Three leading global Retail FX and CFDs brokers – Pepperstone, Capital.com, and Trade Nation – have announced that they have launched the Bahamas Institute of Forex and CFD Issuers, or BIFCI.
BIFCI is described as a not-for-profit industry association representing licensed Forex and CFD firms operating in The Bahamas. Founded by Pepperstone, Capital.com, and Trade Nation, the Institute was created to give the sector a credible, organised voice — one grounded in transparency, compliance, and responsible market practices.
BIFCI’s purpose is straightforward: to bring licensed firms together, raise industry standards, and support the continued development of a well-regulated Forex and CFD market in The Bahamas.
In a more detailed explanation describing the launch of BIFCI, Pepperstone CEO Tamas Szabo posted the following essay on LinkedIn.
Why The Bahamas Should Be Your Next Move
Why we built BIFCI – Bahamas Institute of Forex and CFD Issuers — and what it means for firms looking to establish or grow here
By Tamas Szabo, Group CEO, Pepperstone | Founding Member, BIFCI
When a small group of us first sat down to talk seriously about an industry body for Forex and CFD issuers in The Bahamas, the conversation kept circling back to one idea: the firms operating here have more in common than not. We answer to the same regulator. We invest in the same jurisdiction. We face the same questions about capital, conduct, and credibility. And yet, until recently, there was no formal mechanism for the industry to speak with one voice — to each other, to the Securities Commission, or to the public.
That is what the Bahamas Institute of Forex and CFD Issuers (BIFCI) is built to change. Together with Capital.com and Trade Nation, Pepperstone is proud to be one of the three founding members of the Institute — and we are now actively inviting other licensed firms to join us.
Why The Bahamas, and why now
The Bahamas has a long and serious history as a financial services jurisdiction. The Forex and CFD sector has grown into one of the fastest-growing parts of that picture, and the firms already operating here have invested heavily — in licences, in local talent, in technology, in compliance infrastructure. That investment deserves a mature industry framework around it.
The global regulatory environment for our sector is moving quickly. Jurisdictions that thrive over the next decade will be the ones where industry and regulators can have honest, technically informed conversations — not the ones where firms operate in silos and regulators are left to read the room from the outside. We want The Bahamas to be in the first category. BIFCI is one way of making sure it is.
What BIFCI is — and what it is not
BIFCI is a not-for-profit industry association representing licensed Forex and CFD issuers operating under the regulatory framework of The Bahamas. Its purpose is to support the responsible development of the sector through high standards of compliance, transparency, and market integrity.
To be clear: BIFCI is not a lobbying group dressed up in different clothes. It is not a vehicle for any one firm’s interests. And it is not a substitute for the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, whose role as regulator we fully respect and rely on. BIFCI exists to complement that work — giving the industry a coordinated, constructive way to engage with regulators and hold itself to a shared standard.
What the Institute actually does
The Institute’s work sits across five clear pillars:
- Industry collaboration: A standing forum where licensed issuers can share perspectives on operational, compliance, and market conduct issues, and align on common positions where it makes sense.
- Regulatory dialogue: A single, credible point of engagement with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas and other government bodies on matters affecting the sector — backed by member firms who actually run the businesses being discussed.
- Standards and conduct: A shared commitment among members to compliance, transparency, governance, responsible innovation, and fair treatment of clients. These are not slogans — they are the entry conditions for membership.
- Education and capacity building: Partnerships with local and global Universities to deliver accessible, recognised training in Forex and CFD markets — building Bahamian expertise that can sustain a high-quality jurisdiction over decades, not just cycles.
- Reputation: BIFCI exists to strengthen the standing of The Bahamas as a place where this industry is done well. Every member firm benefits when that reputation is strong. Every member firm pays a price when itis not.
A trusted jurisdiction is built on standards, not shortcuts. The principles BIFCI is built on — compliance, transparency, governance, responsible innovation, and collaboration — are the principles any serious financial centre would recognise. The point is not to invent new ideas. The point is to commit to them collectively, in writing, in this jurisdiction, and to be held to them by our peers.
BIFCI is now open. If your firm is licensed in The Bahamas – apply for membership today.
The Institute is formally established and operational, governed by an Executive Committee drawn from its founding member firms. Pepperstone, Capital.com and Trade Nation form the founding cohort. BIFCI is now open to applications from all licensed Forex and CFD issuers in The Bahamas.
If your firm is licensed here — or is actively exploring The Bahamas as a jurisdiction — we would encourage you to look closely at membership. The whole point of “one industry, one voice” is that the voice is stronger the more of us are part of it. The earlier you are part of building this framework, the more it reflects your interests and the interests of the sector you operate in.
Find out more at bifci.com | To apply reach out Sree Gudipati at Pepperstone (sree.gudipati@pepperstone.com) or contact any of the founding member firms directly.
Tamas Szabo is Group CEO of Pepperstone, one of the three founding members of the Bahamas Institute of Forex and CFD Issuers (BIFCI), alongside Capital.com and Trade Nation.
