ActivTrades Granted UAE CMA Category 5 Licence for Financial Services Subsidiary

ActivTrades' UAE subsidiary has been granted a Category 5 licence by the Emirates' Capital Market Authority, according to the broker's own regulatory disclosure. The entity, ActivTrades Financial Services L.L.C., is registered under number 20200000480. The grant was reported by FX News Group and is reflected on ActivTrades' published list of regulatory relationships.

The registration covers financial consultation, arrangement, introduction and promotional activities. Category 5 is widely treated in the industry as an introducer tier rather than a full brokerage authorisation: it does not permit the UAE entity to hold client money or execute trades onshore. As a result, a client referred through the local company still trades and holds funds with one of ActivTrades' other regulated entities, which sit outside the CMA's perimeter. In practice, the licence widens the group's marketing reach in the UAE without bringing execution or custody under the local regulator's scope.

Regulatory footprint

The new registration sits alongside an existing multi-jurisdiction footprint. ActivTrades PLC is licensed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority under number 434413. The group also operates under the CMVM in Portugal for its EU business, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas for ActivTrades Corp, Brazil's Bacen and CVM for ActivTrades CCTVM, and the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius for ActivTrades Markets Ltd. Each of those five relationships is listed as a full licensed and regulated authorisation. The UAE is the only jurisdiction where a distinct licence tier is confirmed, and industry training material describes that tier as carrying no execution or custody rights.

Trade-press reports place the move within a broader wave of FX and CFD brokers taking the same UAE Category 5 licence this year. FP Markets was licensed on the 9th of September, while Blueberry received its registration on the 24th of July. Vantage, BitDelta, Mitrade, Pepperstone, XM and Eightcap are also cited among the firms that have secured the category. The pattern points to sustained broker interest in UAE and wider MENA market access since the regulator rebranded from the Securities and Commodities Authority to the Capital Market Authority, effective the 1st of January.

For anyone assessing ActivTrades' UAE presence, or that of a peer holding the same licence, the takeaway is that a Category 5 registration signals a promotional and referral arrangement rather than a locally regulated brokerage able to hold funds or execute trades inside the Emirates.