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Broker 2

VS field	City Index cityindex.com Forex BrokerMulti Asset BrokerStock CFD	IC Markets icmarkets.com Forex BrokerMulti Asset BrokerStock CFD
Decision summary
Overall score

Trust score	86	99

Cost score	82	85

Platform score	94	94

Withdrawal score	89	86

Best for	UK spread betting · CFD trading · forex trading	Experienced forex/CFD traders · Scalpers, day traders and algorithmic traders comfortable with high-risk leveraged products · Users who specifically need MT4/MT5, cTrader or Tradi…

Watch out	Needs verification	Long-term investors seeking physical stocks/ETFs · Beginners who need strong statutory investor compensation or negative balance protection · Residents of restricted countries or…

Trust & regulation
Regulators	StoneX Financial Ltd is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Source	Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA) Source
License numbers	FCA Register Number: 446717 Source	Securities Dealer license number SD018 Source
Regulated entities	City Index is a trading name/trademark of StoneX Financial Ltd. Source	Raw Trading Ltd, registered in Seychelles (registration number 8419879-1), regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with Securities Dealer license SD018. Source
Negative balance protection	City Index advertises negative balance protection, with regional/classification caveats. Source	No negative balance protection found for the reviewed global entity; IC says clients bear negative consequences and are responsible for any negative balance. Source
Investor compensation	FSCS member; up to £120,000 according to City Index UK. Source	Client funds insurance up to US$1,000,000; no statutory investor compensation scheme found in reviewed official sources. Source
Restricted countries	No explicit restricted-country list found; general jurisdictional restriction disclosed. Source	Raw Trading Ltd does not provide services to residents of the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Iran, North Korea (DPRK), or countries where distribution/use would be contrary to local law or regulation. Source

Trust & regulation

Regulators

StoneX Financial Ltd is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

Source

Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA)

Source

License numbers

FCA Register Number: 446717

Source

Securities Dealer license number SD018

Source

Regulated entities

City Index is a trading name/trademark of StoneX Financial Ltd.

Source

Raw Trading Ltd, registered in Seychelles (registration number 8419879-1), regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with Securities Dealer license SD018.

Source

Negative balance protection

City Index advertises negative balance protection, with regional/classification caveats.

Source

No negative balance protection found for the reviewed global entity; IC says clients bear negative consequences and are responsible for any negative balance.

Source

Investor compensation

FSCS member; up to £120,000 according to City Index UK.

Source

Client funds insurance up to US$1,000,000; no statutory investor compensation scheme found in reviewed official sources.

Source

Restricted countries

No explicit restricted-country list found; general jurisdictional restriction disclosed.

Source

Raw Trading Ltd does not provide services to residents of the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Iran, North Korea (DPRK), or countries where distribution/use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

Source

Costs & account conditions
Minimum deposit	No minimum to open CFD/spread-bet accounts; card funding minimum 100 base-currency units; bank wire no minimum; MT4 page/search snippet says £100 to start trading. Source	No minimum deposit requirement disclosed for opening a trading account. Source
Spread from	Representative spreads vary by market/product: forex from 0.5 pts, indices from 0.4, US crude 0.4 points, gold 0.3 points. Source	Spreads from 0.0 pips on MetaTrader/cTrader Raw Spread platforms; Standard account spread starts from 0.8 pip. Source
Commission	No spread-bet commission; CFD commission only on shares with stated regional minimums. Source	Standard: no commission, 0.8 pip markup. Raw Spread MetaTrader: USD $3.50 per lot per side / $7 round turn. cTrader/TradingView: USD $3 per $100,000 traded per side. Source
Maximum leverage	Retail margin from 3.33% on major FX (about 30:1 equivalent); varies by product/client/entity. Source	IC offers flexible leverage from 1:1 to 1:5000; leverage is dynamic and may change at any time. Source
Deposit fee	City Index deposit methods listed as free, subject to card issuer charges. Source	IC does not charge additional deposit fees; bank/intermediary fees may apply. Source
Withdrawal fee	Withdrawals are free of charge. Source	IC does not charge additional withdrawal fees, but third-party/intermediary/bank fees can apply; one Help Centre example mentions 20 AUD bank fee for some bankwire paths. Source
Inactivity fee	Monthly inactivity fee: £12 after 12+ months of inactivity, with equivalent fees for non-GBP accounts. Source	No account inactivity fees. Source

Costs & account conditions

Minimum deposit

No minimum to open CFD/spread-bet accounts; card funding minimum 100 base-currency units; bank wire no minimum; MT4 page/search snippet says £100 to start trading.

Source

No minimum deposit requirement disclosed for opening a trading account.

Source

Spread from

Representative spreads vary by market/product: forex from 0.5 pts, indices from 0.4, US crude 0.4 points, gold 0.3 points.

Source

Spreads from 0.0 pips on MetaTrader/cTrader Raw Spread platforms; Standard account spread starts from 0.8 pip.

Source

Commission

No spread-bet commission; CFD commission only on shares with stated regional minimums.

Source

Standard: no commission, 0.8 pip markup. Raw Spread MetaTrader: USD $3.50 per lot per side / $7 round turn. cTrader/TradingView: USD $3 per $100,000 traded per side.

Source

Maximum leverage

Retail margin from 3.33% on major FX (about 30:1 equivalent); varies by product/client/entity.

Source

IC offers flexible leverage from 1:1 to 1:5000; leverage is dynamic and may change at any time.

Source

Deposit fee

City Index deposit methods listed as free, subject to card issuer charges.

Source

IC does not charge additional deposit fees; bank/intermediary fees may apply.

Source

Withdrawal fee

Withdrawals are free of charge.

Source

IC does not charge additional withdrawal fees, but third-party/intermediary/bank fees can apply; one Help Centre example mentions 20 AUD bank fee for some bankwire paths.

Source

Inactivity fee

Monthly inactivity fee: £12 after 12+ months of inactivity, with equivalent fees for non-GBP accounts.

Source

No account inactivity fees.

Source

Markets, platforms & payments
Tradable assets	Spread bet and trade CFDs across indices, shares, forex, commodities and other markets; pricing page lists metals, bonds, interest rates and options/futures references. Source	Forex CFDs, Indices CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Bonds CFDs, Cryptocurrency CFDs, Futures CFDs. Source
Trading platforms	Web Trader, mobile app, TradingView and MT4. Source	MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4, cTrader, TradingView, MetaTrader WebTrader/cTrader Web and social/copy tools IC Social, Signal Start, ZuluTrade. Source
Account types	Standard, MT4 and Corporate accounts; demo offered with virtual funds. Source	Official pages list Standard, Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread and Swap Free; account overview also shows Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ entries. Source
Deposit methods	Debit/credit cards and bank transfer. Source	Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay, wire transfer, Bpay, broker-to-broker, POLI, Thai Internet Banking, Rapidpay, Klarna, Vietnamese Internet Banking, cryptocurrency. Source
Withdrawal methods	Withdrawals return to original funding sources; card/bank supported; PayPal legacy withdrawals only. Source	Withdrawal methods depend on original deposit method; examples include Visa/Mastercard/card routes, bank wire, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal. Source
Withdrawal processing time	Cards 3–5 working days; domestic bank transfers normally 1–2 working days. Source	Same-business-day processing cutoff before 12:00 AEST/AEDT; after processing allow at least 3 business days depending on method. Source

Markets, platforms & payments

Tradable assets

Spread bet and trade CFDs across indices, shares, forex, commodities and other markets; pricing page lists metals, bonds, interest rates and options/futures references.

Source

Forex CFDs, Indices CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Bonds CFDs, Cryptocurrency CFDs, Futures CFDs.

Source

Trading platforms

Web Trader, mobile app, TradingView and MT4.

Source

MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4, cTrader, TradingView, MetaTrader WebTrader/cTrader Web and social/copy tools IC Social, Signal Start, ZuluTrade.

Source

Account types

Standard, MT4 and Corporate accounts; demo offered with virtual funds.

Source

Official pages list Standard, Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread and Swap Free; account overview also shows Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ entries.

Source

Deposit methods

Debit/credit cards and bank transfer.

Source

Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay, wire transfer, Bpay, broker-to-broker, POLI, Thai Internet Banking, Rapidpay, Klarna, Vietnamese Internet Banking, cryptocurrency.

Source

Withdrawal methods

Withdrawals return to original funding sources; card/bank supported; PayPal legacy withdrawals only.

Source

Withdrawal methods depend on original deposit method; examples include Visa/Mastercard/card routes, bank wire, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal.

Source

Withdrawal processing time

Cards 3–5 working days; domestic bank transfers normally 1–2 working days.

Source

Same-business-day processing cutoff before 12:00 AEST/AEDT; after processing allow at least 3 business days depending on method.

Source

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