CFI Review UAE 2026

Is CFI regulated in the UAE

CFI holds a Category 1 licence from the Capital Market Authority, the regulator in the United Arab Emirates. The licence number is 20200000154. The licensed entity is CFI FINANCIAL MARKETS L.L.C, established on 15 May 2023 in Abu Dhabi with two branches. Its permitted activities cover financial consultations, portfolio management, trading broker in the international markets, and trading broker of OTC derivatives and currencies in the spot market. All four activities are listed as Active on the CMA public register.

The licence includes an endorsed custody permission. CFI states in its UAE terms and conditions that client funds are held in segregated accounts with banks or credit institutions, fully separated from the company’s own funds at all times. It also says client money may be maintained in a designated client bank account located in the UAE.

CFI classifies everyone who opens an account under its UAE entity as a retail client. The terms and conditions state it plainly: “For the purposes of the SCA Rules and regulations, we have classified you as a Retail Client for all Services we may provide you.” That means the full retail protections of the SCA rulebook apply, including the segregation of funds I just mentioned, the leverage limits the regulator sets, and the negative balance protection that comes with that classification.

This is a dealing licence, not a full banking licence, and it is not Category 5. In my experience, that distinction matters. A Category 1 dealing licence authorises the broker to hold your money and execute your trades, but it does not carry the same capital requirements or scope as a Category 5 banking licence. That is not a flaw. It is simply what the licence is, and you should know it before you fund an account.

What trading with CFI costs

CFI publishes two account types: Zero Commission and Dynamic Trader. The cost picture is straightforward on one and incomplete on the other, and I will take them in turn.

The Zero Commission account charges no commission. CFI states “$0” for commission on the account page and repeats on its fees page that “Zero commission accounts are available whereby costs are integrated with spreads and swaps.” The cost you pay is the spread. Here is where the disclosure gets messy. CFI publishes two different EUR/USD spread figures for this same account. The fees table, under a column headed “Target Spreads*”, says “as low as 0.4”. The account page for the same Zero Commission account says the EUR/USD spread is “Between 0.4 - 1.1*”. Those are two different claims sitting on two different pages at the same time.

In my experience, when a broker publishes a range and also publishes a best-case floor, the range is the more honest number. The floor of 0.4 is the best case of a spread CFI itself says can reach 1.1 pips. I would treat 1.1 as the figure to budget on. If you trade at the tighter end, you benefit. If you trade at the wider end, you are still inside the broker’s own published range. CFI does not publish a typical or average spread figure, so you cannot know where most trades actually fill. The minimum deposit on this account is none, and base currencies include USD, EUR, GBP and others.

The Dynamic Trader account is where the disclosure breaks down. CFI lists the EUR/USD spread as “From 0.0* pips” and the fees table shows “as low as 0.0”. On its own, that is a raw-spread account claim. The problem is the commission. The account page says “Low commission, volumed-based” but gives no number. Not per lot, not per side, not per round turn. Nothing. The same page also carries a footnote reading “*No additional commissions apply besides the spread”, which directly contradicts the “Low commission, volumed-based” line printed above it. Both statements appear on the same account page. They cannot both be true.

A zero spread beside an unknown commission is the least useful cost disclosure a trader can be handed. You cannot calculate your all-in cost because the one number you need, the commission, is missing. The broker has not published it. I cannot fill it in, and neither can you. In my experience, that alone makes the Dynamic Trader account unpriceable until you contact CFI directly and get a commission schedule in writing. Until then, you are trading blind on cost.

Neither account publishes a EUR/USD typical spread. CFI uses the words “Target Spreads” on its fees table, which is a third basis of disclosure that does not map to minimum, typical, or not-published. It is a word CFI chose, and I am quoting it because it is what the broker says.

Platforms and execution

CFI offers MT5, TradingView, and two proprietary platforms: the CFI Trading App and CFI Multi-Asset. The platform list is published on both account pages, and it is the same across both accounts. MT4 is absent from that list. cTrader is absent from that list. When a broker publishes an explicit platform list, the absence of a platform from it is a finding. CFI does not offer MT4. CFI does not offer cTrader.

TradingView is listed as a platform alongside MT5 and has its own product page. This is not a chart widget embedded in a web trader. It is the full TradingView platform integration, and it means you can trade directly from TradingView charts if that is your workflow.

Expert advisors are permitted, subject to what CFI calls legal and regulatory conditions. That means algorithmic trading is possible on the MT5 platform, though the broker does not spell out what those conditions are on the account pages.

CFI does not publish whether it offers a VPS service. It does not publish whether it offers an API. Both are null findings, meaning the broker has not disclosed either way. That is different from saying it does not have them. It means the information is not on the page.

A free demo account is available. Every account page carries a “Try free demo” call to action.

Funding and withdrawals

CFI accepts deposits in AED via credit and debit cards and wire transfer. Card deposits are processed instantly. Wire transfers take one to five days. The broker states it does not impose any deposit fees of its own, though your bank may charge you.

AED is listed as a supported deposit currency for both cards and wire. That is useful if you are funding from a UAE bank account and want to avoid a currency conversion on the way in. However, CFI does not name AED as a base currency for the trading accounts themselves. The account pages list base currencies as “USD, EUR, GBP and others” without specifying whether AED is among the others. The broker has not said. That is a disclosure gap worth noting, because a deposit rail in AED does not guarantee your trading account can be denominated in AED. If it cannot, you will pay a conversion when you fund and again when you withdraw.

CFI does not name a local UAE partner bank for deposits or withdrawals. The funding table lists UAEPGS as a rail alongside wire transfer and Safe Charge. UAEPGS is a payment gateway, not a named partner bank. That is a factual distinction. A payment rail exists. A named UAE bank does not appear anywhere on the funding page.

Withdrawal processing times are stated for wire transfers at one to five days. Card withdrawal times are not stated separately. The broker publishes no Emirates ID requirement on its funding page or in its FAQ.

Islamic and swap-free accounts

CFI does not publish a dedicated Islamic account page on its UAE website. The account pages for Zero Commission and Dynamic Trader do not mention swap-free trading, and the fees page does not list a swap-free account type. The broker has not disclosed whether swap-free accounts are available. That is a null finding, not a false one. CFI may offer them on request. It simply does not say on the pages I reviewed.

In my experience, many UAE brokers handle swap-free accounts through a separate application process rather than listing them as a standalone account type. If you need a swap-free account, you would need to ask CFI directly and get the terms in writing before assuming anything. The silence on the page is the finding.

Which entity you contract with

You contract with CFI FINANCIAL MARKETS L.L.C, a company incorporated in the United Arab Emirates under company number 1971503. The UAE terms and conditions state this explicitly: “CFI financial markets L.L.C (hereafter the ‘Company’, ‘CFI’) is a Company duly incorporated and registered under the laws of the United Arab Emiratis, bearing company number 1971503. The Company holds a license issued by Capital Market Authority (CMA).”

Three independent sources confirm the same entity. The site footer names CFI Financial Markets LLC, regulated by the CMA under licence number 20200000154. The risk warning block on the fees page repeats the same entity name, licence number, and Category 1 classification. The UAE terms and conditions PDF carries “CFI Financial Markets L.L.C, UAE. Regulated by CMA (Capital Market Authority)” on every page footer. The contracting entity and the regulated entity match. No offshore entity appears in the UAE contracting chain.

This matters because CFI does disclose offshore entities elsewhere. Credit Financier Invest International Limited is regulated by the Seychelles FSA under licence SD107. Credit Financier Invest (International) Limited is regulated by the Vanuatu FSC under licence 700479. CFI International Ltd is regulated by the Mauritius FSC under licence C161178. All three appear on the group-wide regulations page. None appears on the UAE homepage footer, and none is named in the UAE terms and conditions. When you open an account through the UAE website, you are contracting with the CMA-regulated entity in Dubai, not with an offshore subsidiary.

The Dubai office address is Dubai World Trade Centre, One Central, The Offices 5, Office 501. CFI also lists offices in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, with full street addresses on its contact page.

Customer service and education

CFI publishes a UAE phone number: +971 4 873 9000. Live chat is available, and the broker states its support team is available 24/7. The claim appears twice on the contact page: “Access 24/7 support when you need it” and “Our support team is available 24/7 to answer your inquiries.” A UAE office address is published in Dubai, with additional offices in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The website has a full Arabic language toggle that routes to Arabic paths. That means the site content is available in Arabic, though I have not verified whether the support desk itself operates in Arabic or whether the Arabic site is a full translation or a partial one. The language toggle is present, and that is what I can confirm.

CFI publishes a full education section. There is a structured academy with courses, plus webinars, seminars, educational articles, market reports, and a blog. The academy is a named product under its own navigation path. The seminar page invites you to join in-person trading seminars and includes a city filter, but currently states “No upcoming seminars.” The capability exists. A UAE-specific event does not, today.