Trading forex (currencies) in the United Arab Emirates is popular among residents. While recommended, forex brokers are not required to become authorised by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) to accept residents of the United Arab Emirates as customers.
The Securities and Commodities Authority is the financial regulatory body in the United Arab Emirates. Website: https://www.sca.gov.ae. We recommend that United Arab Emirates residents also follow the SCA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sca_uae.
Best CFD Service Provider For United Arab Emirates
To find the best forex CFD provider in the United Arab Emirates, we created a list of all brokers that accept residents of the United Arab Emirates as new clients. We then ranked brokers by their Overall ranking.
Here is our list of the best forex CFD provider in the United Arab Emirates:
General Info
- Min Deposit: $100
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee: Yes
- Platforms: Plus500 app, Webtrader
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.1
- USDJPY: 1.9
- GBPUSD: 1.5
- GOLD: 0.3
82% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $10
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee : Yes
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, TVC, MT4, MT5
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.5
- USDJPY: 1.7
- GBPUSD: 1.6
- GOLD: 0.4
82% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $100
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee: Yes
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, MT4, MT5, cTrader
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.3
- USDJPY: 1.7
- GBPUSD: 2.0
- GOLD: 0.3
82% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $100
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee: Yes
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.0
- USDJPY: 1.0
- GBPUSD: 1.5
- GOLD: 0.45
71-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $200
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee : No
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, TVC, MT4, MT5, cTrader
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 0.1 – $7 Commission/Lot
- USDJPY: 0.3
- GBPUSD: 0.4
- GOLD: 0.19
71-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $450
- Max Leverage: 30:1
- Inactivity fee: Yes
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, MT4
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 0.7
- USDJPY: 1.1
- GBPUSD: 1.0
- GOLD: 0.4
71-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $10
- Max Leverage: 500:1
- Inactivity fee: No
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.2
- USDJPY: 1.5
- GBPUSD: 2.0
- GOLD: 0.9
71-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $10
- Max Leverage: 1000:1
- Inactivity fee : No
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, MT4, MT5
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 1.0
- USDJPY: 1.1
- GBPUSD: 1.2
- GOLD: 0.2
71-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
General Info
- Min Deposit: $100
- Max Leverage: 300:1
- Inactivity fee: Yes
- Platforms: Mobile app, Webtrader, MT4, MT5
Average Spread
- EURUSD: 0.6
- USDJPY: 1.0
- GBPUSD: 1.5
- GOLD: 0.3
71% of retail CFD accounts lose money
How to Verify SCA Authorisation
Unfortunately, the SCA does not provide a list of authorized forex brokers; however, residents can contact the SCA directly to verify authorisation.
What protection does the SCA provide forex traders?
Forex traders in the UAE benefit from a variety of Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) protections. The SCA has put out numerous warnings for investors to avoid dealing with brokers that aren’t licensed in the UAE, and has taken action against regulated brokers in the case of violations. The SCA also provides a complaints submission mechanism for the public in cases where issues and/or disputes can’t be resolved directly with an SCA-regulated broker.
The UAE operates under a tri-peak regulatory structure. The SCA (the first peak) regulates the financial markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that exist outside of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The DIFC is a financial hub in Dubai that is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) (the second peak). The third peak is the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), which regulates UAE monetary policy and the banking industry.
The DFSA regulates 617 financial institutions, including forex brokers, as of June 2023. The SCA regulates 129 active financial institutions including forex brokers that are licensed in the UAE. The SCA has been active in its enforcement of compliance with periodic inspections of at least 125 financial institutions, including 14 brokers – according to its latest annual report from 2021.
The UAE’S financial markets
Forex traders may recognize the dirham (AED) as the national currency of the United Arab Emirates. Though comprised of seven separate emirates, the main financial centers of the UAE are undisputedly Abu Dhabi and Dubai. As such, the UAE features two primary financial securities exchanges: the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
The ADX, based in Abu Dhabi, was established in the year 2000 and operates as a market for trading securities while also being vested with certain supervisory powers. One of the largest markets in the Arab world, the ADX offers shares, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other SCA-approved financial instruments. The DFM, based in Dubai, functions as a secondary market for trading securities, bonds, mutual funds, as well as other local or foreign DFM-approved financial instruments.
Excluding the city of Dubai, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) is the primary national regulator for all financial services firms in the UAE, including banks and forex brokers. The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) is the governmental agency that oversees the local stock and commodity exchanges in Dubai.
Within Dubai exists a unique special economic zone known as the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). The primary regulator for the financial services industry within the DIFC is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which enforces licensing and membership compliance for forex brokers in Dubai, and regulates the trading of securities, commodities, investment funds, and derivatives.