Trading 212

Regulatory Overview: Founded in 2004, Trading 212 is a globally recognised broker regulated by several financial authorities, including:

• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK – Trading 212 UK Ltd (FRN 609146)
• The Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) of Germany – FXFlat Bank GmbH (Licence No. 10109603), a Trading 212 group company
• The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) – Trading 212 Markets Ltd (Licence No. 398/21)
• The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) of Bulgaria – Trading 212 Ltd (Licence No. RG-03-0237)
• The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – Trading 212 AU PTY LTD (AFSL No. 541122)

Client Protection Measures: Trading 212 implements several measures to enhance client security:

• Segregation of Funds: Client assets are held in segregated accounts with approved custodians, in line with local rules (e.g., FCA CASS in the UK; CySEC directives in the EU).
• Negative Balance Protection: For retail CFD clients, Trading 212 states you cannot lose more than your deposited funds; automatic margin close-outs help limit losses during extreme volatility.
• Compensation Schemes (where applicable): Coverage depends on the entity and jurisdiction (e.g., the UK’s FSCS; the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) for EU entities such as Cyprus), subject to local eligibility rules and limits.

The account-opening process at Trading212 is easy, hassle-free, and fully digital.

In order to open an account, a minimum deposit of 10 USD will be required.

Creating an account is straightforward, the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready within one day.

How to open an account at Trading212:

1. First, click on “Open Account,” where traders will be directed to choose their country of residence. Traders that reside outside of the EEA will be placed on a waiting list while Trading212 increases its capacity. 

2. Trading212’s intake form requires clients to fill in their personal details (including name, country of residence, and birth date). 

3. Clients are then required to fill in their tax number, followed by their residential address.

4. Clients can then choose their preferred base currency, although EUR is the only option at the moment.

5. Once clients have completed their personal details, they will have to outline their financial details.

6. Trading212 requires individuals to submit a copy of their National ID, Passport, or driver’s licence with the signature page, as well as a copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement.  

7. Documents can be scanned or sent through as a high-quality digital camera picture.

8. We advise you to read Trading212’s risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

Once all the documents have been received, the account will be ready for trading immediately.  

Overall, Trading212’s account opening process is fast, hassle-free, and fully digital compared to other similar brokers.

Trading212 offers a wide range of financial instruments for CFD trading, including Forex, indices, stocks, commodities, and ETFs.

Overall, the range and depth of assets available to trade are impressive and much more than is normally seen at other similar brokers and Trading 212 excels in its Forex offering. Unfortunately, under FCA regulation, trading is not offered on cryptocurrencies. 

The trading costs are built into the spread, which is variable and gets wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility. 

The average cost of trading one lot of EUR/USD is 24 USD, which is much higher than other similar market maker brokers. Most other brokers have an average trading cost of 9 USD on their entry-level accounts. However, its minimum deposit requirement is low, putting it within the reach of most traders. Additionally, Trading212’s primary focus is on stock trading, not CFD trading, which may explain why the spreads are so wide. 

We opened and tested Trading212’s Standard CFD and Demo accounts:

Standard CFD Account

The minimum deposit requirement to open an account is 10 USD.  Fees are included in the spreads, which average at 2.40 pips on the EUR/USD, which is significantly wider than other similar market maker brokers, but no commissions are charged.

Demo Account

The demo account allows traders to practice trading and get used to the Trading212 platform before depositing real money. The Trading212 platform is different from that of other CFD providers, so it is advisable that new clients take the time to get comfortable with the platform before committing to a deposit. The Trading212 Demo Account has unlimited free access to its wide range portfolio of instruments and the possibility to practice trading аnd investing with a maximum of $50,000 virtual funds. However, more funds can be added to the account.

Trading212 has a purpose-built app for mobile users (available on iOS and Android). It offers full functionality, allowing trades to be conducted directly from visualisations, a feature unavailable on many other mobile apps. The user experience is excellent, with straightforward navigation and well-thought-out data visualisations.

Unlike most CFD brokers, Trading212 only offers its proprietary trading platform. This could be a concern as most similar providers also offer MetaTrader 4 or 5 in conjunction with any first-party software.

Unfortunately, there is very little information about the platform on its website. It is obvious, however, that Trading212’s main focus is its mobile trading platform. Optimised for the mobile user’s experience, the platform is straightforward to navigate yet provides a powerful range of features, charts, and analysis without feeling clunky or overburdened. It is also user-friendly. Traders have the option of switching effortlessly between two trading modes, Aggregating, and Hedging.  The netting option is only available in the Hedging mode.   

However, unlike platforms such as MT4 and MT5, the Trading212 platform is not customisable, and traders who are used to setting up their own charts over a bespoke workspace will be disappointed.  In addition, the platform does not offer the execution speeds of the Metatrader platforms, nor does it offer algorithmic trading.  

Another disadvantage of using the Trading212 platform versus third-party platforms is that none of the trading tools available on the Metatrader can be integrated directly into the Trading212 platform.  Additionally, traders who use third-party platforms such as the Metatrader suite can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker.

Overall, Trading212’s platform is a good choice for beginner traders because of its simple and intuitive interface, but compared to third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5, it lacks the execution speeds and doesn’t allow for automated trading via expert advisors or other trading algorithms.

As a regulated broker, Trading 212 makes sure that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. For a client, this means that deposits can only be made using a bank account or card registered in their name and no third-party deposits are allowed. Withdrawals must be made to the same account or method where the funds originated.

Trading212 offers a number of payment methods, including bank transfers, credit or debit cards, and variouse-wallets. Trading212 does not charge deposit fees or for fees for withdrawals, but if one is funding an account via Credit/Debit Cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Skrill, iDeal, DotPay GiroPay, and Sofort, with more than 2,000 EUR, a fee of 0,7% will be charged.  Trading 212’s processing times are average compared to other similar brokers.

Trading212 only allows clients to open trading accounts denominated in EUR. For accounts denominated in other currencies, Trading212 charges a currency conversion fee of 0.5%. 

Trading 212 only offers support in English via a ‘submit a request’ form.  Be aware that there is no phone or chat support available, and the response times are known to be painfully long, often exceeding 48 hours.