What Wikilix has recorded about CMC Markets UK: its history, the licences it holds, its trading conditions and its fees.
CMC Markets UK is the British arm of the CMC Markets group, operated by CMC Markets UK plc, a company incorporated on 1 December 1989 and registered in England and Wales under number 02448409 at 133 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BX. The firm offers spread betting, CFD trading, OTC options, share dealing and a commission based forex account called FX Active. Clients trade on the firm's own web platform and mobile app, on MetaTrader 4, or through a TradingView link, with retail leverage capped at 30:1 and access to more than 21,000 instruments including 300 forex pairs.
The site states that CMC Markets UK plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom under firm reference number 173730, and that a second group company, CMC Markets Investments Limited, is authorised under reference 948126. Both disclosures appear in the site footer and are repeated on the firm's regulations page. Two further permissions sit with separate group companies: reference 170627 in the name of CMC Spreadbet plc, whose recorded effective period ends on 5 February 2026 and which the UK site does not quote, and licence 10154814 in Germany in the name of CMC Markets Germany GmbH, covering reception and transmission of orders rather than dealing on own account.
These are the firm's own published statements. WIKILIX confirmed the corporate side of them on the UK register of companies but did not check the licence entries against the authority's own register during this research, so the regulatory claim is recorded as stated by the firm rather than independently confirmed.
CMC Markets UK plc states that it is FCA regulated under reference 173730, and every supporting detail WIKILIX could test held up. The operating company, its parent CMC Markets plc and the other named group companies are all active on the UK register of companies at the same London address, and the firm publishes the client money and compensation arrangements that a UK authorised investment firm is required to maintain. What has not been done here is a check of reference 173730 against the authority's own public register, so the claim should be read as consistent and well supported rather than formally verified.
The protections CMC Markets UK describes are the strong ones, and the firm sets them out in unusual detail. Retail client money is stated to be held in segregated bank accounts with NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds under the FCA client assets regime, reconciled daily, never placed with hedging counterparties as margin, and audited annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers with the results reported to the regulator. Eligible deposits are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to GBP 85,000, and retail clients get negative balance protection.
Two things temper that. Regulation is not the same as profitability: the firm's own risk warning states that 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting or trading CFDs with it. And professional clients who agree a title transfer collateral arrangement are treated as general creditors in a liquidation rather than having segregated money returned, which the firm says plainly.
Five live account routes are published:
All spread betting, CFD and FX Active holders join the tiered volume discount scheme Price+, and eligible holders can join the Alpha membership. A demo account with GBP 10,000 of virtual funds is available on every route.
Forex minimum spreads start at 0.5 pips on spread betting and standard CFD accounts, with no forex commission. FX Active brings that to 0.0 pips on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD and USD/JPY, charging 0.0025% per transaction instead, which the firm expresses as US$2.50 per US$100,000 of notional value per side, and gives a 25% spread discount on the remaining forex pairs.
Share and ETF CFDs are commission based and vary by market: 0% in the UK and most of Europe, 0.45% with a EUR 20 minimum in Greece, USD 0.02 per unit with a USD 10 minimum in the United States and CAD 0.02 per unit with a CAD 10 minimum in Canada. Positions held overnight attract a holding cost charged at 10pm UK time, with forex priced off the tom next rate plus a 0.0027% charge. A GBP 10 monthly inactivity charge applies to funded accounts after a year without trading, refundable for up to three months if trading resumes. Guaranteed stop loss orders carry a premium that is refunded in full if the order is not triggered. Market data subscriptions may apply for share CFD prices.
Maximum leverage for retail clients is 30:1 across spread betting, CFD trading and FX Active, the UK regulatory cap. Equities investing is unleveraged.
The firm's own web platform and iOS and Android apps are the primary route and carry the full instrument range. MetaTrader 4 is offered as a separate account covering over 175 forex pairs plus indices and commodities, with premium indicators and Expert Advisors, but no shares, ETFs, rates or bonds, and no TradingView link. A CFD account can instead be linked to TradingView to trade the firm's prices through TradingView charts. MT4 is downloadable from the firm's MT4 page and on the App Store and Google Play.
Three funding routes are published: debit and credit card, online banking through the open banking partner TrueLayer, and ordinary bank transfer. UK clients pay no deposit fee and no withdrawal fee on any of them. Card deposits are capped at GBP 50,000 per transaction; the firm sets no limit on online banking, though the client's bank may.
Card withdrawals take 3 to 5 working days and bank transfers 2 to 3, and a withdrawal requested before 11am can leave the same day where bank details are already verified. American Express and Diners Club are not accepted, cash and cheques are not accepted, and payments from or to third parties are rejected, so the funding and payout accounts must be in the client's own name.
Telephone support on +44 (0)20 7170 8200 runs whenever the markets are open, from Sunday night through to Friday night, and email goes to clientmanagement@cmcmarkets.co.uk. A Live Help channel sits inside the trading platform under the Support menu. A separate payments team is reachable on +44 (0)20 3003 8588 from 9am to 6pm UK time on weekdays. The London head office at 133 Houndsditch is published alongside offices in Frankfurt, Sydney, Singapore, Toronto, Auckland, Oslo, Warsaw, Madrid, Hamilton and Dubai.
CMC Markets UK presents as a long established, onshore British broker with a documented corporate history, a listed parent and the client money and compensation arrangements expected of a UK authorised investment firm. Its pricing is competitive for active forex traders and its platform range is broad, with the one real restriction being that MetaTrader 4 carries a narrower instrument set than the firm's own platform. The most important thing to settle before funding an account is which group company the account is opened with, because the licences named across the group sit with four different entities and only 173730 and 948126 are quoted on the UK site.
4 full-page captures of CMC Markets UK's own site, archived so what they said can still be read after the pages change.
CMC Markets UK is listed with a tier-1 or tier-2 licence that we have not yet checked against the regulator's register. An unchecked row is not a finding either way.
The broker states it holds this licence. We have not confirmed it on the official register.
Verification note
Firm reference number 173730, disclosed by CMC Markets UK plc on its own site footer, its regulations page and its FAQ. Retail client money is stated to be segregated under FCA CASS rules and eligible deposits covered by the FSCS up to GBP 85,000. Not confirmed against the authority's own public register during this research run.
These are the rules FCA sets for the firms it licenses. They are not a statement about how CMC Markets UK applies them, or about which of its companies would hold your account.
The broker states it holds this licence. We have not confirmed it on the official register.
Verification note
Held by the group's German company CMC Markets Germany GmbH, which the firm lists at Garden Tower, Neue Mainzer Str. 46-50, Frankfurt. The recorded permissions cover financial derivatives, securities and bonds agency work, that is reception and transmission of orders, rather than dealing on own account. It is a separate entity from the UK company and is not quoted on the UK site.
These are the rules BaFin sets for the firms it licenses. They are not a statement about how CMC Markets UK applies them, or about which of its companies would hold your account.
The broker states it holds this licence. We have not confirmed it on the official register.
Verification note
Second firm reference number disclosed in the site footer, alongside 173730, for CMC Markets Investments Limited, the group company behind the investing accounts. No licence type is recorded here because the scope of the permission was not read on an official source during this run, and none is inferred. Not confirmed against the authority's own public register during this run.
These are the rules FCA sets for the firms it licenses. They are not a statement about how CMC Markets UK applies them, or about which of its companies would hold your account.
Verification note
Held by the group's spread betting company CMC Spreadbet plc, a separate legal entity from CMC Markets UK plc. The licence record carries an effective period ending 5 February 2026, so it does not read as current. CMC Markets UK plc does not quote this number anywhere on its own site, which names only 173730 and 948126.
These are the rules FCA sets for the firms it licenses. They are not a statement about how CMC Markets UK applies them, or about which of its companies would hold your account.
5 account types on record. Leverage up to 1:30.
| Account | Min Deposit | Leverage | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread bettingSpread Betting | Not recorded | 1:30 | No commission; additional spread on share and ETF spread bets outside the UK and most of Europe |
| CFD tradingStandard | Not recorded | 1:30 | No FX commission; share and ETF CFDs 0% UK and most of Europe, USD 0.02 per unit (min USD 10) US, CAD 0.02 per unit (min CAD 10) Canada, 0.45% (min EUR 20) Greece |
| FX ActiveRaw Spread · ECN | Not recorded | 1:30 | 0.0025% per transaction, that is US$2.50 per US$100,000 notional per side |
| Equities tradingShares · Invest | Not recorded | Not recorded | 0% commission and no platform fees; a 0.7% FX fee may apply |
| Corporate accountCorporate | Not recorded | 1:30 | As per the CFD trading account |
Where CMC Markets UK says it will and won't take clients
Confirmed blocked
Named in the broker's own terms
Covered by a parent block
Territories a blocked country carries with it
Explicitly accepted
Named as accepted — not a full list of served markets
3 ways to fund an account. 3 with no deposit fee.
| Method | Deposit fee | Withdrawal fee | Min deposit | Withdrawal min / max | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Card (all major credit cards except AMEX)Credit CardDeposits are made in the platform or app under Funding, then Add funds, then Card. UK clients pay no deposit fee and no withdrawal fee. Up to GBP 50,000 per single card transaction, though the card issuer may set a lower limit. American Express and Diners Club are not accepted, and neither are cash or cheque payments. Withdrawals are processed back to the card and take 3 to 5 working days depending on the bank. Payments from third parties are rejected, so the card must be in the account holder's name, and the billing address must match the address held on record. A credit card payment may be treated as a cash advance by the issuer, which can attract the issuer's own charges. | Free | Free | Not recorded | Not recordedNot recorded | 5 days |
Bank transferBank TransferThe platform's Funding tab shows the broker's bank details. The payment reference must be the client's account number followed by their first initial and surname. UK clients pay no deposit fee, and the published withdrawal cost is none, but fees may be higher for international transfers. SEPA transfers cannot be used for deposits in CHF or USD, where a conventional foreign bank transfer is needed instead. Withdrawals take 2 to 3 working days and can leave the same day if initiated before 11am with verified bank details already on file. The payout account must be verified and in the client's own name; the broker cannot arrange payment to third parties. Transfers received after 6pm are processed the next business day. | Free | Free | Not recorded | Not recordedNot recorded | 3 days |
Online bankingBank TransferSelected from the Funding tab as Online banking. The client is redirected to their own bank to choose an account and authenticate the payment through the broker's open banking partner, TrueLayer. The broker sets no limit on the amount, though the client's bank may. Funds are applied to the trading account as soon as they are available, and the time banks take to process a deposit varies. No deposit fee for UK clients. The published withdrawal table covers card and bank transfer only, so no separate withdrawal terms are stated for this channel. | Free | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recordedNot recorded | hour |
2 trading platforms on record: MetaTrader 4 and TradingView.
Over 175 forex pairs plus indices and commodities, with premium indicators and Expert Advisors. Forex from 0.0 pips on FX Active and 0.5 pips on spread betting and CFD accounts. Shares, ETFs, rates and bonds are not tradable on MT4.
A CFD account can be linked to TradingView so the broker's prices are traded through TradingView charts. The link is not offered on the separate MT4 account.
2 domains on record. 2 active.
5 legal entities behind the CMC Markets UK brand.
The operating company is CMC MARKETS UK PLC. Registered in United Kingdom. Registration number 02448409.
4 other brokers on the record share what CMC Markets UK offers — its country, regulator, account types or platforms — set beside it on the same measures.
Common questions about CMC Markets UK
Telephone support is on +44 (0)20 7170 8200 and runs whenever the markets are open, from Sunday night through to Friday night, which the firm describes as 24 hours Monday to Friday. Email goes to clientmanagement@cmcmarkets.co.uk, and a Live Help channel sits inside the trading platform under the Support menu.
A separate payments team is reachable on +44 (0)20 3003 8588 from 9am to 6pm UK time on weekdays. The head office is at 133 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BX.
Yes. A monthly charge of GBP 10, or the equivalent in another currency, is taken from a funded account that has had no open positions and no trading activity for a continuous year.
The charge stops once the balance reaches zero and cannot push an account negative. If you start trading again, up to three months of the charge, to a maximum of GBP 30, is refunded.
No. The firm's own website terms state plainly that its CFD services are not available to US residents.
The firm does run dedicated localised sites with their own account opening for the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore and Spain, each with a named local company and local contact details.
Spread betting and CFD accounts reach more than 21,000 instruments, made up of over 15,000 shares, around 5,000 ETFs, 300 forex pairs, 80 plus indices, 100 plus commodities and 50 plus rates and bonds, along with share baskets. The equities account covers over 16,000 shares and ETFs for outright ownership.
OTC options on indices, shares and ETFs are also available and are cash settled.
The firm's own web platform and its iOS and Android apps are the main route and carry the full instrument range. MetaTrader 4 is offered as a separate account, and a CFD account can be linked to TradingView to trade the firm's prices through TradingView charts.
MT4 is narrower in scope: over 175 forex pairs plus indices and commodities, but no shares, ETFs, rates or bonds, and no TradingView link.
The firm states that retail client money is held in segregated bank accounts with UK banks including NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds under the FCA client assets rules, reconciled daily, and never lodged as margin with its hedging counterparties. Eligible deposits are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to GBP 85,000.
One documented exception: a professional client who has agreed a title transfer collateral arrangement would rank as a general creditor in a liquidation rather than have segregated money returned.
The published table shows no withdrawal fee on either route. Card withdrawals take 3 to 5 working days depending on your bank, and bank transfers take 2 to 3 working days.
A withdrawal requested before 11am can leave the firm's account the same day if your bank details are already on file and verified. The payout account must be in your own name, and fees may be higher for international transfers.
Three routes are published: debit or credit card, online banking through the firm's open banking partner TrueLayer, and ordinary bank transfer, all handled from the Funding tab of the web platform or app. UK clients pay no deposit fee.
Card deposits are capped at GBP 50,000 per transaction. American Express and Diners Club are not accepted, nor are cash or cheques, and payments from a third party are rejected, so the card or bank account must be in your own name.
On spread betting and standard CFD accounts, forex minimum spreads start at 0.5 pips with no separate commission. On FX Active, six major pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD and USD/JPY) start from 0.0 pips and a fixed commission of 0.0025% per transaction applies instead, quoted as US$2.50 per US$100,000 of notional value per side.
FX Active also carries a 25% spread discount on all other forex pairs. Positions held overnight attract a holding cost based on the tom next rate plus a 0.0027% charge.
Maximum leverage for retail clients is 30:1, applied across spread betting, CFD trading and FX Active. That is the standard UK retail cap. Share dealing through the equities account is unleveraged.
Retail clients also get negative balance protection, so an account cannot be pushed below zero by a losing position.
No set minimum deposit is published. The firm states there is no cost to open a live account and that you simply need enough in it to cover the margin on the trade you want to place, giving worked examples of roughly GBP 40 of margin for a small UK 100 spread bet and about GBP 8 for the equivalent CFD.
It also recommends funding above the bare margin requirement as a buffer against adverse price moves.
Nothing found in this research points that way. The company behind the brand is 36 years old, confirmed active on the official UK company register, operating from a published London head office under a listed parent, with client money arrangements and compensation cover set out in detail on its own site.
The honest caveat is that the licence numbers themselves were not checked against the regulator's own register in this research, so the regulatory claim is well supported and internally consistent rather than formally verified.
The operating company is CMC Markets UK plc, registered in England and Wales under company number 02448409, with its registered office at 133 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BX. It sits under the listed parent CMC Markets plc, company number 05145017, which the firm describes as part of a FTSE 250 group.
Both are confirmed active on the UK register of companies, along with CMC Spreadbet plc (02589529) and CMC Markets Investments Limited (12816952), all at the same London address.
CMC Markets UK plc states that it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom under firm reference number 173730, repeating that in its footer, on its regulations page and in its own FAQ. A second group company, CMC Markets Investments Limited, is disclosed under reference 948126.
WIKILIX confirmed the corporate side of those claims on the UK register of companies but did not check the reference numbers against the authority's own public register in this research, so the licence is recorded as claimed rather than independently confirmed.
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