Finland has been in the European Union since 1995 but only recently has it become one of the countries to offer licenses to Forex brokers at a national level. Amid the first to apply for such a license was FinFX, a retail Forex broker, which is well known outside of Finland too, thanks to the fact that it welcomes clients from the United States.
The situation has changed swiftly at the Finnish brokerage as its application to become an investment firm regulated by Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) has translated into restrictions regarding client base. On Monday, FinFX announced that it would stop offering its services to US clients, with the changes coming into force on January 30, 2015.
This is a bit of disappointing news to many US traders who often look for brokerages outside of the US, in order to get access to higher leverage, as well as opportunities to scalp and hedge. FinFX has been the number one choice in this respect to many thanks to the generous leverage that reaches 1:100, 1:200 and even 1:400, depending on the type of trading account opened.
Affected clients will be able to make a choice – close their accounts at FinFX by the end of the month or be transferred to Tallinex, an FX broker registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
While the news of FinFX’s regulated status may bring a grin to the faces of US clients, it is an occasion for celebration for the broker, which has been in talks with the watchdog for quite some time. Moreover, protection of clients and security of their funds are taken to another level.
The official announcement by FinFX on the termination of service provision to US clients can be read here.