Best Forex Brokers in UK 2022
There are a significant number of Forex brokers available to today’s UK Forex trader. Forex trading is always evolving with new FX brokers emerging all the time, making it difficult for both the UK and global forex trader to stay up to date.
UK Regulation
The regulatory body in UK is the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Their operational objectives are to promote competition, protect consumers and protect financial markets. Brokers accepting UK traders should either be regulated by the FCA or be under some other regulation accepted in the UK. Here you can read more about different European financial regulators and their function.
FCA website: Fca.org.uk
FCA twitter: @TheFCA
The 6 best forex brokers in UK in 2022
Choose a Forex Broker
The best Forex broker for one trader may not be the best broker for another. It depends on your trading style, what you want to trade and your support needs.
- eToro Forex Broker (FCA regulated)
- AvaTrade Forex Broker
- BlackBull Markets Forex Broker
- Plus500 CFD Provider (FCA regulated)
- XTB Forex Broker (FCA regulated)
- ETX Capital Forex Broker (FCA regulated)
Here we review various forex brokers based on regulation, usability, platforms, minimum deposit, spreads, customer support and other criteria. All forex brokers below accept UK traders and also traders from a number of different countries.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 65-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. fxexplained.co.uk is an affiliated partner with various forex brokers and may be compensated for referred forex traders.
| Broker | Pros | Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Founded: 2007
Reg: FCA, Cy...
HQ: UK, Cyp... 5/5 99/100 |
- Fast withdrawal |
Min. Deposit: $50 Pairs Offered: 47 Leverage: 1:30 Withdrawal Process Time: Max 2 working days Trust Score: 99/100 |
Sign Up
68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Founded: 2006
Reg: Central...
HQ: Ireland... 4.9/5 97/100 |
- Global regulated broker across 5 continents within 6 jurisdictions |
Min. Deposit: $100 Pairs Offered: Over 1,000 (all instruments) Leverage: EU - Up to 30:1, Professional Client/ROW up to 400:1 Withdrawal Process Time: 1-2 business days. Trust Score: 97/100 |
Sign Up
71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Founded: 2008
Reg: FCA, AS...
HQ: Cyprus ... 4.7/5 94/100 |
- Beginner Friendly |
Min. Deposit: $100 Pairs Offered: 2,000+ assets, including forex, indices, commodities, shares and cryptos Leverage: UK/AU/EU - Up to 1:30, ROW up to 1:300 Withdrawal Process Time: 24 hours Trust Score: 94/100 |
Sign Up
68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Founded: 2014
Reg: FMA, FS...
HQ: New Zea... 4.5/5 90/100 |
- Up to 1:500 leverage |
Min. Deposit: $200 Pairs Offered: 300+ Leverage: Up to 1:500 Withdrawal Process Time: Within 24hrs Trust Score: 90/100 |
|||
Founded: 2002
Reg: FCA, Cy...
HQ: London... 4.6/5 92/100 |
- 24/5 Customer Support |
Min. Deposit: $0 Pairs Offered: 49 Leverage: Up to 1:500 Withdrawal Process Time: 24-48 hours Trust Score: 92/100 |
Sign Up
77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Founded: 1965
Reg: FCA, Cy...
HQ: UK... 4.8/5 95/100 |
- FCA regulated |
Min. Deposit: $100 Leverage: Variable Withdrawal Process Time: 1-5 days Trust Score: 95/100 |
Sign Up
73.85% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Founded: 2009
Reg: CySEC, ...
HQ: Cyprus... 4.3/5 85/100 |
- Free demo account |
Min. Deposit: 1 USD, 1 EUR Leverage: up to 1:500 Withdrawal Process Time: Depending on method. Start from instant Trust Score: 85/100 |
Sign Up
74% of retail investor accounts lose money |
||
Founded: 2008
Reg: Plus500...
HQ: Israel... 4.8/5 95/100 |
- Advanced risk management tools |
Min. Deposit: $100 Pairs Offered: 70+ Leverage: 1:30 Withdrawal Process Time: 1-3 Business Days Trust Score: 95/100 |
Sign Up
74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. |
||
Top 10 Tips for Picking an FX Broker in UK
Here we look at ten different factors that we believe are of significant importance when you consider choosing a Forex Broker, whether you are a beginner or advanced trader. The significance of each will differ depending on your needs, which in turn will depend on your trading style, your knowledge level and your type of trading.
1. Regulation and how safe is my money?
You wouldn’t put a large amount of your savings in a bank account if you did not know that the bank was secure and regulated would you? So similarly why would you deposit with an FX Broker unless you were confident your funds and profits are safe?
In the UK, this would mean looking for a broker that is regulated by the financial conduct authority (FCA). In the USA, the equivalent would be a broker regulated by the National Futures Association (NFA) and/or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Opening an account with a broker regulated by any of the of the above should allow for protection if you as a depositor/ trader have an issue or grievance with the broker. Check in the top list above to see which forex brokers are regulated in UK by the FCA.
2. Spreads and/ or Commission
Brokers do not provide their services for nothing, so they charge either commission per trade or more likely by the spread between the bid and offer prices. The wider the spread, effectively the more the trader has to pay to get into and out of each trade. So the narrower the spread, effectively the better off for the trader. Sometimes brokers offer fixed spreads, but often the spread will be variable depending on the volatility of the market.
3. Withdrawals and deposits
Most FX Brokers today offer very low requirements to open an account (from as little as £50). Brokers have differing policies with regard to depositing, funding and withdrawals. Are you able to fund the account from a bank account via wire transfer, via credit card, via PayPal? When withdrawing, is this done via wire transfer, back to your bank account or credit card? Are there any withdrawal fees? Any initial deposit requirements?
4. Rollover interest (credit/ debit)
Some brokers charge a debit (or give a credit) for daily interest. This would be a consideration for any traders thinking of holding open positions over night.
5. Margin and Leverage
Many FX Trading accounts are based on the concept of margin and leverage. Leverage is basically the ability to increase the possible return on an investment or trade. A margin account allows the trader to use leverage by trading larger amounts than deposited in their account. This is because only the potential short term losses on the accounts need to be covered, not the full amount of the underlying asset. How much leverage any forex broker offers and the margin requirements may be a consideration when opening an account with a particular forex broker.
6. Types of forex accounts
There are different types of FX trading accounts which include more traditional cash exchange accounts, spread betting type accounts or CFDs (Contracts for Difference). The choice of which account to open will depend on your very specific needs and potentially even depend on your tax liabilities.
7. What markets can you trade?
All FX brokers in UK offer trading in the major currency pairs, including EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD etc. Most also offer currency cross rates, ability to trade a large selection of currency pairs against each other.
In addition, many brokers offer the opportunity to trade other financial markets and assets. These would include equity indices, government bond markets and commodities (such as oil, gold and copper).
8. Trading platforms supported by the broker
Practically all brokers offer a trading platform, whereby the trader can access the various markets available to trade. Some brokers provide their own developed trading platforms, whilst others suggest downloading free platforms offered by third-party providers. There are many different factors to consider when looking at differing trading platforms including; ease of use, accessibility, trading tools on offer, charting packages, mobile/ tablet access etc.
9. Customer support
Many markets are now open 24 hours a day, five days during the week. So a strong customer support service would be open at all times during this time. Also, the speed of access to a live individual rather than an automated service should certainly be considered. Inevitably, when calling customer service it is usually with an issue, which as a trader you will likely want resolved as soon as possible.
10. Demo account available?
Most, but not all, Forex Brokers offer demo trading accounts to practice on. A demo account allows you to test the trading platform and evaluate some of the above-mentioned factors. All forex brokers for UK in the top list we provide above will offer demo accounts to new traders.
In the top list above you will find links to our reviews of the best forex brokers for UK traders. In these reviews we’ve covered most of these ten tips to make your choice of broker as easy as possible.
Your site is a blessing to all traders
Thank You very much.
Thank you so much Richard!
Let us know if you have any more questions.