Seychelles forex licence for a prop firm: FSA, IBC, cost.

Seychelles comes up in almost every prop founder’s research because it is where many offshore forex and CFD brokers hold their licence, and because a Seychelles International Business Company (IBC) is quick and cheap to form. A prop firm is a different business: it sells evaluations on simulated accounts and pays rewards from simulated results. So the first question is not "how do I get the licence" but "does my model need one".

This page covers what is specific to Seychelles: the licensing reality, the FSA Securities Dealer licence and its 2025 changes, the IBC, tax, banking, what your website must show and when Seychelles is the wrong choice. Every figure was checked on 12 October 2026 against the source cited. For the general picture, start with how to start a prop firm and do prop firms need a licence.

Does a prop firm need a Seychelles forex licence?

We found no statement from the FSA about prop firms, funded traders or simulated evaluations as of 12 October 2026. Its recent warnings concern crypto and FX websites. Most evaluation firms worldwide operate without a securities licence because they do not take deposits for trading, do not route client orders to a market and pay rewards from fee revenue under their own terms. That is a description of the industry, not a ruling on your model.

The FSA guidelines say unlicensed securities dealing can mean a fine of up to USD 200,000 for a company. What usually moves a firm into licensable territory:

• Brokering real trades: if funded traders are moved onto live accounts with a liquidity provider in their name, or you run a hybrid "real account" product, you are close to dealing.
• Holding client money: deposits that traders can withdraw, or balances that behave like trading capital, look like a broker’s client funds.
• Marketing a "regulated" product: calling the evaluation FSA-regulated when it is not is misleading anywhere.
• Targeting markets with their own rules: a Seychelles licence does not authorise you to solicit traders in the EU, UK, US or Australia.

Why do some prop founders still take a Seychelles licence?

Three reasons come up. First, platform access: Finance Magnates reported that MetaQuotes tightened its rules on prop-firm white labels in early 2024, and firms went looking for licensed entities to hold MetaTrader directly (see MT5 white label for prop firms). Second, a brokerage arm: some groups run a CFD broker beside the prop brand. Finance Magnates reported in June 2026 that Trade Set Go, the CFD broker backed by The5ers’ founders, received a Seychelles licence and that it "operates separately" from the prop unit. Third, banks and processors sometimes ask for a regulated entity somewhere in the group.

What the licence does not do: it does not make a simulated evaluation a regulated product, it does not cover marketing into other countries, and the 2025 amendments (as TradeInformer reported) require licensees to tell the FSA where they operate and show local approval where a country requires it. If you only need a platform, compare the cost with a white label or the white-label vs own-platform decision before you build a licensed company.

What does an FSA Securities Dealer licence cost and require?

The FSA’s Securities Dealer Application Guidelines (Word file dated 10 September 2024) and its fee schedule set out the requirements below. TradeInformer reported in January 2025 that amendments approved in December 2024 raised capital and fees and gave existing firms until mid-2026 to comply. We could not open the amending regulation itself, so check the current figures with the FSA or a licensed agent.

How do you form a Seychelles IBC, and what does it cost?

An International Business Company is the usual vehicle for a prop firm that does not need a licence. The FSA fee schedule lists USD 130 to register and USD 140 a year. Expanship, a formation agent, publishes all-in packages of USD 649 (about 7 days) and USD 1,299 (about 3 days, with apostilled documents and certificates of incumbency and good standing). Those are an agent’s prices, not official fees. A licensed securities dealer is incorporated under the Companies Act, not as a plain IBC, under the FSA guidelines. Compare costs across places in prop firm company formation cost.

• Use a Seychelles registered agent; you cannot file directly.
• Minimum 1 director and 1 shareholder, individual or corporate (Uniwide).
• Keep a register of beneficial owners at the registered office (not public) and accounting records for 7 years (Uniwide).
• Pay the annual fee by 31 December or the IBC is struck off; restoration is possible within 10 years with penalties (Uniwide).
• Nominees: since July 2025 a nominee must declare their nominator within 21 days of appointment (Ministry of Finance). The IBC (Amendment) Act 2026 makes directors’ names searchable from 1 January 2027 and requires nominee-director registers to be updated by 31 December 2026 (Uniwide).

Banking and payments for a Seychelles company

Banking is the hard part, and the agents say so themselves. Expanship’s own guide warns that "many banks refuse IBC accounts outright", that accounts can be refused without a stated reason, and that some payment processors and fintech platforms apply blanket restrictions to Seychelles-registered entities. Its packages offer help applying to Airwallex "subject to approval", which is not the same as an account.

Plan three rails before launch. Cards: a high-risk acquirer reached through an orchestration layer such as Paytiko or BridgerPay; see forex payment gateways for prop firms and payment processing fees. Crypto: Match2Pay or Confirmo for challenge fees, covered in crypto payments for prop firms. Payouts: Rise or crypto mass payouts, see payout providers. Every provider will ask what you sell, so a clear simulated-trading model and clean terms help.

What tax does a Seychelles prop firm pay?

The Seychelles Revenue Commission lists business tax of 15% on the first SCR 1 million of taxable income and 25% above. Seychelles historically taxed only Seychelles-sourced income, but since 16 September 2021 an economic-substance test applies to dividends, interest, royalties and similar income received from non-residents. The FSA guidelines add that licensed securities dealers can use a 1.5% rate on assessable gross income if middle- and back-office work is done in Seychelles.

Whether evaluation fees paid by foreign traders are Seychelles-sourced, and where your company is actually managed, are questions for a tax adviser: a company run from London or Dubai can be taxable there. On reputation, the Council of the EU removed Seychelles from its tax "greylist" (Annex II) on 17 February 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance.

What must a Seychelles prop firm’s website show?

Seychelles’ Data Protection Act 2023 is enforced by the Information Commission, with an 18-month transition from 22 December 2023 (Appleby). Most traders will be abroad, so the strictest market you sell to sets the bar. The website checklist and the disclaimer generator cover the wording.

• Entity disclosure: company name, number and registered address; an FSA licence number only if you hold one, and only on each licensed domain.
• A simulated-trading notice and a plain statement that evaluations are not an FSA-licensed service (unless they are).
• A restricted-countries list enforced at checkout and KYC; see restricted countries and sanctions.
• If you are licensed: the boxed, fixed risk warning reported under the 2025 amendments.
• Privacy policy and cookie banner that meet the Data Protection Act 2023 and your largest markets.
• Languages: Creole, English and French are the national languages under the Constitution; launch in your traders’ languages.

How long does it take?

A realistic plan for a simulated-evaluation firm with a Seychelles IBC, against one that also wants a dealer licence:

When should you not choose Seychelles?

• You need easy card acquiring: a Seychelles IBC is one of the entities processors most often decline.
• You want a licence to impress traders: a Seychelles dealer licence does not cover your evaluations and adds office, staff and capital costs.
• You will run the business from a high-tax country: management and control there can make the IBC taxable there anyway.
• You rely on nominee directors for privacy: from 1 January 2027 directors’ names are searchable and nominators must be recorded.
• You want a recognised regulator for a brokerage arm and can afford substance: compare Mauritius and Cyprus.

Launch steps, in order

1. Decide your modelWrite down whether you will only sell simulated evaluations or also broker real trades or hold client money. That decides whether you need a Securities Dealer licence at all.
2. Get a Seychelles legal opinionAsk a Seychelles lawyer to review your terms and payout flow against the Securities Act and the FSA guidelines, and to confirm how to describe the business.
3. Form the IBCChoose a registered agent, pass their due diligence, appoint at least one director and shareholder and file. Budget USD 130 in government fees, or an agent package from about USD 649.
4. Line up payment railsApply to a high-risk card route, a crypto gateway and a payout provider in parallel; expect enhanced due diligence on a Seychelles entity.
5. Build the website and termsPublish entity disclosure, simulated-trading notice, restricted countries, privacy policy and clear rules before taking the first payment.
6. Only then consider the licenceIf you add a brokerage arm, plan for USD 100,000 capital (as reported), two directors, a local office and a timeline that can run past a year.
7. Diary the renewalsIBC annual fee by 31 December, nominee and director register updates by 31 December 2026, and any licence renewals.

Providers worth a look

From our dataset of prop-firm technology vendors, each fact checked on the vendor’s own site. Listed for fit, not ranked.

Your website, whatever platform you choose

Every route on this page still needs a marketing website: the pricing table, rules, payouts, FAQ, legal pages and the checkout hand-off to your platform. Platforms and white labels run the dashboard; they don’t build that site. PipValley does, for any platform, from $1,490 (pricing, launch service, what the site includes).

Questions

Sources

1. FSA Seychelles: Securities Dealer application guidelines (Sept 2024) checked 12 Oct 2026
2. FSA Seychelles: Licensing and registration fees checked 12 Oct 2026
3. FSA Seychelles: Capital markets regulated entities checked 12 Oct 2026
4. TradeInformer: Seychelles gives 18 months to comply with big changes (Jan 2025) checked 12 Oct 2026
5. Finance Magnates: The5ers founders’ CFD broker receives a Seychelles licence (Jun 2026) checked 12 Oct 2026
6. Finance Magnates: The Comoros was just a layover, prop firms are landing in Mauritius (Jun 2026) checked 12 Oct 2026
7. Uniwide: Seychelles IBC checked 12 Oct 2026
8. Uniwide: Nominee directors in Seychelles, what is visible in the public register checked 12 Oct 2026
9. Ministry of Finance, Seychelles: IBC Act amended to tackle the disclosure of nominees (Jul 2025) checked 12 Oct 2026
10. Expanship: Seychelles incorporation pricing checked 12 Oct 2026
11. Expanship: Disadvantages of incorporating in Seychelles checked 12 Oct 2026
12. Seychelles Revenue Commission: Seychelles tax system checked 12 Oct 2026
13. Ministry of Finance, Seychelles: Removal from EU Annex II (Feb 2026) checked 12 Oct 2026
14. Appleby: Data protection law now in force in Seychelles checked 12 Oct 2026
15. Constitute Project: Constitution of Seychelles checked 12 Oct 2026