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Trading 212 regulation: what happens if the firm fails

The licence is what decides where your money sits and who is obliged to do something about it. Here is who licenses Trading 212 and what the protections are.

Facts last checked . Read the full Trading 212 review.

Regulation and safety

Regulated by
FCA 609146; BaFin 10109603; CySEC 398/21; ASIC AFSL 541122; Bulgarian FSC RG-03-0237
Regulator tier
Tier 1
Register entry
FCA Financial Services Register, FRN 609146
Client money segregated
Yes
Held at
Multiple regulated banks/custodians
Negative balance protection
Yes for eligible retail CFD clients
Compensation scheme
FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK claims; jurisdiction-specific schemes elsewhere
Audited by
Independent statutory auditors
Not available to
Jurisdiction-dependent; services unavailable where Trading 212 is not authorised to operate

Check the licence yourself: the FCA Register, the CySEC register of investment firms, ASIC Connect.

What this means

The licence is what decides where your money sits and who is obliged to do something about it.

Trading 212 holds tier-one authorisations from ASIC, FCA, CySEC and BaFin. That matters more than any headline spread: it determines your leverage cap, whether losses can exceed your deposit, and what happens to your money if the firm fails.

It also operates an offshore entity (FSC). Which one you are onboarded to depends on where you live, and the two carry very different protections - worth confirming before you deposit.

ASIC caps retail leverage at 1:30, requires negative balance protection, and obliges the broker to hold client money in a separate trust account.

The FCA caps retail leverage at 1:30, mandates negative balance protection, and covers eligible clients under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

CySEC licences passport across the EU and follow the 1:30 retail leverage cap, with the Investor Compensation Fund covering eligible claims.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own money, at Multiple regulated banks/custodians. That separation is what makes your balance recoverable if the company fails, rather than part of the pool its creditors divide up.

Negative balance protection applies, so a losing position cannot take the account below zero and leave you owing the broker money.

Covered by FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK claims; jurisdiction-specific schemes elsewhere, which pays eligible clients up to its limit if the firm fails owing client money.

Questions about Trading 212 regulation

Is client money segregated at Trading 212?

Yes. Trading 212 holds client money separately from its own funds, at Multiple regulated banks/custodians.

Does Trading 212 offer negative balance protection?

Yes. Trading 212 offers negative balance protection, so a losing position cannot leave you owing the broker more than your account held.

Is there a compensation scheme at Trading 212?

Trading 212's compensation scheme is recorded as: FSCS up to £85,000 for eligible UK claims; jurisdiction-specific schemes elsewhere. A scheme covers the broker failing, not losses on your trades.

Regulation at brokers under the same regulator

More about Trading 212