Markets.com, a leading Forex broker with a global presence has recently earned regulation by South Africa's Financial Service Board (FSB). This FSB regulation is the 12th regulation for Markets.com, a company that is already regulated in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The most obvious advantage of opening its doors in a new region is the attraction of local traders who can now opt for a brokerage where they can invest in an onshore account, as opposed to sending their funds to a foreign broker and facing the fines associated with diverting money offshore.
Another significant benefit for Markets.com is the ability to build IB relationships, collaborations in which they can receive referrals from other financial services or intermediaries. In South Africa, it is illegal for these intermediary bodies to direct traders to non-regulated brokers, and the FSB has recently been cracking down on such activity.
Finally, it is worth noting that FSB regulation can be used in other African countries as well, such as Botswana and Zambia, and that it should serve as a sign to traders worldwide that the brokerage conforms to respectable standards of fund security and client safety.
Although FSB regulation is not the most popular or acceptable regulation among Forex brokers, it is gaining in popularity and has recently been embraced by brokerages such as DeltaStock and SaxoBank. With the growing interest in Forex trading in South Africa and its neighboring countries, we expect to see more top Forex brokers applying for FSB regulation in the coming months.