CFI did not arrive from London or Sydney and translate a website. It started in Beirut in 1998 as a private banking division and expanded outward, and behind it now sit four tier-1 licences and more than 15,000 instruments — among the widest ranges in retail broking. Testing it over four weeks in January and February 2026, funding a live account with $500 and placing more than 50 trades, the regulation and product breadth held up. The pricing did not: forex costs on the entry account run above market, a $100 inactivity fee bites after eleven quiet months, and scalping and high-frequency trading are prohibited outright.
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| Overall rating | 8.0/10 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Beirut, Lebanon (offices in London, Larnaca, Dubai, Amman and Port Louis) |
| Main licences | FCA UK (FRN 828955), CySEC Cyprus (179/12), DFSA Dubai (F003933), SCA UAE (20200000154), CMA Lebanon (local register) |
| Minimum deposit | No mandatory minimum; $100 recommended |
| Spread from | 0.0 pips (Dynamic Trader account) |
| Maximum leverage | Up to 1:500 depending on entity; 1:30 for retail clients under the FCA and CySEC entities |
| Instruments | 15,000+ |
| Swap-free available | Yes, on both account types, on covered instruments |
| Retail loss rate | 75% (CFI’s FCA-entity disclosure, as published March 2026) |
We opened a live account, completed verification, funded it, traded it, requested a withdrawal and contacted support through three channels without identifying ourselves as reviewers. Read our full methodology. Every figure below is dated to when we observed it.
Pros and cons
Testing produced a clean split: what CFI is licensed to do and what it lets you trade are both strong; what it charges and what it forbids are not.
What we liked
- Four licences checked against the regulators’ own registers in February 2026: FCA UK (FRN 828955), CySEC (179/12), DFSA Dubai (F003933), SCA UAE (20200000154), plus local CMA registration in Lebanon.
- More than 15,000 instruments, including real shares and real ETFs rather than CFDs alone. XM offers roughly 1,400, Equiti roughly 2,000, Amana roughly 5,000.
- Compensation cover on two entities: FSCS to £85,000 (around $107,000) under the UK arm, ICF to €20,000 under the Cyprus arm.
- No mandatory minimum deposit; $100 recommended as a practical starting balance.
- Four routes to market on one account: MetaTrader 5, TradingView integration, the proprietary CFI Multi-Asset platform and the Kaiana AI assistant built on OpenAI.
- Swap-free available on both account types, with no overnight financing on covered instruments.
- Twenty-seven years of operating history and offices in six cities.
What we did not
- Forex pricing above market on the entry account: EUR/USD on Zero Commission ran 0.4 to 1.1 pips in February 2026 against 0.2 to 0.8 at Equiti.
- A $100 inactivity fee after eleven consecutive months without a trade. XM charges nothing; brokers that do charge typically sit between $10 and $50.
- Scalping and high-frequency trading prohibited outright — a restriction most direct competitors do not impose.
- No micro or cent account for very small position sizes.
- No MetaTrader 4, which matters if you run MT4-specific indicators or expert advisors.
- Education is thin for a firm of this size, and well behind XM.
- Spreads widened more than Equiti’s at the same moments during news releases and the Asian open.
Company information
CFI traces to 1998, when it began as the private banking arm of Credit Financier in Beirut. In 2015 Hisham Mansour and Eduardo Fakhoury established CFI Financial Group Holding Limited as the international expansion vehicle for Credit Financier Invest SAL. It now operates across more than 100 countries from a head office at CFI Plaza Tower in the Naccache area of Beirut’s Dbayeh district.
Leadership changed in June 2025: Ziad Melhem became group chief executive, with the founders moving to chairman and vice-chairman. Katia Kheir is chief executive of CFI Lebanon.
The business is broader than retail broking: CFI also runs asset management and prime brokerage through CFI Prime, an operation larger than the retail brand suggests.
| Legal name | CFI Financial Group Holding Limited |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 (original entity, Credit Financier) |
| Headquarters | Beirut, Lebanon (CFI Plaza Tower, Naccache) |
| Founders | Hisham Mansour and Eduardo Fakhoury |
| Group chief executive | Ziad Melhem (since June 2025) |
| International offices | Beirut, London, Larnaca, Dubai, Amman, Port Louis |
| Countries served | More than 100 |
| Instruments | More than 15,000 |
Who this broker suits (and who it does not)
CFI fits traders whose first question is who regulates the entity holding their money; investors wanting one account across several asset classes, since real shares from 19 markets, real ETFs, bonds, futures and options sit alongside forex and CFDs; active traders willing to use Dynamic Trader, where raw spreads from 0.0 pips plus a volume-scaled commission cost less than the entry account; and anyone who values a named account manager.
It does not fit scalpers or high-frequency traders, excluded by policy rather than pricing; traders chasing the lowest forex cost on a spread-only account, where Equiti was cheaper across every pair we sampled; beginners wanting very small position sizes; anyone dependent on MetaTrader 4; or traders who expect to leave an account dormant for a year.
Licensing and regulation
This is where CFI separates itself from its competition. Verifying its licences in February 2026 we found a five-layer structure — two tier-1 by global standards, two more carrying tier-1 weight regionally — and checked each against the regulator’s own register rather than the broker’s published claims.
| Regulator | Jurisdiction | Licence | Entity | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) | United Kingdom | FRN 828955 | Credit Financier Invest Limited | Tier 1 |
| CySEC | Cyprus | 179/12 | Credit Financier Invest (CFI) Ltd | Tier 1 |
| DFSA | UAE (DIFC) | F003933 | Credit Financier Invest (DIFC) Limited | Tier 1 regionally |
| SCA (Securities and Commodities Authority) | UAE | 20200000154 | CFI Financial Markets LLC | Tier 1 regionally |
| CMA (Capital Markets Authority) | Lebanon | Local register | Credit Financier Invest SAL | Local |
FRN 828955 is registered to Credit Financier Invest Limited and confirmable on the Financial Services Register in minutes. CySEC licence 179/12 was issued on 25 September 2012 under company registration number 303814 and carries EEA passporting rights. DFSA authorisation F003933 belongs to Credit Financier Invest (DIFC) Limited and represents the region’s highest regulatory standard, with capital, governance and disclosure requirements modelled on international practice.
What the FCA licence buys is concrete rather than reputational: client money segregated at tier-1 banks, mandatory negative balance protection, quarterly publication of the retail loss rate, and FSCS cover to £85,000 (around $107,000) if the firm fails — rare among brokers serving this region.
One caveat governs all of it, and it is the most consequential fact in this review. The entity holding your account is set by your country of residence: Gulf clients may be onboarded under the DFSA or SCA entity, European clients under CySEC. Confirm which before depositing — the compensation scheme, leverage cap and dispute route all change with it.
Opening an account and verification
We opened our account in January 2026. The process is straightforward but more detailed than at lighter-touch brokers — expected, and on balance reassuring.
Registration takes the usual details, followed by a financial questionnaire covering source of income, trading experience and financial position. It is not decorative — the answers visibly affected which account type and leverage were offered. The site selects the regulatory entity automatically from your stated country of residence.
Verification required proof of identity (passport or national ID) and proof of address (bank statement or utility bill under three months old). We uploaded both through the client portal and were verified inside one business day, against the one to three typical of comparable brokers. A demo account needs no verification at all.
Account types
CFI runs a deliberately simple two-account structure rather than the four- or five-tier ladders common elsewhere. The simplicity is welcome; the gap at the bottom of the range is not.
| Feature | Zero Commission | Dynamic Trader |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | No commission; cost built into the spread | Raw spread plus volume-based commission |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.4 to 1.1 pips | From 0.0 pips |
| Commission | None | Variable, scaled to trading volume |
| Instruments | 15,000+ | 15,000+ |
| Base currencies | USD, EUR, GBP and others | USD, EUR, GBP and others |
| Minimum trade size | 0.01 lots | 0.01 lots |
| Maximum leverage | Up to 1:500, varies by entity | Up to 1:500, varies by entity |
| Swap-free option | Available | Available |
Zero Commission suits traders who want a single visible cost. The drawback: the spread starts at 0.4 pips on EUR/USD, above Equiti’s standard account (from 0.2) and only marginally better than XM Ultra Low (from 0.6).
Dynamic Trader is the account for anyone trading with regularity. In our testing the spread did fall to 0.0 pips on EUR/USD in high-liquidity periods, with commission on a sliding scale tied to monthly volume. Because it is scaled rather than fixed, the all-in cost cannot be reduced to a single per-lot figure, making the account harder to compare against rivals than it should be. Both accounts reach the same 15,000-instrument range and 0.01-lot minimum.
The structural gap is the absence of a micro or cent account: a beginner wanting to risk less than $50 has no product here. On leverage, the headline 1:500 applies only under certain entities — retail clients under the FCA arm are capped at 1:30 under ESMA rules. Higher leverage is not a feature; it amplifies losses as readily as gains.
Fees and trading costs
CFI’s costs sit mid-table. The split runs by asset class: competitive on gold and share CFDs, above market on forex and crypto.
We sampled spreads on seven benchmark instruments against three competitors during the London–New York overlap in February 2026, using the no-commission account at each broker.
| Instrument | CFI (Zero Commission) | Equiti | Amana | XM (Ultra Low) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.4 – 1.1 pips | 0.2 – 0.8 pips | 1.4 – 2.0 pips | 0.6 – 1.2 pips |
| GBP/USD | 0.8 – 1.8 pips | 0.4 – 1.2 pips | 1.9 – 2.8 pips | 0.8 – 1.6 pips |
| USD/JPY | 0.5 – 1.3 pips | 0.1 – 0.6 pips | 1.5 – 2.2 pips | 0.6 – 1.0 pips |
| AUD/USD | 0.6 – 1.4 pips | 0.4 – 1.0 pips | 1.6 – 2.4 pips | 0.8 – 1.4 pips |
| USD/CHF | 0.7 – 1.5 pips | 0.5 – 1.2 pips | 1.8 – 2.6 pips | 0.8 – 1.6 pips |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 0.15 – 0.35 | 0.20 – 0.45 | 0.30 – 0.60 | 0.12 – 0.30 |
| Oil (WTI) | 0.03 – 0.05 | 0.03 – 0.06 | 0.04 – 0.07 | 0.03 – 0.05 |
The pattern is consistent: CFI beat Equiti and Amana on gold and matched the field on oil, but was more expensive than both Equiti and XM on every major pair we measured. Our EUR/USD average on Zero Commission was roughly 0.7 pips — acceptable, not competitive. On Dynamic Trader, raw pricing plus commission brings the all-in cost much closer to the front. Pricing widened around major releases and at the Asian open, normal in itself, but more than we recorded at Equiti in the same windows.
Overnight financing and swap-free terms
Standard accounts carry conventional overnight financing calculated from the interest rate differential between the two currencies. When we measured EUR/USD swaps in February 2026 they fell within the normal industry range.
The swap-free account removes overnight financing entirely on covered instruments, is available on both account types and is applied on request through support. It serves two groups: traders who need interest-free overnight terms on religious grounds, and anyone holding positions for weeks who would otherwise accumulate a daily financing drag. Conditions otherwise follow the underlying account type.
Other charges
CFI charges nothing for deposits or withdrawals. Banks and intermediaries may still charge their own fees, particularly on international transfers, and conversion applies if you fund in a currency other than your account base.
The inactivity fee is the clear negative: $100 after eleven consecutive months without trading. That is high in absolute terms and against the market, where XM charges nothing and brokers that do charge sit between $10 and $50. If you plan to stop trading for a long period, withdraw the balance or close the account.
Desktop platforms
Platform choice is a genuine strength, among the widest we have seen from a single broker.
MetaTrader 5 is the anchor. The CFI build ran smoothly with the full feature set — advanced technical analysis, the standard indicator library, one-click trading and every pending order type — on Windows, macOS and web, in 39 languages. TradingView is integrated directly with the account, so orders can be placed from its interface without switching applications.
CFI Multi-Asset is the proprietary platform: a clean modern interface with forex, shares, crypto and commodities all reachable from one screen. It is genuinely built as a multi-asset platform rather than a forex terminal with extras bolted on.
Two limitations matter. MetaTrader 4 is not offered, so MT4-specific indicators and expert advisors need porting to MT5 or a different broker. More significantly, CFI expressly prohibits scalping and high-frequency trading, narrowing the value of all this capability for a large group of active traders. A platform range this good is partly wasted on a rulebook this restrictive.
Mobile apps
We traded the live account from mobile through February 2026, testing the CFI Trading App on iOS and Android. The interface is modern, navigation smooth, charts legible on a phone screen and execution quick, with no technical problems during the test period.
The app reaches the full desktop instrument range, including real shares and ETFs, which is not always true of mobile builds, and includes price alerts and market notifications. The MT5 mobile app is also offered, connecting directly to CFI’s servers, with live-to-demo switching in-app.
The weakness is depth: several advanced analytical tools on desktop are not matched on mobile — common industry-wide, but traders who lean on detailed technical work will still return to desktop.
On Trustpilot, CFI Financial Group held 4.7 out of 5 across more than 2,000 reviews at the time of our testing. Sentiment is broadly positive, but negative reviews cluster on two themes: slow cryptocurrency withdrawals and excessive slippage. Neither is dominant; neither should be dismissed.
| Apps available | CFI Trading App, CFI Multi-Asset, MT5 Mobile |
|---|---|
| Operating systems | iOS and Android |
| One-click trading | Available |
| Alerts and notifications | Available |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.7/5 from more than 2,000 reviews (early 2026) |
Trading tools
The instrument range is where CFI most clearly outruns its competition. Exploring the platform in February 2026 we counted well beyond 15,000 instruments, and the breadth of asset classes matters more than the headline number.
| Asset class | Approximate count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Forex pairs | 60 | Majors, minors and exotics |
| Shares (CFD and real) | 14,000+ | From 19 global markets |
| Indices | 21 | Including S&P 500, NASDAQ, DAX and FTSE |
| Cryptocurrencies | 19 | Including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple |
| Commodities | Gold, silver, oil, gas and others | Energy, precious metals and agricultural |
| ETFs | Available (CFD and real) | Diversified fund range |
| Bonds | Available | Government and corporate |
| Futures | Available | Various contracts |
| Options | Available | On shares and indices |
Most brokers in this bracket stop at forex and share CFDs. CFI adds real shares, real ETFs, bonds, futures and options, so a portfolio and an active trading account can share one login. Trading real shares, execution was clean and pricing tracked the underlying market. The caveat: instrument count is not quality. Liquidity was excellent on major pairs, US and European equities and gold, thinner on exotics and small-market shares.
On analysis, CFI supplies Trading Central and TipRanks for institutional-grade technical analysis, analyst recommendations and equity ratings, and Capitalise.ai allows automated trading through plain-text instructions rather than code. Kaiana, built on OpenAI technology, answers questions and produces market commentary; useful in testing, but no substitute for your own analysis.
Order execution
We placed more than 50 trades on the live account through February 2026. Results were good overall, with two qualifications.
Speed was strong during active sessions: market orders on major pairs during the London–New York overlap filled in fractions of a second. During thin liquidity — the opening hours of the Asian session in particular — we recorded minor slippage, normal in pattern and unremarkable in size. CFI runs an STP/NDD model, passing orders to liquidity providers rather than taking the other side internally, which reduces the scope for conflict of interest. Market, limit, stop loss, take profit and the four pending order types are all available, and stop losses executed accurately on liquid instruments.
Two things weigh against that. The prohibition on scalping and high-frequency trading is a real constraint, not fine print — traders opening and closing within seconds or minutes will run into problems, and Equiti and XM impose no such restriction. And some Trustpilot reviewers report excessive slippage in high-volatility periods, a complaint that exists at almost every broker around major economic events but is a reason to treat stop losses as routine.
Deposits
We deposited $500 by Visa credit card. The transaction took under a minute and funds appeared in the account immediately. A separate bank transfer test took two business days to land, within the stated window.
| Method | Processing time | CFI fee | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit or debit card (Visa/Mastercard) | Instant | Free | No mandatory minimum |
| Bank transfer | 1 – 3 business days | Free (bank fees may apply) | No mandatory minimum |
| Skrill | Instant | Free | No mandatory minimum |
| Neteller | Instant | Free | No mandatory minimum |
| CFI cards | Instant | Free | No mandatory minimum |
CFI charges nothing on deposits, but your bank or payment provider may — international wires can carry conversion costs and handling charges nothing to do with the broker. Cards and e-wallets are the sensible route if you need funds immediately.
One gap is worth flagging for readers in the Gulf: we found no local payment rails such as Mada, STC Pay or Apple Pay. Regionally issued debit and credit cards work normally, so it is an inconvenience rather than a barrier — but a step behind brokers that have integrated them.
Withdrawals
We requested a $300 withdrawal to a credit card in February 2026. CFI processed it within one business day and the money reached our bank account two days later, that extra time being the card issuer’s processing. We hit no obstruction, no unexpected document request and no delay beyond the published window.
| Method | Processing time | CFI fee |
|---|---|---|
| Credit or debit card | 1 – 2 business days | Free |
| Bank transfer | 2 – 5 business days | Free (bank fees may apply) |
| Skrill | 1 – 2 business days | Free |
| Neteller | 1 – 2 business days | Free |
Withdrawals must return by the same route used to deposit — standard anti-money-laundering practice, not a CFI restriction. CFI charges no withdrawal fee; intermediary banks may. Request status is trackable in the client portal, which removes the usual uncertainty about where a payment has got to.
The one recurring complaint concerns cryptocurrency withdrawals, where some Trustpilot users reported waits beyond 48 hours. That appears tied to crypto settlement networks rather than a general pattern in CFI’s payouts, and did not match our card experience. Complete every verification document at account opening, before you need the money.
Customer support
We tested support through three channels. Live chat during business hours produced an agent in under two minutes. Email beat the industry norm: a technical question about overnight financing on the swap-free account came back with a detailed answer in four hours, against a typical 12 to 24 elsewhere. Telephone support answered after a reasonable wait, and the agent handled account-type and swap-free questions without transferring us — a small thing that says something about front-line training.
Support runs 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, in Arabic and English. After our first deposit CFI assigned a named account manager who made contact directly — personal service most brokers reserve for far larger balances.
In fairness, the picture is not uniform. Some online reviews report a repeated “wait 24 hours” response to specific problems — not what we encountered across three channels, but it recurs often enough to mention.
| Channels | Live chat, email, telephone, dedicated account manager |
|---|---|
| Hours | 24/5 (Monday to Friday) |
| Languages | Arabic and English |
| Live chat response | Under 2 minutes (tested February 2026) |
| Email response | About 4 hours (tested February 2026) |
| Account manager | Assigned after first deposit |
Research and education
Research is solid; education is the weakest part of the offering, and conspicuously so for a firm of this age and size.
CFI publishes daily reports and technical analysis from an in-house team covering forex, equities and commodities; the commentary we read gave a clear view of the main market moves. Trading Central and TipRanks add institutional analysis and analyst ratings most brokers in this bracket do not supply.
On education, CFI runs webinars in Arabic and English delivered by analysts and specialists, covering fundamentals through advanced strategy, plus articles and guides on the website. Against XM’s structured academy with graded courses and a full video library, CFI lacks the same depth and progression, and a trader starting from zero will need to build a foundation elsewhere first.
Two things point better. CFI has partnered with academic institutions including the American University of Science and Technology in Lebanon on financial literacy, and Kaiana explains trading concepts and terminology on demand — useful, but not a structured curriculum. For intermediate and advanced traders, the research tools are likely enough alone.
Fund safety and protections
CFI’s multi-layer regulatory structure translates into three layers of fund safety a client can actually rely on.
First, segregation: under FCA, CySEC and DFSA rules client money is held separately from the firm’s operating funds at tier-1 banks, so trouble at the company does not make that money part of its assets. Second, negative balance protection — you cannot lose more than your balance even in a violent market move, mandatory under FCA and ESMA rules rather than discretionary. It is one layer of defence, not a substitute for position sizing and disciplined risk management.
Third — rarest among brokers serving this region — compensation cover: the UK entity’s clients by the FSCS to £85,000 (around $107,000), the Cyprus entity’s by the Investor Compensation Fund to €20,000.
| Protection | FCA entity | CySEC entity | DFSA entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client fund segregation | Yes (mandatory) | Yes (mandatory) | Yes (mandatory) |
| Negative balance protection | Yes (mandatory) | Yes (mandatory) | Yes |
| Compensation scheme | FSCS to £85,000 | ICF to €20,000 | No general scheme |
| Retail leverage cap | 1:30 | 1:30 | Varies |
The peer comparison is stark. Most brokers targeting this region operate through offshore entities with no equivalent scheme: Amana holds an FCA licence, but the entity primarily serving the region operates under different authorisations, and Evest is offshore-only with no compensation scheme at all.
The qualification bears repeating: your protection depends entirely on which entity holds your account, set by your country of residence. An account under the UK entity carries the strongest protection here; another entity may not.
Verdict
After four weeks of testing in the first quarter of 2026, CFI reads as a broker worth serious consideration, particularly for anyone ranking protection and asset breadth above headline pricing.
The strengths are not marginal. A licensing structure spanning the FCA, CySEC, the DFSA and the SCA puts CFI ahead of most brokers chasing the same clients, and the FSCS and ICF cover behind two of those entities is uncommon here. More than 15,000 instruments, including real shares and real ETFs, let a portfolio and an active trading account share one login.
The weaknesses are equally real: forex costs above market on Zero Commission, an outright ban on scalping and high-frequency trading, a $100 inactivity fee well above the norm, and no micro or cent account for the smallest starting balances.
| Category | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation and licensing | 25% | 9.5 |
| Trading costs | 20% | 6.5 |
| Withdrawals and fund access | 20% | 8.5 |
| Platforms and execution | 15% | 7.5 |
| Customer support | 10% | 8.5 |
| Research and transparency | 10% | 6.5 |
| Overall | 100% | 8.0 |
Regulation carries the score. Trading costs and research hold it back, and platforms lose ground not on capability — which is excellent — but on what the rulebook forbids. CFI at 8.0, on the scale we apply across our broker reviews, has a well-defined shape: strong if you value protection and breadth, poor value if your priority is the lowest cost per trade or the freedom to scalp.
Risk warning: 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with CFI, according to the firm’s FCA-entity disclosure as published in March 2026. Leveraged trading carries a high risk of losing your capital, and most retail clients do lose money on these products. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose. Nothing here is investment advice, and past results do not predict future outcomes.
Is CFI trustworthy?
Is CFI a scam?
No. CFI holds licences from top-tier regulators including the FCA, whose requirements are among the strictest anywhere, and the DFSA in Dubai. We checked those licences against the regulators’ own registers in February 2026, funded a live account, traded it and withdrew without obstruction. A firm with that footprint and 27 years of history is not a fraud operation — which is not the same as saying it is flawless. The cost and policy criticisms above stand.
Is there any regulator warning against CFI?
Our review found none. When we verified CFI’s authorisations in February 2026 — FCA FRN 828955, CySEC 179/12, DFSA F003933 and SCA 20200000154 — each was registered to the entity CFI names, with no warning, alert or enforcement action against them. Registers change, so check them yourself before opening an account.
Can I actually withdraw my money from CFI?
Yes, on the evidence of our own test. A $300 card withdrawal in February 2026 was processed within one business day and reached the bank account two days later, inside the published window and with no additional document requests. The one complaint theme we found online concerns cryptocurrency withdrawals, where some users reported waits over 48 hours.
Is my money safe with CFI?
It depends which entity holds your account, and that is determined by where you live. The UK entity carries FSCS cover to £85,000; the Cyprus entity, ICF cover to €20,000; the DFSA entity, segregation and negative balance protection but no general compensation scheme. Confirm your entity before depositing, because the answer changes what happens if the firm fails.
Is CFI available to clients in Saudi Arabia?
CFI is not licensed by the Saudi Capital Market Authority, but accepts Saudi clients through its licensed international entities. The Saudi CMA does not prohibit trading with licensed international brokers; it requires a broker to hold its licence to offer services directly inside the Kingdom. So a Saudi client’s protections come from whichever CFI entity holds the account, not from the Saudi regulator.
Frequently asked questions
Is CFI regulated?
Yes, by five authorities: the FCA in the UK (FRN 828955), CySEC in Cyprus (179/12), the DFSA in Dubai (F003933), the SCA in the UAE (20200000154) and the CMA in Lebanon. We confirmed each against the regulator’s own register in February 2026.
What is the minimum deposit at CFI?
There is no mandatory minimum. CFI recommends at least $100 for a workable trading experience, but you can start with any amount, by card, bank transfer or e-wallet. A very small balance leaves little room for sensible position sizing.
Does CFI offer a swap-free account?
Yes. CFI offers a swap-free account with no overnight financing charged on covered instruments, requested through customer support. It is available on both Zero Commission and Dynamic Trader, and trading conditions otherwise follow whichever of the two you hold.
How long do CFI withdrawals take?
In our testing, one to two business days for cards and e-wallets and two to five for bank transfers. Our $300 card withdrawal in February 2026 was processed in one business day, with funds arriving two days later. CFI charges no withdrawal fee, though your bank or payment provider may.
Can I use MetaTrader 4 with CFI?
No. The available platforms are MetaTrader 5, TradingView, CFI Multi-Asset and Capitalise.ai. If you rely on indicators or automated systems built for MT4, you will need to convert them for MT5 or choose a broker that still supports it.
Does CFI allow scalping?
No. CFI expressly prohibits scalping and high-frequency trading. If your strategy involves opening and closing positions within seconds or minutes, this is not the right broker — Equiti and XM both permit scalping without that restriction. It is the single most limiting policy in the offering.
Does CFI charge an inactivity fee?
Yes, $100 after eleven consecutive months without trading. That is high against the market, where XM charges nothing and brokers that do charge typically fall between $10 and $50. If you expect to stop trading for a long stretch, withdraw the balance or close the account.
What leverage does CFI offer?
Up to 1:500 under certain entities, but the cap depends on which entity holds your account. Retail clients under the FCA arm are limited to 1:30 under ESMA rules, and the CySEC entity applies the same cap. Higher leverage magnifies losses as readily as gains — treat it as a risk setting, not a feature.
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