Trading 212
Illustrative reference data — not personal financial advice. Verify rates and fees on the provider’s own pages before acting.
Free S&S ISA — no platform, dealing or custody fee. Pays 3.8% on uninvested GBP cash (via QMMF — Qualifying Money Market Fund, NOT FSCS-protected as cash). Cash ISA standard 3.60% AER (BoE base − 0.15%); 12-month new-customer promo at 4.51% drops to standard after. SIPP now generally available and free of platform, custody and dealing fees (Trading 212 operates the pension itself since its Feb 2026 FCA authorisation — no operator/trustee fee); 0.15% FX applies on non-GBP trades. "Free" is funded by four less-visible levers: (1) 0.15% FX fee + an undisclosed FX spread on every non-GBP trade, (2) securities-lending revenue (~50/50 split with you, opt-out in settings), (3) net interest margin on uninvested QMMF cash (you get the QMMF yield; Trading 212 keeps the spread between underlying and what's passed on), and (4) CFD bid/ask spreads + overnight financing on the CFD side of the business — which is where most of Trading 212's £277m+ 2025 revenue actually came from. UK best-execution rules block a discretionary mark-up on Invest/ISA share trades, but execution quality is a real, hard-to-audit lever. Trading 212 publicly states no PFOF.
Products tracked
- Cash ISA3.60% AER
- Easy-access savings3.60% AER
- Stocks & Shares ISAFreeUninvested cash rate: 3.80% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers. (via MMF — not FSCS-protected directly)
- General Investment AccountFreeUninvested cash rate: 3.80% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers. (via MMF — not FSCS-protected directly)
- SIPPFreeUninvested cash rate: 3.80% AERAnnual Equivalent RateA standardised way to express savings interest, accounting for compounding. Lets you compare rates fairly across providers. (via MMF — not FSCS-protected directly)
- Free S&S ISA — no platform, dealing or custody fee
- 3.8% on uninvested GBP cash (via QMMF)
- Cash ISA 3.60% standard (4.51% promo for first 12 months, new customers)
- FSCS-protected on Cash ISA via partner banks (per banking licence)
- Securities-lending revenue split 50/50 with the client
- 0.15% FX fee + undisclosed FX spread on non-GBP trades (US shares, ETFs) — adds up if you hold any US-listed funds or stocks directly
- Uninvested QMMF cash NOT FSCS-protected as cash (held in fund units; underlying gilts/T-bills are very-low-risk but it's not a deposit)
- Most Trading 212 revenue comes from CFD spreads + overnight financing — different product line, but it's what funds the free-Invest/ISA side
- App UI surfaces Pies (curated baskets) and CFDs prominently — useful if you want them, distracting if your goal is set-and-forget low-cost investing. The product mix lives next to the buy-and-hold flow
- Newer UK brand — less institutional scale than HL or Vanguard if that matters to you
- MMF cash sweeps aren't FSCS-protected directly — but invest in very-low-risk short-dated UK gilts/T-bills
Fee breakdown
- Platform fee— Headline £00.00%
- FX spread— ~0.15% on US-denominated trades0.15%
FSCSFinancial Services Compensation SchemeUK government-backed protection if a firm fails. Cash deposits at an authorised bank or building society are covered up to £120,000 per person, per banking group (raised from £85,000 on 1 December 2025). Investments at an authorised platform are covered up to £85,000 — a separate scheme. NS&I sits outside FSCS with 100% HM Treasury backing. protection
Cash ISA: deposited at FCA/PRA-authorised partner banks (FSCS deposit cover £120,000 per eligible person per partner bank, from 1 Dec 2025). Uninvested cash inside the S&S ISA / SIPP held in QMMF (money-market fund) — not deposit-protected; FSCS investment cover (£85,000) applies. Investments (S&S ISA, SIPP) covered under FSCS investment scheme (£85,000 per authorised firm).
FSCS deposit cover is per banking licence (not per brand). Lloyds Banking Group includes Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Birmingham Midshires — all share one £120,000 cap. Investment platforms run on a separate FSCS scheme capped at £85,000. NS&I sits outside FSCS with 100% HM Treasury backing. Spreading large balances across separate licences preserves coverage.
Cash ISA promo 4.51% (incl. bonus, 12mo — in-app figure, not re-verifiable on the public page); standard tracker BoE base − 0.15% (~3.60%). Uninvested GBP cash via QMMF 3.8% AER (trading212.com/interest-on-cash, verified 18 Aug 2026). SIPP generally available — £0 platform/custody/dealing fee, 0.15% FX on non-GBP trades (Trading 212 operates the pension itself since its Feb 2026 FCA authorisation).
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The fees and rates above are reference data. Run the 60-second sniff to see what Trading 212 would mean for your actual balance against alternatives Feefee tracks.
Reference data only — not personal financial advice or a recommendation. Rates and fees move; verify on the provider’s own pages before opening or transferring an account. Provider trademarks belong to their respective owners; Trading 212 appears here under nominative fair-use as identification of a UK financial product.