IFSC

Belize's International Financial Services Commission licenses and supervises international financial services provided from Belize, including securities dealing and brokerage. It is one of the most frequently encountered offshore licences in retail forex, typically held by a subsidiary of a group that also holds a European or Australian licence.

What the licence requires

An applicant for a securities dealing licence must meet minimum paid-up capital, satisfy the commission's assessment of directors and beneficial owners, appoint a local agent and registered office, file audited annual accounts and comply with anti-money-laundering obligations. The IFSC publishes enforcement notices and has revoked licences, so supervision is genuine rather than nominal.

It is nonetheless light. There is no product intervention power directed at retail CFDs, no detailed client-assets rulebook, and no requirement to classify clients or assess whether a leveraged product is appropriate for them.

Leverage and retail protections

No cap applies, and Belize entities routinely advertise 500:1 or more — one of the two commercial reasons the licence exists inside larger groups, the other being faster onboarding. Negative balance protection, where offered, is a contractual term that can be varied on notice rather than a regulatory guarantee. Standardised risk warnings are not required.

If a broker fails

There is no investor compensation scheme. Client fund segregation is required and the firm's own capital stands behind the balance; recovery in a failure would run through Belize insolvency proceedings, which is not a practical route for a retail account balance.

Verifying a licence

The commission publishes a register of licensees. Match the exact legal entity from your client agreement — not the trading brand — and confirm the licence category covers securities dealing rather than only advising or arranging. A number quoted on a website without a matching register entry is a warning sign, as is a register entry under a company name that differs from the one on your deposit instruction.

Reading it in context

A Belize licence tells you a firm is supervised. It does not tell you a failure would return your money, and the leverage that comes with it reflects the absence of a limit rather than a judgement about you. ProForexBrokers.com treats it as a genuine but limited signal, and reads the client agreement to establish which entity actually holds the account.