Since the start of 2023, a lot of executives have been looking to start a forex broker in St Lucia.
Like St Vincent and the Grenadines, CFDs are not regulated in St Lucia, meaning brokers that set up in St Lucia are effectively unregulated.
In this article we’ll look briefly at why so many executives have gone to start a forex broker in St Lucia and what the pros and cons of doing so are.
Why would you start a forex broker in St Lucia?
There are several key factors that are driving people to start brokers in St Lucia today.
1. Fallout from St Vincent and the Grenadines
The reason so many people want to get an FX/CFD license in St Lucia is primarily because of events in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
As we note in our article looking at how to start a forex broker in St Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities in the island nation have said brokers must prove that they are regulated in all the regions they do business in.
Although it’s unclear if this is actually being enforced, the result is that people have looked for alternatives, and one of those is to start a forex broker in St Lucia or move an existing entity there.
2. Low tax
If you go to start a forex broker in St Lucia, you will structure your company as a limited liability company (LLC). In St Lucia, LLCs do not pay corporate tax.
3. Low regulatory burden
CFDs, the product that forex brokers offer, are not regulated in St Lucia. There are also minimal requirements for accounts filing. This makes a St Lucia company much less burdensome to operate from a regulatory point of view.
4. Anonymity
Details of ownership of St Lucia brokers are not publicly available. This provides a high level of anonymity to the owner of the FX/CFD broker.
Overview of FX/CFD license in St Lucia
| FX/CFD license in St Lucia | |
| Time to launch | Less than one month |
| Company registration and licencing costs | EC$1,000 + local agent fees |
| Company annual operational cost | EC$300 + local agent fees |
| Tax | 0% |
| Accounts filing | Not required |
| Physical presence | Not required |
| Capital requirement | None |
| Anonymity | Yes |
| FX/CFD regulations | FX/CFDs are not regulated in St Lucia |
Steps to start a forex broker in St Lucia
- Collect documents needed, such as IDs and bank statements
- Register LLC in St Lucia
- Set up payment methods for the corporate entity
How long does it take to start a forex broker in St Lucia?
We believe that a forex broker can be set up in St Lucia in under a month.
If you are thinking of starting a forex broker and looking at different jurisdictions, then the odds are you will have noticed that it can take a long time to get started in some regions. Getting licensed in the UK, for example, can take over a year.
The reason that it’s much quicker to start a forex broker in St Lucia is because CFDs are not regulated in the country.
This means you do not have to apply for an FX/CFD license in St Lucia from the local regulator. You only have to set up an LLC and your payment options. The LLC component of this, at least, can be done in a matter of days when you have all the documents required to set one up.
How much does it cost to start a forex broker in St Lucia
Starting a forex broker in St Lucia can be done for a few thousand dollars.
The actual government-imposed fees are not that high. These run to 1,000 East Caribbean dollars, worth about $370 (that’s US dollars!) at the time of writing. Broken down, those fees are…
- EC$125 – business name registration
- EC$25 – name reservation
- EC$850 – company incorporation
However, you have to take into account other costs as well. For example, to register your business you need notarised copies of various documents, such as bank statements and IDs. This is unlikely to cost much but it does add to the topline figure.
Moreover, you are required to have a local agent that will help with the registration of your company. This service is not free and means you cannot just pay the base level government fees listed above.
Finally, remember that you are going to have to set up payments options as well. Different brokers take different approaches to doing this but it is plausible that this will end up being the most expensive part of the process.
What are the capital requirements for forex brokers in St Lucia
Forex brokers, despite their name, offer CFDs. These products are not regulated in St Lucia, which means there are no minimum capital requirements for brokers based there.
What are the yearly costs when you start a forex broker in St Lucia?
We estimate that it should not cost you more than $1,000 per year to run an FX/CFD broker in St Lucia.
As with registering an LLC, the cost is not just the government fee that is charged. You will also have to pay your local agent for their services, which increases the cost.
Do forex brokers need a physical presence in St Lucia?
No, forex brokers do not need to have any kind of physical presence if they set up in St Lucia.
Is forex regulated in St Lucia?
Forex brokers are not regulated in St Lucia, which is why they set up purely as LLCs.
The term ‘forex’ broker is a misleading one, which can make people think that they are offering some sort of currency product to trade in.
The reality is that forex brokers offer CFDs – contracts for difference. These are derivatives products which are not regulated in St Lucia.
Starting a forex broker in St Lucia – the positives and negatives
As is probably clear from this article so far, there are some positive factors in starting a broker in St Lucia but also plenty of negatives. Be aware of the latter particularly as the downsides are not inconsequential to your business.
The positives
1. It’s cheap
For a start up broker with limited resources, St Lucia can be a good place to incorporate your business. You will save a lot of money relative to other regions, which can be put to use elsewhere.
2. It’s fast
Starting a forex broker in St Lucia can be done in under a month. This is extremely fast relative to most other regions.
3. You don’t pay corporate tax
Revenue that brokers generate outside of St Lucia, which is likely to be all of their income, is not subject to corporation tax. This effectively means you will not pay corporate tax in St Lucia.
The negatives
1. Payments and banking
Unregulated forex brokers in St Lucia will struggle to offer high quality banking services. This is always a problem for firms and must be kept in mind.
2. Regulation
By operating out of St Lucia you are limited in where you can do legitimate business. Unless you have a system to attract clients on a non-solicited basis, then this means a lot of the world is off limits to you.
3. Potential to be shut down
Based on discussions we’ve had with local registered agents, we believe there is a risk that St Lucia will suffer the same fate as St Vincent and the Grenadines, with authorities ultimately putting pressure on companies to prove they are regulated or shut down. Indeed, we have had discussions with local agents that refuse to work at all with brokers because of the reputational risk.