Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
7/10 · HighTwo regulator warning-list hits naming the exact domain. The one genuine licence, FSCA FSP 53229, is intermediary-only, has a requested lapse on file, and does not cover the unlicensed Saint Lucia entity that holds client funds.
Identity & transparency
6/10 · HighBoth legal entities, registration numbers and real addresses are disclosed, which we credit, but the FSCA record still shows the former company name, the licence scope is not explained, no verification links are published, and a sister brand discloses London and Dubai offices the main site omits.
Withdrawals & conduct
9/10 · Critical27 withdrawal complaints across Trustpilot, ForexPeaceArmy and BrokersView with account numbers, dates and sums up to 20,000 dollars, spanning March 2024 to April 2026, against only 16 percent of negative reviews receiving a reply.
Reputation
9/10 · CriticalTrustpilot 2.6 out of 5 across 137 reviews with 40 percent one star, plus low scores on multiple aggregators and two national regulator warnings; positive reviews are burst-dated and rarely mention a completed withdrawal.
Website claims
8/10 · CriticalPresents FSP 53229 as being an authorised financial services provider without disclosing that the permission is intermediary-only, is recorded under a different name, is lapsing, and does not cover the entity holding deposits; no register verification link is offered.
Operational history
5/10 · ModerateRoughly two years and nine months of trading history, with the domain created in November 2023 and the site first archived in May 2024; the infrastructure is real and continuous, but the track record is short and complaints began within months of launch.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
The desk file on this operation:
- Brand: Raze Markets
- Legal entity (holds your money): Raze Global Markets Ltd, Saint Lucia, company number 2023-00261
- Second entity: Raze Markets South Africa (Pty) Ltd, South African company number 2021/321898/07. The FSCA still records this company under its former name, Whiterock Brokers (Pty) Ltd.
- Registered: Ground Floor, The Sotheby Building, Rodney Village, Rodney Bay, Gros-Islet, Saint Lucia. The South African office is 48 Dan Pienaar Circle, Plumstead, Cape Town.
- Website: www.razemarkets.com
- Only licence: FSCA FSP 53229, a South African Category I intermediary authorisation with a requested lapse on file
- Offers: MetaTrader 5, contracts for difference on forex, indices, shares, metals and crypto, plus copy trading, PAMM and MAM accounts and a separate funded-trader brand at instantbyraze.com
- Not accepted: residents of the United States, Singapore, China and North Korea, plus sanctioned jurisdictions
- Age claim: the site states no founding year. The domain was registered on 2 November 2023 and the first archived copy of the site dates from May 2024.
Regulation
Who really oversees this broker, and what each licence is worth to you.
Proof of regulation on an official register: No
We could not confirm this broker on any genuine regulator’s register.
Licences the broker publishes
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
Saint Lucia Registry of International Business Companies
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
We reached this verdict on primary regulator records that we opened ourselves, not on review-site opinion.
- Two regulators name the exact website. The FCA warning of 10 October 2025 lists the website www.razemarkets.com, the phone +442080680696, the email support@razemarkets.com and the Sotheby Building address in Saint Lucia. Every one of those matches the live site. There is no room for a name mix-up here. The Bank of Russia listed the same domain on 16 August 2024, fourteen months earlier and quite independently.
- The advertised licence does not permit running a brokerage. We searched FSP number 53229 on the FSCA register. It returns Category I permissions with marks in the intermediary columns only. Nothing is marked under advice, and a Category I intermediary permission does not let a firm act as the dealer on the other side of a client trade. A South African firm issuing its own contracts for difference needs a separate derivatives provider licence, which this one does not hold.
- That licence is being wound down. The register shows the status as Authorised (Requested Laps). The licence holder has itself asked the authority to end it, while the website continues to present it as a live credential.
- The licence does not cover the company holding your money. The FSCA permission sits with the small South African company. Deposits go to Raze Global Markets Ltd in Saint Lucia, which holds no financial licence of any kind. A Saint Lucia company number is an incorporation, not regulation, and Saint Lucia does not license forex brokers.
- Clients report money they cannot get back. Trustpilot carries 137 reviews at 2.6 out of 5, with 40 percent at one star. Of the negative reviews, 27 are about withdrawals. They carry the detail that marks real cases: account numbers, request dates and exact sums such as 9,500 euros requested in November 2025 and still unpaid three months later, 10,000 pounds, 20,000 dollars, 700 dollars and 380 pounds. The same pattern appears on ForexPeaceArmy and on BrokersView, with complaints running into April 2026. The company replies to only 16 percent of negative reviews, often with the same pasted paragraph.
- The positive reviews do not describe getting paid. They praise the platform, the spreads and the onboarding. Almost none describe a completed withdrawal, and most cluster in a few burst-dated groups in mid-2024.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1The UK Financial Conduct Authority published a warning on 10 October 2025 naming the website www.razemarkets.com, the telephone number +442080680696, the email support@razemarkets.com and the address Ground Floor, The Sotheby Building, Rodney Village, Rodney Bay, Gros-Islet, Saint Lucia. The FCA states the firm is not authorised by it and may be targeting people in the UK. Every identifying detail matches the live site.
Hard proofFinancial Conduct Authority warning listE2The Bank of Russia added RAZE MARKETS and Raze Global Markets, website razemarkets.com, to its list of companies showing signs of illegal activity on 16 August 2024, under the category of an illegal professional securities market participant. This is a separate regulator in a separate jurisdiction, fourteen months before the FCA warning.
Hard proofBank of Russia warning listE3Searching FSP number 53229 on the FSCA register returns a Category I authorisation with marks only in the Intermediary Scripted and Intermediary Other columns. No advice permissions are recorded, and no dealing permission is present. An intermediary permission of this kind does not authorise a firm to issue contracts for difference to retail clients as principal.
E4The same FSCA record shows the status of FSP 53229 as Authorised (Requested Laps), meaning the licence holder has asked the authority to allow the licence to lapse, while the broker's website continues to advertise the licence as a current credential.
E5The FSCA record for FSP 53229 lists the licensed entity as WHITEROCK BROKERS (PTY) LTD with company registration number 2021/321898/07 and a date authorised of 18 December 2023. That registration number is identical to the one Raze publishes for Raze Markets South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which shows the licence belongs to the same legal person after a company name change and is not another firm's licence. This refutes the clone hypothesis and corrects review sites that attribute FSP 53229 to an unrelated company.
E6A search of the FSCA register by provider name for RAZE returns only KARL FRANZ MRAZEK, whose licence has lapsed, and TRAZE (PTY) LTD, an unrelated company. No financial services provider is registered with the FSCA under any Raze Markets name.
E7The broker's own legal and regulations page states that Raze Markets South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorized financial services provider licensed by the FSCA with FSP licence number 53229, and that Raze Global Markets Ltd is registered in Saint Lucia under number 2023-00261. It gives no link to any regulator register, does not disclose that the permission is intermediary-only, and does not state which entity holds client funds.
E8Trustpilot shows a score of 2.6 out of 5 across 137 reviews, with 55 percent five star and 40 percent one star and almost nothing in between. Twenty seven of the negative reviews concern withdrawals and carry specific detail, including 9,500 euros requested on 27 November 2025 and still unpaid in February 2026 under account number 198851, 10,000 pounds, 20,000 dollars, 700 dollars requested on 16 May 2025, and 380 pounds. Complaints run from March 2024 to February 2026 and originate from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Ireland.
E9A further withdrawal complaint of the same pattern appears on ForexPeaceArmy, describing a withdrawal requested on 27 November 2025 with around seven emails and five support tickets unanswered. This appears to be the same complainant as the largest Trustpilot case and has not been counted twice.
E10Raze Global Markets Ltd is a Saint Lucia international business company. Saint Lucia does not license or supervise forex and contract for difference brokers, so this registration is a corporate incorporation only and confers no financial regulation or client protection, despite being presented alongside the FSCA claim.
E11The aggregator WikiFX scores the broker 1.41 out of 10 with the note that no forex trading licence was found, and displays both the FCA and Bank of Russia disclosures. The dealer page is tied to razemarkets.com and is distinct from a separate WikiFX page for a similarly named firm, which we excluded.
E12The domain razemarkets.com was created on 2 November 2023 through GoDaddy, with the earliest certificate issued on 15 November 2023 and the first archived copy of the site captured in May 2024. The site advertises no founding year, so there is no contradiction between the claimed and actual age of the business.
E13The company replies to a share of negative reviews, at least one reviewer confirmed receiving funds back, and in one documented case the company explained that a withdrawal was refused for a stated reason and the client did not respond to contact. A number of one-star reviews are themselves adverts for fund-recovery services rather than genuine customer complaints, and we excluded those from the count.
E14A warning sweep found no entry for this broker on the CFTC RED List, the BaFin database, the FSMA Belgium list of unlawful operators, the Hong Kong SFC alert list, or the CNMV foreign warning relay list, and no FSCA press release or public statement names Raze Markets or Whiterock Brokers. Absence from these lists is recorded as of 5 August 2026 and is not clearance.
E15A linked funded-trader brand at instantbyraze.com is operated by the same legal entity, Raze Global Markets Ltd of Saint Lucia under registration 2023-00261 at the same Sotheby Building address, and discloses offices in London, Dubai and Tashkent that the main website does not mention. The London presence is notable given the FCA warning about unauthorised activity aimed at UK residents.
ModerateInstant Funding by Raze website
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
We looked hard for the innocent explanation, and part of it holds up. This is the fair case for Raze Markets.
- This is not a clone, and we want to be clear about that. Several review sites claim FSP 53229 belongs to an unrelated firm called Quant X. We checked the FSCA register directly and that claim is simply wrong. The licence sits with company registration number 2021/321898/07, which is the very same number Raze publishes for its South African arm. The company was renamed from Whiterock Brokers to Raze Markets South Africa, and the register has not caught up. Raze is wearing its own licence, not somebody else's. We have set the clone flag to false and corrected our own records accordingly.
- The corporate disclosure is real. Both legal entities, both registration numbers and both addresses are published on the site. The South African company genuinely exists at a genuine Cape Town address. Plenty of worse operations disclose nothing at all.
- A register can lag a name change. The gap between the FSCA record and the current trading name is, on its own, an administrative lag rather than proof of dishonesty.
- The business looks operational. There is a real MetaTrader 5 server, a client portal, a back office, PAMM and copy-trading infrastructure and an active LinkedIn presence with staff and job adverts. This is not an empty shell page.
- Some clients are paid. The company does answer a share of complaints, at least one reviewer confirmed receiving funds back, and in one case the company explained a withdrawal was refused for a stated reason and the client did not respond.
- Some complaints are contaminated. At least four one-star reviews are recovery-scam adverts rather than genuine customers, and one complaint appears on two sites with different amounts. We excluded those from our count.
What defeats all of this is scope. A renamed company with a real intermediary permission that is being allowed to lapse still does not answer why two national regulators say this website sells financial services without permission, or why the money sits in an unlicensed Saint Lucia company.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
We publish what would move this verdict, and we will re-examine it if any of the following happens.
- The FCA removes or withdraws its warning against www.razemarkets.com, or confirms it was issued in error.
- The Bank of Russia removes razemarkets.com from its list of companies showing signs of illegal activity.
- Raze obtains a licence that actually covers issuing contracts for difference to retail clients, such as a South African over-the-counter derivatives provider licence or an equivalent tier-one or tier-two authorisation, held by the entity that receives client deposits.
- The FSCA register is updated to show the company under its current name with dealing permissions and the requested lapse withdrawn.
- The pattern of unpaid withdrawals stops, and clients who reported sums such as the 9,500 euros and 10,000 pounds confirm publicly that they were paid.
- An independent, verifiable account showing large withdrawals being processed within the advertised 24 to 48 hours over a sustained period.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
FCA warning: RazeMarkets
UK regulator warning naming this exact website, phone, email and address.
Bank of Russia warning list entry
Lists razemarkets.com for signs of an illegal securities market participant.
FSCA authorised FSP search
Type 53229 in the FSP number box to see the licence record and its permissions.
Raze Markets legal and regulations page
The broker's own wording of its FSCA and Saint Lucia claims.
Raze Markets South Africa page
Where the FSP number and South African company number are published.
Trustpilot reviews for razemarkets.com
Customer reviews, including the withdrawal complaints we counted.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is Raze Markets a scam?
We rate it a confirmed scam risk. The UK Financial Conduct Authority warned about www.razemarkets.com on 10 October 2025, and the Bank of Russia listed the same website on 16 August 2024. Alongside those warnings, dozens of clients report withdrawals that were never paid. We would not put money with this broker.
Is Raze Markets regulated?
Not for the business it actually runs. It advertises FSCA licence 53229 in South Africa. That licence is real, but it is an intermediary-only permission that does not allow a firm to issue contracts for difference, and the holder has asked for it to lapse. The company that takes your deposits sits in Saint Lucia and holds no financial licence at all.
Who really holds FSCA licence 53229?
The FSCA register records it under WHITEROCK BROKERS (PTY) LTD, company number 2021/321898/07. That is the same company number Raze publishes for Raze Markets South Africa (Pty) Ltd, so it is the same business after a name change, not a stolen licence. Some review sites wrongly claim the number belongs to a firm called Quant X. We checked the register and that is incorrect.
Can I withdraw my money from Raze Markets?
Many clients say they cannot. We counted 27 withdrawal complaints among the negative Trustpilot reviews, with named sums including 9,500 euros, 10,000 pounds, 20,000 dollars and 700 dollars. The common pattern is a request accepted, then long delays against an advertised 24 to 48 hour turnaround, then silence. Some clients were paid, but very few positive reviews mention completing a withdrawal.
Is my money safe with Raze Markets?
No, in our view. Your deposits go to Raze Global Markets Ltd in Saint Lucia, a jurisdiction that does not regulate forex brokers. There is no compensation scheme and no ombudsman behind that company. The FCA states plainly that clients of this firm have no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Who owns Raze Markets?
The business trades through two disclosed companies: Raze Global Markets Ltd in Saint Lucia, registration 2023-00261, and Raze Markets South Africa (Pty) Ltd, registration 2021/321898/07, previously named Whiterock Brokers (Pty) Ltd. The site does not name its ultimate owners or directors, and we could not confirm them from public records.
How old is Raze Markets?
The domain razemarkets.com was registered on 2 November 2023, and the earliest archived copy of the website is from May 2024. That makes the operation roughly two and a half years old. The site does not advertise a founding year, so there is no age claim that contradicts this.
What is a Saint Lucia registration worth for a broker?
Very little. It is a company incorporation, the same paperwork any business can buy, and it is not a financial services licence. Saint Lucia does not license or supervise forex and contract for difference brokers at all. Any broker presenting a Saint Lucia number alongside the word regulated is overstating what it has.
What does the FSCA status Authorised (Requested Laps) mean?
It means the licence is still on the register, but the licence holder has asked the authority to let it lapse. A lapse is a voluntary end to the authorisation rather than a penalty. What matters for you is that the firm is stepping away from its only regulatory permission while still advertising it as current.
Is Raze Markets a clone of another broker?
No. We specifically tested that and it fails. Clone firms quote a licence number belonging to somebody else. Here the licence number ties to the same company registration number that Raze itself publishes, so the firm is using its own licence under an old name. The problem is not impersonation, it is that the licence does not cover the business.
Are the positive reviews of Raze Markets genuine?
Treat them with care. The Trustpilot profile is sharply split, with 55 percent five star and 40 percent one star and almost nothing in between, which is a common sign of managed reviews. Most positives praise the platform and onboarding rather than getting paid, many come from single-review accounts, and they cluster into a few short bursts in mid-2024.
What should I do if I have already been scammed by Raze Markets?
Request a full withdrawal in writing and keep every record. Contact your bank or card provider about a chargeback or fraud reimbursement. Report the firm to your national regulator, and to the FCA on 0800 111 6768 if you are in the UK. Never pay a fee to release your funds, and ignore anyone promising to recover your money for an upfront payment, because those are a second scam.
What should I check before depositing with any broker?
Find the licence number and look it up on the regulator's own register, not on the broker's website. Check three things: that the licence permits dealing in the products you will trade, that it is currently active, and that it is held by the exact company that will receive your money. If the company taking your deposit is offshore while the licence sits with a different entity, walk away.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Our advice to anyone considering or already holding an account here:
- Do not deposit money. Two national regulators have publicly warned about this exact website.
- If you have funds there, request a full withdrawal now and keep written records of the request date, the amount and every reply.
- Send nothing further. Do not pay any tax, fee, commission or verification charge asked of you in order to release a withdrawal. Legitimate brokers do not require that.
- Report it. UK residents can report to the FCA on 0800 111 6768. South African clients can raise the conduct of FSP 53229 with the FSCA on 0800 20 37 22. Report to your national regulator wherever you live.
- Go through your bank or card issuer. Ask about a chargeback or, for UK payments made on or after 7 October 2024, about reimbursement protections for authorised push payment fraud.
- Ignore anyone offering to recover your money for an upfront fee. Several such adverts are already posted among the reviews of this broker. They are a second fraud aimed at the same victims.
- Check before you deposit anywhere else. Search the broker on the FCA register and warning list, and confirm the licence covers the company that will actually hold your money.
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 August 5, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.