Banxso, a contracts for differences (CFDs) broker facing trouble in South Africa, is no longer onboarding clients under its Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) licence, Finance Magnates has learned. The retail broker’s EU website also appears non-operational, with most services disabled.
CySEC Licence Remains Unused
“We would like to inform you that Banxso Ltd, with Licence Number 413/22 operating under the name banxso.eu, is not accepting any clients at the moment,” a notice on Banxso EU’s website stated.
Although the company’s Cypriot licence remains active, archived pages from the Wayback Machine suggest it stopped onboarding clients in April this year. Interestingly, the broker had only onboarded Cyprus residents before the complete suspension of services, according to the archived pages.
The mandatory risk disclosure on Banxso EU’s website is also interesting as it did not include the exact percentage of clients loosing money on the platform. This also raises questions on the compliance of the Cypriot entity when it was operational.
“CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The vast majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading with CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money,” the disclosure on the website reads.
Finance Magnates contacted Banxso but has not received a response as of press time.
Troubles for Banxso in South Africa
While Banxso’s Cyprus unit is not accepting new clients, its South African unit is also encountering serious issues with the local regulator. South Africa’s Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) suspended the broker’s licence last month due to concerns about the firm’s operational practices and potential client risks. Another local agency also froze the brokerage’s bank accounts.
Although a local court recently unfroze the bank accounts, allowing the broker to claim victory against the regulators, the FSCA clarified that the order came with conditions. The regulator stated that the broker could not withdraw or allow the withdrawal of any funds from the bank accounts except to transfer clients to an alternative [locally authorised] financial services provider. Furthermore, its licence remains suspended.
Interestingly, many South African clients of Banxso alleged that broker representatives misled them about the reinstatement of its licence and the resumption of trading services. A local media outlet confirmed that the CFDs trading platform was permitting trade execution while its licence remains suspended.
Meanwhile, the South African regulator initiated an investigation into the brokerage representatives and interviewed witnesses who verified the allegations against the broker.
This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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