Jordan

Jordan is unusual in the region: it created a domestic licensing regime specifically for forex trading companies, rather than leaving residents to deal entirely with offshore firms.

The regime

The Jordan Securities Commission licenses companies to conduct financial brokerage in foreign exchange and other contracts, under regulations setting capital requirements, client-money handling, disclosure obligations and conduct standards. Licensed companies are listed publicly, and the JSC has acted against unlicensed operators.

The regime followed a period in which unlicensed forex companies proliferated and a number collapsed, taking client funds with them. Jordan's response was to create a perimeter and enforce it — a different approach from the outright prohibitions found in several neighbouring countries, and one that gives a Jordanian trader something rare in the region: a domestic regulator with jurisdiction over the firm holding their money.

What it does and does not provide

The licence brings supervision, segregation requirements and a complaints route. It does not bring a compensation scheme of the FSCS type, so a firm's failure is not covered by a fund. And it does not reach offshore brokers marketing into Jordan, which remain outside the framework entirely — a resident choosing one gives up the domestic recourse the licensing regime exists to provide.

The dinar

The Jordanian dinar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1995 at a fixed rate and has held through regional wars, refugee influxes and repeated shocks — a notable record of stability in a difficult neighbourhood, sustained by central bank reserves and external support. As with every peg, it imports US monetary policy: Jordanian rates follow the Federal Reserve regardless of domestic conditions.

Islamic accounts

Swap-free accounts are widely available. Verify whether charges are genuinely avoided or deferred and how the broker recovers the revenue.

Checks

Search the JSC's list of licensed companies first. If a firm is not on it, understand precisely what you are giving up before proceeding.