Why Belize?

Forex business activities have become highly regulated over the last few years. If a company offers Forex Brokerage services to its clients (Corporate or Personal), the company must hold a Forex Broker License.

Further, international banks will not accept account applications from unlicensed companies unless companies or individuals trade own funds only.

Obviously, all jurisdictions, both onshore and offshore, have the ability to grant a Forex Broker License to qualified applicants. Generally, onshore jurisdictions impose much higher capital requirements on applicants and consequently the costs of setting up in those jurisdictions are very high when compared to some of the offshore financial centres.

However offshore jurisdictions offer many interesting possibilities because:

– Many will allow a Forex Brokerageto operate free of tax on profits and

– It is possible to set up without the need to maintain a physical presence within the jurisdiction.

Belize’s foreign exchange trading licence allows one to:

Operate as a forex brokerage firm
Provide an online trading platform for your clients to make their own trades
Provide related services for your clients to open their own trading accounts with your firm
Provide convenient access to their accounts via debit cards
Provide additional full service brokerage options
Provide managed forex trading options

The viable low-cost Belize Forex Brokerage License option

This vehicle represents one of the most inexpensive regulated brokerage options vailable anywhere in the world for setting up a forex (and/or securities) brokerage firm. Other relatively low cost option includes Vanuatu.

About IFSC
International Financial Services Commission

Belize, an English-speaking country in the heart of Central America, is a relative newcomer in the field of international financial services. Since attaining independence from Britain in 1981, Belize has been endeavouring to diversify its economy away from the agricultural sector. Belize, therefore, saw the international financial services sector as a window of opportunity where it could seek to achieve competitive advantage.

In 1990, Belize enacted the International Business Companies Act based on the British Virgin Islands model. In a short space of ten years, Belize has registered more than 15,000 IBC’s. Belize’s IBC legislation is viewed internationally as one of the most modern and user-friendly. It is particularly designed with the offshore investor in mind. A Belizean IBC is an ideal corporate vehicle for international financial transactions and allows the investor to engage in a wide variety of activities ranging from asset protection to operating bank accounts, brokerage accounts, ship ownership, commission arrangements and various other commercial transactions.

Belize further expanded its offshore sector in 1996 with the passing of the Offshore Banking Act. This provides for two categories of offshore banking licenses – the Unrestricted “A” Class and the Restricted “B” Class license. The holder of a “B” Class license maintains lesser capital and is restricted to conducting certain limited business activities only.

The election of a new Government in Belize in 1998 provided fresh impetus to the development of the offshore services sector. A spate of seven offshore industry measures was added to the statute book in 1999, including:

The International Financial Services Commission Act which seeks to promote, protect and enhance Belize as an international financial services centre and to regulate the provision of international financial services;

The International Insurance Act which provides for the regulation of persons establishing and carrying on international insurance business;

The protected Cell Companies Act which allows for the incorporation of protected cell companies or the conversion of an existing company to a protected cell company;

The Mutual Funds Act which provides for the regulation, authorization and control of mutual funds and their managers and administrators;

The Limited Liability Partnerships Act which permits the creation of limited liability partnerships;

The Retired Persons (Incentives) Act which offers certain tax exemptions and incentives to qualified retired persons;

The International Business Companies (Amendment) Act which provides for the establishment of limited life companies;

Belize now offers a full menu of investment vehicles designed to meet the needs of sophisticated investors around the world. As the range of services has widened, Belize has become a more convenient place to do business.

While developing its offshore sector, Belize has not overlooked the fact that the offshore vehicles may be used by unscrupulous elements to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking or other illicit activities. Simultaneously with the enactment of the Offshore Banking Act in 1996, Belize also passed the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act which established mechanisms and procedures to ensure that the country’s financial institutions are not used to disguise the source of illicit funds. This Act is central to the country’s strategy to develop a reputable and viable offshore services sector. It is virtually an ‘all crimes’ law and is not limited to drug related offenses. The definition of ‘money laundering’ is extremely wide and covers ‘engaging, directly or indirectly, in a transaction that involves property that is the proceeds of crime, disguising, disposing of or bringing into Belize any property that is the proceeds of crime, knowing or having reasonable cause for believing the same to be the proceeds of crime. ’Belize’s banking sector (including offshore banking) is regulated by the Central Bank of Belize, while the non-banking sector falls within the jurisdiction of the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) established in 1999. Membership of the IFSC includes representation from both public and private sectors.

The Commission relies on self-regulation, meaning that while government sets overall standards, it expects much of the actual work in terms of monitoring and compliance to be done by the industry itself.

The Commission has recently issued licensing regulations to license all international financial services providers. The licensing process is designed to ensure that only ‘fit and proper persons’ are allowed to provide, carry on or transact international financial services in or from within Belize. The application fee is US$500.00 while the annual license fee is US$2,500.00.

In addition, the Commission is developing a statutory Code of Conduct for international financial services providers, to ensure compliance with internationally-accepted best practices by all services providers.

Belize is an active member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and subscribes to its core principles to eradicate money laundering and to foster stability in the global financial system. Belize has also made a commitment at the political level to adhere to the objectives of the U.N. Offshore Forum on Money Laundering.

Belize Forex Brokerage License
TBA Services

TBA & Associates is one of the few international consultancy firms that offer a complete range of advisory services and practical solutions related to the formation, licensing and on-going support for Forex and Binary Options firms as well as financial institutions in general.

We guide our clients every step of the way starting from the selection of the right jurisdiction to supporting the licensed institution during their life cycles by offering the following services:

Advice and guidance on the selection of a jurisdiction for your prospective financial institution;
Due diligence procedures in respect of the beneficial owners and prospective directors;
Incorporation of a legal entity and provision of domiciliary services;
Setting up a corporate bank account for further placement of required statutory capital;
Locating corporate officers and qualified personnel to meet, where mandatory, the minimum staff requirements;

Assistance with completing your license application and supporting documentation such as the business plan, internal policies and procedures, including amongst others your company’s operations manual, compliance arrangements, risk management and anti-money laundering policies and procedures etc.

Submitting the application to the license issuing authority, liaising with the regulator and all associated parties until your license application is finalized.