Finspreads Review South Africa – Unbiased Pros & Cons Revealed ( 2025 )

WHAT IS FINSPREADS?

According to research in South Africa, Finspreads is a UK-based company that is a part of GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. and has a history that goes as far back as 1999. It was created by Sporting Index and then sold to IFX Group.

In 2006, IFX Markets was purchased by City Index and Finspreads was then brought under their control. Both City Index and Finspreads is owned by City Index Holdings Limited.

Finspreads is a spread betting firm which allows for the speculation on price movements in not just one, but several markets which include Forex, shares, indices and crude oil.

Its main offering consists of spread betting activity which means potential trades without fees. Spread betting is, unfortunately, only available to UK clients and residents.

The parent company has built up a global reputation and has received global recognition in the past two decades of its operation, meaning that through this Finspreads is a company that is safe and reputable, along with being strictly regulated.

SAFE OR SCAM?

Not only is Finspreads a trusted financial provider, it also falls under FCA regulations which are some of the strictest and most demanding.

Gain Capital as the parent company holds regulations globally such as IIROC in Canada, CFTC in USA, MAS in Singapore, ASIC in Australia and JFSA in Japan, to only name a few.

Finspreads is a brokerage firm that can be trusted. In addition to following international rules, it provides excellent service and it has a global presence as a reputable firm.

Finspreads provides customers not only with data protection, but also fund safety as client funds are kept in segregated accounts with top tier banks. Finspreads also provides executions that are secure.

Finspreads is also a member of the FSCS compensation fund which pays out a certain amount to eligible clients in the unlikely case that the company becomes insolvent.

FINSPREADS REVIEW OF PRO AND CONS

LEVERAGE

Finspreads’ products are offered as products that are marginalized. With a small deposit, traders have greater exposure to markets and between 1% to 10% of the trader’s total position is required to place an order. This is made possible through leveraged positions.

All levels are strictly regulated by authorizing entities due to the substantial risks that are involved. Traders could have great gains but are also faced with the risk of losses that may exceed their initial deposit.

Authorities such as the FCA have therefore updated their regulations to allow a maximum leverage level of 1:30, although Finspreads offers a maximum of 1:100. This will depend on the area of jurisdiction as well as the instrument and the type of account.

Seeing that Finspreads predominantly works with margins and provides traders with low margins, traders need to be aware that low margins have the same effect as higher levels of leverage.

They provide the possibility of great gains, but also have the risk of great losses. The lower the margins, the higher the chance of gains, but also losses.

ACCOUNTS

Finspreads offers traders a choice between three different spread betting accounts. Each account is tailored to traders of varying levels of experience along with various needs.

Each account has their own trading style, risk persona and level of expertise and through this, Finspreads ensures that it caters for professional traders along with traders who are still learning the ins and outs of trading.

Beginners Account

This account is perfect for traders who are just beginning and who would like to learn more about spread betting as opposed to traditional trading.

The beginner account offers the following:

• Stake size that starts at 10p which is the smallest minimum stake size which is available to spread betters
• Access to take a position across major financial instruments
• A range of markets
• Trading with reduced risk which allows beginners to attach a Guaranteed Stop Loss Order, or GSLO, to their trade, allowing traders to manage their own risk
• Access to a range of trading platforms

Standard Account

The standard account is tailored for traders who are more advanced and allows them access to thousands of global markets over several professional spread betting platforms.

Features of this account include:

• A stake size of 50p
• Access to a range of markets
• Access to a range of trading platforms
• Trading through the utilization of a GSLO

Limited Risk Account

This account has the same features as the standard account, but it has added protection which prevents traders from losing more than the funds that they have in their account.

Traders who use this account automatically have a GSLO attached to all trades that are made. Regardless of the volatility of the markets, traders have the knowledge that they are protected to the maximum.

As with the Standard Account, traders have the benefit of a minimum stake of 50p and with this they still have access to the same markets and trading platforms as the Standard Account holders.

MARKET INSTRUMENTS

Finspreads offers traders the opportunity to trade in the following:

• Forex
• Metals
• Commodities
• Shares
• Indices, and
• Day Trades

Forex

Finspreads offers traders the opportunity to trade major currencies such as EUR/USD DFT, AUD/USD DFT, USD/JPY DFT and many more with spreads that start from only 0.5pts.

The prices on Forex are influenced by several factors such as both political and economical stability, monetary policy, currency interventions and natural disasters.

Trading Forex with Finspreads has the benefit that traders have access to the lowest possible spreads at any given time during the day. In addition to tight spreads, traders also have the benefits pertaining to:

• Forex is cheaper to trade around key economic events, and
• Finspreads makes use of price improvement technology such as managing slippage

Metals

Finspreads offers traders the opportunity to trade in metals such as Gold, Silver, Copper Futures, Palladium and Platinum with spreads that start from 0.4 at a 0.50% margin.

Commodities

Using a Finspread’s trading account, one can trade in commodity markets such as UK and US crude oil, cocoa, coffee, sugar, wheat and soybeans. Spreads start from 4 points with a margin of 1%.

Shares

With a Finspreads Standard and Limited account, traders can trade in shares from the UK, EU, US and Asia with both low spreads and low margins.

Indices

With a Finspreads account, traders have access to several indices and spread betting can start from 1 point on major indices such as the UK 100, Wall Street, Australia 200, and more.

Day Trades

Traders who either have a Standard or Limited Risk Account have access to day trades which is the perfect way to start trading shares. This instrument has low spreads and margins without an overnight risk as each trade closes at 4h30 pm at the UK Market.

Shares which are available to trade as Day Trades include (but is not limited to):

• Anglo American
• Barclays UK
• BHP Billiton (LSE)
• Tesco, and more

FEES

Seeing that Finspreads offers spread betting, traders have access to tight spreads and low margins.

• Forex – spreads start from 0.5pts
• Metals – start from 0.4 points and a 0.50% margin and depends on the type of metal
• Commodities – start from 4 points and a 1.00% margin and depends on the type of commodities
• Shares – start from 0.2% around market and margins start from 4% and depends on the shares
• Indices – Start from 0.4pts and all have a margin of 0.50%

Finspreads also has the following costs which are determined by the product the trader uses:

• Overnight fee on cash – There is a fee charged by Finspreads should a position be held overnight and the longer the position is held, the more it will cost.
• Currency conversions – should there be any cash, realised profit and/or losses along with adjustments, fees and charges that are in a different currency than the trader’s base currency of their account, the conversion will be made using standard rates.
• Distributor fee on cash and futures – Finspreads may share a certain portion of either the spread, commissions or other account fees with other persons (distributors).
• Rollover costs (futures only) – this is charged into the next month or quarter and is equal to half of the spread applicable involved with opening or closing a trade.
• Commission charge on equities – there is a small fee which is charged every time a SB is opened or closed on an equity.

In addition, Finspreads also charges an inactivity fee on trader accounts that have been inactive for a period of 12 months or more. There is a monthly activity fee of £25 or an equivalent amount to the trader’s cash balance should it be less than £25.

Although there are no charges on deposits made into the trader’s account applicable to payment options, there is however a 1.5% processing fee when using a credit card to make a deposit.

DEPOSIT AND WITHDRAWAL

Deposits into a Finspreads trading account can either be made using a Credit/Debit card or Direct Bank Transfer.

The following Debit/Credit cards are accepted:

• Debit Cards – Visa, MasterCard, Electron and Maestro
• Credit Cards – Visa and MasterCard

Traders can register and use up to only three cards at any time on their account.

When using direct bank transfers, traders need to note that third-party payments are not allowed and will therefore be rejected and returned to the source from which the payment was made.

The minimum initial deposit required per account is:

• £50 on a Beginner Account
• £100 on a Standard Account, and
• £100 on a Limited Risk Account

Withdrawals can be made by visiting the account section on the trader’s account to withdraw funds from the account. Traders need to take note that the same method with which funds were deposited will have to be used when withdrawing funds.

When withdrawing funds, there is a minimum amount of £50, a currency equivalent or the remaining account balance (whichever is the least amount not lower than £50 or currency equivalent).

The maximum withdrawal amount in a single transaction is £20,000 or currency equivalent. Although there is no restriction on amounts withdrawn in a single day, there may be internal processes involved with regards to withdrawals.

Should traders wish to withdraw amounts that exceed the maximum amount, they will need to contact the Client Management team.

TRADING PLATFORMS

Finspreads offers traders the opportunity to use either Advantage Web or the Finspreads mobile app to use when trading.

Advantage Web

Advantage Web is an online trading platform that is not only highly customisable, but also offers a variety of both sophisticated and intuitive trading tools.

Although this is a browser-based platform, it comes with an array of benefits such as:

• Trading which can occur 24/7 across thousands of markets dedicated to spread betting
• Two charting packages that are not only advanced, but offer multiple technical indicators
• Deal-through charts
• Access to a margin calculator
• Dealing that can occur in one click
• An interface which is fully customisable
• Technology dedicated to price improvement
• Pricing which is transparent

Finspreads’ Mobile Applications

With the Finspreads mobile app, traders have access to their spread betting account at anytime from anywhere, in a secure manner. Features of the Finspreads mobile app include (but are not limited to):

• Instant execution paired with firm prices
• 24-hour trading that can occur on thousands of global markets
• Full range of order types
• Trading alerts
• Full screen charts that include drawing tools
• Orders which are pending, completed and cancelled can be viewed
• Stop and limit orders can be set
• Open and close positions, and many more

The Finspreads apps are free to download on:

• iPhone and iPad from the Apple Store
• Android phones and tablets from the Google Play Store

HOW TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT

The Finspreads review is simple and easy.

Applying for a Finspreads account is a quick, hassle-free online process that entails filling in an online application with required information and submitting the required documentation pertaining to proof of ID and proof of residence.

Once the application has been completed, the applicant will receive a confirmation email which will contain the log in details for the new account. Once the account has been accessed, funds can be deposited.

As soon as the account has been funded, trading can commence.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Finspreads can be contacted either telephonically or via email. Alternatively, clients can also use the Live Chat function which is available in all areas of the website.

There is also an extensive FAQ section covering a variety of topics.

EDUCATION

Finspreads makes provision for a vast amount of educational tools that can be used by beginners who are new to spread betting and the trading industry but can also be used by traders who are more advanced as a point of reference.

Finspreads offers extensive explanations on topics such as:

• Understanding the markets
• Managing your risk
• Trading psychology
• What sort of trader are you?
• Fundamental and technical analysis
• Spread betting tips

Unfortunately, Finspreads does not offer a demo account which is one of the most crucial educational tools for beginners to provide them with a hands-on experience in the world of trading in a risk free environment.

RESEARCH

The research tools that Finspreads provides is both an economic calendar and a section on market news. Other research tools will have to be accessed through the trading platforms.

AWARDS

There are no awards which have been won by Finspreads indicated on the website.

CONCLUSION

Finspreads is a reputable and trustworthy broker, not only due to their being part of GAIN Capital, but also due to their being strictly authorized and regulated by the FCA.

When it comes to spread betting, Finspreads offers comprehensive and competitive pricing, spreads, low margins, a variety of markets along with a reliable, advanced and user-friendly trading platforms in addition to its own Finspreads mobile applications.

Finspreads’ offering is suitable not only for advanced traders, but also especially for beginner traders in that there is a specific beginner account available.

DISCLAIMER

The trading of financial instruments involves a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all traders. Traders need to evaluate their objectives, exposure to risk and willingness to be exposed to risk before considering investments.

The products and services provided by Finspreads is for information purposes only and should not be considered as encouragement or recommendation towards investment. Finspreads can therefor not be held liable for any damage or loss.

Losses incurred by traders have a high risk of exceeding the initial deposit and should traders deem it necessary, they can seek independent professional advice at any time before they invest in financial instruments, according to research in South Africa.