- Regulator
- Capital Markets Authority (CMA)
- Local company
- Not yet verified
- Licence number
- —
- M-Pesa
- Not confirmed
Broker review · Checked
Deriv review 2026: is Deriv legit in Kenya and South Africa?
Deriv is popular in Kenya and Nigeria for synthetic indices, a $5 minimum and mobile money, but it holds no CMA or FSCA licence. Clients outside the EU and UAE are served by offshore companies, one of which has no regulator at all.
- Founded1999
- 🇰🇪 CMANot licensed
- 🇿🇦 FSCANot licensed
- Minimum deposit$5
- M-PesaNot confirmed
Is Deriv regulated? Licence by country
- Regulator
- Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
- Local company
- Not yet verified
- Licence number
- —
Deriv is not authorised by the FSCA. Clients outside the EU and UAE are served by offshore companies, some with no named regulator.
Other Deriv group companies are supervised by MFSA (Malta, EU clients only), Labuan FSA (Malaysia), VFSC (Vanuatu), BVI FSC, FSC (Mauritius). Those licences only protect you if your account is with that company.
A licence means someone supervises the broker. It does not make trading safe: most retail CFD accounts lose money.
About Deriv
Deriv (formerly Binary.com) offers forex, synthetic indices such as Volatility 75 and Crash/Boom, options and multipliers. Synthetic indices are generated by Deriv itself and trade 24/7; they are not real markets.
Its Malta company (MFSA) serves EU clients only. African clients are typically served by companies in Vanuatu, BVI, Labuan or St Vincent and the Grenadines; Deriv (SVG) LLC has no supervisory authority, according to FXEmpire.
Who Deriv suits, and who should look elsewhere
Good fit if you
- understand that you are trading with an offshore company
Look elsewhere if you
- want CMA or FSCA protection
- are new to trading (synthetic indices are high risk)
Deriv account types and minimum deposit
| Account | Minimum deposit | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Deriv accounts (MT5, Deriv Trader, cTrader) | $5 | No commission; EUR/USD about 1.6 pips on Standard MT5 |
Leverage: Up to 1:1000 on offshore companies; some accounts advertise far more.
Deriv fees: spreads, commission and other charges
| Deposits and withdrawals | No Deriv fee |
| Dormant account fee | Up to $25 after 12 months, then every 6 months |
Work out the cost of a trade before you place it with our pip value and profit and loss calculators.
Deriv deposits and withdrawals in Kenya and South Africa
🇰🇪 Kenya
- Deriv is not on the CMA register. If it accepts you, your account sits with an offshore company and you have no CMA complaints route.
- M-Pesa / mobile money deposits are reported by Citizen Digital, often through payment agents or P2P.
🇿🇦 South Africa
- Not authorised by the FSCA.
- SA Derivatives (Pty) Ltd on the FSCA ODP list is an unrelated company.
M-Pesa limits, rand EFT, cards, e-wallets and the payment scams to avoid: read our deposits and withdrawals guide.
Deriv trading platforms
- Deriv MT5
- Deriv Trader
- Deriv Bot
- cTrader
- Deriv Go
- SmartTrader
Is your money safe with Deriv?
- No CMA or FSCA licence.
- Deriv (SVG) LLC is unregulated; it is a member of The Financial Commission, a private dispute body.
Deriv pros and cons
Pros
- $5 minimum
- Mobile money and P2P funding
- 24/7 synthetic indices
Cons
- No local licence in Kenya or South Africa
- Unregulated entity in the group
- Synthetic indices are not real markets
Our real-money test of Deriv
Coming
We will open a Deriv account, deposit, place a trade and withdraw, then publish the screenshots, the time each step took and every fee we paid.
Deriv withdrawal time: reports from traders
How long do Deriv withdrawals really take?
Loading reports…
Median of reports from traders. Not checked by us; our own tests are marked separately.
Withdrawal stuck or refused at Deriv? Get a ready complaint letter and the right regulator contact with our complaint desk →
Deriv: questions people ask
Is Deriv regulated in Kenya?
No. Deriv is not licensed by the CMA. It may still accept clients from Kenya through an offshore company, but you would have no CMA protection or local complaints route.
Is Deriv regulated by the FSCA in South Africa?
No. Deriv is not licensed by the FSCA. It may still accept clients from South Africa through an offshore company, but you would have no FSCA protection or local complaints route. Deriv is not authorised by the FSCA. Clients outside the EU and UAE are served by offshore companies, some with no named regulator.
Is Deriv regulated in Kenya?
No. Deriv is not on the CMA register.
Is Deriv legal in South Africa?
Deriv is not authorised by the FSCA. South Africans who use it deal with an offshore company.
What are synthetic indices?
Prices generated by Deriv's own random-number algorithm, available 24/7. They do not track any real market.
Sources for this review (checked 25 Oct 2026)
- FSCA: OTC derivative providers search
- FXEmpire: Deriv review (Oct 2026)
- TradeFX: Deriv review
- Citizen Digital: Kenyan brokers with instant deposits
Fees, minimums and payment methods change and can differ by the company you sign with. Confirm them on the broker's site before you deposit. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.