Retail CFD licence costs 25,000 to apply, 100,000 yearly

This is the price a firm pays to offer retail CFDs from Bermuda, about nine times the highest ordinary investment business annual fee. A firm advertising retail CFDs should appear on the register as a licensed investment entity, not as a registered person paying the $850 line. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2026-03-17-10-11-27-2026-Bermuda-Monetary-Authority-Fees.pdf

Complain to the firm first, then file an unresolved report

The clock is set by the firm's own published service standards rather than a fixed BMA deadline, so find that timeframe in the firm's complaints policy and keep dated written records. The BMA uses the report as supervisory information and will not recover money for you. Source: https://www.bma.bm/file-a-complaint

Client money sits in trust and is pooled pari passu

This decides what happens to your balance if the firm fails: you rank alongside other clients in a shared pool rather than behind the firm's general creditors, and any shortfall in that pool is shared proportionately. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2023-11-14-14-01-40-Investment-Business-Client-Money-Regulations-2004.pdf

Digital asset licensees need a bond, trust account or insurance

For a digital asset firm this stands in place of segregated bank accounts, and the form and amount are set case by case rather than fixed in the Act. Ask which of the three arrangements the firm holds and who benefits from it. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2024-07-18-11-24-18-Digital-Asset-Business-Act-2018.pdf

Conduct codes cover banking, domestic insurance and digital assets

The fair treatment, disclosure and complaint handling requirements a trader would look for sit in those sector codes. An investment business licensee is supervised under the Investment Business Act 2003 and its rules, a different set of obligations. Source: https://www.bma.bm/conduct-of-business

Sophisticated persons can be taken outside client money rules

If you are classified as a sophisticated person and sign the consent, your money can sit unsegregated and be used by the firm. Check which classification the account paperwork applies to you. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2023-11-14-14-01-40-Investment-Business-Client-Money-Regulations-2004.pdf

Register shows licence class, activities and expiry date

The allowed activities and the expiry date tell you what a firm may actually do and until when. A digital asset firm can hold a licence with an end date, which the fact of being listed does not show. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2024-07-18-11-24-18-Digital-Asset-Business-Act-2018.pdf

Ordinary investment licence fees run 2,840 to 13,560

The annual fee band tells you which permission a firm holds. The $13,560 line is the one that goes with being licensed to hold client assets, which is the permission that matters if your money sits with the firm. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2026-03-17-10-11-27-2026-Bermuda-Monetary-Authority-Fees.pdf

Minimum net assets are 250,000 for a principal

This is the floor of financial substance behind a Bermuda investment licence. The BMA can set a higher threshold, and the rules list an intention to offer margin or other lending facilities among the reasons it may do so. Source: https://cdn.bma.bm/documents/2023-11-14-14-02-35-Investment-Business-Prudential-Standards-Standard-Licences-Test-Licences-and-Class-A-RP-C-NA-and-L-Rules-2022.pdf

Offshore

BMAThe Bermuda Monetary Authority

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) is Bermuda's single financial regulator, established by statute in 1969, licensing investment providers, digital asset businesses, banks, insurers and trust companies. A Bermuda investment licence covering contracts for difference in respect of retail leveraged products costs $25,000 to apply for and $100,000 a year. Client money must sit in a client bank account, held on trust, and is pooled pari passu if the firm defaults. Every licensed or registered firm appears on the BMA Regulated Entities search with its licence class and permitted activities, and the BMA states that settling a customer complaint on your behalf is not part of its mandate.

About The Bermuda Monetary Authority

Introduction to the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is the independent regulatory authority overseeing financial services conducted within or from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a specialized financial free zone in Dubai, UAE. Established to maintain high international standards, the DFSA ensures a transparent, secure, and robust regulatory framework for financial operations within this global business hub.

Key Responsibilities of the DFSA

The DFSA’s regulatory mandate spans a wide range of financial services, including:

Official Description

Contact Information

Main Site

https://www.bma.bm/

Hotline

(441) 295 5278

Email

P.O. Box 2447 Hamilton HM JX Bermuda

Website

https://www.gov.bm/department/consumer-a...

Instruments and Trading Limits

Regulated financial instruments

Forex, Bond, Stocks, Fund, Derivatives, Securities

About and how to use The Bermuda Monetary Authority

How to verify a licence

Use the BMA Regulated Entities search at https://www.bma.bm/regulated-entities. The page states it searches entities that are currently licensed or registered by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Type the full name or part of the name of the firm, pick the sector from the drop-down (the investment options are separate: Investment Business: Licensed Entities, Class A Registered Persons, Class B Registered Persons and Recognised Investment Exchange), then click the magnifying glass or press Enter. A result shows the company name, sector, principal and registered address, and a details block with the License/Registration Type, the Registration Number, the License Effective Date and, for digital asset Class M and Class T licences, a License Expiry Date plus the allowed business activities. Match the sector and licence class to what the firm claims: a Class A or Class B Registered Person is listed under a different sector heading from a licensed investment entity, and a Class T digital asset licence is a pilot or beta testing licence with an end date.

How to complain

Complain to the firm first. The BMA requires licensed businesses to have a formal complaints procedure, and its complaint page sets three steps before the BMA will look at anything: submit the complaint to the licensed business under its own procedure, wait for the allotted time period the firm has published in its service standards, then make one further contact with the firm. After that a client files an Unresolved Complaint Report at https://www.bma.bm/file-a-complaint, attaching written records of the correspondence (up to 10 files, each no larger than 5 MB, in .doc, .docx or .pdf). The BMA states that settling a complaint on a customer's behalf is not part of its mandate, and that it may share the report with the licensed business while investigating compliance. The deadline is therefore set by the firm's own published service standards rather than a fixed BMA calendar limit.

Jurisdiction and scope

The licences cover business carried on in or from within Bermuda. Under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 a person may not carry on digital asset business in or from within Bermuda without a licence in one of the classes in section 12(3), and doing so is an offence carrying a fine of $50,000 on summary conviction or $250,000 on conviction on indictment. Investment business is licensed under the Investment Business Act 2003, whose client money rules apply to money an investment provider receives or holds whether in Bermuda or elsewhere in respect of an investment agreement. The BMA's conduct of business codes currently apply to the banking, domestic insurance and digital asset business sectors.

What is protected

Protection runs through segregation and trust, not through a payout fund. An investment provider must pay all client money into a client bank account with an approved bank, keep it separate from its own money, and hold it on trust; if a pooling event occurs, the money in all client bank accounts is pooled and made available to meet client claims pari passu. Each client's balance must be calculated daily and reconciled with the bank at least monthly, within 10 days of the reconciliation date, with records kept for at least 5 years. Two limits matter. Money held for a sophisticated person is not client money where that person has been warned in writing that the protections do not apply and has consented, and the BMA has consented. Digital asset licensees fall under a different rule: they must maintain a surety bond, trust account or indemnity insurance acceptable to the BMA, and client digital assets in custody are not property of the licensee and are not subject to the claims of its creditors.

Using this regulator

Look up the firm on the Regulated Entities search before funding an account, and read the licence class and allowed activities rather than the fact of a listing. If the firm offers contracts for difference to retail clients, the fee schedule shows a distinct licence line for that activity, so the sector and licence type on the register should match what is being sold. Expect a contract note not later than one day after each transaction and a portfolio statement each quarter from an investment provider. Keep dated written records of every exchange with the firm, because the Unresolved Complaint Report asks for them.

Good to know

Nine fee schedules supplied in the corpus (2016 to 2024) and the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment No. 3 Act 2018 were not included in the text handed to this reading, so no figure is quoted from them. Internet Archive copies of eight prior documents could not be downloaded (connection refused), so no archived version was read. The fee figures quoted here come from the 2026 and 2025 schedules on cdn.bma.bm, read this run in the browser by decompressing the PDF text streams because a plain fetch returned binary; whitespace in those quotations is normalised, the wording and figures are not. The Digital Asset Business Act 2018 and the Digital Asset Business (Cyber Risk) Rules 2023 were supplied with poor text extraction; the Act was re-read this run in the browser from the same official PDF and only that reading is quoted, and the Cyber Risk Rules are not quoted at all. No official BMA document establishing an investor compensation or deposit guarantee scheme for clients of investment providers was located, so no compensation cap is stated. No official BMA page stating IOSCO membership was read, so that field is left out.

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the BMA Regulated Entities search

Key

A firm claiming a Bermuda licence should appear here under the sector it says it is licensed in. If the name returns nothing, or a different sector or licence class from the one advertised, settle that before funding an account.

The BMA publishes one search at https://www.bma.bm/regulated-entities covering entities that are currently licensed or registered by it. You type the full name or part of the name, choose a sector from the drop-down, then press Enter or click the magnifying glass.

Search here for entities (entitlements) that are currently licensed or registered by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Quoted in Regulated Entities, Regulated EntitiesRead the source

In the textbox, type the full name, or part of the name, of the entity you wish to find. Choose the appropriate sector from the drop-down box, or choose "All" to search for the entity in all sectors. Click the magnifying glass or hit the Enter / Return key on your keyboard.

Quoted in Regulated Entities, How To SearchRead the source

Official documents examined

Official document2018 Bermuda Monetary Authority Fees
Version 2019.01.01Fetched Aug 28, 2026View source
Official document2017 Bermuda Monetary Authority Fees
Version 2019.01.01Fetched Aug 28, 2026View source
Official document2016 BMA Annual Fees
Version 2019.01.01Fetched Aug 28, 2026View source
Official documentNotice BMA Provides Companies with Online Payment Ability

Licensed Brokers

Brokers authorized and regulated by this authority

5 Licensed Brokers

View All Licensed Brokers

About this information

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

If you believe something here is inaccurate, or you spot a critical problem, please let us know via Contact us.

BMAThe Bermuda Monetary Authority

About The Bermuda Monetary Authority

Introduction to the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)

Key Responsibilities of the DFSA

Contact Information

Main Site

Hotline

Email

Website

Instruments and Trading Limits

Regulated financial instruments

About and how to use The Bermuda Monetary Authority

How to verify a licence

How to complain

Jurisdiction and scope

What is protected

Using this regulator

Good to know

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the BMA Regulated Entities search

Official documents examined

Licensed Brokers

About this information

Performance Metrics

Overview

Key Performance Indicators

Client Protection Details

Client Fund Insurance

Account Managed Separately

Operational Metrics

Compliance Status

Advanced Metrics

Licensing Information

Regulatory Performance Scores

Regulatory Support Features

Core Performance Metrics

License Value

Performance Summary

About and how to use The Bermuda Monetary Authority

How to verify a licence

How to complain

Jurisdiction and scope

What is protected

Using this regulator

Good to know

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the BMA Regulated Entities search

Official documents examined

Negative Balance Protection

Investment Professional Support

Geographic Coverage

Regulatory Features

Trading Information

International Memberships

IOSCO Membership

Benefits:

FATF Membership

Benefits:

Regulatory

Institutional

Risk Management

Investment Protection

Client Fund Insurance Rating

Retail CFD licence costs 25,000 to apply, 100,000 yearly

Complain to the firm first, then file an unresolved report

Client money sits in trust and is pooled pari passu

Digital asset licensees need a bond, trust account or insurance

Conduct codes cover banking, domestic insurance and digital assets

The registerEntries carry a registration number, activities and an expiry date

Register shows licence class, activities and expiry date

Investor protectionProtection comes from segregation, bonds and insurance, not a fund

Sophisticated persons can be taken outside client money rules

Contract note within one day, statement each quarter

Client moneyClient money is held on trust and pooled pari passu on default

Client balances calculated daily, reconciled within 10 days

ComplaintsThe firm's own service standards set your complaint clock

Firms have 28 days to appeal a BMA decision

What the licence coversConduct of business codes apply to three sectors so far

A Class T digital asset licence is for pilot or beta testing

Getting licensedMinimum net assets are 250,000 for a principal