Is FXTM Legit and Safe? Regulation and Fund Safety Checked
By BrokaBoy Research Team · Reviewed 14 October 2026 · Updated 14 October 2026 · 5 min read
FXTM is a legitimate broker run by the Exinity group, licensed in Mauritius (FSC), South Africa (FSCA) and Kenya (CMA), with a promotion-only licence in the UAE. It is not a scam, but since giving up its Cyprus licence in 2024 and closing its UK business in 2026, most clients are served by the offshore Mauritius entity, which offers lighter protection than EU or UK rules did.
FXTM is operated by Exinity Limited, licensed by the FSC Mauritius (C113012295) and authorised by the FSCA (FSP 50320).
Kenyan clients are served by Exinity Capital East Africa Ltd, listed by Kenya's CMA as licence 135, with leverage capped at 1:400.
The CySEC licence was withdrawn in May 2024 after FXTM renounced it, and FXTM UK closed in mid-2026.
FXTM says client money is segregated, but its legal pages do not promise negative balance protection or a compensation scheme.
Check the company name on your client agreement: that entity decides your protection.
Short answer
FXTM is a legitimate, licensed broker, not a scam. The brand belongs to the Exinity group and has been around since 2011. What has changed is where it is licensed. In 2024 FXTM handed back its Cyprus (CySEC) licence, and in 2026 it shut its UK business. Today nearly every new client signs with Exinity Limited in Mauritius. That company is properly authorised, but an offshore licence gives you less protection than the EU or UK rules FXTM clients used to have.
So the honest answer is "legit, with offshore-level protection". Whether that is acceptable depends on how much you deposit and what safeguards you need.
The FXTM companies and their licences (October 2026)
We took every licence below from FXTM's own licensing page, then cross-checked what we could against regulator registers and regulator announcements.
Main entity for international clients; high leverage allowed
Stated on fxtm.com; confirm on the FSC register
Exinity Limited
FSCA South Africa, FSP 50320 (OTC derivative provider)
Lets FXTM provide services to South African residents
Stated on fxtm.com; search FSP 50320 on the FSCA register
Exinity Capital East Africa Ltd (Kenya)
Capital Markets Authority, non-dealing online forex broker, licence 135
Kenyan clients; leverage capped at 1:400
Confirmed on the CMA licensee list
Exinity Global Financial Services L.L.C. (UAE)
UAE Capital Market Authority, licence 20200000270, Category 5
Promotion and introduction only; it cannot hold your trades
Stated on fxtm.com
Licences FXTM no longer has
CySEC (Cyprus), licence 185/12. FXTM renounced it, stopped serving clients from its Cyprus company on 31 December 2023, and CySEC formally withdrew the authorisation from 20 May 2024. Older reviews that still list CySEC are out of date.
FCA (UK). FXTM's UK company, Exinity UK Ltd, announced its closure in April 2026. Trading ended on 28 April 2026, open positions were closed on 29 May, and accounts closed on 17 June 2026. UK residents are now on FXTM's restricted list.
If a website tells you FXTM is "FCA and CySEC regulated", treat everything else on that page with caution too.
What protection you actually get
The licence on paper matters less than the specific rules that protect a retail trader. Here is what applies to the Mauritius entity, based on FXTM's fund safety page and risk disclosure.
Safeguard
Mauritius entity (most clients)
What the old EU/UK entities gave
Segregated client money
Yes. FXTM says client funds are kept apart from company money at banks
Yes, legally required
Negative balance protection
Not stated on FXTM's legal pages; risk disclosure warns losses can exceed deposits
Required by ESMA/FCA rules
Compensation scheme
None mentioned
Up to €20,000 (Cyprus ICF) / £85,000 (UK FSCS)
Leverage cap
Up to 1:5000 (1:400 in Kenya)
1:30 on major pairs
Published loss statistics
Not published
Mandatory risk warning with % of losing accounts
Two points stand out. First, there is no compensation fund behind the Mauritius company. Second, negative balance protection is not written into the pages we reviewed. If those two items matter to you, ask FXTM support to confirm the position for your entity in writing before you deposit.
How to verify FXTM yourself in five minutes
Scam sites often clone well-known broker names, so verify the company rather than the brand.
Read the company name in the footer of the site you are on and on your client agreement. It should be one of the Exinity companies above.
Check the web address. FXTM's current site is fxtm.com; forextime.com redirects there. Be suspicious of other domains, messaging-app "account managers" and lookalike apps.
Search the register, not the broker's page. Use the FSCA FSP search for 50320, the FSC Mauritius register for the investment dealer licence, or the CMA Kenya licensee list for licence 135.
Compare contact details. The registered address on the register should match the broker's legal page.
Never pay a third party. FXTM rejects third-party deposits, so anyone asking you to send money to a personal account is not FXTM.
A long operating history and a real corporate group with named, licensed companies.
A clear restricted-countries list rather than accepting everyone.
Published withdrawal rules: FXTM says it processes withdrawals within 24 business hours and lists fees per method. See our FXTM withdrawal guide.
Identity checks before any deposit is accepted, which is what a regulated firm should do.
Points to weigh
The move offshore. Leaving CySEC and the FCA reduces the protection available to retail clients, even though it allows higher leverage.
Very high leverage. Up to 1:5000 on some accounts is far above what major regulators allow; it magnifies losses as much as gains.
No published compensation scheme and no explicit negative balance promise on the pages we read.
A 3% charge if you withdraw without having traded since your last deposit, and an inactivity fee after three months. These are disclosed, but they catch people out.
Who FXTM suits, and who should look elsewhere
FXTM is a reasonable choice for traders in Africa, Asia and the Middle East who want MetaTrader, local payment methods and low entry costs, and who understand they are dealing with an offshore-regulated company. The minimum deposit starts at $30 on the Micro account.
If you live in the EU, UK or Australia, FXTM cannot onboard you anyway. If you want a compensation scheme and capped leverage by law, choose a broker regulated in your own country. Our list of brokers with negative balance protection is a good starting point.
If we opened an FXTM account today, we would start small, make sure the client agreement names Exinity Limited or the Kenyan company, test a withdrawal within the first week, and set leverage well below the maximum. A trial withdrawal tells you more about a broker than any review.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Full risk disclosure.
Bottom line
FXTM is a real broker with real licences, and nothing we found suggests a scam. But the safety picture has shifted: with the Cyprus and UK licences gone, you are relying on a Mauritius licence, segregated accounts and FXTM's own conduct. Size your deposit with that in mind. For the full picture, read our FXTM review and the glossary entry on negative balance protection.
Frequently asked questions
Is FXTM a scam?
No. FXTM has operated since 2011 and its current companies hold licences that can be checked: Exinity Limited with the FSC Mauritius and the FSCA in South Africa, and Exinity Capital East Africa with Kenya's CMA. A real licence does not guarantee you will not lose money trading, and offshore licences are weaker than EU or UK ones, but FXTM is not an unlicensed operation.
Is FXTM regulated by the FCA or CySEC?
Not any more. FXTM renounced its CySEC investment firm licence, stopped serving clients from Cyprus at the end of 2023, and CySEC formally withdrew the authorisation in May 2024. Its UK company, Exinity UK Ltd, announced closure in April 2026 and shut accounts in June 2026. UK residents are now on FXTM's list of countries it does not serve.
Which FXTM entity will I sign up with?
It depends on your country. Most international clients, including South Africans and Nigerians, are onboarded by Exinity Limited in Mauritius. Kenyan residents are served by Exinity Capital East Africa Ltd. The UAE company only has a promotion and introduction licence, so trades are booked with an offshore entity. Your client agreement names the company that holds your money.
Does FXTM offer negative balance protection?
We could not find a negative balance protection commitment on FXTM's fund safety, licence or risk disclosure pages when we checked in October 2026. The risk disclosure actually warns that you may lose more than you deposited. Ask support to confirm the policy for your entity in writing, and manage leverage so a gap cannot push your account below zero.
Is my money safe with FXTM?
FXTM states that client funds are held separately from its own operating money at banks, which is a standard safeguard. There is no investor compensation scheme mentioned for the Mauritius entity, so if the company failed you would depend on segregation working as intended. Keep only the trading capital you need at the broker and withdraw profits regularly.
Is FXTM legal in my country?
FXTM's Mauritius entity does not serve residents of the USA, UK, Canada, Japan, India, Russia, Mauritius and several sanctioned or restricted territories. Elsewhere, whether you may use an offshore broker is set by your own country's law. Check your local regulator's guidance before opening an account, especially in countries that restrict foreign forex brokers.
