Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
7/10 · HighTwo licences confirmed on the issuers' own records, but the Australian one is wholesale-only and the Mauritius one is in another company's name, while the entity taking retail deposits holds no financial licence.
Identity & transparency
7/10 · HighFive different company names appear across the site, legal documents and registers, with two different Dubai addresses and no licence number published, so which entity holds client money is genuinely obscured.
Withdrawals & conduct
6/10 · HighA recurring fund-integrity pattern on two platforms, withdrawal refused then account blocked, with one specific checkable case, set against credible positive reports and a broker that answers some complaints.
Reputation
6/10 · HighNet-positive but thin and bimodal, 59 percent five-star against 35 percent one-star with nothing between, plus an allegation of paid reviews, though no regulator warning exists anywhere.
Website claims
8/10 · CriticalA historical claim of Saint Vincent regulation that does not exist, a company number presented as a Global Business License, a founding year that changed, 25 years of experience on a 2022 launch, and 18 awards with no awarding body named.
Operational history
6/10 · HighA real multi-year record with an Australian company since 2019, offset by a domain that was parked and for sale into 2021, a retail brand only about four years old, and an unverifiable 25-year claim.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
- Brand: CentFX
- Legal entity (takes your money): CentFX Limited, Anguilla, registration A000000971. The Terms of Business instead name CENT FX FINANCING BROKER L.L.C operating as CENTFX LTD, at a Dubai address.
- Other entities in the group: CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD (Australia, holds the AFS licence) and CENT MARKETS LIMITED (Mauritius, holds the investment dealer licence)
- Registered: No. 9 Cassius Webster Building, Grace Complex, PO Box 1330, The Valley, AI-2640, Anguilla
- Operations run from: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Ontario Tower, Business Bay on its United States money-services filing; The Exchange Tower in its Terms of Business)
- Website: centfx.com, with centfx.global, centfx.academy and regional language subdomains
- Only licence covering a trading business: Mauritius FSC investment dealer licence, in another company's name
- Offers: forex, indices, metals and CFDs on MetaTrader 5, leverage to 1:1000, minimum deposit 500 dollars
- Not accepted: residents of the United States, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Cuba, Iraq, Myanmar, North Korea and Sudan
- Age claim: 'Since 2022' retail launch, advertised alongside 'over 25 years of experience'
Regulation
Who really oversees this broker, and what each licence is worth to you.
Proof of regulation on an official register: Yes
We confirmed this broker on a genuine regulator’s register.
Licences the broker publishes
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
Anguilla Registry of Commercial Activities (ARCA)
Found by our investigation (3) — the broker does not list these on its own site
The Financial Services Commission, Mauritius
Found by us — not listed by the broker
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), United States
Found by us — not listed by the broker
Financial Services Authority (FSA), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Found by us — not listed by the broker
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
This is a real business with real paperwork in several countries. The problem is what that paperwork actually covers.
- The headline regulatory claim is real but misdescribed. ASIC's own licensee records show AFS Licence 516246 in the name of CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD, matching the business number the site prints, running from 26 March 2020. The licence conditions end with the words 'to wholesale clients', and the advice permission is 'general financial product advice only'. A wholesale licence does not authorise a retail trading business. The site also prints the company number rather than the licence number, so a reader has no route to the licence or its restriction.
- The entity holding client money is unlicensed. CentFX Limited is an Anguilla company. Anguilla's Registry of Commercial Activities incorporates companies, it does not supervise brokers, and it operates no compensation scheme. The broker's Terms of Business nonetheless describes registration A000000971 as a 'Global Business License'.
- Leverage confirms where the retail book really sits. The site advertises 1:1000. Retail leverage in Australia is capped at 30:1, so the retail business cannot be running under the Australian licence.
- There is a documented history of claiming regulation that did not exist. The August 2022 version of centfx.com stated 'Regulated by FSA of Saint Vincent' and gave 'Global Business License No. 26620 IBC 2022'. Saint Vincent's authority has said repeatedly that it does not license or regulate forex brokers, and an IBC number is a company registration. The same number-as-licence framing has simply moved to Anguilla.
- The company's own account of its age has moved. The site said 'since 2019' in August 2022 and 'since 2022' by September 2023. Separately, centfx.com was parked and advertised for sale as late as February 2021, and from 2010 to 2016 it carried an unrelated forex article site called Central Forex, so the domain's age is not this brokerage's track record.
- Clients report money not coming back. Across two platforms the same mechanism recurs: a withdrawal is refused or stalls, then the account is restricted or blocked. One account is described as growing from a 3,900 dollar deposit to 14,037 dollars before a June withdrawal was refused for 'unethical activity' and the account was closed. The broker's own trading policy bans expert advisors, arbitrage and scalping under 180 seconds, which gives it wide discretion to label trading unethical, and it sells an account type called Arbitrage while prohibiting arbitrage.
- Several claims could not be evidenced at all: '18+ Industry Awards' with no awarding body named anywhere on the awards page, a capital figure of 195 million dollars, and 'over 25 years of experience' against a 2022 launch.
What holds the score below a scam verdict: two licences we confirmed on the issuers' own records, and a clean global warning sweep. The figure also rests partly on an absence, because Anguilla publishes no free public company search, so the incorporation date of the entity that contracts with clients could not be established and the operating age is an upper bound.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1ASIC's published record of current licensees contains AFS Licence 516246 in the name of CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD, with business number 14631408609 matching the number printed on the broker's site, in force from 26 March 2020. The Australian licence the broker names genuinely exists.
E2The same licence record sets out the authorisations and closes with the words 'to wholesale clients', and the advice permission is 'general financial product advice only'. The licence therefore does not authorise the retail trading business advertised on centfx.com, and it is held by a company that does not take the client's deposit.
E3The broker's legal page states that CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and gives a company number and business number, but never the licence number 516246 and never the wholesale-client restriction. A reader has no route from the page to the licence.
ModerateCentFX legal pageE4The Financial Services Commission of Mauritius public register shows CENT MARKETS LIMITED holding a SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting) licence dated 23 November 2023, with no lapse or cancellation recorded. A genuine investment dealer licence exists within the group.
E5That register entry names CENT MARKETS LIMITED, not CentFX Limited, gives a Port Louis address, and leaves the website field empty, so nothing on the register ties the licence to centfx.com. CentFX does not advertise this licence on its own site at all.
E6The broker's Terms of Business describes Anguilla registration A000000971 as 'Global Business License No. A000000971' and names the entity as CENT FX FINANCING BROKER L.L.C operating as CENTFX LTD at 2206, The Exchange Tower, Business Bay, Dubai. A company registration number is presented as a licence.
StrongCentFX Terms of BusinessE7The United States Treasury money services business register confirms registration 31000280998965 for CENTFX Limited at C2101, Ontario Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, filed 9 September 2024, covering dealing in foreign exchange, money transmission and selling money orders. FinCEN states on the same page that inclusion is not a recommendation, certification of legitimacy or endorsement.
E8The August 2022 version of centfx.com advertised 'Regulated by FSA of Saint Vincent' and 'Global Business License No. 26620 IBC 2022' at a Griffith Corporate Centre address. Saint Vincent's authority does not license or regulate forex brokers, so no such regulation existed, and the number quoted is an international business company registration.
E9The advertised founding year moved on the same website. The August 2022 pages said the firm had operated 'since 2019', and by September 2023 the same pages said 'since 2022', with the Saint Vincent claim replaced by 'Registered by the Anguilla Registry of Commercial Activities (ARCA). Global Business License No. A000000971' at No. 8 Cassius Webster Building, now given as No. 9.
E10centfx.com was a parked page headed 'centfx.com Is for Sale' in February 2021, more than a year after the domain's November 2019 registration date. The brokerage therefore took the domain over later, and the registration date does not evidence a continuous trading history.
E11From 2010 the same domain carried an unrelated forex article site titled Central Forex, with no brokerage and no connection to the present operation. The domain's sixteen years of archive history belong to earlier occupants.
E12The homepage advertises 'over 25 years of experience' alongside a 2022 retail launch, '18+ Industry Awards', a capital figure of 195 million dollars, 1:1000 leverage, and five-star testimonials from generically named individuals. Retail leverage in Australia is capped at 30:1, which confirms the retail book is not run under the Australian licence.
ModerateCentFX homepageE13The awards page claims recognition from leading financial institutions worldwide and displays award graphics for 2024, 2025 and 2026, but names no award and no awarding body anywhere in its text, so none of the 18 claimed awards can be checked.
ModerateCentFX awards pageE14The site sells an account type named Arbitrage while its own footer policy prohibits arbitrage, latency arbitrage, high-frequency trading, expert advisors and scalping under 180 seconds. The same unethical-trading language appears in client accounts of refused withdrawals.
E15Trustpilot shows a 3.6 score across 17 reviews for centfx.com, split 59 percent five-star and 35 percent one-star with nothing in between. One-star accounts describe 3,900 dollars moved without authorisation despite two-factor authentication, and accounts being blocked to trap clients. One reviewer alleges the positive reviews are paid. The company replies to about a fifth of negative reviews.
E16A second review platform, listing centfx.com, scores the broker 6.4 out of 10 across 20 reviews and records notable complaints about withdrawal delays and abrupt account blocks, with support becoming unresponsive on account restrictions. One case describes a 3,900 dollar deposit grown to 14,037 dollars, a June withdrawal refused for unethical activity, and the account then blocked.
E17IOSCO's international alert network, which aggregates warnings published by member regulators worldwide, returns no warnings matching CentFX. No regulator anywhere has published an alert against this brand or domain.
E18A search of ASIC's investor alert list for centfx returns no entries, against 4,561 entries on the unfiltered list. The Australian regulator that licensed the group company has not flagged the operation.
E19The Australian Business Register confirms CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD as an Australian private company, business number 14 631 408 609, active since 4 February 2019 and registered for goods and services tax from 1 July 2024, based in Sydney. The Australian entity is real and current.
ModerateAustralian Business RegisterE20The broker's own FAQ names CentFX Limited of Anguilla as the entity clients deal with, states the firm was founded in 2022, and names no financial regulator for it. The company that contracts with clients is, on the broker's own account, an unlicensed offshore company.
StrongCentFX company FAQE21A further domain, centfx.global, serves the same brand's FAQ pages and states that the official website is centfx.com, confirming it as part of the same operation rather than a lookalike.
E22The Terms of Business cites the Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services law N.242(I)/2004 implementing European directive 2002/65/EC, a Cyprus statute with no application to an Anguilla or Dubai entity, indicating the client documentation was adapted from another firm's European paperwork.
ModerateCentFX Terms of BusinessE23The homepage publishes MetaTrader 5 downloads pointing to a server named CentFx-Server and apps on both official mobile stores, consistent with a real trading operation rather than a self-hosted fake terminal. It also warns that fraudulent lookalike domains are impersonating the brand.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
The case for CentFX deserves a fair hearing, and parts of it are solid.
- The Australian licence is genuine. We found AFS Licence 516246 in ASIC's own record of current licensees, in the exact name the site gives, with the business number matching. Buying a real tier-1 licence is not something a pure boiler room does, and the broker is entitled to say the entity is ASIC licensed.
- The Mauritius licence is genuine too. The Financial Services Commission's public register shows a current Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting) licence dated 23 November 2023, with no lapse recorded. Mauritius requires client-money segregation. 'Cent Markets' and 'CentFX' share an obvious root, so a group structure is the likely explanation rather than anything improper.
- No regulator anywhere has warned about this firm. IOSCO's alert network, which aggregates warnings from regulators worldwide, returns no entries for CentFX, and ASIC's investor alert list returns none either. For an operation of this age that is meaningful.
- The money-services registration is real. The United States Treasury's money services business register confirms the filing in the name of CentFX Limited.
- Most reviewers are positive and some report withdrawals arriving without trouble. The complaint volume is small in absolute terms.
- The trading operation appears genuine, with apps on both official mobile stores and a MetaTrader 5 server in the broker's own name, rather than a self-hosted installer.
- It is the brand being copied, not a copy. The footer warns that lookalike domains are impersonating it, and we found nothing suggesting CentFX wears another company's identity.
- Restricted-country lists and risk warnings are published, which many offshore operators omit entirely.
Read charitably, this is an offshore broker with sloppy and self-flattering disclosure rather than a dishonest one. That reading is why we stopped at high risk instead of calling it a scam.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
Concrete things that would move this verdict in either direction.
- Lower risk: the Mauritius licence appearing in the name of the entity that actually contracts with clients, or the register recording centfx.com as its website.
- Lower risk: the site replacing 'regulated by ASIC with ACN number' with the licence number 516246, a link to the licence, and a plain statement that the Australian licence covers wholesale clients only and not the retail service.
- Lower risk: client funds moved to, and contracted through, the Mauritius licensed entity with segregation confirmed.
- Lower risk: a run of specific, dated withdrawal confirmations from independent users, and the broker answering the refused-withdrawal cases publicly on the record.
- Lower risk: naming the bodies behind the 18 claimed awards, and substantiating the 195 million dollar capital figure in audited form.
- Higher risk: any regulator adding CentFX or centfx.com to a warning or alert list.
- Higher risk: further credible accounts of profit withdrawals refused under the unethical-trading clause, especially a cluster in one window.
- Higher risk, decisive: any demand for an extra payment, tax or fee before funds are released. We found no such case, and one credible instance would change this report substantially.
- Higher risk: the Australian licence being cancelled or suspended while the site keeps advertising it.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
ASIC record for AFS Licence 516246 (CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD)
ASIC's published record of current licensees, showing the licence number, start date and the wholesale-client restriction. The broker publishes no verification link of its own.
Financial Services Commission Mauritius, Online Public Register
Type Cent in the Name box and submit to see the Investment Dealer licence for CENT MARKETS LIMITED dated 23 November 2023.
FinCEN Money Services Business Registrant Search
Search registration number 31000280998965. FinCEN states on this page that inclusion is not a recommendation, certification of legitimacy or endorsement.
IOSCO global investor alert check for CentFX
Warnings published by regulators worldwide. There are no entries for CentFX.
ASIC Moneysmart investor alert list
Search centfx. The list returns no entry, so the Australian regulator has not flagged this operation.
Australian Business Register record for the Australian entity
Confirms CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD, an Australian private company active since 4 February 2019.
CentFX legal and regulatory page
The broker's own statement of its entities and registrations, for comparison with the registers above.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is CentFX a scam?
We rate CentFX high risk at 68 percent rather than a confirmed scam. It holds two licences we verified on the issuers' own records, and no regulator anywhere has flagged it. The reason for the high score is that the company taking client deposits, CentFX Limited of Anguilla, holds no financial licence, and the site describes its Australian licence in a way that overstates what it covers.
Is CentFX a fraud?
We found no evidence of fraud. There is no regulator warning, no enforcement action and no fraud-related court record naming CentFX or any of its entities, and IOSCO's global alert network returns nothing. What we did find is overstated regulatory claims and a number of clients reporting that withdrawals were refused and accounts blocked, which we assess as a high risk to your money rather than a proven crime.
Is CentFX regulated?
Partly, and not where it matters most. CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD holds Australian AFS Licence 516246, but that licence is restricted to wholesale clients and to general advice only. CENT MARKETS LIMITED holds a Mauritius investment dealer licence. The entity that actually contracts with retail clients, CentFX Limited of Anguilla, holds no financial licence at all.
Is CentFX really regulated by ASIC?
The Australian company named on the site genuinely holds an ASIC licence, number 516246, in force since 26 March 2020. But the licence conditions end with the words 'to wholesale clients', so it does not authorise a retail trading business, and it is a different company from the one that holds your deposit. The site also quotes the company number rather than the licence number, which makes the restriction hard to find.
Can I withdraw my money from CentFX?
Many clients do, and several reviewers report withdrawals arriving without trouble. However, on two separate platforms clients describe withdrawals being refused or stalled and accounts then being blocked. One describes a balance of 14,037 dollars from a 3,900 dollar deposit with a June withdrawal refused for 'unethical activity'. Withdrawal fees of up to 2.5 percent plus network costs also apply.
Is my money safe with CentFX?
There is no regulatory safety net for a retail client. Your contract is with an Anguilla company that holds no financial licence, so there is no supervisor to complain to and no compensation scheme if the firm fails or refuses to pay. The Mauritius licence, which does require client-money segregation, stands in the name of a different company.
Who owns CentFX and where is it based?
The contracting entity is CentFX Limited, incorporated in Anguilla with registration A000000971. Day-to-day operations run from Dubai, where both its United States money-services filing and its Terms of Business place it. Related entities are CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD in Australia and CENT MARKETS LIMITED in Mauritius. Individual owners are not disclosed on the site.
How old is CentFX?
The retail brand dates from 2022 by its own account. The Australian company was registered on 4 February 2019, and centfx.com was registered in November 2019, but the domain was parked and advertised for sale as late as February 2021, so the brokerage itself is roughly four years old. The claim of 'over 25 years of experience' on the homepage is not supported by anything we could verify.
What is the Anguilla registration A000000971 worth?
Nothing as regulation. It is a company registration number from Anguilla's Registry of Commercial Activities, which incorporates companies and does not supervise brokers, hold client money rules or run a compensation scheme. The broker's own Terms of Business calls it a 'Global Business License', which is misleading, because it is not a licence of any kind.
Does the FinCEN registration mean CentFX is approved in the United States?
No. The registration is real, confirmed under number 31000280998965 in the name of CentFX Limited at a Dubai address. But FinCEN states plainly on its own search page that inclusion is not a recommendation, certification of legitimacy or endorsement, and it warns that fraudsters misuse these listings. It is an anti-money-laundering filing, not supervision of a brokerage.
Did CentFX claim to be regulated in Saint Vincent?
Yes. Until at least August 2022 the site stated 'Regulated by FSA of Saint Vincent' and gave 'Global Business License No. 26620 IBC 2022'. Saint Vincent's authority does not license or regulate forex brokers, so that regulation never existed, and the number quoted was a company registration. The claim has since been replaced by the Anguilla registration.
Is CentFX a clone of another broker?
No. We found no sign that CentFX uses another company's licence, name or registration. The reverse appears to be true: its own footer warns that lookalike domains are impersonating the brand, so check that you are on centfx.com before depositing anywhere.
Why does CentFX offer an Arbitrage account if arbitrage is banned?
That contradiction sits in the broker's own published material. The homepage sells an account type called Arbitrage, while the footer policy prohibits arbitrage, latency arbitrage, expert advisors and scalping under 180 seconds. It matters because clients describe that unethical-trading language being used to refuse withdrawals of profit.
What should I check before depositing with CentFX?
Verify the ASIC licence by its number, 516246, not by the company number on the site, and read the condition limiting it to wholesale clients. Confirm which entity your account agreement names. Read the prohibited-trading policy against your own strategy. Then test a small withdrawal before committing real capital, and never pay a fee to release funds.
What do I do if CentFX will not pay me?
Gather your deposit records, trade history, withdrawal requests and all correspondence. Raise a chargeback or dispute with your card issuer or bank, since that is usually the only practical route when the contracting company is offshore and unlicensed. Report the matter to the financial regulator where you live, and do not pay anyone who promises to recover your funds for an upfront fee.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Treat CentFX as a high-risk offshore broker and size any exposure accordingly.
- Understand who holds your money. It is an Anguilla company with no financial licence. If it refuses to pay, there is no regulator to complain to and no compensation scheme.
- Do not rely on the Australian licence. It belongs to a different company and covers wholesale clients only. It gives a retail client of centfx.com no protection.
- Read the trading policy before funding. Expert advisors, arbitrage and scalping under 180 seconds are prohibited, and clients describe that clause being used to refuse profit withdrawals. If your strategy touches any of it, assume payment will be contested.
- Test withdrawals early and small, before committing capital, and keep records of every deposit, ticket and conversation.
- Never pay a fee, tax or charge to release a withdrawal. No legitimate broker requires one.
- Check the claims yourself using the official links below. Verify the ASIC licence by number 516246, not by the company number on the site.
- If you are already blocked or unpaid, file with your card issuer or bank, and report to the regulator in your own country of residence.
This is an independent assessment of risk, not a legal ruling. Scores and verdicts follow the Wikilix broker-safety methodology and can change as new evidence appears. Review scores are treated with caution when a broker’s reviews look manipulated. Last reviewed October 6, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.
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