Physical Presence Essential to Broker Success in MENA

If you have had any doubt about that the Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term and CFDs brokerage space in the Middle East is different, today’s vibrant discussion during the MENA-focused panel on the iFX Expo should have dispelled that.

Well-versed panelists who are operating brokerages in the region shared with the audience key aspects and challenges related to succeeding to onboard clients in the MENA region. While some similarities with the rest of the world are present, like the preference of traditional major FX and indices, other aspects of the local industry are widely different.

Physical Office Space

All five panelists, which included Amana’s Chief Business Development Officer Ziad Melhem, CFI’s Deputy CEO Nidal Abdel Hadi, Equiti Group’s Head of Brokerage, Mohammed Isbeer, ATFX UAE’s CEO Ryan Tsui, and Elizabeth Rayment from Your Mind Media, highlighted one key aspect for success in the MENA region: physical office space.

Clients from the Middle East and North Africa have been very reluctant to trust brokers due to several bad actors in the past damaging the industry and local cultural peculiarities. In order to be able to gain the trust of customers in the MENA region, physical presence on the spot is a must.

Having a place where the brokers meet their clients creates additional costs, but it is the most common way to gain trust, especially from higher-value clients. As in the rest of the world, a portion of the local population is looking to diversify away from traditional investments, and forex and CFDs have seen some traction in recent years.

Demanding Clients

All broker representatives sitting on the panel have confirmed that clients from the MENA region are very demanding. Advertisement should be strategic, and firms should avoid relying on general market studies used in the West, the panelists shared.

Apparently, the Middle East is a different story when it comes to client behavior. Customers are very conservative and shy away from companies which are not able to satisfy their needs easily. Probing the sentiment about a given company via social media could be a particularly useful approach when a broker is gathering information about the market.

Saudi Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term and Top Markets

With the news that Saudi Arabia has come into the regulatory landscape of the industry just weeks ago, brokers are expressing interest in the new regulatory framework. That said, due to the early stage of the regulation, there is lack of clarity as to what are the rules and how firms can obtain an official permit to operate in the lucrative Saudi Arabian market.

A consensus emerged about the most attractive markets in the region among panelists: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait have been singled out as the top destinations to onboard clients. Egypt and Lebanon have also been mentioned to have great potential at a key time for diversification of client flows in the forex and CFDs brokerage industry.