Regulatory intelligence / Brokerage implementation
Forex Broker Licensing & Regulation
From offshore investment-dealer licences to Tier-1 onshore authorisations, InfyTradeTech supports brokers through jurisdiction selection, corporate structuring, regulatory documentation, compliance architecture, technology readiness and the licensing process.
Editorial concept image · Draft regulatory dossier · final sign-off pending.
01 / Select jurisdiction
Permission first.
Jurisdiction second.
Start with the contractual counterparty, products, customers and target markets. The correct licence follows from the business model.
Full jurisdiction comparisonFilter by potential relevance, not a regulatory recommendation. Permissions require an individual business-model assessment.
Mauritius
Investment Dealer — SEC-2.1B
Agency / principal scope requires final permission check
South Africa
Category I Financial Services Provider
Advice / intermediary permissions; not ODP principal permission
South Africa
OTC Derivative Provider — ODP
Principal OTC derivative dealing; exact perimeter applies
Seychelles
Securities Dealer
Agency / principal subject to specified licence business
Labuan / Malaysia
Money Broking
Intermediary / agency; not principal
Vanuatu
Financial Dealers — Classes A / B / C / D
Permission depends on cumulative classes and conditions
Cyprus
Cyprus Investment Firm — CIF
Agency / own-account permissions individually selected
UAE
Financial activities — Categories 1–7
Category/activity-specific; Category 5 is not dealing
Saint Lucia
Company route — no local forex licence
Incorporation; no financial-service permission conferred
CMA / ESCA Licence Categories Compared
These seven categories belong to the UAE framework, not seven separate jurisdictions. Each category links to its detail in the UAE dossier; other jurisdiction permissions are assessed separately.
| Category / UAE dossier | Primary activity | Can deal / execute? | Can advise? | Can introduce? | Can hold client assets? | Capital | Main personnel | Typical business | Infy support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | Dealing in Securities | Relevant approved activity only | Not inferred | Not inferred | Activity / custody conditions | AED30,000,000 minimum paid-up capital in the official category table | Head / Manager of Category, Compliance, Risk; trading/operations managers and broker representatives as applicable | Brokerage, dealing and execution under the selected activity | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 2 | Dealing in Investment | Not a general forex brokerage licence | Selected permissions only | Not inferred | Activity-specific safeguarding | Fund management/family office AED1m; portfolio management AED3m; fund administration AED1m; profit-sharing account AED35m. Activity minimums are summed where multiple activities are conducted. | Head / Manager of Category, Compliance, Risk and Investment Operations roles; exact activity table applies | Investment-management or fund operations | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 3 | Custody, Clearing & Registration | Not general dealing | Not inferred | Not inferred | Approved custody / activity scope | AED50,000,000 minimum paid-up capital | Head / Manager of Category, Compliance, Risk and Operations; activity jobs apply | Safekeeping, clearing and registration functions | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 4 | Credit Rating | No trading permission from rating | Rating is not a blanket advisory licence | Not inferred | No custody permission inferred | AED5,000,000 minimum paid-up capital | Head / Manager of Category, Compliance, Credit Rating Analyst / Head of Analysis; current approval matrix applies | Specialist credit-rating business | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 5 | Arranging and Advice | No forex / CFD execution or principal-dealing permission | Approved advisory activity only | If Introducing is approved | No custody permission inferred | AED500,000 minimum paid-up capital in CMA-hosted table | Head / Manager of Category + Head of Compliance; Financial Analyst / Promotion Manager and other activity jobs as applicable | Introduction, promotion and approved advisory work | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 6 | Crowdfunding Platform Operator | Not a general dealing licence | Not inferred | Not general introducing | Framework-specific | AED1,000,000 in the annex; Cabinet Resolution 36/2022 framework also applies | Category Manager, Compliance Officer, Risk Management Officer and Operations Manager | Crowdfunding, not brokerage licensing | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
| Category 7 | Virtual Asset Service Providers | Virtual-asset approval is not forex dealing | Specific scope only | Specific scope only | Specific custody approval only | Activity-specific virtual-asset rules; current amount to verify | Virtual-asset framework-specific governance and controls | Virtual-asset business; mainland / free-zone perimeter must be assessed | Classification, application, personnel coordination and scoped post-licence support |
Source: CMA Financial Activities and Jobs Approval table and current regulations. Unverified activity-specific figures and rules are withheld pending final review.
02 / Regulatory boundaries
Similar labels. Different permissions.
South Africa — FSP ≠ ODP
Category I financial-services approval does not confer the separate principal OTC derivative permission. Map the client contract, not just the A-book marketing label.
UAE — Category 5 ≠ forex dealing
CMA arranging/advice can cover approved introduction, promotion and consultation. Actual forex/CFD execution requires the relevant separate dealing category/activity.
Labuan — agency, not market maker
Money broking brings eligible counterparties together. The revised guidelines exclude principal, liquidity-provider and market-maker activity.
Saint Lucia — company, not licence
Company registration is not a local forex authorisation. Assess the countries where clients are solicited or served.
03 / End-to-end operating model
From Application to Operating Company
We do not simply register companies or submit application forms. Regulatory strategy connects to people, controls, technology and ongoing management.
Licensing
Regulatory strategy & application
Category selection, corporate structure, feasibility study, business plan, forecasts, forms and authority submission coordination; queries are tracked through a controlled evidence register.
Control architecture
AML/CFT, compliance, risk, internal controls, internal-audit planning, conflicts, code of conduct, BCP/DR, complaints, whistleblowing and sanctions/terrorist-financing screening aligned with the real operating model.
Banking & technology readiness
Banking assistance, client documentation, platform/CRM architecture, liquidity relationships and operational evidence. No bank acceptance or authorisation is guaranteed.
Staff & substance
Need the required team? We can help.
Assist with sourcing / arranging suitably qualified personnel subject to regulatory approval: Head of Category, compliance officer, MLRO/DMLRO, risk officer, financial analyst, promotion manager, dealer representatives, resident directors, company secretary and operations/administration staff, where legally permitted.
Qualifications & approvals
Build role-specific CV, qualifications, experience and background evidence, including exams where applicable. Verify fit-and-proper, residence, independence and role-combination requirements rather than promising guaranteed approved staff.
Physical operating presence
Coordinate premises, local professional support, systems and responsible personnel. A nameplate or registered-office contract is not proof that every local-substance requirement is met.
Post-licence management
Regulatory compliance
Scoped support for AML/CFT monitoring, KYC/CDD oversight, screening, risk assessments, reporting, compliance calendar, policies, inspection preparation and compliance-file maintenance. Renewal support applies only where the regime requires renewal.
Management consulting
Board/management support, operational governance, vendor management, brokerage workflows, technology governance, risk framework, internal controls, business continuity and management reporting.
Operations & technology
Platform administration, CRM/account operations, payment workflows, liquidity coordination and risk monitoring. RiskMan software and human-managed dealing operations remain separately scoped. The licensed entity retains legal responsibility.
Perimeter
Map products, contractual principal, customers and target markets to required permissions. Record host-country marketing restrictions before selecting an entity.
Structure
Establish ownership, local professional support, key persons and the substance plan. Confirm funding and the capital basis rather than converting an historic minimum into a launch budget.
Evidence
Build and reconcile the application dossier, projections, client terms and operational controls. Test that the platform configuration matches the legal model.
Submission
Submit through the applicable official channel using the current forms and appropriate local representation. Maintain a versioned response register for further information requests.
Conditions
Resolve regulator queries and any pre-commencement conditions. Verify the authorisation, approved activities and register entry before enabling the corresponding business.
Operate
Maintain reporting, audit, financial-resource monitoring, complaints and AML controls. Assess changes to ownership, personnel, vendors, products and client countries before implementation.
Managed Regulatory Operations
For firms that do not want to assemble every operational and compliance function independently, InfyTradeTech can coordinate an ongoing managed-support model covering regulatory administration, compliance workflows, approved-person support, technology operations and management consulting.
Add-on support, subject to legal eligibility, regulator approval where required and agreed scope. The licensed entity retains responsibility.
Discuss Managed Regulatory Operations04 / Acquisition routes
Need a faster route?
Explore verified existing regulated entities or pre-established corporate structures. Acquisition does not bypass regulatory approval or due diligence.
Confidential, controlled opportunities.
South African authorised entities and Saint Lucia company routes are kept distinct. Public availability is not asserted without confirmed inventory.
Explore Available Regulated EntitiesYour licence is only the beginning.
The authorised model must be implemented in the actual brokerage stack.
Forex Turnkey Solutions
Company, technology and operations as a coordinated implementation.
Broker Setup
Business model, jurisdiction and operational launch planning.
Trading Platform
Platform architecture and permissions aligned with the authorised model.
Forex CRM
Customer onboarding, KYC, funding and back-office evidence.
Liquidity
Counterparty selection, aggregation and execution relationships.
Bridge & Gateway
Order routing, integrations and controlled operational data flows.
Banking & PSP
Bank and payment-provider underwriting and integration support.
RiskMan
Automated risk-management software, not a human managed service.
24/7 Operations
Human-managed dealing and risk oversight, distinct from RiskMan.
Regulatory assessment
Start with the business you intend to operate.
Jurisdiction, permissions, people, substance and trading infrastructure—reviewed as one operating model.
Request a Regulatory Assessment or Request a Proposal. No consultancy or staffing prices are published.
New licence · Additional jurisdiction · Acquisition · Staffing · Managed regulatory operations