Checking a broker in the local register
What you learn in 3 minutesA licence is only useful if you can find it yourself, and the place to look is the SEC Philippines register. If a firm cannot be found there, or its entry does not cover the product you were offered, then no rule protects the money you send.
Checking one licence entry on 12 March 2025
| Step | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Date of the check | 12 March 2025 | the register changes, so the date is part of the record |
| What you type into the search box | the exact firm name from the website footer | copy it, do not retype it from memory |
| What the entry shows | a registration type that does not mention derivatives or leveraged foreign exchange | the licence covers something other than what you were offered |
| Deposit you were about to send | ₱10,000 | sent by GCash or bank transfer, both hard to reverse |
| Value of one pip on one standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0850 | ₱651.00 | 100,000 x 0.0001 = 10 units of the quote currency, converted at 65.10 PHP per unit |
The broker may round the exchange rate it uses, add a conversion charge, or quote a spread on top of the pip value, so the peso figure you see on a statement can differ from the one calculated here.
The mistake people make here
The common mistake is to trust a screenshot of a certificate, or a licence number printed on the firm's own website, without opening the register. Anyone can copy a number onto a page. Instead, open the SEC Philippines register yourself, type the exact firm name, and read the entry on the day you check. If the entry does not name the product you were offered, treat the licence as not covering it, however official the screenshot looks.Check yourself
You are about to send ₱10,000 to a firm. One pip on one standard lot of EUR/USD is 10 units of the quote currency, and the rate is 65.10 PHP per unit. What is one pip worth in pesos, and how many pips of movement does your deposit equal?
One pip is 10 x 65.10 = ₱651.00. ₱10,000 divided by ₱651.00 is about 15.4 pips, so your whole deposit moves by roughly 15 pips of price on one standard lot.
You check the register on 12 March 2025 and the firm is listed, but the entry covers a type of activity that is not leveraged foreign exchange. Is the licence covering the product you were offered?
No. The entry is real, but it does not cover that product, so the licence does not protect the trade you were offered. Record the date of the check, 12 March 2025, because the register can change.
In the Philippines
- Where the register is
- the SEC Philippines website, which has a searchable register of registered entities
- What to type into it
- the exact firm name as written on the website you were shown
- What to look for
- whether the registration type covers the product you were offered, not just whether a name appears
- What to record
- the date you checked, because entries and statuses can change
- Payment methods used locally
- GCash and bank transfer; both are hard to reverse once sent