Pros & cons of FinecoBank broker

FinecoBank Fact sheet

FinecoBank is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is also regulated by Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), also known as the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission. The broker is well-regulated and has been on the brokerage and banking scene for more than 20 years. 

Policies that FinecoBank follows

FinecoBank is following several very important policies that promote fair treatment and protect clients from trouble. Negative balance protection will prevent traders from going into a minus on their accounts in the case of leveraged trading. Because of the low 1:30 leverage, the possibility of a negative balance is pretty low, but still, the broker cares about its traders. Segregated accounts are essential for ensuring that the broker can not use client funds for their own operational purposes and FinecoBank uses tier-1 banks for storing user funds. All deposits are insured and investors can sleep easy at night when using FinecoBank’s trading and investing services. 

Forex trading on FinecoBank 

Forex trading on FinecoBank is competitive as there are 70+ pairs offered from different markets. The broker advertises itself as offering FX pairs for zero commissions with spreads that start from 0.8 pips on major pairs, and no minimum deposit requirements are some of the key offerings of FinecoBank. 

• EUR/USD0.8 pips
• GBP/USD1.0 pips
• EUR/GBP1.0 pips

Overnight charges apply to FX pairs and since there are no lower spread accounts it is difficult to trade with scalping strategies. The best way for trading CFDs on FinecoBank’s platforms is to trade intraday and hold positions no more than 24 hours unless the trading volume used is high enough to pay commissions and make profits. Although there are many FX pairs offered, the main focus of the broker is still CFDs on stocks and real stock investing. Because of this, there are better terms offered for real stocks with low or no commissions. 

Stock and stock CFDs trading on FinecoBank

UK and US shares have a fixed commission of 2.95 GBP and 3.95 USD per trade. EU shares from Germany, Italy, and France have a 3.95 EUR fixed commission per trade as well. There is no leverage offered for standard stock trading activities. For stock CFDs, leverage is applied and it is possible to trade with a relatively moderate budget. Stock trading has fees and no spreads, while for stock CFDs there are spreads and no commissions. FinecoBank offers both investing and trading possibilities all from one web-based platform. It is possible to buy and hold stocks for long periods of time or to use their CFD counterparts for speculating purposes. In case the CFD stock was held for more than 1 trading day, overnight charges are applied with an interbank rate + 2.5%. This makes it expensive to trade share CFDs for more than 24 hours. For intraday trading, FinecoBank is very attractive. 

Commodity CFD trading on FinecoBank 

The spreads for commodities vary from instrument to instrument and there are many CFDs for commodities and futures on commodities provided as well. Since the broker offers traders direct access to exchanges the spreads and commissions are not high and traders can be sure that all their trades are run through top exchanges. The spreads for popular commodities are as follows:

• Light Crude Oil0.32 points
• Gold5.85 points

In the case of commodities CFDs as well as for all other CFDs there are overnight fees charged from 2.5%.

Indices trading on FinecoBank 

There are 0.4 pips spread on the S&P 500, 0.6 pips on the Nasdaq 100, and FTSE 100. All of these indices are CFDs meaning it is very easy to speculate on their price in whichever direction it might be moving. Spreads for other popular indices CFDs are as follows:

• GERMANY30 0.6 pips
• NASDAQ 0.6 pips
• Dow Jones 1.0 pips 

Similarly to other CFDs there are trading overnight commissions applied to indices as well, starting from 2.5%.

FinecoBank offers only one type of account for all purposes. This means there is no diversity to select the proper account types for different kinds of trading activities. There are low spreads and trading commissions applied to this live account and it offers the ability to control both trading and investing from one account. While this is an easy way to transfer funds and build portfolios, the added complexity of FInecoBank’s trading platform requires time and effort from traders to learn about its functions. There are no minimum deposit requirements which is great for beginners and the maximum leverage is capped at 1:30. 

Pros & cons of FinecoBank account types

FinecoBank Live Account

There is only one standard account and it has very competitive trading terms. There are no minimum deposit requirements and users can start trading and investing with a relatively small budget. The leverage is only available for trading certain instruments and CFDs and it is set to 1:30. For stocks there is no leverage offered however and investors can start with as little as 100 Euro and the monthly fee is also below the average. 

Getting started on FinecoBank – Main steps

Step 1: Open an account

For the registration of a new account either the mobile app or website can be used. In the case of using a mobile app, make sure you know the Italian language, or it will be hard to navigate after the name and surname stage. For the website, the English version works fine and the process is very intuitive.

Step 2: Provide more information

After entering your personal data, email, and phone number it will require verifying the mobile number and email address with codes sent to each of them. But the verification process does not stop here and in order to complete the process there are some must-complete steps, namely providing proof of ID. 

Step 3: Time to verify your account

For full verification a copy of your passport or other government-issued document is needed. After submitting this and providing proof of residence document, it will take less than 24 hours for the application process to be completed.

Step 4: Make your deposit and start trading

Since FinecoBank is also a bank with fast and secure transaction services it requires no fees to deposit money via bank card and is a very convenient and safe process. After getting your live account funded it is possible to start trading and investing right away. All services are conveniently built into the trading app which also serves as a banking app. 

Comparing FinecoBank fees with other brokers

FinecoBank fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

*Inactivity fee was eliminated by IB in 2021, it used to be $20/m

FinecoBank fees compared to CM Trading fees

FinecoBank fees compared to plus500 fees

FinecoBank fees compared to XM fees

FinecoBank fees compared to AvaTrade fees

FinecoBank fees compared to Capital.com fees

All FinecoBank trading platforms are developed in-house by the bank itself and give traders the ability to control all operations from one account including trading and investing, deposits, and withdrawals. FinecoX is the latest of these proprietary trading platforms offered by FinecoBank to its traders. The platform is fully customizable from visuals to technicals and can be adjusted to each trader’s needs. The platform is available for web and mobile devices and offers investing and trading capabilities. The second trading platform from FinecoBank is called Powerdesk which is also a fully customizable and responsive platform. The broker also offers a web trading platform focused on offering the ability to trade and invest from the web browser, but it is limited, and the software platforms are much more advanced and feature-rich. FinecoX is a web trading platform that is a newer version of the old web platform and offers much more advanced features and customizability, but it still is a web-based trading platform and comes nowhere near-dedicated professional tools such as MetaTrader or other similar trading software. Because of this, it is recommended to use TradingView, cTrader, or MetaTrader for technical analysis and use FinecoX just for inserting the trades to avoid missing something important while analyzing the markets. The downside of FinecoBank is that there are no other advanced trading platforms offered and traders will have to use several different platforms for trading purposes. Another downside of FinecoX is the learning curve, it requires time and effort to familiarize yourself with its complex menus and user interfaces. 

Although the app is fast and responsive it lacks multilingual support and after logging in, it quickly transfers to the Italian version making it hard for international traders to get good trading services via the mobile trading platform. The mobile trading platform is advertised as a free app with advanced features, however, almost all brokers are offering free trading software and this is not a FinecoBank exclusive advantage. The mobile app is useful for Italians who want to trade, invest, and use online banking services all from one easy-to-manage app. The app has an inbuilt currency exchange feature to quickly exchange one currency for another and there are more than 20 currencies supported. The app is also available on all mobile devices including iOS, Android, and HarmonyOS of Huawei. The FinecoBank app also has inbuilt social features including Twitter and enables users to share their trading ideas with other traders. Additionally, there are no fees charged for:

• Monthly platform fees
• Deposit or custody fees
• Markets connectivity commissions
• Inactivity fees
• Zero-cost portfolio transfer
• Zero currency conversion fees, and only spreads

Besides being focused on two countries and having no multilingual capabilities, FinecoBank still offers value when it comes to trading fees and market access. There are no hidden fees and every cost is clearly stated on the website. 

FInecoBank offers educational materials for both investing and trading which is a very positive sign for the broker. There is a dedicated schedule for upcoming webinars and anyone can book a place to attend one. The broker offers the name of the expert who is providing the webinar and describes full course characteristics and what traders will learn in detail. Live analysis, trading psychology, trend trading strategies, and operational trading strategies are all taught through FinecoBank webinars. FinecoBank video tutorials offer explanations with visuals for various trading-related topics including stock market screening guides, how to avoid most common trading mistakes, how to adapt to changing market conditions, and more. Despite having many educational features on the website there is a limited number of market research tools provided. Market news and insights are available directly on the trading platforms and mobile app. Automated and conditional orders are possible and supported on FinecoBank’s trading apps and platforms. The stock screener of FinecoBank is free and allows stock traders to search their preferred stocks with filters to find trading opportunities.

Although being fast, the live chat representatives are not knowledgeable enough and have no idea how many tradable instruments the broker offers. The only way to know this is to open an account. This makes FinecoBank one of the worst when it comes to transparency about assets offered and customer support. Seems like the broker is not concerned with brokerage activities as it is one of the largest banks in Italy that offers many attractive investment options and individual retirement accounts. Other support forms offered include hotline phone numbers and an online form for leaving messages. All in all the support is very responsive and quick but they lack expertise on basic trading topics and their company’s offered financial products are a red flag. This is the major downside of this broker as it becomes increasingly difficult to select FinecoBank over other popular brokers who are hunting for new clients with attractive trading terms and transparent products. Unfortunately, both the website and support are only available in English and Italian and there are no other languages available. There is also a bug with the mobile app that switches it to Italian right away before the registration process is finished. 

FinecoBank is an Italian online brokerage firm that offers trading and investing opportunities for a variety of financial instruments including Forex, stocks, commodities, and indices. FinecoBank is also available in the UK under FCA regulations. The broker provides competitive spreads and commissions for trading with its Live account, which has no minimum deposit requirement and offers both trading and investment products. While the lack of diversity in account types and the absence of demo accounts may be a disadvantage for some traders, the availability of low-spread trading and direct access to exchanges can be an advantage for more experienced professionals. Traders should note that there are overnight charges on all CFDs and exercise caution whenever holding positions for more than 24 hours. FinecoBank is suitable for intraday trading and for investors with moderate budgets who want to partake in CFD trading and long-term investments.