Trading 212 review 2023

Trading 212 is an online brokerage platform based in London that is committed to ensuring the general public has access to various financial instruments. The company has been around since 2016 and allows users to trade various assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, forex, gold, and commodities. Trading 212 has seen great success in recent years, and is currently the UK’s #1 trading app. The platform is fully licensed to operate in the UK (approved by the FCA in 2013) and has become popular with traders both in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They operate a freemium model offering the basic services without any charge, but with fees applied for some more advanced services. You can also use their web-based trading suite or their mobile app available for both iOS and Android phones, for those who wish to trade on the go. This review will take you through everything you need to know about Trading 212, so you can decide if it’s the right service for you.

What can I do with Trading 212?

Trading 212 is a CFD brokerage and trading platform where users can access and trade a wide range of financial products. You can trade stocks, forex currencies, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies on this platform. As a CFD brokerage platform, you can trade these assets without actually owning them – instead you adopt positions in relation to how you think the market will perform. This enables a way to trade Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies without needing a cryptocurrency wallet, which some traders find preferable to handling and managing the coins themselves.

Trading 212 provides its users with various trading techniques and tools. The tools available on the platform include a daily news and economic calendar to help you carry out fundamental analysis and hone your trading strategy. You also get access to daily analysis of the assets on which you have open positions in order to help you make better trading decisions. 

Additionally to its CFD platform, Trading 212 offers users the ability to buy and sell assets such as stocks and ETFs within your account.

Which assets can I trade?

You can trade the following assets on Trading 212:

• Forex (both major and minor currency pairs)
• Cryptocurrencies (BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, MON, and DASH)
• Commodities (including gold)
• Stocks
• Indices
• Futures

Payment Methods

Trading 212 accepts the following payment methods, with deposits and withdrawals, using certain options, being available from as little as £1.

• Credit/debit cards
• Bank Wire
• Google Pay
• Apple Pay
• Skrill

What devices can I use Trading 212 on?

Trading 212 is an excellent trading software that can be used on computer and mobile devices; it has a web-based platform that can be accessed via a browser on any device connected to the internet. Additionally, if you want to trade on the go, then the company has a very well-reviewed mobile app available to anyone with a Trading 212 account. The mobile app has virtually all the features available on the web platform, allowing easy trading on the move.

Here are the devices on which you can use Trading 212:

• Computers (desktops and laptops)
• Android Phones
• iPhones

How easy is it to use Trading 212?

Trading 212 has an easy to navigate user-interface, which is very suitable for beginner traders. You can see the tools right on the homepage, while the assets available are listed based on the asset class. Users can also see the FX pairs, the stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices available clearly displayed. The margin requirements vary depending on the financial instrument you are trading, but in each case the platform adapts to show you the relevant information.

If you are an investor, you can use the Trading 212 Invest option to invest in stocks and ETFs. Similar to the CFD trading option, there is zero commission and zero investment fees. The Invest option is much easier as you don’t have to deal with the technical aspect of investing or familiarise yourself with trading charts.

When trading CFD, remember that it is a risky financial trading tool that takes time to understand. If you are new to the trading world, it will take you a while and lots of practice before you fully get a grasp of trading CFDs. Luckily, Trading 212 has the option of starting trading with a demo account so you can learn the ropes before risking your capital.

Countries supported

Trading 212 is available in virtually all the countries around the world, including the UK, but with the important exception of the USA and Canada. If you are in North America, you will have to find another broker.

Regulation

Trading 212 UK Ltd. is registered in England and Wales with Register number 8590005. The company is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (Register number 609146). Customer funds are kept in a segregated account and are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Additionally Trading 212 Ltd. is registered in Bulgaria and has a registration number 201659500. They are also authorised and regulated by the Financial Supervision Commission and the company has a register number RG-03-0237.

Trading 212 Account Verification

Users are required to verify their accounts in compliance with the AML and KYC policies. To open a Trading 212 account, you’ll need to provide:

• ID verification: To verify your identity, the following documents are accepted: a scanned colour copy of passport, driving license, or national ID.
• Proof of address: A government-issued utility bill or bank statement from the past three months that clearly showcase your name and address.

Customer support

The customer support team on 212 is excellent and highly responsive, with an average response time of just over a minute. The Trading 212 support team is available 24/7 via multiple channels and in 16 different languages. This way, it is easy for all customers to access exceptional support.

You can contact the customer support team via email and phone – and you can also fill out a support form on their website’s contact page.

Trading 212 CFD Platform

First impressions

Trading 212 is an intuitive and easy to navigate trading platform. When you visit the site, you will see the dashboard options at the top, on which you can see the trading options available, the educational centre, the tools section, and the login area.

When you log in to the platform, you can easily access the financial instruments once you select the CFD trading platform It is also easy to deposit funds into your trading account as Trading 212 supports multiple payment options. In general, the user interface is excellent and easy to navigate, even for novice investors.

What currency pairs can be traded?

There are hundreds of currency and cryptocurrency pairs that can be traded on Trading 212, including:

• AUD/CAD
• AUD/CHF
• AUD/JPY
• AUD/NZD
• AUD/USD
• BTC/GBP
• CAD/AUD
• CAD/CHF
• EUR/USD
• EUR/JPY
• EUR/GBP
• GBP/USD
• USD/BTC
• USD/CAD
• USD/CHF
• USD/JPY
• USD/NZD

Are there any trading fees on Trading 212?

No, there are no trading fees or commissions on the platform. In 2017, the co-founder of Trading 212 stated that the commissions charged by brokers in the UK are a disgrace as they charge multiple times the actual cost of executing trades, not margins. Therefore, the platform decided to democratise the marketplace to ensure that smaller investors don’t pay huge fines for using their money to trade and invest in the financial markets.

When trading cryptocurrencies, forex, and commodity CFDs, Trading 212 charges margins based on the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of an asset. There’s also a 0.5% margin applied on top of the mid-market exchange rate for currency conversion.

What is the minimum spread?

The minimum spread is the lowest difference between the buy and sell prices of an asset. On Trading 212, the minimum spread usually changes over time for each individual asset so it’s hard to give a precise number. It depends on the total number of shares of an asset that are available to trade at a particular time. Thus, market conditions play a crucial role in determining the minimum spread of assets on this platform.

Can I trade assets with leverage?

Yes, you can. Trading 212 offers high leverage of up to 1:300 for professional accounts. This means that if you trade £1 using high leverage, you stand to make £300 if the trade goes in your favour. However, you should know that this risky as you stand to lose as much if the market moves against you. 

The cryptocurrency market in particular is highly volatile, which means prices can swing in any direction within a few minutes. Thus, it is highly recommended to trade with little leverage or even none at all, as a sudden drop in value can quickly wipe out your capital when trading with leverage.

What are the margins required?

The minimum amount required to open a leveraged trading differs, depending on the trading pair. However, you need a minimum traded quantity of 1,000 – 5,000 on most of the trading pairs before you can trade the assets with leverage. The margins at which you are able to trade vary depending on your trading history and experience, with professional traders being able to get margins as low as 1%.

Can I open long and short positions on Trading 212?

Yes, you can. When you believe the price of an asset is going to surge higher in the future and you buy it in anticipation of the asset becoming more valuable, then you are going long. However, shorting is when a trader believes the price of an asset would go down and sells it in order to buy it at a cheaper rate later. In trading, having a long or short position means betting on an asset or currency pair to go up or down in value.

Are there withdrawal and deposit limits on Trading 212?

For CFD trading the minimum withdrawal and deposit limits are £10, $10, or €10. There isn’t a clearly set maximum withdrawal limit.

Summary of Trading 212 CFD trading

Trading 212 is an excellent CFD trading platform for both traders and investors. The fact that they don’t charge any fees for their services makes them appealing, as does the fact that they have a great customer support team, an efficient banking system, an educational center, and access to trading tools. However, they lack certain features such as MetaTrader 4, and their registration process is a bit lengthy. Overall, it is a solid CFD platform and it’s easy to see why they’re one of the biggest names in the business.

Conclusion

Trading 212 is a great platform to trade CFD assets or invest in stocks and ETFs. They offer the potential for high leverage and low spreads for most of the assets you can trade. You can easily trade forex currencies, cryptos, commodities, stocks, and indices, and their customer support team is highly responsive and available in 16 languages.

Furthermore, they support multiple payment options to create convenience for the trader. The educational center that is updated weekly makes Trading 212 even more appealing – as you can continue learning more about trading over time and hone your investment strategy further.