UK FCA Approves Kuwait-Based Broker NCM

NCM Investment is a trading firm founded in 2009. The company’s headquarters is in Kuwait and it focuses on offering financial services like CFDs, precious metals, commodities, and FX. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved the brokerage firm to conduct business in the UK as NCM Financial UK Ltd.  The approval shows that the company follows the rules set by the FCA for keeping customers and financial operations safe.

Customers Can Report Problems To The Financial Ombudsman Service

The FCA gave NCM Financial UK Ltd special permission to carry out different financial activities. People who use NCM Financial UK Ltd have some protections.

If the company goes bankrupt and owes individuals money, they can be compensated thanks to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). In addition, people have the right to report issues to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they face problems with the company’s service. The company has also extended its presence in the UAE, Malaysia, and Turkey.

Early this year, it was reported that the FCA told companies to change or stop 2,211 ads about money. Most of these changes affected the retail lending and retail investment industries, making up 85% of the actions.

The FCA also got 5,722 reports about possible illegal activities and gave 597 warnings, with about 11% of these warnings related to fake identity schemes. These scams involved scammers pretending to be legitimate firms to trick people, usually by breaking online rules about money ads.

The FCA is also looking closely into trading applications because of fears that digital tricks might encourage investors to take too many risks.

A recent study with a test trading app showed that over 9,000 people traded more and took more risks because of prize draws and push notifications. Trading went up by 11%, and risky choices increased by 12%.

The FCA Plans To Remove Restrictions On Modulr Bringing In New Clients

Gamification techniques caused an 8% increase in risky investments. People with low financial knowledge and individuals between the ages of 18 and 23 were greatly affected. According to the FCA’s Consumer Duty, trading applications need to create services that help people make smart investment choices.

Earlier this week, the FCA revealed that it wants to remove restrictions on bringing in new clients at UK fintech company Modulr with prior notice.

Last year October, the UK regulator restricted the fintech company. This prevented the firm from onboarding new partner clients like distributors and agents who utilize its payment systems for accounts and cards.

The company decided to stop onboarding some new customers in the UK for a while because of many new UK rules. These comprise new rules like the UK consumer duty, changes to refund rules for payment fraud, and a ban on marketing high-risk assets such as crypto.