XM Wins SCA License, Expands Its Footprint in the UAE | Forex Factory

  • XM Wins SCA License, Expands Its Footprint in the UAE

    From financefeeds.com

    XM has secured a Category 5 license from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) in the United Arab Emirates — a milestone the broker has been working toward as it strengthens its presence in the Middle East. For a company with more than 15 million clients globally, the approval represents a major step in bringing its services closer to traders in one of the world’s fastest-developing financial hubs. The UAE’s regulatory landscape has evolved quickly, and SCA authorization isn’t something that arrives easily. It signals that XM’s operational, compliance, and transparency standards meet the strict ... (full story)

Comment Options
Dadbreak
Jan 18, 2026 1:09am
Permalink
Quoting Trader#1502
Well, in terms of regulations, this broker always tried to stay in the game, expanding their influence. CYSEC, ASIC, FCA, FSCA, FSC, some tier-1 names down there. Though I don’t understand this SCA license, taking into account existing DFSA. What is the purpose of this licence? To offer investor protection to UAE traders as a whole, not just in Dubai. Looks like they just want to collect a full house of regulations, whether it makes sense or not. No hate, just curious why brokers tend to get new regulations. Maybe indeed certain focus on the Middle...
Well, it is not bad for a broker to have multiple licenses, right...

I think that there is for sure a positive side to this. I know brokers that have just one or even not a single license at all.
The idea behind getting a local license is that some regions have additional regulations, therefore, a broker needs to obtain that. That is what XM does.

As I know, DFSA regulates financial services conducted within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), while the SCA (Securities and Commodities Authority) is the federal regulator that covers the wider UAE market outside of the DIFC.
Reply
Molsa
Jan 27, 2026 12:29am
Permalink
very, very good news. UAE has lots of money, and they like to invest and trade stocks. XM has tons of stocks to invest in. My only issue with them was that for trading, they require like $5-$10, so basically nothing. But for investing, I needed to deposit $10 000. Was still worth it ofc, last 3 years QQQ had like +20-30% returns, every year...
I think for people from UAE $10k buy-in should be even easier to handle tbh. I'm from Indonesia, so it was reeeally hard for me to trade and save to that amount =//
Reply
RiddleBone
Feb 13, 2026 9:04am
Permalink
In case of XM this licence probably doesn't do much to their heritage and overall legitimacy, because as mentioned in the article 15 years of operation in the market has already gained them trust of people. Moreover, you can't earn total trust of people by having many licences alone, you need a service quality that matches the regulatory status, and xm was always about this. Now this licence is more strategic IMHO, because this allows them to conquer new markets and become sort of "local" in the UAE. They will be competing with local companies as well as getting more recognition from people online.
Reply
rieusO
Mar 16, 2026 9:04pm
Permalink
Not even surprises, but to be honest, I couldn’t care less. XM has been doing a good job even without this useless license. No wonder they’ve been existing since 2010, and managed to build a million user base around the world. It’s my 6-th year with them.
Reply
shadowend
Apr 21, 2026 7:10pm
Permalink
Well, when you see your broker acquiring new licences is good news in general. But honestly, I don’t really get the value of the SCA licence… or maybe I'm not well informed because UAE has some really complex system where Dubai is one jurisdiction, the rest of UAE is different, and it’s a bit chaotic for an outsider
Reply
Trader#1502
Jan 14, 2026 4:09am
Permalink
Well, in terms of regulations, this broker always tried to stay in the game, expanding their influence. CYSEC, ASIC, FCA, FSCA, FSC, some tier-1 names down there. Though I don’t understand this SCA license, taking into account existing DFSA. What is the purpose of this licence? To offer investor protection to UAE traders as a whole, not just in Dubai. Looks like they just want to collect a full house of regulations, whether it makes sense or not.
No hate, just curious why brokers tend to get new regulations. Maybe indeed certain focus on the Middle East area. Anyway, more supervising authorities, the less is risk to deal with the broker.
Reply
Trader#AF4E
Jun 8, 2026 12:16am
Permalink
Please be aware its Category 5 license.
Reply
  • Story Stats

  • Related Stories