Pepperstone, a foreign exchange (forex) broker headquartered in Australia, is in the process of securing a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Finance Magnates can confirm.

In particular, Pepperstone has confirmed to Finance Magnates that it is in the process of securing a licence from the Cypriot regulator and that Victor Zachariades will be leading the new entity as the Director.

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Although the Australian-headquartered broker was not able to provide too many details at this time, the company did confirm that the new licence is part of Pepperstone’s Brexit plan.

Currently, Pepperstone is regulated in Australia under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the UAE with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and in the Bahamas under the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).

Although Pepperstone already has operations in Cyprus, the group currently offers its services in Europe via its FCA licence, which, thanks to the Brexit transition period, is still applicable in Europe.

Until now, due to passporting regulation, entities regulated by the FCA have been able to offer their services in EU countries. However, with Brexit set to change all of this, more brokers have been securing EU licences so their businesses can operate uninterrupted once the UK leaves the bloc.

In Australia, where Pepperstone is based, the local regulator ASIC is also looking to implement its own product intervention measures, which, if the regulator doesn’t change its proposed measures, would see even stricter leverage caps than over in Europe.

Pepperstone has been vocal in its criticism of the proposed regulation, with the Group CEO, Tamas Szabo, claiming the proposed restrictive measures would stifle innovation in Australia.

Pepperstone secures licence in UAE

Today’s revelation comes only a month after Finance Magnates reported exclusively that Pepperstone had secured a license from the DFSA. The new licence came a few months after the company incorporated its new subsidiary, Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited, in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).