trading is a Cash Upfront account feature you opt in to.

Fee Structure in Full#

Brokerage: a four-step scale#

Rakuten Trade's fees page (read 17 October 2026) publishes this brokerage scale for Bursa trades:

For the US market it shows 0.1% of trading value with a USD0.88 minimum and USD25.00 maximum, and for Hong Kong 0.1% with a HKD35 minimum. The same page notes an additional 0.01% levy on Bursa trades above RM1 million, an 8% SST on brokerage for REITs, ETFs, rights, warrants and structured warrants from 1 October 2025, and amalgamation of same-day Bursa and US orders.

Its pages also advertise RM0 brokerage on your first Bursa trade plus a RM10 rebate for new sign-ups. Those offers carry T&Cs, so check them on the site.

Other fees on Bursa trades#

The clearing fee and stamp duty are set by Bursa and the government, so they apply whichever broker you use. From 1 October 2025 an 8% SST also applies to clearing fees on REITs, ETFs, rights, warrants and structured warrants.

What you pay in practice: examples#

Using the published scale and the 0.03% clearing fee (before SST; we round stamp duty up to the next RM1,000, as moomoo and Webull word their stamp duty lines):

RM500 buy, RM550 sell:

• Each leg: brokerage RM2.88, because RM100.01 to RM9,999.99 falls in the RM2.88 band
• Buy: clearing RM0.15, stamp duty RM1.00
• Sell: clearing RM0.17 (0.03% of RM550 = RM0.165), stamp duty RM1.00
• Round trip: about RM8.08

RM5,000 buy, RM5,500 sell:

• Each leg: brokerage RM2.88
• Buy: clearing RM1.50, stamp duty RM5.00
• Sell: clearing RM1.65, stamp duty RM6.00 (RM5,500 is RM5 plus a fractional part)
• Round trip: about RM19.91

RM20,000 buy: brokerage 0.1% is RM20.00, clearing RM6.00, stamp duty RM20.00, so RM46.00 for that leg.

These are our own calculations from the published scale. Check the fees page for the live scale, because the old "free on the first RM1,000 a month" structure this guide used to describe does not appear on the page we read.

Platform#

Mobile app (iOS and Android)#

Rakuten Trade's mobile app is iSPEED.my, which it describes as the localised version of Rakuten Securities' Japanese app. Features it lists:

• Watchlist and portfolio view — straightforward, works well
• Order types — the site lists day orders, good-till-date orders and stop market and stop limit orders in its FAQs
• Market data — the iSPEED.my app gives free access to indices and stock prices, and Rakuten Trade says clients get real-time price feeds with no extra charge. We did not verify how this applies to each market.
• Notifications — price alerts, trade confirmations, corporate action alerts
• Learning content — the site lists video tutorials

We found no paper-trading feature described on Rakuten Trade's site (not verified inside the app).

Web platform#

A full web trading platform is available at the Rakuten Trade website. The web platform is functional for investors who prefer desktop — it offers similar order entry capabilities to the mobile app, with larger charting windows.

Research and analysis tools#

Rakuten Trade says it has in-house licensed research and equity sales teams, and its site carries research reports. We did not verify whether Kenanga IB research is included in the account.

Rakuten Trade also publishes market reports, research reports, investment idea videos and learning pages on its site.

Account Opening#

The process is fully digital:

1. Download the Rakuten Trade app (iSPEED.my) and register
2. Have your NRIC or passport ready, as the site requires
3. Complete any identity verification the app asks for
4. Fill in the employment and financial background questions
5. Sign the CDS account opening form digitally
6. Receive an approval notification

Rakuten Trade says the form takes under 8 minutes and approval comes within an hour. The steps above are a general description that we did not verify screen by screen.

Funding: its services page says online bank transfers (up to RM200,000) are reflected in real time, and that available Ringgit funds earn 1.25% per annum in a Cash Upfront account. A minimum opening deposit is not stated on the pages we read (HELD).

Regulation and Safety#

• Licensed by: Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia, restricted Capital Markets Services Licence (per Rakuten Trade's About page)
• Bursa status: not re-checked, because Bursa's site was blocked to us (HELD)
• Client money: its accounts page says Cash Upfront balances beyond trades are placed in a Trust account held by Kenanga Investment Bank
• Joint venture partner: Kenanga Investment Bank

What Rakuten Trade Does Not Offer#

• Singapore Exchange — its pages list Bursa, US and Hong Kong only.
• EPF Members Investment Scheme (EPF-MIS) — we found no mention of it on Rakuten Trade's site (not verified against EPF, HELD).
• Unit trusts or managed funds — this is a stockbroking platform.
• Margin — it does offer RakuMargin (5.5% p.a. on the outstanding balance, with a 0.5% rollover fee every 3 months, per its fees page) and Contra accounts. Read the terms and confirm current rates before using either.

Fee Comparison Table#

Brokerage only, read from Rakuten Trade's fees page and moomoo's Malaysia help centre on 17 October 2026. Clearing fee, stamp duty and SST apply at all brokers where relevant. Brokers' promotions change.

Who This Suits#

Rakuten Trade may suit:

• Small Bursa trades. Under the published scale a trade of RM100.01 to RM9,999.99 costs a flat RM2.88 in brokerage, so brokerage is a small share of a mid-sized order.
• Investors who want Bursa, US and Hong Kong in one account and are happy to opt in to foreign market trading.
• Investors who value an in-house research and learning library, if that is what they use.

Who Should Look Elsewhere#

• Investors who trade in the RM10,000 to RM99,999.99 band often. The scale moves to 0.1% there (RM10 on RM10,000, RM100 on RM100,000), so compare against moomoo's 0.03% plus RM3 per order. At RM20,000, Rakuten's brokerage is RM20.00 against moomoo's RM9.00 (0.03% = RM6.00 plus RM3), before any promotion or SST.

• Anyone who needs EPF investing. Check EPF's approved list; we found no EPF-MIS feature on Rakuten Trade's site.

Bottom Line#

Rakuten Trade's published Bursa brokerage is a stepped scale, cheapest for small and very large trades and 0.1% in between. It also now covers US and Hong Kong markets, which this guide previously said it did not. Compare the live fees page with moomoo's before you pick, and read the first-trade promotion's terms.

Related Guides#

• Best Online Stockbrokers in Malaysia 2026
• moomoo Malaysia Review 2026
• Tiger Brokers Malaysia Review 2026
• How to Invest in Bursa Malaysia Stocks
• How to Start Investing in Malaysia

Amendment, 17 October 2026. We re-read Rakuten Trade's fees, About, accounts, services and open-an-account pages and saved them in docs/verification-log/evidence-batch-a-oct17. Corrected: the "0% brokerage on the first RM1,000 of purchases a month, then 0.10% with an RM8 minimum" structure does not appear on the fees page; the published Bursa scale is RM1.00 (to RM100), RM2.88 (RM100.01 to RM9,999.99), 0.1% (RM10,000 to RM99,999.99) and RM100 (above RM100,000). The guide said Rakuten Trade offers no US or Hong Kong stocks; its pages say it does (US brokerage 0.1%, min USD0.88, max USD25; Hong Kong 0.1%, min HKD35). Stamp duty is capped at RM1,000 for shares (RM200 for rights, warrants and REITs; ETFs exempt until 31 December 2028), not RM200 for all. The "debit ledger fee RM0.10", "RM10/month real-time data" and "15-minute delayed quotes" claims are removed because the pages do not state them. Account opening is under 8 minutes with approval within an hour (was 10 to 20 minutes and 1 to 3 days). The worked examples and who-it-suits sections were recalculated. Confirmed: clearing fee 0.03% (max RM1,000), joint venture with Kenanga and Rakuten Securities, SC licence (restricted CMSL), RakuMargin 5.5% p.a. Held: Participating Organisation status (Bursa site blocked), EPF-MIS, minimum deposit, Tiger, Kenanga and Maybank IB rates.

Amendment, 17 October 2026 (follow-up, evidence batch I). We re-fetched Rakuten Trade's fees, About, accounts, services, FAQ, US-market, Bursa-market and open-an-account pages (rakutentrade.my) and the three brokerage scale images, and saved them in docs/verification-log/evidence-batch-i-oct17 with URLs, sizes and sha256 (the 17 October amendment above cited the pages without recording URLs). Confirmed (no figure changed): the RM1.00 / RM2.88 / 0.1% / RM100 Bursa scale (the image has the same sha256 as the earlier copy), US 0.1% with USD0.88 minimum and USD25 maximum, Hong Kong 0.1% with HKD35 minimum, clearing fee 0.03% (maximum RM1,000), stamp duty caps and the ETF exemption to 31 December 2028, 8% SST from 1 October 2025, 0.01% levy above RM1 million, CDS opening free, RakuMargin 5.5% a year and 0.5% three-monthly rollover fee, 19 May 2017 opening, restricted CMSL, under 8 minutes and approval within an hour, T+2 for Bursa and Hong Kong, 2.50pm withdrawal cut-off, Day and Good-Till-Date orders, RM0 brokerage on the first Bursa trade with a RM10 rebate (terms apply), and the Kenanga trust account. Added for context: Rakuten Trade's FAQ says US-market settlement is T+1. Still HELD: Participating Organisation status (Bursa blocked), EPF-MIS, minimum deposit, Tiger, Kenanga and Maybank IB rates.