Why checking regulation matters
A regulated forex broker is a company that holds a licence from a financial regulator and must follow that regulator's rules on capital, client money, reporting and complaints. A licence does not make trading safe. Leveraged CFD and forex trading can lose money fast, with any broker. The licence tells you which rules the company has agreed to follow and where you can complain.
For readers in Pakistan, local law also applies:
- The regulator for securities and futures in Pakistan is the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), with trading in listed securities and commodities only via SECP-licensed securities and futures brokers.
- In its public warnings, per the SECP, offshore forex/CFD platforms operate without regulatory approval in Pakistan.
- Also, per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse.
- 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 buying such products, per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947.
A foreign licence is therefore not a Pakistani licence. Read Law and regulators and Offshore vs Onshore before you go further.
The steps below answer the question "is my broker regulated?" for any broker, in any country.
- 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.
Step: find the legal entity
A brand name is not a company. One brand often runs several companies in different countries, each with its own licence and its own rules.
Where to look:
- The website footer. Regulated firms usually name the company, its registered address and its regulator at the bottom of every page.
- Legal documents. The client agreement, terms of business and risk disclosure name the company you actually contract with.
- Your personal area. After registration, the account details or documents often show which entity holds your account.
Write down the exact company name, the country where it is registered and its company registration number, if one is shown. If you cannot find a legal entity at all, treat that as a serious warning sign.
Step: find the licence number and the regulator
Next, find which regulator licenses that entity and under which number. A licence number (also called a reference number or firm number) is the identifier the regulator gives the firm in its public register.
Check that:
- the licence is tied to the same entity you found in the previous step, not to a sister company;
- the regulator is named in full, not just with a logo;
- the licence covers the kind of business offered, such as dealing in derivatives or CFDs.
A broker that says "regulated" but gives no number, or gives a number for a different company, has not shown you a licence.
Step: check on the regulator's own register
This is how to check a forex broker licence properly. Do not trust a screenshot, a PDF certificate or a "verify" link on the broker's site. Open the regulator's website yourself and search its public register by company name or licence number.
Our guides explain how each register works and what its fields mean:
| Regulator | Country | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| FCA | United Kingdom | FCA Register |
| CySEC | Cyprus | CySEC Register |
| FSCA | South Africa | FSCA Register |
| FSA | Seychelles | FSA Seychelles Register |
| FSC | Mauritius | FSC Mauritius Register |
| CMA | Kenya | CMA Kenya Register |
| Others | Various | Other Regulator Registers |
On the register entry, compare:
- the company name and registered address;
- the licence status: authorised, suspended, revoked or expired;
- the permitted activities;
- the websites and domains the regulator lists for the firm, if it lists them.
For Pakistan, per the SECP, lists of licensed brokers are on the PSX and PMEX websites. The licensing rule is set in law: 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 is also in law: 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.
Step: match the domain and the company name
Clone sites copy a real broker's name, logo and licence number but use a different domain. The licence then belongs to the real firm, not to the people behind the copy.
Check that:
- the domain you use matches a domain on the regulator's register entry or on the firm's official site;
- the email addresses and phone numbers match the contacts the regulator lists;
- the payment details name the same company, not a private person or an unrelated firm;
- any app comes from an official app store under the firm's verified developer name.
See Clone Sites and Fake Apps and Phishing and Fake Logins for common patterns.
Step: look for official warnings
Regulators publish warnings about unlicensed firms and clones. Search:
- the warning list or alerts page of each regulator in the table above;
- the SECP's press releases. The SECP issues warnings that name specific platforms and are often promoted through social media and messaging apps;
- the name of the firm together with the word "warning" on the regulator's own site.
Only an official source counts. A forum post, a review site or a social media thread is not proof that a firm is a scam, and an absence of complaints is not proof that it is safe. If you find an official warning, the regulator's notice is the source to rely on.
If you have already lost money, see Report a Scam and File a Broker Complaint. Be careful of anyone offering to recover funds for a fee: read Recovery Scams.
What a licence does and does not tell you
A valid licence tells you the firm is known to a regulator and must follow its rules. It does not tell you:
- that you will make money;
- that the regulator's protections extend to clients in your country;
- that client money is kept separate or covered by a compensation scheme.
Protections differ widely between regulators. Read What Regulation Protects, Segregated Funds, Compensation Schemes and Leverage Limits.
Checklist
| Check | Done when |
|---|---|
| Legal entity found | You have the exact company name and country |
| Licence number found | It is tied to that same entity |
| Register checked | You found the entry yourself on the regulator's site |
| Status confirmed | The status is active, not suspended or revoked |
| Activities match | The licence covers the products offered |
| Domain matches | The site, emails and app match the official details |
| Payments match | Money goes to the licensed company |
| Warnings searched | No official warning names the firm or a clone of it |
| Local law read | You understand the Pakistani rules above |
For a longer version, use the Broker Checklist and read Scam Warning Signs.
Frequent questions
How do I verify a broker quickly?
Find the legal entity and licence number on the broker's site, then search that number on the regulator's own website. Confirm the name, status and domain match.
Is a broker regulated if it shows a licence certificate?
Not by itself. Certificates and screenshots can be faked. Only the regulator's own register confirms a licence.
Does a foreign licence count in Pakistan?
No. In Pakistan, the SECP licenses securities and futures brokers. The SECP states that offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence and offer no local legal protection.
What if the register shows a different website?
Treat it as a possible clone. Use only the domains the regulator or the firm's verified official site lists, and do not send money until the details match.
Can I rely on online reviews?
Use them only as a prompt to check further. Official registers and regulator warnings are the sources that count.
Does regulation remove trading risk?
No. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast with any broker. Read Risk management before you trade.