2023 City Index Review • Pros, Cons & More • Benzinga

City Index Ratings at a Glance

Looking for a spread betting, CFD and forex broker? Benzinga has completed a City Index Review, one of the world leaders in spread betting and CFDs, to help you determine if it’s the choice for you.

If you’re interested in exploring the forex market in the UK further, we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive guide to help bring you up to speed and expand your understanding of this market.

Who’s City Index For?

Applications are considered from all countries, however, there are some restrictions in place depending on your region.

Traders in the U.K. that are interested in spread betting can use City Index and trade commission-free. They can use leverage for this product and take both short and long positions. U.K. and Australia can use leverage with negative balance protection to prevent balances from going negative. Currently, there is no U.K. capital gains tax or U.K. stamp duty for spread betting.

CFD traders can trade on options, indices, currencies, commodities and bonds are commission-free, and you have to pay commissions for CFDs on shares, which vary depending on the market you want to trade.

Forex traders can gain access to forex markets through spread betting, CFDs and foreign exchange spot transactions. The FX spot is available only through the MT4 platform.

Securities	Pricing and Fees	Margins
Indices	From 1 to 1.6 points, depending on the market (minimal spread, fixed)	5%
Shares	Spread each side (DFT) is 0.10%, for Apple and Amazon: $0.04	20%
Forex	Minimum spread is 0.5	From 3.33% to 5%
Bitcoin	From $40	From 50%
U.S. crude oil	0.4 points (around market)	10%
Gold	Minimum spread (around market spread) is 0.3 points	5%
Bonds	Minimum spread (fixed) from 0.02 to 0.03 points depending on the product	20%
Interest rates	Minimum spread (fixed) is 0.02 points	20%

The broker offers both fixed and variable spreads. Fixed spreads might be offered on certain instruments and in certain trading periods. They can widen in the less popular trading hours. City Index quotes the minimum spread plus the average spread for a historical period. Additional commissions and fees exist only for CFDs on equities and they vary for different markets.

You’ll have to pay financing costs on leveraged positions held overnight. For long positions in the U.K., U.S. and EU, financing costs are equal to 2.5%+ the London Inter-bank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. Australia’s calculation is related to the Reserve Bank Australia official cash rate (RBA OCR) and is 2.5% plus RBA OCR. You’ll pay LIBOR minus 2.5% or RBA OCR minus 2.5% for short positions.

There is also a monthly inactivity fee of £12 for trading accounts that are inactive for 12 months or more. City Index doesn’t make any charges for debit card, credit card deposits or transfers and the broker also doesn’t charge for money withdrawals.

City Index offers multiple ways to access their trading platform, including:

Web Trader
Mobile trading apps
AT Pro
MetaTrader 4

Web Trader: Based on HTML5 technology, allows you to configure and personalize multiple workspaces. You can also switch between workspaces with a single click. It’s possible to trade through charts and you can overlay multiple markets in a single chart. Web Trader supports custom indicators, a Reuters news feed and market analysis. It has a real-time margin calculator and it allows you to define stops and limits by points, profit or price.

Mobile trading app: City Index offers iOS and Android mobile apps. You can use them to create an order, make a personalized watchlist and analyze markets through a chart. Your position can be displayed on a chart, which can also display your orders and stop loss. Real-time Reuters news and a customizable economic calendar are also available.

AT Pro: A desktop application designed for advanced users. Its charts have more than 100 technical indicators. It’s possible to trade through charts, draw on them, use multiple charts and switch across timeframes. A technical analysis portal is also powered by Trading Central, which scans the market for trading opportunities. A fundamental analysis tool is also available.

MetaTrader 4: Can be used with City Index. You can trade over 80 forex pairs and access it on your mobile. FX spot is available only through the MT4, but you will have to pay higher spreads than for spread betting if you want to use MetaTrader 4 with the broker.

If you don’t know how these platforms compare to third-party platforms, we’ve also compiled a guide to help you understand and select the best options for you.

You can get a 90-day trial for FX Trader trading alerts from Faraday Research. After the trial, you can get the service with a 50 percent discount. Exchange data is fed into platforms and the broker doesn’t charge anything for the data.

The broker uses a secure funding portal for deposits and withdrawals. Trading platforms are also secure, as they are accessed via an https:// connection. You’ll also need a username and password to access platforms.

It holds client funds in segregated accounts and there is a deposit compensation scheme available in the U.K. – this applies to U.K. traders only.

City Index offers support for all of its services. You can contact the customer service personnel by phone or via chat. New clients get a welcome letter with key account information and an introduction to platforms to help you pick the best platform for your needs. Every change or update will be emailed to you by the support team.

If you’re based in the U.K., you can ask the sales team questions about opening an account on 0800 060 8609 or +44 203 194 1801 outside of the U.K.

You can contact the new accounts team on +44 (0)20 7107 7371 or via email: KYCTeam@cityindex.co.uk.

The tradable asset classes of City Index include:

Indices as spread betting and CFD Trading on 40 global Indices
Shares as spread betting and CFDs on over 4,700 global shares and IPO markets
Forex as spread betting and CFDs and as forex through MT4
Cryptocurrencies and CFDs in Australia and Singapore
Commodities as spread betting and CFDs for crude oil, natural gas and wheat
Metals as spread betting and CFDs (only available in the U.K.)
Bonds as spread betting and CFDs (only available in the U.K.)
Interest rates as spread betting and CFDs (only available in the U.K.)
Options spread betting and CFDs for U.K. 100, S&P 500, Germany 30 and forex

City Index specializes in spread trading and CFDs and it can offer competitive pricing for these products, especially with its fixed and variable rates. You can also use it to gain access to forex spot trading, but it can only be done through MT4 and the pricing seems a bit high.

The forex broker offers you adequate trade tools for market analysis and links to third-party research providers can help you in the decision-making process. You can get a demo account to test City Index’s products and to experience its customer support firsthand.

Frequently Asked Questions

City Index is a trading platform that has been operating for 38 years, has a global presence supported by its listed parent company, and is overseen by top financial regulatory bodies. It is considered a safe and reliable option for traders and investors.