GCC Brokers Adds Dubai Regulatory Layer with CMA Category 5 Licence

Retail FX and CFD broker GCC Brokers has added a UAE-regulated introducer to its group structure. Growth Capital Connect Financial Services (GCCFS) is now licensed by the UAE Capital Market Authority under a Category 5 licence, covering Introduction and Promotion services. 

The entity is based in Dubai and operates exclusively as an introducer to GCC Brokers Limited, the group's FSC Mauritius-regulated client-onboarding entity.

The UAE Capital Market Authority -- formerly known as the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) issued GCCFS Licence No. 20200000283 on 27 May 2025. Category 5 is specific in scope. GCCFS is authorised to introduce UAE-based clients to GCC Brokers and promote its services within the UAE market. It is not authorised to hold client funds, execute trades, operate a trading platform or provide personalised investment advice. All accounts are opened directly with GCC Brokers Limited in Mauritius, where KYC, funding and trade execution remain under FSC oversight.

The two entities are separate legal entities, regulated by separate authorities, with a clear and documented relationship. GCCFS sits at the introduction layer. GCC Brokers Limited -- registered at 20 Edith Cavell Street, Port Louis, Mauritius -- sits at the execution layer. The introducer's role ends once a client has been referred. This structure is common in the UAE market, where local regulatory presence is increasingly expected by institutional clients, IBs and professional traders who require regulated counterparties at each stage of the relationship.

Youssef Bouz, Operations Manager,
GCC Brokers

"The UAE CMA has been deliberate about raising the bar for who operates in this market -- which is exactly why we wanted GCCFS licensed under it. Our FSC Mauritius entity remains the onboarding and execution backbone, full A-Book STP, unchanged. What GCCFS adds is a UAE-regulated layer for clients, IBs, and institutional partners who expect a regulated counterparty at every level of the relationship. For us that's structural, not a marketing line."

Youssef Bouz
Operations Manager, GCC Brokers

The UAE CMA has spent recent years raising its standards for who can operate in the local financial services market. It has increased enforcement activity and tightened its licensing criteria. For a broker building its proposition around transparency and A-Book STP execution, adding UAE regulatory oversight is a logical step rather than a cosmetic one. Dubai is also a significant hub for the group's target client base across the GCC region.

The core GCC Brokers model remains unchanged. A-Book STP execution, no dealing desk intervention, and institutional liquidity sourcing continue to sit within GCC Brokers Limited under its FSC Mauritius framework. GCCFS adds a regulated local presence in the UAE without altering the execution infrastructure behind it.

GCCFS is registered at Deira Waterfront Properties, HIND Plaza 5B, Office No. 104, Gold Souq, Dubai. Further details on the licence and regulatory disclosures are available at gccfs.com.

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