Is OANDA a scam?

No. OANDA is not a scam, and this site rates it Neutral at 6.7 out of 10, which
is two full bands above Scam on our scale.

It has been trading since 1996 and holds genuine licences in eight markets. We checked five of
them at the regulator's own register on 12 October 2026 and every one was exactly where OANDA said
it would be:

• United States: OANDA Corporation, NFA ID 0325821, registered as a Futures
  Commission Merchant and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer
• United Kingdom: OANDA Europe Limited, FCA 542574, authorised since 17 May 2011
  and permitted to hold and control client money
• Australia: OANDA Australia Pty Ltd, AFSL 412981, current on ASIC's dataset
• Singapore: OANDA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Capital Markets Services Licensee
• British Virgin Islands: OANDA Global Markets Ltd, currently regulated for
  dealing as principal

So why only Neutral? Three things, all documented.

A capital finding. The CFTC fined OANDA Corporation $500,000 on 21 August 2020
for failing to meet minimum net capital requirements between April and August 2019 while paying
dividends on three dates. Six years on, the CFTC's own filing as at 31 July 2026 shows the US entity
holding $33.2m of adjusted net capital against a $26.8m requirement, the thinnest cushion of the
established US dealers, with $132.4m of client money behind it.

A regulator alert. Brazil's CVM published an alert on 8 January 2025 naming
OANDA Global Markets Ltd as not registered to offer services to Brazilian residents, flagging a
Portuguese-language page. The company is genuinely licensed in the BVI; the issue is where it may
market, not whether it exists.

No compensation scheme for most clients. A UK client gets FSCS cover up to 85,000
pounds. A US client has no scheme and funds that are not segregated. An Australian client has no
scheme for forex. Everyone else contracts with the BVI company and has no scheme either.

One more thing worth knowing: OANDA was acquired by the proprietary trading firm FTMO on
1 December 2025, a deal that required approval from five regulators over about eight months.

The full evidence, with every register named, is in our OANDA review.