Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
9/10 · CriticalAdvertised FSCA FSP 51303, which the register shows belongs to ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd; a name search returns no licence for Tradeland, and FSP 51303 has no representatives.
Identity & transparency
8/10 · CriticalNo office address published on any page, a support number too short to be dialled, no registration number, and no companies registry record we could confirm.
Withdrawals & conduct
5/10 · ModerateNo complaints of refused withdrawals found anywhere, and several users reported being paid, including within 72 hours; the risk now is that the sites closed with no route to recover any remaining balance.
Reputation
6/10 · HighThin footprint of 12 Trustpilot reviews, 92 percent five star with zero critical ratings, mostly single-review accounts posted in one 2022 burst and nothing in the last year.
Website claims
9/10 · CriticalDescribed itself as a trusted broker "registered and regulated in South Africa by FSCA... holding FSP license number 51303", a licence it did not hold.
Operational history
7/10 · HighBroker content runs only from 2022 to late 2024, then all three web addresses were dropped or parked with no closing notice to clients.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
- Brand: TradelandFX (also written Tradeland FX and TradeLandFX)
- Legal entity: Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd
- Registered: claimed South Africa. We could not confirm the company on any South African companies registry, and no registration number was published on its site.
- Website: tradeland.net (now a parking page). It also used tradelandfx.com (now a parking page) and tradelandfx.live (no longer resolves).
- Only licence claimed: FSCA FSP 51303. That number belongs to ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, not to this company.
- Offers: forex, share and index CFDs, spot metals, spot energies, cryptocurrencies, MT4, copy trading and trading courses.
- Contact published: customersupport@tradelandfx.com and the number +173283526, which is too short to be a working international number. No street address appeared anywhere on the site.
- Age claim: the site carried a 2022 copyright. Its domain was first registered in 2007 but sat unused for years, and the broker content only appears from 2022 to late 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
FSCA
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
The decisive evidence comes from the regulator's own register, which we searched directly.
- The licence number is somebody else's. We entered 51303 in the FSCA register of authorised financial services providers. It returns one result: ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, company registration 2020/533869/07, authorised on 10 June 2021, physical address 29 First Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg. Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd appears nowhere in that record.
- Tradeland holds no licence at all. A partial name search for "TRADELAND" on the same register returns "There are 0 FSPs that match your search criteria". A search for "TRADE LAND" also returns zero.
- It was not operating under ACI Trading's licence either. The register entry for FSP 51303 states "This FSP doesn't have any Representatives". In South Africa a company can legally act under another provider's licence as an appointed representative. That route is closed here, because there are none.
- The claim was made in plain words. The site's regulation notice, still visible in a copy of the page saved on 13 November 2024, read: "Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd. is a company registered and regulated in South Africa by FSCA (Financial Service Conduct Authority) and holding FSP license number 51303." That is a statement about itself, and the register contradicts it.
- The licence would not have covered this business anyway. FSP 51303 is a Category I authorisation for advice and intermediary services. It is not a licence to run a retail trading book as the counterparty to clients.
- Basic identity details were missing. No office address on any page, and a support telephone number with too few digits to dial.
- The review record looks managed rather than organic. Its Trustpilot page carries 12 reviews at 4.4 out of 5: 92 percent five star, 8 percent four star and not a single one, two or three star review. Almost every reviewer has exactly one lifetime review, most were posted between March and August 2022 just after the profile was claimed, and there have been no reviews at all in the past 12 months.
- The business has since disappeared. tradelandfx.live no longer resolves, and both tradeland.net and tradelandfx.com now show registrar parking pages.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1The FSCA register of authorised financial services providers returns one result for licence number 51303: "ACI TRADING (PTY) LTD", company registration 2020/533869/07, FSP type Company - Private, status Authorized, date authorised 10/06/2021, physical address 29 First Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg 2193. Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd does not appear on this record. The licence Tradeland advertised is another company's licence.
E2A partial name search on the same FSCA register for "TRADELAND" returns the message "There are 0 FSPs that match your search criteria." A further search for "TRADE LAND" also returns zero. Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd holds no FSCA authorisation under any spelling we tried.
E3The FSCA record for FSP 51303 states "This FSP doesn't have any Representatives". Tradeland therefore could not have been lawfully operating as an appointed representative under that licence, which was the main innocent explanation available.
E4The broker's own regulation notice, in a copy of its home page saved on 13 November 2024, reads: "Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd. is a company registered and regulated in South Africa by FSCA (Financial Service Conduct Authority) and holding FSP license number 51303." This is the company stating in its own words that it held a licence the register shows belongs to another firm.
E5The FSCA record for FSP 51303 lists approved products under Category I only, marked for advice on a non-automated basis and intermediary services. That is an advice and intermediary authorisation, not permission to run a retail trading book as the client's counterparty, so the licence would not have covered the business Tradeland was operating even if it had held it.
E6The broker's contact page published only an email address and the telephone number +173283526, which has too few digits to be a working international number. No street address appears on the home page or the contact page, despite the company presenting itself as a regulated South African firm.
E7The Trustpilot page for tradelandfx.com shows 12 reviews and a 4.4 score, split 92 percent five star and 8 percent four star, with no one, two or three star reviews at all. Almost every reviewer has a single lifetime review, most were posted between March and August 2022 shortly after the profile was claimed in March 2022, and the page records no reviews in the last 12 months. The distribution and timing indicate managed reviews rather than an organic customer base.
E8The broker's main website tradeland.net now displays a registrar parking page reading "tradeland.net is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com." The domain was registered on 21 August 2020 and remains held, but carries no broker content. The operation is no longer trading from this address.
E9The brand's other main address, tradelandfx.com, also now shows a GoDaddy parking page. The domain was first registered on 9 July 2007 and was last changed on 10 July 2026. Saved copies show broker content only between March 2022 and November 2024, with the earliest 2008 copies showing an unrelated broken page, so the long domain age does not reflect a long trading history.
E10The third address recorded for this broker, tradelandfx.live, no longer resolves at all. Together with the two parked domains, this shows the operation has been abandoned rather than moved, and no closing notice to clients was published.
E11A sweep of the public regulator warning and alert lists on 4 August 2026 found no entry naming Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd, TradelandFX or any of its web addresses. Warning lists typically lag new cases by months, so this absence is recorded for completeness and is not evidence the broker was sound.
E12We found no complaints alleging refused or blocked withdrawals on any platform. Several users writing in 2022 and 2023 reported the opposite, including one who said funds arrived within 72 hours and another who described withdrawing a 750 dollar profit. There is no evidence of a withdrawal trap or of client money being taken, which is why the verdict stops short of confirmed scam.
E13ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, the genuine holder of FSP 51303, is a separate South African broker operating in its own right. We found no corporate link, shared ownership or group relationship between it and Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd, and nothing indicating it permitted Tradeland to use its licence number.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
We tried hard to find an innocent explanation before reaching this verdict, and two points genuinely count in the company's favour.
- It was an appointed representative. This was the strongest possible defence, and we tested it directly. The FSCA entry for FSP 51303 states it has no representatives, so Tradeland could not have been operating lawfully under that number.
- A typing error or a stale register. We considered that the number might be mistyped. But the register is searchable by name as well as number, and no company containing "Tradeland" appears at all. A wrong digit would not explain a total absence.
- Part of a wider licensed group. We found no evidence that Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd is related to ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, which is a separate South African broker in its own right. Equally, we found nothing showing Tradeland was entitled to use its number.
- Clients did get paid. This matters and we credit it. We found no complaints anywhere alleging refused withdrawals. Several users, writing in 2022 and 2023, said the opposite. One reported being paid within 72 hours, and another described withdrawing a 750 dollar profit. There is no evidence of a withdrawal trap or of money being stolen, which is why we stop short of calling this a confirmed scam.
- No regulator has named it. We swept the public warning and alert lists on 4 August 2026 and found no entry naming this company or any of its web addresses. Those lists lag new cases by months, so this is not a clean bill of health, but it is honest to record it.
- The old domain history is not itself suspicious. tradelandfx.com dates from 2007, long before this broker existed. We checked the early copies of the site and they show an unrelated, broken page, not a recycled scam brand.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
Here is exactly what would move this verdict, in either direction.
- Towards legitimate: an FSCA register entry showing Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd as an authorised provider in its own right, or listed as a representative of FSP 51303, with dates covering the period it was taking deposits.
- Towards legitimate: a written mandate from ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd confirming Tradeland was authorised to act under FSP 51303, together with an FSCA record supporting it.
- Towards legitimate: a South African companies registry record for Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd matching a published address, plus evidence of an orderly wind-down in which client balances were returned.
- Towards confirmed scam: a warning or alert from the FSCA or any other regulator naming this company or one of its web addresses.
- Towards confirmed scam: credible first-hand reports, with dates and amounts, of withdrawals being refused or of balances lost when the sites went offline.
- Towards confirmed scam: evidence tying the operators to a successor brand using the same contact details, wording or infrastructure.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
FSCA register of authorised financial services providers
Enter 51303 to see the licence is held by ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, or search the name Tradeland for no results.
FSCA regulated people and entities
The South African regulator's official gateway to all of its public registers.
Trustpilot reviews for tradelandfx.com
12 reviews, all posted in 2022, with no critical ratings at all.
Saved copy of the site's own regulation notice
Page saved on 13 November 2024 showing the FSCA and FSP 51303 claim in the footer.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is TradelandFX a scam?
We rate it a likely scam. It advertised a South African FSCA licence number that the regulator's own register shows belongs to a different company, ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, and Tradeland itself holds no licence. Its websites have since gone offline. We did not find proof of stolen deposits, which is the only reason we stop short of a confirmed scam verdict.
Is TradelandFX regulated?
No. We searched the FSCA register on 4 August 2026 by both licence number and company name. There is no authorisation for Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd. The company was not regulated anywhere that we could find.
What is FSP licence 51303?
It is a genuine South African licence, but it is not Tradeland's. FSP 51303 is registered to ACI Trading (Pty) Ltd, company registration 2020/533869/07, authorised on 10 June 2021, at 29 First Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg. It is a Category I authorisation for advice and intermediary services.
Could TradelandFX have been allowed to use ACI Trading's licence?
No. South African rules do let one company act under another provider's licence as an appointed representative, so we checked. The FSCA entry for FSP 51303 states it has no representatives at all.
Can I still withdraw my money from TradelandFX?
There is no working website, so there is no normal way to withdraw. Try the support email in writing and keep records. Do not pay any fee, tax or extra deposit that anyone says is needed to release your funds.
Was my money protected?
No. Client money protection in South Africa depends on being with a licensed and supervised provider. Because this company held no licence, none of those protections applied and there is no compensation scheme to claim from.
Who owned TradelandFX?
The site named Tradeland SA (Pty) Ltd as the operating company but published no directors, no registration number and no office address. We could not confirm the company on a South African companies registry, so the ownership remains undisclosed.
How old was TradelandFX?
Its main domain dates from 2007, but that is misleading. The earliest broker content we found is from March 2022, and the site itself carried a 2022 copyright. The last working version of the site we located is from November 2024.
Is TradelandFX a clone of another broker?
It wore another regulated firm's licence number, which is the core of a clone pattern. We found no sign that it copied ACI Trading's name, logo or branding. It appears to have taken the number rather than the whole identity.
Why does TradelandFX have good reviews?
Its Trustpilot page shows 12 reviews at 4.4 out of 5, with 92 percent five star and not one negative review. Almost every reviewer posted only once, most in a short burst in 2022, and nothing has been posted for over a year. That pattern points to managed reviews rather than a genuine customer base, and it says nothing about whether the licence claim was true.
Has any regulator issued a warning about TradelandFX?
Not that we found. We swept the public warning and alert lists on 4 August 2026 and saw no entry naming this company or its web addresses. Warning lists usually lag new cases by months, so this is not evidence the broker was sound.
What should I check before depositing with any broker?
Take the licence number printed on the site and look it up on the regulator's own register, never on the broker's page. Then check that the company name on the register is exactly the company asking for your money, and that the licence permits trading rather than only advice. That single check is what uncovered this case.
What do I do if I was scammed by TradelandFX?
Report it to the FSCA in South Africa and to the police or regulator where you live, with dates, amounts and payment records. Contact your bank or card issuer quickly, since recent card payments may be reversible. Ignore anyone who offers to recover your money for an upfront fee.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Do not send money to this brand, and treat any approach using this name as high risk.
- Do not deposit. The websites are gone and no licensed entity stands behind the name. There is no regulated firm to complain to.
- If you still hold a balance, put your request in writing to the support address, keep copies of everything, and do not pay any fee, tax or margin demanded before a withdrawal. Legitimate brokers never require that.
- If you lost money, report it to the FSCA in South Africa and to the police or financial regulator where you live. Take your bank or card provider a full record of payments, since a chargeback may still be possible on recent card deposits.
- Ignore recovery offers. Anyone who contacts you promising to recover these funds for an upfront fee is running a second scam.
- Be careful with the name. If a new site appears using this brand, treat it as unconnected and unproven until a regulator's own register confirms otherwise.
- Before any broker, take the licence number from the site and look it up yourself on the regulator's register. Check that the company name on the register is the same one asking for your deposit. That single step is what exposed this case.
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 4, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.