Setting Up a Forex Company in Cyprus

Which licence problem do you have?

Start with what the firm will actually do, because that sets your capital and your whole project. Under Law 87(I)/2017, providing investment services as a regular occupation or business needs prior authorisation from CySEC. CySEC's practical guide on the investment firm rules sets the initial capital by activity. The right-hand column below is our plain-English reading of common forex labels. Confirm your own classification with a regulatory lawyer.

Your choice of services also shapes your risk. A firm that takes the other side of client trades needs the top tier. A CIF can ask CySEC to extend its authorisation later, and the same application form covers extensions, so you do not have to apply for everything at once.

Why initial capital is only the floor

Your ongoing requirement is usually higher than the initial figure. Under the EU investment firm rules, a firm's own funds must stay at or above the highest of these measures. Small and non-interconnected firms (Class 3) use the first two, and Class 2 firms also use the third.

• Fixed overheads. At least a quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads.
• Permanent minimum. At least the initial capital requirement for your activity.
• K-factors. A calculation based on risk to clients, to the market and to the firm.

Firms must also hold liquid assets of at least a third of the fixed overheads requirement.

Here is an illustrative agency broker with a EUR 150,000 initial capital tier and EUR 2,400,000 of annual fixed overheads.

So this firm needs four times its headline capital figure once it reaches that size. Build the capital plan from your cost budget, and check the current requirements with your advisers. CySEC's guide dates from the start of this regime.

The route from company to licence

The company comes first, then the application. The law requires that a CIF's head office is in the Republic, so this has to be a real base.

1. Define the services, instruments and clients. This sets your capital tier and your compliance scope.
2. Incorporate the Cyprus company. The route is the same as for any private company, as our guide to registering a company in Cyprus explains. Choose the name carefully, as the Registrar can refuse a name implying a regulated activity.
3. Build the organization. Board, senior management, compliance, risk and internal audit arrangements, premises, systems and client agreements.
4. Assemble the application. See the forms below.
5. Submit it, and answer CySEC's questions. CySEC must tell you within six months of a complete application whether authorisation has been granted.
6. Start using the licence. CySEC may withdraw an authorisation that is not used within 12 months.

The law includes a further restriction worth reading early. A CIF cannot run other business beyond what its authorisation covers, apart from defined exceptions. Keep unrelated activities in a separate company.

What goes in the application?

CySEC publishes the forms, most of them last dated 30 October 2025. The key items are below. Check the live page before you start.

The law also requires a programme of operations setting out the types of business proposed and the organizational structure. Fees are set by CySEC's DI87-03 series of directives, most recently amended in October 2025, and many current texts exist only in Greek. Use a lawyer who reads them in the original.

Which rules shape a retail forex business?

For retail CFDs, Cyprus operates under product rules that came from the EU regulator. CySEC's 2019 policy statement describes these measures:

• Limits on opening positions, from 30:1 on major currency pairs to 2:1 on cryptocurrencies.
• A margin close-out rule at 50% of required margin, per account.
• Negative balance protection per account.
• A restriction on trading incentives.
• A standard risk warning showing the percentage of retail accounts that lose money.

Your marketing has its own rules as well. Read our guide to CySEC marketing rules before you brief anyone. The policy statement dates from 2019. The binding text is CySEC's Directive DI87-09, last amended in September 2025 and published in Greek only, so confirm the current position, and do not plan any route that targets restricted audiences or sidesteps these measures.

A CIF authorisation is valid across the European Union, through a branch or the freedom to provide services, and the law sets out the notification steps. The market is crowded. CySEC's list, dated 4 May 2026, runs to more than 200 firms, so the licence alone gives you no edge.

Is a CIF the right project for you?

Be honest about scale before you start.

A CIF is likely to fit if you have the capital, you plan to run a regulated EU business for years, and you can staff compliance and risk with real people in Cyprus.

Consider something else if you want to test the market quickly or you do not have the capital. A white label arrangement has its own regulatory questions, and our guide to starting a forex brokerage compares the wider options. A prop firm is a different business with different questions, so take advice on it separately.

Sempor is not a law firm or a licensing consultancy, and no one can guarantee a licence. A Cyprus lawyer forms the company. Our own part is the regulated marketing: if you are at the licence stage, see how we approach fintech and forex SEO.