In a notice dated 1 July 2021, BaFin ordered FXTime financial services, UK, which operates the trading platform fxtime.io, to immediately cease its unauthorised proprietary trading activities.
German customers can open trading accounts on the fxtime.io platform and use them to trade in contracts for difference (CFDs), forex products, commodities, indices and shares. FXTime financial services offers trades at prices determined by the company itself, and then acts as counterparty in its clients’ trading contracts.
The company is thus conducting proprietary trading within the meaning of section 1 (1a) sentence 2 no. 4 (c) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) on a commercial basis. FXTime financial services does not hold authorisation from BaFin as required under section 32 (1) of the KWG and is thus conducting unauthorised business.
There is no legal notice on the trading platform’s website, which also does not contain any information on the company's registered office or its address. According to documents available to BaFin, the company has an address in London.
