The best Forex brokers regulated by the FCA

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK is a top-tier financial regulator. The FCA was established in 2013 and operates independently of the UK government. The regulator is financed by fees collected for licensing and registering members of the financial services industry.

The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 companies in the United Kingdom in order to ensure that Britain’s financial markets are honest, competitive, and fair. 

In order for financial companies to be allowed to operate in the UK, they need to be authorized or registered with the FCA. Before the regulatory body grants authorization, companies must demonstrate that they meet a range of requirements. The FCA requirements and regulations are strict compared to other regulatory institutions. On the upside, tight regulations increase the safety and security of traders dealing with financial markets. 

The FCA has the following requirements when it comes to maximum available leverage for retail traders: 

• 30:1 – currency pairs
• 20:1 – commodities
• 20:1 – indexes
• 5:1 – shares

In this guide, we will explore the best FCA-regulated FX brokers in the UK, taking into account their regulatory compliance, trading conditions, account types, and more. 

A quick comparison of top-rated Forex brokers in the United Kingdom

When comparing top Forex brokers in the United Kingdom, there are a number of things to consider. Ideally, you want a broker that enables you to open an account in GBP. This way you will save a lot of money on conversions. Furthermore, low trading fees on GBP/USD and EUR/USD are also critically important. 

	XM Read the review Visit broker 8.4 8.4 8.34 8.34 CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.03% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.	HYCM Read the review Visit broker 8 8 7.97 7.97 CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 73-76 % of retail investor accounts lose money when Trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. For more information please refer to HYCM’s Risk Disclosure. Additionally, the content of this website is for information purposes only and it is not intended as a recommendation or advice. Any indication of past performance or simulated past performance included in advertisements published by HYCM is not a reliable indicator of future results. The customer carries the sole responsibility for all the businesses or investments that are carried out at HYCM.	XTB Read the review Visit broker 8 8 7.3 7.3 CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money	Plus500 Read the review Visit broker 7.4 7.4 null CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage; 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
FCA regulation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Operates in the UK under	FCA	FCA	FCA	FCA (FRN 509909)	FCA
Account currency is available in GBP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spreads on GBP/USD (commission – free Standard accounts*)	From 0.6 pips	From 1.3 pip (on Classic account)	From 1.7 pips	From 1.3 pips	From 2.1 pips
Spreads on EUR/USD (commission — free Standard accounts*)	From 0.6 pips	From 1.2 pip	From 0.35 pips	From 0.8 pips	From 1 pip
Maximum available leverage offered to UK clients	30:1	30:1	30:1	30:1	30:1
Minimum initial Deposit	5 GBP	100 GBP	0 GBP	100 GBP (500 GBP when using Bank Transfer method)	100 GBP
Desktop Trading platforms	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5	xStation 5	Plus500 WebTrader	MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5

*Brokers usually offer 2 types of accounts, namely spread-free and commission-free accounts. With a spread-free account, traders are charged commissions on their trades, while with a commission-free account, fees are integrated into spreads. To make comparisons easier, we prioritize displaying prices of commission-free standard accounts where possible. 

More about the 5 best FX brokers in the United Kingdom

Below you will learn more about the account types offered by these brokers. Furthermore, we’ll provide you with detailed information on the Great British Pound vs major currencies trading fees, and we’ll include the license number for each broker so that you can check the license documents yourself. 

XM

 

XM is a group of Forex brokers operating under various regulators. The UK branch is operated by Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd.

Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd, operating under the name XM.com, is a UK Investment Firm (regulation number 09436004), regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under license number 705428

XM was established in 2009 and gained popularity very fast. The broker provides financial services to more than 5 million clients from over 190 countries.

There are more than 1471 assets available for trading with XM, including: 

• 57 Forex pairs
• 1261 shares as CFDs 
• 100 physical shares
• 31 cryptocurrencies as CFDs 
• 14 indices
• 8 commodities

It should be noted that the minimum deposit required to start trading physical stocks is 10,000 USD. There are UK stocks available for trading. In addition, traders have access to stocks from the US, EU, Brazil, and Canada.

 

 

 

XM

Read the review
Visit broker

8.4

8.4

8.34

8.34

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.03% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

XM offers 3 account types to CFD traders in order to meet the needs of different trading styles. Let’s take a look at the comparison table: 

Great British Pound trading with XM

Now let’s take a look at the spreads of the Great British Pound against major currencies. It must be noted that in the case of GBP/JPY, 1 pip equals 0.01; while for the rest of the pairs 1 pip equals 0.0001. Each account type offers different trading fees. 

HYCM

 

HYCM is a global Forex broker REGULATED in 4 jurisdictions. In the UK the broker is operated by HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited. 

HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited is authorized and regulated under the Financial Conduct Authority with reference number 186171.

Henyep Markets, better known as HYCM, is one of the oldest CFD brokers in the world. The broker has over 40 years of experience in offering financial services. 

There are 301 assets available for trading with HYCM, including: 

• 71 Forex pairs
• 153 shares as CFDs 
• 29 cryptocurrencies as CFDs 
• 28 indices
• 20 commodities

HYCM offers Fixed, Classic, and Raw account types to meet the needs of all trader types. Let’s discuss each account type in more detail. The Fixed accounts have fixed spreads which means that they do not change. Variable account spreads change based on market conditions. For instance, when liquidity is low, spreads are high, and vice versa.

 

 

 

HYCM

Read the review
Visit broker

8

8

7.97

7.97

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 73-76 % of retail investor accounts lose money when Trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. For more information please refer to HYCM’s Risk Disclosure. Additionally, the content of this website is for information purposes only and it is not intended as a recommendation or advice. Any indication of past performance or simulated past performance included in advertisements published by HYCM is not a reliable indicator of future results. The customer carries the sole responsibility for all the businesses or investments that are carried out at HYCM.

 

Great British Pound trading with HYCM

HYCM offers various account types and trading fees on GBP pairs defer based on the account type you pick.

XTB

 

XTB is a global Forex and CFD broker regulated in 4 jurisdictions. In the UK the broker is managed by XTB Limited.

XTB Limited is authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 522157) which is registered and located at Level 9, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5AA, London, United Kingdom (company number 07227848).

XTB has over 20 years of experience in providing traders with financial services. The broker’s representative offices are located in over 13 countries including the UK, Poland, Germany, France, and Chile.

There are more than 2200 assets available for trading with XTB, including: 

• 57 Forex pairs
• 1880 shares as CFDs 
• 51 cryptocurrencies as CFDs 
• 41 indices
• 27 commodities

The broker offers a Standard account to traders registering from the UK. What’s great about this account is that trading fees are low in terms of spread markups and there are no commissions on Forex, indices, or commodities.

 

 

 

XTB

Read the review
Visit broker

8

8

7.3

7.3

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money

 

Great British Pound trading with XTB

As already mentioned, there are no commissions for trading currencies. It should be noted that in the case of GBP/JPY, 1 pip equals 0.01; while for the rest of the pairs 1 pip equals 0.0001.

Plus500

 

Plus500 is a group of Forex and CFD brokers operating globally. UK residents can open accounts with Plus500UK Ltd.

Plus500UK Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909). Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to retail clients. Office Address: Plus500UK Ltd, 8 Angel Court, Copthall Avenue | London EC2R 7HJ.

The broker was established in 2008, and today Plus500 serves more than 300 million customers worldwide.

The broker offers live and demo versions of the live account type to its customers. There are more than 2800 CFD assets available for trading, including: 

• 66 CFD Forex pairs
• 1634 shares as CFDs
• 1200 physical shares (as CFDs) 
• 19 cryptocurrencies as CFDs 
• 31 indices (as CFDs) 
• 22 commodities (as CFDs) 

 

 

 

Plus500

Read the review
Visit broker

7.4

7.4

null

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage; 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

British pound sterling trading with Plus500

Now let’s take a look at the spreads of the British pound sterling pairs with Plus500. 

HFM

Great British Pound trading with HFM

Let’s take a look at typical spreads traders experience when trading GBP pairs with this broker. 

Best choice of FCA regulated broker per category

When choosing a broker based on asset class, the most important aspects to compare are a number of tradable instruments and trading fees. 

Best Broker in the UK for Forex Trading

Our pick in this category is Plus500, as the broker offers the perfect balance between low spreads and a large number of assets.

Best Broker in the UK for Share CFD Trading

XTB offers the largest number of share CFDs and low trading fees to its customers using the modern xStation platform.

Best Broker in the UK for Crypto CFD Trading

Unfortunately, crypto derivatives are not available to retail clients registered with Plus500UK Ltd. In this category, our pick is XTB as the broker offers a large number of tradable crypto CFDs.

How to check if the broker has a FCA license or is just registered with the FCA?

When dealing with a financial services provider, it’s essential to first check the license to make sure they are registered with the FCA. The process is simple and only takes a couple of minutes.

Step 1

Open the FCA register page. Scroll down and paste the registration number into the “Enter a name or reference number” window. Mark “Firms” below and press search. 

Step 2 

After pressing the search button, you’ll be able to see the company name and all the relative information. 

All FCA – regulated Forex broker reviews 

In addition to the top 5 brokers that we have picked, there are lots of other great brokers to consider that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK. You can find detailed reviews of many of them on our website. When we create broker reviews our main focus is on safety and regulations. In addition, we discuss trading fees, policies, customer service, software, and account opening in detail.