Capital.com Has Applied for a South African Licence

Capital.com, which is expanding across regions and product offerings, has applied for a South African licence, Finance Magnates has learned.

Although the broker did not officially confirm its plans in South Africa, one of its representatives told FinanceMagnates.com that “as part of our global expansion strategy, Capital.com is exploring new licences in several markets.”

An Expanding CFD Broker

The broker is already seeking licences in Japan and Turkey. It is also hiring CEOs for its operations in Brazil and Chile, showing expansion into those countries as well.

Capital.com, owned by billionaire Viktor Prokopenya, has grown fast since its launch in 2017. It offers contracts for differences (CFDs) under authorisation from regulators in the UK, Australia, Cyprus, the UAE and the Bahamas.

Meanwhile, the broker is expanding not only across regions, but also across products. The group company confirmed that it is investing “in scalable infrastructure and emerging technologies, including blockchain,” which hints that it might add crypto products too.

“While it is too early to confirm specific products,” the Capital.com representative said when asked about its South African plans, “our focus remains on ensuring that any services we launch meet the highest standards of compliance, transparency, and client support.”

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Capital.com also opened a new office in the capital city of Bulgaria, making it its customer service hub, and it plans to invest up to €5 million to improve its operational infrastructure.

South Africa – Too Lucrative for Brokers?

South Africa has seen the arrival of many CFD brokers, who need an OTC Derivatives Products (ODP) licence to operate locally in the country. EBC Financial, Mitrade and Monaxa are among the brokers to have secured the South African ODP licence in recent months. CFI and XS are other well-known names to obtain the South African licence.

Exness, a big name in the retail brokerage industry, also opened a “regional hub” last month in South Africa’s Cape Town.

However, IG Group viewed the market differently and closed its local South African presence earlier this year.