Is Exness legal in Pakistan?

Short answer

Exness is a licensed broker, but its licences are issued outside Pakistan. It holds no licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) or any other Pakistani authority.

Pakistani regulators have published clear positions on offshore forex and CFD platforms in general:

• On offshore products: per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947.
• Also, on payments: per the SBP, remitting foreign exchange to overseas forex/margin/CFD platforms is not allowed through any payment channel (FERA s.5(1)).
• On offshore platforms: per the SECP, offshore forex/CFD platforms operate without regulatory approval in Pakistan, and per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse.

A CFD (contract for difference) is a contract that pays the price difference of an asset without you owning the asset. Forex and CFD trading with an offshore broker is not authorised in Pakistan. According to the SBP's reading of exchange-control law, it is also not permitted for residents.

The SBP and SECP documents we reviewed do not name Exness. They describe the whole category of offshore platforms that Exness belongs to.

This page is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a qualified lawyer in Pakistan.

Which Exness entity would serve a Pakistani resident

Exness operates through several companies, each licensed in a different country. Our sources do not say which entity registers clients from Pakistan. Exness says the entity for your account is shown in the Personal Area footer. You can find that footer in your Personal Area.

Entities that hold licences and can serve retail clients:

In addition: Exness (SC) Ltd is also an FSCA ODP.

Entities that do not offer services to retail clients:

• Exness (Cy) Ltd, regulated by CySEC, licence 178/12; no retail services
• Exness (UK) Ltd, regulated by FCA, FRN 730729; no retail services
• Exness (MU) Ltd, regulated by FSC Mauritius, licence GB20025294, registration number 176967; no retail services currently

Exness lists its regulators as: FSA Seychelles, CySEC*, FCA UK*, FSCA, CBCS, FSC BVI, FSC Mauritius, CMA Kenya, JSC, CMA UAE, FSC Belize. The SECP is not on this list. More detail on each company is on Entities and regulators.

What these licences cover and what they do not

A licence from the Seychelles, Belize or another foreign regulator lets that company operate under that country's rules. It does not give the company permission to offer services under Pakistani law. It does not bring a Pakistani client under the protection of a Pakistani regulator.

In practice this means:

• Complaints and disputes go through the foreign regulator and the terms of the client agreement, not through the SECP. The current Exness (SC) agreement is Version: 24 July 2026 /039.
• On protection: per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse.
• Exness does not list Pakistan as a restricted country. Its footer list of restricted places is USA, Canada, Iran, North Korea, Europe, the United Kingdom, Russia, Belarus, and others, and that list is not complete. See Restricted countries.
• Exness offers PKR as an account currency on Standard accounts. Pakistan is also on the list of countries whose clients get swap-free status automatically (Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan).

These points show that Exness accepts clients from Pakistan under its own rules. They say nothing about whether Pakistani law allows a resident to use the service. Those are separate questions.

What Pakistani regulators say about offshore brokers

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

The SBP administers the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. It has made two points about offshore forex, margin and CFD platforms:

• Buying the products: per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947.
• Sending money to them: per the SBP, remitting foreign exchange to overseas forex/margin/CFD platforms is not allowed through any payment channel (FERA s.5(1)).

The SBP notice names other platforms as examples and does not name Exness. It describes the activity itself: residents buying offshore forex, margin or CFD products and sending money abroad to fund them.

A deposit method appearing in your Personal Area does not change the SBP's position. Exness says payment methods are shown only in the Personal Area; depends on registered region. For the general payment process, see Deposits and withdrawals.

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)

The local 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.

On offshore platforms, per the SECP, offshore forex/CFD platforms operate without regulatory approval in Pakistan. It advises the public to deal only with licensed brokers and, on where to find them, per the SECP, lists of licensed brokers are on the PSX and PMEX websites. The register it refers to is the PSX "Find a Brokerage Firm" page and list of TRE Certificate Holders on the Pakistan Stock Exchange website.

Futures Market Act

The licensing rule is: under the Futures Market Act 2016, s.47(1), no one may carry on a regulated activity (futures broker, adviser, representative) without an SECP licence. The penalty rule is: under the Futures Market Act 2016, s.104(3), operating without a licence carries, for an individual, a fine of up to PKR 250 million or up to 3 years' imprisonment, or both.

These sections are aimed at whoever carries on the regulated activity, such as a broker or adviser, rather than at the client. We could not check later amendments to this Act.

Official warnings and orders

The SECP issues SECP warnings by press release naming platforms (Quotex 09.04.2025; IBKR look-alikes, IGIL Securities, BMA Capital No.108 etc. 22.05.2025; Hillhouse Capital, S-169 Wharton 13.01.2026), none of which names Exness. We did not find a separate order or blacklist entry from the SECP or the SBP that names Exness.

That is not the same as approval. The SBP and SECP positions above cover offshore forex and CFD platforms as a category. A broker does not need to be named for them to apply.

The SECP also warns about fake platforms and "account managers" promoted through messaging apps and social media. Anyone offering to trade for you or promising returns is a warning sign, whatever brand name they use. Exness says to own personal payment accounts only. A request to send money to a third party's account is a reason to stop. See Account security.

Is there an Exness ban in Pakistan?

The sources we reviewed contain no regulatory order against Exness by name. There is a general position: the SBP treats residents buying offshore forex, margin and CFD products as a breach of exchange-control law, and it does not allow sending money abroad for such trading through any payment channel.

Whether Exness is "banned" is the wrong question. The useful questions are these:

• Does a Pakistani authority license it? No.
• Does Pakistani law, as the SBP reads it, allow residents to buy these products? No.

Rules and their enforcement can change. Check the latest SBP and SECP notices on their official websites, and read our overview of Law and regulators.

Risk, even apart from the law

Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast. Leverage multiplies both gains and losses, and a small price move against you can wipe out a deposit. Exness offers negative balance protection: balance reset to 0 after stop out. That limits a loss to the money in the account. It does not stop you losing that money.

If you are learning, a demo account uses virtual money only. Our Risk management page explains stop-loss orders and position sizing. Pakistani residents who want regulated market exposure can look at the PSX basics, where trading goes through SECP-licensed brokers.

Honest conclusion

Exness holds real licences abroad, and you can see the entity for your account in your Personal Area. It holds no Pakistani licence. Pakistani regulators say offshore forex and CFD platforms operate without approval and give no legal protection. The SBP treats both buying these products and sending money abroad to fund them as against exchange-control law.

This page gives you the documents and positions. It does not tell you what to do. If you need a firm answer for your own case, ask a lawyer in Pakistan. For how Exness protects client funds, see Is Exness safe.

Frequently asked questions

Is Exness regulated in Pakistan?

No. Its licences come from foreign regulators such as FSA Seychelles and FSC Belize. The SECP is not among its listed regulators.

Which Exness company would hold my account?

Our sources do not fix this for Pakistan. Exness says the entity is shown in the Personal Area footer.

Has the SBP or SECP named Exness in a warning?

Not in the SBP notice or the SECP press releases we reviewed. Their warnings cover offshore forex and CFD platforms in general.

Can I send money from Pakistan to an offshore forex broker?

On payments: per the SBP, remitting foreign exchange to overseas forex/margin/CFD platforms is not allowed through any payment channel (FERA s.5(1)).

Does the foreign licence protect me as a Pakistani client?

Any protection comes from the foreign regulator and the client agreement. The SECP says offshore platforms give no Pakistani legal protection or recourse.

Is this legal advice?

No. This page summarises published sources. For your own situation, consult a qualified lawyer in Pakistan.