What CMA Kenya is
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is the regulator of Kenya's capital markets. It licenses and supervises market intermediaries in Kenya, including some online forex brokers. A "CMA regulated forex broker" is a firm that holds a licence from this authority for a specific activity.
A licence is tied to one legal entity, one country and a defined list of permitted activities. A brand name on a website is not a licence. Many broker groups run several companies under one brand, each with a different regulator.
- Find the company's legal name and licence number on its website.
- Search that number on the regulator's official register.
- Compare the name, website address and contacts with the register entry.
- Check which company would actually serve clients from your country.
- Search the regulators' warning lists for the name and the website.
How to check a CMA Kenya broker
Use only the official CMA Kenya website. Type the address yourself or open it from a source you already trust. Do not follow links from adverts, WhatsApp messages or Telegram groups. Clone sites copy regulator pages too. See Clone Sites and Fake Apps.
On the official site, look for the list of licensees. It is usually grouped by licence category. Then:
- Find the exact legal name of the company in the broker's own legal documents or website footer. Ignore the marketing brand.
- Search the CMA list for that legal name.
- Compare the licence category with what the firm actually offers you.
- Check that the website address, phone and email listed by the regulator match the ones you are using.
- Read any warnings or public notices the CMA has published about unlicensed firms.
If the name is missing, or the details do not match, treat the claim as unverified. Our general method is on Verify a Broker and the Broker Checklist.
Reading the result
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Exact legal name listed, details match | The entity holds a Kenyan licence for the listed activity |
| Similar name, different contact details | Possible clone. Do not deposit |
| Brand listed, but your account is with another entity | Your account is not covered by the Kenyan licence |
| Not listed | No CMA Kenya licence confirmed |
A match proves registration. It does not prove the firm is safe or that your money is protected. What a licence covers in practice is explained in What Regulation Protects and Segregated Funds.
What it means for traders in Pakistan
A CMA Kenya licence lets a firm operate under Kenyan rules. It does not give the firm a licence in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the supervisor is the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), with trading in listed securities and commodities only via SECP-licensed securities and futures brokers. Also, per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse. On broker lists, per the SECP, lists of licensed brokers are on the PSX and PMEX websites.
The State Bank of Pakistan has also addressed this:
- On remittances: per the SBP, remitting foreign exchange to overseas forex/margin/CFD platforms is not allowed through any payment channel (FERA s.5(1))
- On residents' purchases: per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947
Read these rules in full on Law and regulators before you deal with any foreign broker. Offshore vs Onshore compares the two setups.
Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, whichever regulator licenses the broker. A licence does not reduce market risk. See Risk management.
Other registers
If a broker names a different regulator, use that regulator's own register:
- FCA Register
- CySEC Register
- FSCA Register
- FSA Seychelles Register
- FSC Mauritius Register
- Other Regulator Registers
If you think a firm is posing as licensed, see Report a Scam.
Frequent questions
Where is the CMA Kenya register?
It is on the official CMA Kenya website. Type the address yourself and search for the firm's exact legal name in the list of licensees.
Does a CMA Kenya licence cover clients in Pakistan?
No. It is a Kenyan licence. In Pakistan, the SECP says offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight. SBP rules on remittances to overseas forex platforms also apply.
The broker shows a CMA licence number. Is that enough?
No. Look the number and legal name up on the regulator's own site. Then check that the contact details match the site you are using.
What if the broker's name is close but not the same?
Treat it as unverified and a possible clone. Do not send money until the exact entity and its details match the official record.
Is a CMA regulated forex broker risk-free?
No. Regulation sets conduct rules. It does not stop losses from leveraged trading, which can be fast and large.
