For brokerage services in Poland, distinguish a Polish authorisation from an EEA firm’s cross-border notification. KNF maintains separate lists. Neither a Polish-language website nor the group’s best-known licence identifies the company in your contract. This guide follows the chain from the legal entity to its permissions, contact details and relevant safeguards. Readers elsewhere should use the corresponding authorities for their own service and jurisdiction.

What KNF is and what it actually supervises

KNF, the Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego, was created under the Act of 21 July 2006 and began operating on 19 September 2006. It absorbed the powers of the earlier Securities and Exchange Commission and the supervisor of insurance and pension funds, and from 2008 also banking supervision. Today one authority watches over banks, insurers, investment funds and — the part that matters to a trader — the brokerage houses that offer forex and CFDs in Poland.

Authorisation is not a guarantee of profit or continued solvency. Supervision and a complaint to a regulator are also distinct from deciding a contractual dispute or paying compensation. Identify the procedure and jurisdiction in the agreement. For examples of Polish providers, see the comparison of XTB and the BOSSA brokerage house; verify the precise contracting company rather than relying on the brand.

The European passport — why a broker without a KNF licence can still be legal

An EEA investment firm can use the applicable cross-border route for services covered by its authorisation. Under MiFID II Article 34, it supplies the relevant information to its home authority, which forwards it to the host authority; it does not simply notify the local regulator itself. Check both the home permissions and the Polish notification. Branch and cross-border arrangements have different supervisory responsibilities.

MiFID II provides common conduct and passporting rules, while national CFD measures and compensation schemes need checking. Poland’s KNF permits experienced-retail treatment with higher leverage on specified CFDs under conditions, retaining other retail safeguards. Do not assume identical leverage solely from an EU licence. Compare entity, classification and applicable national rules.

Leverage caps and CFD rules for retail

The ordinary retail-CFD limits introduced by ESMA are 30:1 for major pairs, 20:1 for non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 for other commodities and non-major indices, 5:1 for equities and 2:1 for cryptocurrencies. National measures maintained these safeguards with their own scope. Poland’s experienced-retail arrangement allows higher leverage on specified CFDs subject to conditions; it remains retail treatment.

For CFDs covered by Poland’s decision, close-out protection operates at account level when the specified cash plus unrealised net result falls below half of the required initial margin for the open CFDs. Negative-balance protection limits related liabilities to funds in that CFD account; it does not preserve the deposit. The risk-warning percentage concerns the provider’s retail CFD accounts, not all clients or products. A 500:1 offer conflicts with the relevant Polish retail limits, but its wording alone does not establish the firm’s worldwide licence status.

Protecting your money: segregation and the compensation scheme

Client-money safeguards and compensation are separate protections. Segregation requires client assets to be kept separate from the firm's own assets, but does not guarantee immediate or complete recovery after insolvency. For covered Polish brokerage services, KDPW's scheme covers eligible cash and financial instruments the participant cannot return. The covered-asset base is capped at the zloty equivalent of EUR 22,000: compensation is 100% of the first EUR 3,000 and 90% of the remaining covered amount, so the maximum payment is EUR 20,100 per investor. Investment losses are excluded.

Compensation schemes have different eligibility rules and cover different services. KDPW's maximum eligible payout is EUR 20,100; UK FSCS investment claims can be covered up to GBP 85,000 per eligible person per firm; US SIPC protection is up to USD 500,000, including a USD 250,000 cash limit. These figures do not cover market losses and are not interchangeable with bank-deposit guarantees. Check the contracted entity, product and scheme. Read more about broker failure and CySEC regulation.

The entity matches. Does the service match too?

A fictional firm appears in the register. Compare its permissions with what the contract says it will do.

Scroll sideways to see the full diagram

The entity matches. Does the service match too?1. Register scope: receiving and transmitting orders. 2. Contract proposal: the firm selects the portfolio. 3. Missing check: is portfolio management permitted? 4. Result: the entry alone does not establish permission for this service.1. Register scopeReceiving and transmitting orders2. Contract proposalThe firm selects the portfolio3. Missing confirmationIs portfolio management permitted?4. Check resultThe entry alone does not settle this.
A fictional example. One excerpt does not establish a real firm's full permissions. Receiving and transmitting orders and portfolio management are separate entries in Annex I, Section A of MiFID II. Confirm scope and current status in the relevant regulator's documents.
Check authorisation for the specific service as well as the entity name.

Record the exact service in the agreement and its corresponding register entry. If you see only an excerpt, the conclusion is that the scope needs clarification, not automatically that everything is permitted or that the firm is operating illegally.

How to verify the entity and its service permissions

Verification is simpler than it looks, and it is worth doing before you deposit any money. Step by step it goes like this:

  1. Find, in the broker's website footer, the legal entity name, the licence number and the supervisory authority (e.g. "regulated by CySEC, licence no. …").
  2. For a Polish brokerage house, check the entry in the KNF register of investment firms — by company name, not by the trading brand.
  3. For a broker from another EU country, verify the licence in the relevant authority's register (CySEC, BaFin, the Irish regulator) and check the notification in Poland.
  4. Read any KNF public warning’s legal basis and status before proceeding. An entry may report suspected unauthorised activity; it is not automatically a final conviction, and absence is not approval.
  5. Compare independent contact details as well as name and licence number. A clone can copy genuine registration details; contact the firm using the regulator’s listed channel to confirm the domain and instructions.

KNF publishes the register of investment firms and the public warnings list on its own site. For a structured walk-through, the forexmechanics.com guide to regulations and licence verification takes you through these checks with concrete examples.

Red flags of an unlicensed broker

Unclear identity, pressure to deposit, guaranteed-profit claims and unexplained payment demands require investigation. For a Polish retail CFD service, compare advertised leverage with the applicable national limit. An offshore address alone neither proves fraud nor establishes permission to serve you. Several warning signs do not provide a measured probability of a scam. The guide on how to spot a scam broker explains checks to make before transferring funds.

One note that saves money: the label "international broker" or a logo with an EU flag is not proof of regulation. What counts is a specific authority, a specific licence number and a register entry you can check yourself. Marketing can look professional even at a firm that vanishes tomorrow with its website and client deposits.

What to do before your first deposit

Before depositing, match the contracting entity and service to the relevant permission and notification. Check the applicable CFD terms and client classification, then identify the client-asset arrangements and compensation eligibility. Read any KNF warning’s grounds and status; absence from that list is not approval. Contact the firm through independently verified details to clarify inconsistent domains or payment instructions. A completed checklist documents these checks and does not guarantee solvency or profit. See MiFID II regulation for the passport framework.