Retail Forex License Brokers

Six brokers on WIKILIX are recorded under the retail forex license type, and every one of them is a Japanese firm. This page lists all six, ranked by overall score, and the table below sets out each firm's licences and leverage cap alongside the year it opened. The scores run from 51.7 down to 36.5, with a midpoint of 44.4, so this is a small and fairly even field rather than one with a runaway leader.

What the retail forex license type covers here

A retail forex license is the permission a firm needs to offer over-the-counter currency trading directly to ordinary customers, rather than only to institutions or through an exchange. The six firms recorded this way are all securities companies registered in Japan. Gaitame Finest, which opened in 2007, holds the highest score in the group at 51.7. Shizuoka Tokai Securities is by far the oldest name here, trading since 1951, while the other five all opened between 2000 and 2007.

Four of the six carry a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The remaining two, FXTF and FOREX EXCHANGE, appear on record only with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The same four CySEC holders each list a second authority as well, so two thirds of this list is regulated by more than one body. The licences shown are the ones we hold on record, and every firm here currently carries a recorded status of regulation rather than any warning flag. Confirm any single licence on the issuing authority's own register before you deposit.

Leverage caps, and what the list leaves out

Leverage is held tightly across this group. We hold a maximum figure for five of the six. Three cap accounts at 1:100 and two, FXTF and JFX, stop at 1:25, which is low by the standards of the wider market. Shizuoka Tokai has no leverage figure on record at all. A cap reflects the specific entity you contract with, so the same brand can run different ceilings under different licences.

This list is built from the licence type on record and nothing more. It does not measure spreads or execution quality, and it does not tell you which of these firms will take you on as a client. A Japanese registered address says where a company is based, not who it accepts, so a trader outside Japan should read each firm's own account terms before assuming the door is open.

Before you open an account with one of these firms

• Confirm the exact licence number on the register of the authority named, since a retail forex permission is tied to one legal entity.
• Check which licensed entity your account will sit under, because the leverage cap and the investor protection attached to a CySEC licence differ from those under the local Japanese registration.
• Read the firm's client acceptance terms for your own country before depositing, as a Japanese domicile does not mean worldwide onboarding.
• Weigh the recorded opening year: only Shizuoka Tokai predates 2000, and length of trading history is one of the few things this small field genuinely varies on.