Is Pepperstone safe and legit?
Verdict
- Yes, Pepperstone is legitimate: founded in 2010, it holds licences from ASIC (414530), the FCA (684312), CySEC (388/20), BaFin, the DFSA (F004356) and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SIA-F217), and we recommend it as our top broker.
- How safe your money is depends on which Pepperstone company holds your account: UK clients get FSCS cover up to £85,000, German clients EdW cover up to €20,000, while no compensation scheme is named for Australian, UAE or Bahamas-entity clients.
- Retail clients get negative balance protection across the entities we checked, and client money is held in segregated accounts.
- Pepperstone's own site contradicts itself on some numbers, such as instrument counts, client totals and support hours, so we quote its most conservative figures.
“Legit” has a precise answer: is the company licensed, by whom, and what happens to your money if something goes wrong. Pepperstone clears the first bar easily. The second depends on where you live, and for UAE residents the protection is thinner than for UK or EU clients.
Licensed in six jurisdictions, and our top pick
Pepperstone has operated since 2010 and runs regulated companies in Australia, the UK, Cyprus, Germany, the DIFC and the Bahamas, plus a CMA-licensed Dubai company and a Kenyan licence (CMA Kenya 128). Every licence below can be checked on the regulator's own register. Pepperstone also publishes execution statistics (fills from 50 milliseconds, a 99.32% fill rate, no dealer intervention, for Q1 2026 trades) and average spreads, which a broker with something to hide rarely does.
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Licences behind the brand
| Regulator | Company | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| ASIC (Australia) | Pepperstone Group Limited | AFSL 414530 |
| FCA (UK) | Pepperstone Limited | 684312 |
| CySEC (Cyprus) | Pepperstone EU Limited | 388/20 |
| BaFin (Germany) | Pepperstone GmbH | Register no. 151148 |
| DFSA (DIFC, Dubai) | Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Ltd | F004356 |
| SCB (Bahamas) | Pepperstone Markets Limited | SIA-F217 |
| UAE CMA | Pepperstone Financial Services LLC | 20200000358 (introduction and consultation) |
How your money is protected, entity by entity
- UK: FSCS cover for eligible clients up to £85,000; segregated client funds.
- Germany: EdW membership covering 90% of claims up to €20,000; segregated trust accounts.
- Cyprus (EU): Investor Compensation Fund, the lower of 90% of covered claims or €20,000, retail only.
- Australia: no compensation scheme named; segregated money is handled under the Corporations Act on liquidation, with no guarantee all funds are returned.
- UAE and the Bahamas entity: no compensation scheme named; retail clients are entitled to negative balance protection.
Where Pepperstone's own figures don't line up
An honest review should note the inconsistencies. Pepperstone's pages variously say 1350+ markets, 1,444 CFDs and, in the UK, 2,700+ spread bets and CFDs; one UK page says over 900,000 traders and another over 830,000; support is described both as 24/7 and as 24 hours on weekdays and 18 at weekends; and its UK site lists international wire withdrawals as free on one page and £15 on another. None of this suggests a problem with client money, but rely on your own contract, not marketing figures.
What it means if you live in the UAE
Your CFDs are issued by Pepperstone Markets Limited, regulated in the Bahamas, so you do not get the UK or EU compensation schemes. You do get negative balance protection as a retail client, an AED account, and local deposits and withdrawals through Mashreq Bank and Barclays. If you want an onshore UAE counterparty, Capital.com's Dubai company holds CMA licence 20200000176.
Sources
Regulatory details as Pepperstone publishes them.
Is Pepperstone a scam?
No. It is licensed by ASIC, the FCA, CySEC, BaFin, the DFSA and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, among others, and each licence can be checked on the regulator's register.
Is my money safe with Pepperstone in the UAE?
Client money is segregated and retail clients have negative balance protection, but no compensation scheme is named for UAE clients, whose CFDs are issued by the Bahamas company.
How long has Pepperstone been around?
It was founded in 2010.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. This page is not investment advice; broker terms change, so check them on the broker's own site before you open an account.