Federal Financial Supervisory Authority

Germany has a higher tax structure and a relatively tougher barrier for entry. The financial regulatory body of the country is the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Germany is the largest economy in Europe and a cornerstone of the European financial markets, which means that those who want to market to the German audience would be wise to try to seek a BaFin licence.

BaFin works with its regulated brokers and financial companies to ensure that they have the best business environment for continued success in the industry. BaFin is committed to the welfare of both companies as well as individual investors, thereby creating a harmony between the two different forces in the market.

BaFin is also not free from controversies, as the organization was seen to conceal large-scale financial fraud without taking necessary steps during the early days of its inception. However, as of now, BaFin has rectified its operational procedures and is considered to be among the best regulatory agencies in the retail Forex trading industry.

1. Safety of Client Funds：

Investment services enterprises shall without undue delay segregate client money held in safe custody.

2. Requirement on Forex Brokers' Initial Capital:

An initial share capital of at least €730,000.

3. Requirement on Forex Brokers' Reports：

Transaction Reports; Audit Reports; Anti-money laundering Reports; Net Capital Report; Securities Lending Reports.

Generally speaking, Bafin-regulated broker profile will be found at the BaFin database of companies page. Try to find it and check if it will match the info from the broker website.

The detailed steps are as follow:

1. Find the licensed/reference no.(preferred) or name of the forex broker, which you can get from the broker's website;

2. Enter the no. or name into the search bar on https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/;

3. And you'll get the broker's profile on Bafin website. At this time you need to go through the 'notification' and check if the broker has the authorization to provide 'C9 - Financial contracts for differences' under 'Financial instruments' or 'B4 - Foreign exchange transactions in investment services' under 'ancillary securities services';

4. If all the above steps have been done, don't forget to check the most important information: check if the firm details published on Bafin website matches the ones you'll go to trade with, especially the website and email etc. If no, please keep away the broker because it's probably an unauthorized firm and your money will fall in danger.

When you have disputes with a Bafin-regulated broker, you can proceed the following ways:

1st way: The recommended way is to contact the broker directly and discuss with them to find a solution.

2nd way: If you're not satisfied with the broker's solution, try to contact Bafin, which helps to solve the disputes between the forex broker and the investor.

You can send a letter, a fax or an e-mail to BaFin. This is the best way, as BaFin requires a written account of the facts as well as copies of the relevant documentation in order to follow up your problem.

Please send your complaint with the accompanying documents to BaFin:

Contact

Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht

Address: Graurheindorfer Straße 108, 53117 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 4108 0
Fax: +49 228 4108 1550
E-mail: poststelle@bafin.de

3rd way: If the first 2 ways above can't solve the dispute, the last way is to issue a case to the court in Germany.