JP Markets Broker Review

Is JP Markets Safe?

JP Markets is a South African brokerage firm founded in 2016 and regulated by the FSCA through licence no 46855. Through an aggressive marketing and “Partner” programme, mainly over social media, JP Markets became one of the largest brokers in the country.

Since JP Markets was founded, we have received many complaints from their clients. These range from deposits not reflecting, to withdrawals never appearing and, most worrying, direct manipulation of the spread and client trades. Customer support is described as poor and often unresponsive, particularly in cases of funding issues.

Considering the sheer number of complaints, we recommend that traders steer clear of JP Markets. We remind traders that you should never sign up with a broker over social media.

If you have had any issues with JP Markets, or any other broker, please let us know through our Broker Scam Report

Legal Issues

Since 2020, JP Markets has been embroiled in a legal battle with the South African regulator following numerous client complaints. See below for more details:

In June 2020, the FSCA provisionally suspended the licence of JP Markets SA, citing complaints from clients that JP Markets was not honouring withdrawal requests and was manipulating market data.  Source: https://www.iol.co.za/personal-finance/fsca-provisionally-suspends-the-licence-of-jp-markets-sa-49743265 and https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/south-africa-regulator-temporarily-suspends-license-of-jp-markets/.

In September 2020, the FSCA successfully filed for JP Markets to be liquidated and funds returned to clients. JP Markets appealed this decision.

In October 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa found in favour of JP Markets, stating that there was no evidence that JP Markets was a “systemic risk to its clients or to financial markets generally.” Source: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/fsca-was-wrong-to-shut-down-jp-markets-supreme-court/.

In May 2023, the FSCA fined JP Markets 100,000 Rand for operating without a licence, but simultaneously restored its Financial Service Provider licence. Source: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/fsca-fines-and-licenses-online-trading-firm-jp-markets-in-same-week/

For more detail on the JP Markets saga and what it means for the Forex industry regulation in South Africa, you can read our opinion piece in the Daily Maverick here: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-10-25-back-to-square-one-what-jp-markets-exoneration-means-for-the-forex-trading-industry/

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