Best SCA-Regulated Forex Brokers in 2026

What an SCA licence means today, after the move to the CMA

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) was the federal financial regulator of the United Arab Emirates, established under Federal Decree No. 4 of 2000. Effective 1 January 2026, the SCA was dissolved and reconstituted as the Capital Market Authority (CMA) under UAE Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and No. 33 of 2025. The CMA is the legal successor to the SCA and assumed all of its rights, obligations, and supervisory functions, and existing SCA licences and approvals transferred automatically to the CMA without re-application. So when a broker advertises an “SCA licence,” what it now means in practice is a federal UAE licence administered by the CMA, and you should expect references and registers to be migrating from the SCA name to the CMA name.

This federal authorisation oversees securities markets, commodities trading, and investment activities across the UAE, including firms that offer leveraged products such as forex and CFDs. A firm holding this federal licence is supervised onshore at the national level, which is distinct from firms authorised in one of the country’s free-zone financial centres, such as the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in the DIFC or the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Those free zones run their own legal frameworks and registers, so a federal SCA/CMA permission and a DFSA or FSRA permission are not interchangeable. The brokers in the comparison above are filtered to show those advertising or holding SCA-related authorisation, but the verification steps below still matter before you fund any account.

Concrete protections under a federal SCA/CMA licence

Firms holding this federal UAE licence are expected to operate under prudential and conduct standards designed to keep client money and client interests protected. Because the CMA inherited the SCA’s mandate around investor protection, fair and transparent markets, and reducing systemic risk, those protections carried over through the transition. The points most relevant to a forex or CFD trader generally include the following.

• Client money segregation means licensed firms are required to keep retail client funds separate from the firm’s own operating capital, so client balances are not used to finance the broker’s business and are more readily identifiable if the firm fails.
• Capital and operational requirements mean firms must meet minimum capital thresholds and maintain systems, governance, and risk controls appropriate to the activities they are licensed for.
• Conduct and disclosure rules cover fair treatment of clients, clear risk warnings on leveraged products, transparent pricing, and proper handling of complaints.
• Supervision and enforcement mean the regulator can investigate, fine, suspend, or withdraw licences, and the CMA was granted broader supervisory and enforcement powers in the 2025 reforms, which gives the authorisation real weight rather than being a marketing badge.

It is important to be honest about one point. Unlike some jurisdictions, the UAE does not operate a single, well-publicised retail investor-compensation scheme with a fixed headline payout figure of the kind seen under the UK’s FSCS or the EU’s investor-compensation directives. You should not assume a guaranteed reimbursement amount if a federally licensed broker becomes insolvent. Treat segregation, the firm’s financial strength, and your own position-sizing as your primary safeguards, and read each firm’s own disclosures on how client assets are held.

Leverage limits can also differ from the strict caps applied to retail clients in Europe or the UK. Where a firm offers higher leverage, that magnifies both gains and losses, so the absence of a hard EU-style cap is a reason to be more, not less, disciplined about risk.

How to verify a federal SCA/CMA licence

A licence claim on a broker’s website is only a starting point. To confirm that a firm is genuinely authorised, take these steps.

1. Visit the regulator’s official website and use its public register of licensed entities rather than relying on a logo or a screenshot supplied by the broker. Because the SCA was reconstituted as the CMA in January 2026, check the current official portal and be aware that older SCA branding may still appear on some pages during the transition.
2. Match the exact legal entity name and licence or registration number, not just the brand name. Many groups operate several entities, and the one you are signing up with may not be the federally licensed one.
3. Check what activities the licence actually permits. An entity might be authorised for certain services but not for the specific leveraged product you intend to trade.
4. If the firm points you to a different entity at account opening, for example an offshore subsidiary, recognise that you may be contracting with a company that sits outside UAE federal supervision, with different protections.

If you cannot find the firm on the official register, or the entity name does not match, treat that as a serious warning sign and do not deposit funds.

Who federal UAE regulation suits, and what to weigh

A broker holding this federal SCA/CMA licence is a natural fit for traders based in or connected to the UAE who want a counterparty supervised within the country’s own federal framework, and who value being able to raise complaints and seek recourse domestically. It can also appeal to traders who want onshore UAE oversight rather than a free-zone or offshore arrangement.

When comparing the firms in the list above on this dimension, weigh the licensing question alongside the practical trading factors. These include which exact entity holds the federal permission, how client funds are segregated and with which banks, the spreads and commissions on the instruments you trade, available platforms, funding and withdrawal methods including any currency-conversion costs if you fund in a currency other than the account base, and the quality and responsiveness of support. Regulation tells you about the firm’s accountability, while the cost and execution details tell you what trading there will actually be like day to day.

Frequently asked questions

What does SCA stand for, and is it still the UAE regulator?

SCA stands for the Securities and Commodities Authority, which was the federal financial regulator of the United Arab Emirates. Effective 1 January 2026 it was dissolved and reconstituted as the Capital Market Authority (CMA) under Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and No. 33 of 2025, with the CMA as its legal successor. The federal mandate over securities, commodities, and investment activities, including leveraged products such as forex and CFDs, continues under the CMA.

Is a federal SCA/CMA licence the same as a DFSA or ADGM licence?

No. The SCA, now the CMA, is the UAE’s onshore federal regulator, while the DFSA (in the DIFC) and the FSRA (in ADGM) regulate firms inside their respective free-zone financial centres under separate frameworks and registers. A permission from one does not automatically apply under another, so always check which body actually licenses the entity you are dealing with.

Does the regulator guarantee my money back if a broker fails?

You should not assume a fixed, guaranteed payout. The UAE does not operate a single retail investor-compensation scheme with a well-known headline figure comparable to the UK’s FSCS. Your main protections are client-money segregation, the firm’s financial strength, and prudent risk management, so always review how each firm holds client assets.

How do I check if a broker is really federally licensed in the UAE?

Use the official register on the regulator’s own website, now operating as the CMA after the 2026 transition, and match the exact legal entity name and licence number, not just the brand. Confirm the licence covers the activity you intend to trade, and be cautious if the firm directs you to open an account with a different, offshore entity at sign-up.