Compliance & licensing

Account Verification is the regulatory process in which a client submits valid proof of identity (POI) and proof of address (POA) before a brokerage account is fully activated for deposits and withdrawals. It is the ope…

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) is the body of laws, regulations, and internal procedures that brokers must follow to stop criminals from using trading accounts to disguise, move, or "clean" illegally obtained money. In pra…

Compliance Approval is the mandatory review in which a broker's legal or compliance team audits an affiliate's websites, ad copy, landing pages, and creatives — and formally clears them — before any campaign can go live…

A Consent Management Platform is software that collects, records and enforces users' consent to tracking and data processing, typically via the cookie banner. It stores the legal proof that a user agreed before any trac…

Data Privacy is the set of legal frameworks and practices governing how a broker and its partners collect, store, use, and protect the personal and financial information of leads and clients. It defines what data you ma…

The Financial Promotions Order (FPO) is the UK regulatory framework governing how financial products — including forex and CFDs — may be marketed to the public. It defines what counts as a "financial promotion," who is …

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union law, in force since 25 May 2018, that governs how anyone collects, stores, and processes the personal data of people in the EU and EEA. For a trading a…

An IB Agreement is the formal legal contract between a broker and an Introducing Broker that sets out how the IB refers clients and how they are paid. It defines the commission model, payment terms, compliance duties, a…

An Introducing Broker Certificate is the official document or digital badge a broker issues to confirm that a named partner is authorized to introduce clients on its behalf. It is proof of a live, approved IB relationsh…

KYC for IBs is the due-diligence process a broker runs to verify the identity, address, and legal standing of an Introducing Broker before activating the partnership. You submit standard ID and, for companies, corporate…

A leverage restriction is a regulatory cap on how much borrowed capital a retail trader may control relative to their own deposit. It limits position size, forcing traders to post more margin per trade and reducing how …

Marketing guidelines are the broker's binding rulebook for how partners may advertise its products. They specify mandatory risk warnings, prohibited claims, approved logo and brand usage, and the channels and audiences …

An offshore broker is a brokerage licensed in a jurisdiction with light-touch financial regulation, such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Seychelles, Vanuatu, or Mauritius. Weak oversight lets it offer high levera…

A professional client is a trader who meets a regulator's tests for experience, portfolio size, and market knowledge and is therefore classified above ordinary retail status. That classification removes standard retail …

Proof of Identity (POI) is the regulatory step where a client uploads a valid government-issued photo ID — passport, national ID card, or driver's licence — so a broker can confirm they are a real, legally identifiable …

Proof of Residence (POR) is the onboarding step where a client submits an official document that confirms their current physical address — typically a utility bill or bank statement — so a broker can satisfy anti-money-…

Regulatory jurisdiction is the legal authority and geographic region whose financial regulator licenses and supervises a broker — for example the FCA in the United Kingdom, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia, or the FSC…

A regulatory umbrella is an arrangement that lets an unlicensed firm or IB operate legally under the licence of a larger, fully authorised "principal" firm. The principal accepts regulatory responsibility for the umbrel…

Restricted jurisdictions are the countries or regions where a broker is legally barred from accepting clients, so any lead from those places is rejected at onboarding. The list typically includes the United States, sanc…

Retail client classification is the default regulatory status given to everyday, non-professional traders. It carries the strongest protections regulators offer, including leverage caps, negative balance protection, and…

A risk warning is a mandatory legal statement, required on all promotional material, that discloses the high risk of leveraged trading and the exact percentage of retail clients who lose money with that provider. It exi…

Spam compliance means following the laws that govern unsolicited commercial messaging, such as the US CAN-SPAM Act, Canada's CASL, and the EU's GDPR and ePrivacy rules. In practice it requires consent, honest identifica…

A tied agent is a person or firm formally appointed to promote and, in some regimes, arrange investment services on behalf of one regulated financial institution. The principal broker takes full regulatory responsibilit…

An unregulated broker is a trading firm that operates without authorisation from any recognised financial regulator. It is not bound by capital-adequacy rules, client-money segregation, dispute-resolution schemes, or co…