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CySEC Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) authorises and supervises Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), fund managers, administrative service providers and, since the MiCAR register replaced the national crypto regime, crypto-asset entities. A CySEC licence brings a firm inside the Investor Compensation Fund, which pays the lower of 90% of a covered claim and 20,000 EUR, and only to non-professional clients. CySEC states it has no restitution powers, so money disputes go to the firm first and then to the Financial Ombudsman, within four months of the firm's final answer. Every licensed firm, and every website address it is approved to use, is listed on CySEC's own public registers.

Country
Cyprus
Jurisdiction
Government Reg.
Established in
2001
Forex Regulation
84
Overall Rating
226
Licensed Brokers
High
Transparency Index
Tier 2
Global Tier
IOSCO Member
FATF Member
The regulator
Updated

About CySEC

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) authorises and supervises Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), fund managers, administrative service providers and, since the MiCAR register replaced the national crypto regime, crypto-asset entities. A CySEC licence brings a firm inside the Investor Compensation Fund, which pays the lower of 90% of a covered claim and 20,000 EUR, and only to non-professional clients. CySEC states it has no restitution powers, so money disputes go to the firm first and then to the Financial Ombudsman, within four months of the firm's final answer. Every licensed firm, and every website address it is approved to use, is listed on CySEC's own public registers.

Tier 2
Brokers on the record
226
Compensation cap (ICF)
€20,000
Retail leverage cap
1:30
Cost of a licence
€50,000–100,000

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulates and supervises the financial markets of the Republic of Cyprus. It was established in 2001 under Section 5 of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Establishment and Responsibilities) Law, as an independent public legal entity. The firms under it include investment firms, asset managers, fund operators and brokers.

Its stated mission

"To exercise effective supervision to protect investors and foster the dissemination of information for the healthy development of the securities market".

CySEC updates its rulebook as European and international standards move, which is most of what keeps that mission current.

Powers

These are set out in the Law on the Structure, Responsibilities, Powers and Organization of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Law 73(I)/2009.

Licensing. CySEC reviews applications, issues licences, and can suspend or revoke one.

Supervising markets. The Cyprus Stock Exchange and other organised markets.

Compliance monitoring. Whether a regulated firm keeps to the national and EU law covering what it does.

Investigations. Inquiries into suspected breaches, with foreign regulators where a case crosses borders.

Information requests. CySEC can require information from any person, company or organisation it needs it from.

Sanctions. Administrative fines and disciplinary action.

Stopping unlawful activity. It can order trading or an activity that breaches securities law to stop.

Court applications. It can ask a court to freeze or detain assets, or to limit what a firm may do.

Directives and decisions. Written standards, so regulated firms and the market read the same rule the same way.

International co-operation. Sharing information with European and international supervisory authorities.

Who is supervised

Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), branches of EU-based investment firms established in Cyprus, tied agents of CIFs, and undertakings for collective investment, among others.

Its stated values

Effectiveness, integrity and trustworthiness, transparency, equity and fairness, co-operation and teamwork, and open communication.

On the record

Established
2001
Country
Cyprus flagCyprus
Oversight
Government body
Scope
Regulates forex and CFD brokers
Membership
IOSCO and FATF member
Transparency
High
Public register
Open the register
Website
cysec.gov.cy
Phone
357 22506600
Email
info@cysec.gov.cy
Online contact
cysec.gov.cy
Protection check

What a licence from CySEC protects

Under CySEC rules, client money at a licensed firm is covered by a compensation scheme, and a dispute the firm will not settle can go to Cyprus Financial Ombudsman.

5 facts on record
  • Compensation schemeUp to €20000 (ICF)
  • Client money kept separate
  • Negative balance protection
  • Complaints routeCyprus Financial Ombudsman
  • Maximum leverage1:30

What is protected

The Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) covers claims against a failed CIF at the lower of 90% of the client's cumulative covered claims and 20,000 EUR. Cover is for non-professional investor-clients of an ICF member, so a client classified as professional is outside it. The ICF also does not cover the applicants listed in the Second Schedule of the ICF Directive, and it does not cover applications made more than one year after the firm lost its ICF membership. Compensation is paid within three months of the decision being communicated to the covered client, and the window for filing after the ICF publishes its invitation cannot be shorter than five months.

How to verify a licence

Open the CIF register at https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot/ and find the firm by name. Each entry carries a Licence Number and a Licence Date, plus the company registration number, country, contact details and any approved trade names, so a licence number quoted on a broker's website can be matched against the register entry exactly. The list is dated on the page (the current one reads CIF REGULATED ENTITIES LIST AS OF 04 MAY 2026) and can be downloaded in Excel. Read the status wording next to the name: an entry may say Suspended, Voluntary Suspension, or Under examination for voluntary renunciation of the authorisation. Then check the website you are actually using against the List of Approved Domains at https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/approved-domains/, which maps each regulated entity to the domains it may operate, and against the List Of Non Approved Domains. If the firm is not on the Cypriot list, check the separate registers for Former Investment Firms (Cypriot), Investment Firms (Member States), Investment Firm (Third Country) and the Tied Agents Public Register.

Open the registerOfficial website

How to complain

Complain to the firm first and ask for a unique reference number. The CIF has to confirm receipt in writing within five days and answer in writing within two months, with an extension to a maximum of three months if it explains why. If the answer is a rejection, or nothing arrives, take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman at 13 Lord Byron Avenue, 1096 Nicosia, www.financialombudsman.gov.cy, within four months of the firm's final response, otherwise the Ombudsman may decline to investigate. A civil action in the District Court is the last step. CySEC states on both its complaints page and its Financial Ombudsman page that it has no restitution powers and does not investigate individual complaints, and that complaints sent to it feed its supervisory work instead.

These are the rules CySEC sets for the firms it licenses, read from its own record. They say nothing about how any one broker applies them, or which of its companies would hold your account; that is checked on each broker's own page.
Licensing terms

Getting licensed by CySEC

A licence from CySEC costs €50,000–100,000 to obtain on the record and covers 8 instrument types.

€50,000–100,000
Licence types
CIF – Own Account / Matched Principal (CFDs)
Business models allowed
Retail Agency (STP); Market Maker (Principal); Provide Liquidity (PoP)
Cost to obtain
€50000-100000
Coverage
EU - global (with exceptions)
Not served
USA - North Korea - Iran - other sanctioned countries

8 instruments regulated

  • Forex
  • Stocks
  • Options
  • Derivatives
  • Commodity
  • Securities
  • Futures
  • CFD

Restricted for retail clients

  • Binary option

Products CySEC does not allow licensed firms to offer retail clients, as recorded.

From the documents
Reviewed

What CySEC's own documents say

14 facts read from 28 official documents published by CySEC, each quoted and linked to its source.

14 facts

Jurisdiction and scope

CySEC supervises firms established in Cyprus and the Cyprus capital market. Its own sanctions register names the statutes it enforces, among them the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (L.87(I)/2017), the Transparency Requirements Law (L.190(I)/2007), the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law (L.56(I)/2013), the Alternative Investment Funds Law (L.131(I)/2014), the anti-money-laundering Law L.188(I)/2007, and EU Regulations 600/2014 (MiFIR) and 596/2014 (market abuse). Firms from other EU member states and from third countries appear on separate CySEC lists rather than holding a CIF licence, so a firm shown there is supervised primarily elsewhere.

Using this regulator

Match the licence number on the broker's site against the CIF register entry, and match the website domain against the List of Approved Domains, because a firm can be genuine while a site using its name is not on its approved list. Search the firm's name in the administrative sanctions register and in the decisions register before opening an account: both are public, both are searchable by year, and both show licence suspensions and withdrawals. Ask the firm in writing how it classifies you, since ICF cover applies to non-professional clients only. Keep the unique reference number from any complaint, diary the four-month Financial Ombudsman deadline from the date of the firm's final answer, and send money claims to the firm and the Ombudsman rather than to CySEC, which states it has no restitution powers.

Good to know

The fee amounts for a CIF licence are set out in Directive DI87-03 on charges and annual fees, published as a PDF on the Investment Firms Fees page. That PDF is not covered in this review, so no application fee or annual fee figure is stated here. The Services and Markets, Collective Investment, Issuers, Payable Fees, Regulatory Framework, Resilience and Privacy Notice pages are not covered in this review. The ICF Directive itself was not reviewed; the ICF figures quoted here come from CySEC's own ICF Information page. No official page was found stating CySEC's establishment year or its IOSCO membership, so those fields are left out.

Key facts

KeyVerifying a licence

Match a broker's licence number on the CIF register

A licence number printed on a broker's website means nothing until it matches a register entry under the same company name. The register also carries status wording such as Suspended or Under examination for voluntary renunciation of the authorisation, which tells a trader the permission is not in normal standing.

CySEC's register of Cyprus Investment Firms lists each firm with a Licence Number and Licence Date, alongside its company registration number, country, contact details and approved trade names, and the page is dated (CIF REGULATED ENTITIES LIST AS OF 04 MAY 2026).

CIF REGULATED ENTITIES LIST AS OF 04 MAY 2026
Quoted in Investment Firms (Cypriot)Read the source
Under examination for voluntary renunciation of the authorisation
Quoted in Investment Firms (Cypriot)Read the source

Where in the document: Investment Firms (Cypriot) register, entry fields and list date

  • public register
  • retail clients
  • licence check
KeyCompensation scheme

Compensation is the lower of 90% and 20,000 EUR

EUR 20,000

This is the ceiling on what a client gets back if a CySEC-licensed firm fails, whatever the account balance. A client with 100,000 EUR at a failed CIF is looking at 20,000 EUR, not 90,000 EUR, because the 90% and the cap apply together and the lower figure wins.

The Investor Compensation Fund pays, for the total claims of a covered client against a failed Fund member, the lower of 90% of the cumulative covered claims and 20,000 EUR, as set out in Paragraph 19 of the ICF Directive.

The ICF provides coverage for the claims referred to in Paragraph 19 of the Directive, which applies for the total claims of a covered client against a Fund member and is defined as the lower of 90% of the cumulative covered claims of the covered client and €20.000.
Clause Paragraph 19 in Investor Compensation Fund (I.C.F) - InformationRead the source

Where in the document: ICF Information page, coverage

  • retail clients
  • compensation
  • payout cap
KeyHow to complain

Four months to reach the Financial Ombudsman

This is the shortest fuse in the whole process and it starts on the date of the firm's final reply, not on the date of the loss. A trader who spends months arguing with the firm after it has answered can lose the independent route entirely.

CySEC states that a client should contact the Financial Ombudsman within four months of receiving a final response from the CIF, and that the Ombudsman may decline to investigate outside that period.

It is important to contact the Financial Ombudsman within four months of receiving a final response from the CIF
Quoted in Complaint Regarding CIFsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaint Regarding CIFs, step 2

  • retail clients
  • complaint deadline
  • ombudsman
KeyPublic register

CySEC publishes approved and non approved website domains

A licence belongs to a company, not to a website, and a trader normally meets the website first. Checking the domain in the address bar against both lists is the fastest way to tell a licensed firm's own site from a site borrowing its name.

CySEC maintains a List of Approved Domains mapping each regulated entity to the web addresses it may use, and a List Of Non Approved Domains, stating that the domains on the second list are not owned or operated by Cyprus Investment Firms authorised by CySEC.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission ('CySEC') would like to inform the investors and the public at large that the domains that are included in the following list are not owned or operated by Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) which have been authorized by CySEC to provide Investment Services.
Quoted in List Of Non Approved DomainsRead the source
List of Approved Domains
Quoted in List of Approved DomainsRead the source

Where in the document: List of Approved Domains, and List Of Non Approved Domains

  • public register
  • licence check
  • approved domains
KeyWhat is protected

ICF cover ends one year after a firm leaves the Fund

A trader whose broker left the Fund, for example after a licence withdrawal, has a fixed window in which a claim is still inside the scheme. Waiting for a court case or an internal complaint to finish can put the claim outside it.

The ICF does not cover the applicants listed in the Second Schedule of the ICF Directive, and it does not cover claims filed after one year from the loss of membership status of the firm concerned.

The ICF does not cover the applicants set out in the Second Schedule of the Directive, as well as applicants who may be covered but who apply to the ICF for compensation, in respect of claims against an ICF member who was a member of the ICF in relation to the covered services, after one year from the loss of membership status has elapsed.
Clause Second Schedule in Investor Compensation Fund (I.C.F) - InformationRead the source

Where in the document: ICF Information page, exclusions

  • compensation
  • exclusions
  • deadline
KeyHow to complain

CySEC states it has no restitution powers

A trader hoping the regulator will recover the money is looking in the wrong place. Money claims run through the firm, then the Financial Ombudsman, then the District Court, while a report to CySEC feeds supervision and possible sanctions instead.

CySEC states that it does not have restitution powers and therefore does not investigate individual complaints, and that complaints submitted to it are taken into consideration in the performance of its supervisory mandate.

the CySEC does not have restitution powers and therefore does not investigate individual complaints
Quoted in Complaint Regarding CIFsRead the source
the CYSEC has no restitution powers. Therefore any complaints submitted to CYSEC are taken into consideration in the performance of its supervisory mandate.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Complaint Regarding CIFs, and Financial Ombudsman page

  • retail clients
  • complaint route
  • restitution

More facts, by topic

Licences, websites, sanctions and decisions are all published415 administrative sanctions and 1,195 decisions are searchable by year, including licence withdrawals and suspensions. Six separate investment firm registers exist, and two further lists show which website domains a regulated firm may use and which domains are not operated by authorised CIFs.3 facts
UsefulPublic register

Six separate investment firm registers, not one

6

A firm missing from the Cypriot list is not automatically unregulated, and a firm on the member state or third country list is supervised mainly by another authority. Checking the former firms list also shows whether a licence that a broker still advertises has ended.

The investment firms section holds six distinct lists: Investment Firms (Cypriot), Former Investment Firms (Cypriot), List of Approved Domains, Investment Firms (Member States), Investment Firm (Third Country) and the Tied Agents Public Register.

Former Investment Firms (Cypriot)
Quoted in Investment FirmsRead the source
Tied Agents Public Register
Quoted in Investment FirmsRead the source

Where in the document: Investment Firms section index

  • public register
  • scope of authorisation
  • tied agents
UsefulPublic register

415 administrative sanctions are published and searchable

415

A trader can search a broker's name here before opening an account and see what it has been penalised for and how much. The entries state the subject matter, for example capital requirements, reporting or internal procedures, which says more than the fine alone.

The administrative sanctions page lists 415 entries, each naming the entity, its category, the decision date, the penalty amount and the provision breached, filterable by year from 2016 onward.

Displaying results 1-25 (of 415)
Quoted in Διοικητικές ΚυρώσειςRead the source

Where in the document: Administrative Sanctions register, result count

  • public register
  • enforcement
  • due diligence
UsefulPublic register

Decisions register shows licence withdrawals and suspensions

1,195

This is where a licence ending shows up first, often before other sources notice. Each entry also records whether an appeal was filed, so a trader can see if the firm is contesting the decision.

The decisions register holds 1,195 published decisions, including entries whose subject is the withdrawal of a CIF authorisation (Ανάκληση άδειας λειτουργίας ΚΕΠΕΥ) and the suspension of a CIF authorisation, each with the decision date and the law applied.

Ανάκληση άδειας λειτουργίας ΚΕΠΕΥ
Quoted in ΑποφάσειςRead the source
Displaying results 1-25 (of 1195)
Quoted in ΑποφάσειςRead the source

Where in the document: Decisions register, result count and subject lines

  • public register
  • due diligence
  • licence withdrawal
Four months from the firm's final answer to reach the OmbudsmanFour months is the window CySEC gives for taking a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman after the firm's final response. Before that the firm has five days to acknowledge and two months to answer, extendable to three. CySEC states it has no restitution powers, so it does not recover money for individual clients.1 fact
UsefulHow to complain

A CIF must acknowledge a complaint within five days

5 days

These dates are what a trader measures the firm against, and silence past them is the trigger to move to the Financial Ombudsman. Asking for the unique reference number at the start is what makes the complaint traceable later.

CySEC states that CIFs must confirm receipt of a complaint in writing within five days and must reply in writing within two months, with an extension to a maximum of three months where the firm explains the delay.

CIFs are required to respond in writing within five days to let you know they have received your complaint
Quoted in Complaint Regarding CIFsRead the source
CIFs are also required to respond to your complaint in writing within two months
Quoted in Complaint Regarding CIFsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaint Regarding CIFs, step 1

  • complaint deadline
  • firm obligations
Crypto-asset firms moved to a MiCAR register in the past yearThe Crypto-Assets Entities (MiCAR) register replaced the national crypto-asset service provider list shown in the June 2025 copy of the site. A firm registered under the earlier regime and a firm authorised under MiCAR appear on different lists, so check which one names the firm today.1 fact
ContextScope of authorisation

Crypto firms now sit under a MiCAR register

A firm registered under the earlier national crypto regime is not the same as a firm authorised under MiCAR, and the two appear on different lists. A trader checking a crypto service should confirm which register the firm is actually on today.

The regulated entities menu now lists Crypto-Assets Entities (MiCAR) with sub-registers for MiCAR CASPs and former MiCAR CASPs, in place of the national crypto-asset service provider register shown in the June 2025 copy of the same page.

Οντότητες Κρυπτοστοιχείων (MiCAR)
Quoted in Διοικητικές ΚυρώσειςRead the source

Where in the document: Site navigation, Regulated Entities menu

  • public register
  • crypto assets
  • micar
The licence is granted under Cypriot and EU investment services lawL.87(I)/2017, the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law, is the statute a CIF licence is granted under, applied together with EU Regulations 600/2014 and 596/2014 and the transparency and anti-money-laundering laws. Activities outside that framework are not covered by a CIF authorisation.1 fact
ContextJurisdiction and limits

The laws a CySEC licence is granted and enforced under

It sets the boundary of what the licence covers. A CIF licence is an investment services authorisation under Cypriot and EU market law, so activities outside that framework, such as services a firm offers under a separate registration, are not covered by it.

CySEC's sanctions register names the statutes it applies, among them the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (L.87(I)/2017), the Transparency Requirements Law (L.190(I)/2007), the anti-money-laundering Law L.188(I)/2007, and EU Regulations 600/2014 and 596/2014.

Ν.87(Ι)/2017 - Ο περί Επενδυτικών Υπηρεσιών και Δραστηριοτήτων και Ρυθμιζόμενων Αγορών Νόμος του 2017
Quoted in Διοικητικές ΚυρώσειςRead the source

Where in the document: Administrative Sanctions register, list of laws at the foot of the page

  • scope of authorisation
  • legislation
  • mifid
Fees for a Cyprus Investment Firm sit in Directive DI87-03Directive DI87-03 on charges and annual fees is the source for what a CIF pays, published in English in March 2020 and amended in Greek in April 2023. The amounts are inside those PDFs, which are not covered in this review, so no figure is stated here.1 fact
ContextCost to get licensed

CIF charges and annual fees sit in Directive DI87-03

It tells a trader where the real cost of holding this licence is published, and that the current amounts are in the 2023 Greek amendment rather than the older English text. The amounts themselves are not stated here.

The fees a Cyprus Investment Firm pays are set by Directive DI87-03 for the charges and annual fees, published on the Investment Firms Fees page in an English version dated 30 March 2020 and a Greek amending version dated 11 April 2023.

Directive DI87-03 for the charges and annual fees
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Payable Fees, Investment Firms Fees

  • licence fee
  • fee schedule
Compensation runs to non-professional investor-clientsThe ICF states that applications come from non-professional investor-clients of a Fund member. Client classification therefore decides whether the scheme applies, which matters for anyone who accepted professional status in exchange for different trading terms.1 fact
UsefulKey definitions

Only non-professional clients can claim from the ICF

Client classification decides whether the compensation scheme applies at all. A trader who has been reclassified as a professional client, often to obtain higher leverage, sits outside the group the ICF pays.

The ICF states that applications may be made by all non-professional investor-clients of an ICF member who are covered by the ICF for claims against that member.

All non-professional investor-clients of an ICF member who is covered by the ICF
Quoted in Investor Compensation Fund (I.C.F) - InformationRead the source

Where in the document: ICF Information page, who may apply

  • retail clients
  • compensation
  • client classification

28 documents examined

Show 22 more documents
Read by Wikilix from CySEC's published documents; every fact links to the page or file it came from.Last reviewed
Licensed brokers

Brokers licensed by CySEC

226 brokers on the Wikilix record hold a licence from CySEC; the 10 highest-scored are below, and the finder searches them all.

226 brokers

  1. Rank 1XTB logo

    XTB

    Regulated    United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · since 2004    Wikilix score 82.0
  2. Rank 2Capital.com logo

    Capital.com

    Regulated    Bahamas flagBahamas · since 2016    Wikilix score 80.0
  3. Rank 3B2PRIME logo

    B2PRIME

    Regulated    Cyprus flagCyprus · since 2016    Wikilix score 77.0
  4. Rank 4CFI logo

    CFI

    Regulated    Cyprus flagCyprus · since 1998    Wikilix score 76.0
  5. Rank 5StoneX logo

    StoneX

    Regulated    United States flagUnited States · since 1924    Wikilix score 75.0
  6. Rank 6RoboMarkets logo

    RoboMarkets

    Regulated    Cyprus flagCyprus · since 2012    Wikilix score 74.0
  7. Rank 7Ebury logo

    Ebury

    Regulated    United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · since 2009    Wikilix score 73.0
  8. Rank 8NAGA logo

    NAGA

    Regulated    Cyprus flagCyprus · since 2015    Wikilix score 73.0
  9. Rank 9ATFX logo

    ATFX

    Regulated    United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · since 2015    Wikilix score 73.0
  10. Rank 10iFOREX Europe logo

    iFOREX Europe

    Regulated    Cyprus flagCyprus · since 1996    Wikilix score 71.0

CySEC in the news

1 story · latest
A desk with CySEC documents, a calendar showing September 17, and a computer displaying a CySEC webpage.CySEC withdraws CIF licence of Eurotrade Investments RGB Ltd, operator of Eurotrader CFD brand

About this information

The details on this page about Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission were compiled from the regulator’s own official documents, its website and other public sources, and are presented as neutral, factual guidance.

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