Financial Supervision Authority, Estonia

The regulatory authority in Estonia is left to Finantsinspektsioon, otherwise known as the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority(EFSA).

EFSA, founded in 2001, is the financial regulator responsible for the regulation of financial markets in Estonia. It oversees banking, insurance, and securities markets, aiming to create a stable environment for the financial sector, as well as protect consumers, clients, and investors.

EFSA is funded by the supervision and procedure fees paid by the subjects of financial supervision. It is part of the European Single Supervisory Mechanism since 2014.

1. Safety of Client Funds：

An investment firm is required to keep the assets of the client entrusted to it separate from its own assets and those of other clients of the investment firm, unless the investment firm and the client have expressly agreed otherwise in writing. The express witten agreement of the client is also necessary to hold the securities of the client in a nominee account.

2. Requirement on Forex Brokers' Reports：

Transaction Reports；Audit Reports; Annual Financial Reports; Anti-money laundering Reports.

Generally speaking, Estonia FSA-regulated broker profile will be found at the Investment market page on Estonia FSA website. Try to find it and check if it will match the info from the broker website.

The detailed steps are as below:

1. Find the name of the forex broker, which you can get from the broker's website; 

2. Enter the name into the search bar on https://www.fi.ee/en/investment-market/investment-firms-0/investment-market/investment-firms ;

3. And you'll get the broker's contents on Estonia FSA website. At this time you need to check the 'Licenses' or 'Financial Instruments': check if the broker has the authorization to provide 'C9 Financial contracts for differences' or 'B4 Foreign exchange services where these are connected to the provision of investment services' ;

If the broker is an EEA authorised firm, you need to check further information in its home state regulator.

4. If all the steps above have been done, don't forget to check the most important information: check if the firm details published on Estonia FSA website matches the ones you'll go to trade with, especially the website and email etc. 

If no, please keep away the broker because it's probably an unauthorized firm and your money will fall in danger.

When you have disputes with a Estonia FSA-regulated broker, you can proceed the following ways:

1st way: The recommended way is to contact the broker directly and discuss with them to find a solution.

2nd way: If you're not satisfied with the broker's solution, try to contact Estonia FSA, which helps to solve the disputes between the forex broker and the investor.

You can make an online complaint form and submit it: https://www.fi.ee/en/consumer/when-should-i-contact-finantsinspektsioon/making-complaint 

3rd way: If the first 2 ways above can't solve the dispute, the last way is to issue a case to the court in Estonia.