Editorial standards
How we research and review brokers
Clarytrade is an independent broker scanner and comparison service. This is the policy behind every score, scan and comparison on the site.
Independence — commission is weighted 0%
We earn affiliate commission when you open an account through our links, at no extra cost to you. It is weighted 0% in our scoring and never changes a score or rank. Sponsored placements, if any, are labelled and sit outside the ranking. See how we make money.
Research-based reviews — sources, not marketing
Reviews are research-based. We use published broker information, regulatory registers, pricing disclosures and platform documentation, scored against our published 8-criteria method. We do not claim live account testing unless we state it explicitly, and figures are indicative — always verify directly before depositing.
Compliance-first, risk-first
We show risk before any click-out, disclose every affiliate link, and never call a broker “safe”, promise profits or give financial advice. Trading involves risk and most retail CFD accounts lose money. See the risk disclosure.
Updates & accuracy
Every review shows a last-reviewed date. We re-check platforms on a regular cadence and update figures when terms change. Broker terms, fees and availability change often — the date tells you how fresh our snapshot is.
Corrections policy
If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change. Spotted an error or an out-of-date figure? Email corrections@clarytrade.com or contact us and we'll review it.
Authorship
Who produces this research
Aleksandr Filatov
Founder & lead researcher · Founder of Clarytrade · broker licence & entity research
Aleksandr Filatov is the founder of Clarytrade and runs its research process: checking broker licences and legal entities against official regulator registers, reading fee and client-agreement documents first-hand, and maintaining the public licence-evidence and corrections logs. Reviews are research-based and follow the published methodology; affiliate commission is weighted 0% in scoring, and errors are corrected publicly.
We don't publish reviews under invented expert names. Authorship is the editorial team's unless an individual reviewer is named. About & reviewers.
Process
How a broker review is produced
- 1Gather sources: regulatory registers, the broker's own legal/pricing/platform pages and public disclosures.
- 2Score against the fixed 8-criteria method (regulation, cost, platform, assets, deposits, support, reputation, transparency).
- 3Flag risk and red flags plainly — leverage, offshore entities, withdrawal friction — before any affiliate link.
- 4Record the last-reviewed date and re-check on a regular cadence; correct errors publicly.
Corrections
Corrections log
When we find an error in our data — a wrong licence number, an outdated fee — we fix it and log it here with the date and what changed. Spotted something off? Email corrections@clarytrade.com or use report an issue.
| Date | Subject | What was wrong | Corrected to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-10 | XM inactivity fee | Our database listed “$15 after 12 months”. | XM's documents state $10/month after 90 days of inactivity; the 12-month clause is agreement termination, not a fee. |
| 2026-09-15 | XM — ASIC licence | CORRECTED 2026-09-15 after a first-hand read of ASIC Professional Registers Search (search 443670): the licensee is now 'TRADING.COM MARKETS PTY LTD (formerly known as TRADING POINT OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS PTY LTD)', status Current, AFSL 443670, commenced 23/12/2013, ABN 32 164 367 113, WeWork L13 333-339 George St Sydney. We had published the former name. This also explains the entity's absence under its old name from ASIC Report 828's list of active retail CFD issuers. Whether XM-branded retail services are offered in Australia under this AFSL still needs XM's own Australian disclosure. | Trading.com Markets Pty Ltd (formerly Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd): 443670 |
| 2026-09-23 | XM — FSC licence | Read first-hand on 23 September 2026 in the FSC Belize LicenSys public search: XM GLOBAL LIMITED, Licence/Registration Number 8557558, status Active, registration date 1 January 2025; categories: Trading in Securities as Principal; Arranging Transactions in Securities. The register displays the broker domain. The new register does publish licence/registration identifiers, superseding our previous note that no number was visible. Our old value 000261 is retained here as history; it has been replaced by the current register identifier. This is a record update, not a finding of broker misconduct. | XM Global Limited: 8557558 |
| 2026-09-09 | FXTM — FCA licence | FCA Register API 2026-08-26: Exinity UK Ltd, status 'Authorised — applied to cancel' — the UK entity has APPLIED TO CANCEL its FCA authorisation. FXTM does not onboard UK clients via Clarytrade (GB excluded); do not present FCA as active oversight going forward. Earlier confirmation: FCA clone-warning page named the genuine firm. Re-read 2026-09-09 direct from the FCA Register API (Firm/777911): 'Exinity UK Ltd', status 'Authorised - applied to cancel'. | Exinity UK Ltd (fmr Forextime UK Limited): 777911 |
| 2026-09-09 | FXTM — FSCA licence | Was 'FSP 46614' under the name 'ForexTime Ltd' — a row that carried no source and no check date, and contradicted the broker's own disclosure. FXTM states FSP No. 50320 consistently on fxtm.com/en, fxtm.com/za and forextime.com/za, and its own crypto-leverage PDF names the holder: 'Exinity Limited ... is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, with FSP No. 50320 and is a licensed Over the Counter Derivative Provider.' 46614 is most likely the pre-rebrand ForexTime number. ENTITY CONFIRMED FIRST-HAND 2026-09-09 on the FSCA's own entity search (OTC Derivative Providers lookup, browser read): 'EXINITY LIMITED — Status: Approved, Public Company, 173 Oxford Rd, Rosebank, Non Bank, Foreign.' The same lookup returns 'FOREXTIME LTD — Status: Application Withdrawn' (35 Lamprou Konstantara, Kato Polemidia, Limassol, Cyprus) — i.e. the entity name we previously published against this licence has a WITHDRAWN FSCA application, which corroborates the correction. NUMBER STILL BROKER-DISCLOSED: the ODP register publishes no licence number and the FSCA's FSP-number search host is still 404 (checked 2026-09-09), so 'FSP 50320' remains Exinity's own disclosure while the ODP authorisation itself is now register-verified. | Exinity Limited: FSP 50320 |
| 2026-08-22 | FXTM — CMA licence | Was wrongly '122' (source at the time: Exinity press release). Now confirmed first-hand on the CMA Kenya licensees register — licence No. 135 held by Exinity Capital East Africa Limited. Status stays 'corrected' so the original error remains in the public corrections log. | Exinity Capital East Africa Limited: 135 |
| 2026-09-23 | FXTM — CySEC licence | Historical correction re-verified on 23 September 2026: CySEC's own decision records withdrawal of ForexTime Ltd CIF authorisation 185/12 on 20 May 2024 following the firm's express renunciation. This verifies the withdrawal, NOT an active licence. The licence remains excluded from current broker regulation. | ForexTime Ltd: 185/12 |
| 2026-09-23 | VT Markets — ASIC licence | Historical correction: VT Global Pty Ltd was a former name of the holder. Re-read 23 September 2026 in ASIC's official 17 September extract: AFSL 516246 belongs to CENTFX GLOBAL PTY LTD (ABN 14 631 408 609), with wholesale-only conditions. VT Markets' current legal footer names its South African intermediary and Mauritius product supplier, but does not establish a current link to this AFSL. Current attribution to VT Markets remains unverified; not presented as its current ASIC authorisation. | CentFX Global Pty Ltd (formerly VT Global Pty Ltd): 516246 |
| 2026-09-23 | VT Markets — FSC licence | Historical correction: was wrongly GB23201266. Read first-hand on 23 September 2026 in FSC Mauritius list and detail view: VT Markets Limited, approval date 23 October 2023, SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting), status field COMPANY IS INCORPORATED. The register does not print GB23202269; this corrected number remains broker-disclosed and is not marked re-verified. | VT Markets Limited: GB23202269 |
| 2026-09-23 | RoboForex — FSC licence | Read first-hand on 23 September 2026 in the FSC Belize LicenSys public search: ROBOFOREX LTD., Licence/Registration Number 9759600, status Active, registration date 1 January 2025; categories: Trading in Securities as Agent and Principal; Managing Securities; Providing Investment Advice. The register displays the broker domain. The new register does publish licence/registration identifiers, superseding our previous note that no number was visible. Our old value 000138/7 is retained here as history; it has been replaced by the current register identifier. This is a record update, not a finding of broker misconduct. | RoboForex Ltd: 9759600 |
| 2026-09-23 | PU Prime — FSCA licence | Historical correction: we had wrongly published FSP 51298. Read first-hand on 23 September 2026 in the FSCA FSP search and Details / Products Approved views: PU PRIME (PTY) LTD, FSP 52218, status Authorized, authorisation date 11 March 2022. Category I includes intermediary services in derivative instruments. This FSP entry is not proof of separate OTC derivatives-provider approval or of the entity being the trading counterparty. | PU Prime (Pty) Ltd: FSP 52218 |
| 2026-09-23 | PU Prime — SCB licence | Historical correction: SIA-F216 was wrongly attributed to PU Prime and removed. The SCB list as at 31 August 2026, read first-hand 23 September, lists Trade Nation Ltd but no PU Prime match. The list has no SIA-F number column, so it does not independently verify the number's ownership or prove that the brand has no authorisation under any other name. No current Bahamas authorisation is attributed to PU Prime. | Entry removed from our data — no such licence is listed. |
| 2026-09-23 | StarTrader — FSCA licence | Was wrongly 50926 (FP Markets'). Corrected number re-read first-hand 23 September 2026: STARTRADER INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, FSP 52464, status Authorized, registration 2022/435897/07, authorised 23 September 2022. The Products Approved panel includes Category I derivative instruments. This FSP verification does not establish a separate OTC derivatives-provider approval or the company issuing a client's CFD. | StarTrader International Pty Ltd: FSP 52464 |
| 2026-09-23 | StarTrader — FSC licence | Was wrongly GB22200717. On 23 September 2026 the FSC's own public register and detail view listed Startrader Financial Markets Limited, licence/approval date 20 August 2024, SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting); the status field reads COMPANY IS INCORPORATED. Entity and licence category confirmed, but neither view displayed GB24203371. That number remains broker-disclosed, so the historical correction is not marked re-verified. | STARTRADER Financial Markets Limited: GB24203371 |
| 2026-09-15 | Blueberry Markets — ASIC licence | Was wrongly 463745. The corrected value was read first-hand 2026-09-15 on ASIC Professional Registers Search: 'BLUEBERRY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD', status Current, AFSL 535887. | Blueberry Australia Pty Ltd: 535887 |
| 2026-09-23 | XTB — DFSA licence | Read first-hand on the DFSA public register on 23 September 2026: XTB MENA Limited, reference F006316. Historical correction: F003484 was wrongly assigned to XTB; it belongs to XM. Licensed 8 July 2021; retail-client and client-asset endorsements, arranging and matched-principal dealing permissions. | XTB MENA Limited: F006316 |
| 2026-09-23 | IG — ASIC licence | Historical correction: AFSL 220440 (IG Markets Limited) was read as Ceased on 15 September; it was incorrectly presented as the current Australian licence. Read first-hand on 23 September 2026 in ASIC's regulator-authored AFS licensee dataset, extract dated 17 September 2026 at 07:52: IG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AFSL 515106, ABN 93 096 585 410, commenced 2 June 2020. This is verification against the dated official extract, not a live status assertion for 23 September. IG's current Australian website identifies IG Australia Pty Ltd with AFSL 515106 and the same ABN. | IG Australia Pty Ltd: 515106 |
| 2026-09-23 | Tickmill — Labuan FSA licence | Historical correction: Tickmill Asia Ltd appears on Labuan FSA's surrendered/revoked money-brokers list as at 29 January 2026, read first-hand again 23 September 2026, with surrender effective 10 January 2025. The list confirms the entity and surrender, but does not print MB/18/0028. That historical number remains unverified. Not current regulation; the older broker agreement predates the surrender. | Tickmill Asia Ltd: MB/18/0028 |
| 2026-09-23 | Capital.com — FSA licence | Historical correction: we had wrongly published SD150. Re-checked the Seychelles FSA capital-markets directory on 23 September 2026; Capital Com Stock and CFD Investing Ltd / Capital Com could not be located in the published directory. The directory has no SD-number field. Neither SD101 nor its current entity attribution is independently verified; absence from this directory search is not proof of absence of authorisation. | Capital Com Stock and CFD Investing Ltd: SD101 |
| 2026-06-19 | OKX — VARA licence | Was 'provisional'; full VASP licence, active, read on VARA register. | OKX Middle East Fintech FZE: VL/23/12/003 |
Licence corrections are drawn directly from our internal evidence log; corrected values should still be verified on the regulator's official register before you rely on them.
Not financial advice. Clarytrade provides informational broker research only. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation to trade with any platform. Verify a broker's regulation, fees and availability directly, and only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Related: methodology, how we make money, about, regulation. Policy last updated June 2026.