Is Markets.com legit and safe?
By Gerald Louw · Last verified: July 2026 · How we verify
FSCA licence LAPSED since 2023
Markets.com (operated by Safecap Investments Limited) is a long-established, CySEC/FCA-licensed brand — but its South African licence is long gone: the FSCA register shows Safecap Investments Limited (FSP 43906) with status LAPSED and a status date of 27 February 2023. We verified this on the register on 12 July 2026. Most review sites — including ours until today — still described Markets.com as FSCA-regulated. That has been wrong for over three years.
Who you actually contract with
- ▸FSCA register, checked 12 July 2026: Safecap Investments Limited, trading name MARKETS.COM — FSP 43906, status LAPSED (status date 27 February 2023). Screenshot below.
- ▸Group licences that remain active include CySEC (Safecap Investments Ltd, CIF 092/08 — verified on the CySEC register 12 July 2026; the group’s Finalto EU Ltd also holds CIF 264/15), FCA (Finalto Trading Ltd, FRN 607305 — verified Authorised on the FCA register 12 July 2026) and ASIC — international clients are typically onboarded to Cyprus or offshore entities.
The register, not our word for it
Verified findings — with sources
- FSCA licence lapse, February 2023: Safecap’s FSP 43906 shows "Lapsed" on the FSCA’s public register — South African clients have had no FSCA oversight or FAIS Ombud recourse on new business for over three years (FSCA register, verified 12 July 2026).
- CySEC administrative fine, 2015: Safecap Investments paid €168,000 for violations of Cyprus investment-services rules following on-site inspections in 2013–2014; historic and remedied per the company (CySEC announcement; Finance Magnates).
- No current enforcement actions surfaced against Safecap/Markets.com entities in our July 2026 sweep.
We publish only findings we verified against regulators' own releases, registers, or the broker's own disclosures — and we name the source. Unverified claims circulating online are excluded.
What's genuinely good
- Long-established brand with genuine CySEC and FCA group licences
- No recent enforcement actions in our sweeps
Before any money moves
- No active South African licence since February 2023 — SA clients get no FSCA protection or local recourse
- Confirm in writing which legal entity would onboard you and under which regulator before funding
- The FCA register lists multiple clone firms impersonating the group’s Finalto brand (“Finalto Pro”, “Finalto Ltd”, “Finalto Proton”) — only use official group domains
Frequently asked questions
Is Markets.com regulated by the FSCA?
Not since early 2023. The FSCA register shows Safecap Investments Limited (trading as Markets.com), FSP 43906, with status LAPSED and a status date of 27 February 2023 — verified by us on the register on 12 July 2026. Its CySEC and FCA group licences remain, but they give South Africans no local recourse.
Does the lapsed licence mean Markets.com is a scam?
No — it is a licence-status finding, not a fraud finding. Safecap remains CySEC- and FCA-licensed. It does mean South African clients trade without local protection, and that most "FSCA-regulated" claims about Markets.com you will read online are more than three years out of date.
Should South Africans use Markets.com?
We do not currently recommend it for South African traders: several comparable brokers hold active FSCA licences we have verified on the register with screenshots. If you already hold an account, ask in writing which entity serves you and what protection applies.
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