Who is FinecoBank?
FinecoBank was founded in Italy in 1999 and launched in the UK in 2017, providing its customers with access to trading, banking and investment services from a single multicurrency account. It manages around £91bn of assets for 1.4m clients and in 2020, FinecoBank spent around 7m Euros on a marketing campaign with the aim of growing its services in the UK. FinecoBank - often shortened simply to Fineco - is one of a number of specialist low-cost share-dealing platforms available to UK investors and in this review, we take a closer look at the products it offers, how much it costs and how it compares to the likes of iWeb, Hargreaves Lansdown* and Freetrade.
FinecoBank key features
FinecoBank has a wide-ranging offering giving its customers access to:
- UK, US and EUR shares and ETFs
- CFD trading
- Forex trading
- Funds
- Bonds
- Options
- Stocks and Shares ISA
- Free banking
- Free online currency exchange
How does FinecoBank work?
Customers can open an account with FinecoBank in approximately 15 minutes by completing a few details online. Customers will need to provide their full name, email address, telephone number and select whether they want a single or joint account.
Customers are then required to provide their date of birth, place of birth, full UK address and tax residence. Applicants will then need to confirm whether or not they have any other tax residencies as well as providing a national insurance number and details from an official document such as a driving licence or passport.
Once completed, FinecoBank will send applicants a text with the account opening password. The account opening password enables new customers to digitally sign the account opening contract and it can also be used to recover and complete any saved application forms.
FinecoBank share dealing review
FinecoBank's online share dealing platform allows investors to trade a number of stocks, ETFs and bonds from as little as £2.95 per trade. Additionally, investors can gain access to thousands of CFDs, options, commodities and futures. Fineco allows customers to invest with leverage, a way of investing that allows users to effectively borrow money with the aim of amplifying investment returns. Leveraging can significantly increase the risk of losing money, a point that is made clear on FinecoBank's own website "CFDs are complex instruments and present a significant risk of losing money quickly due to financial leverage. 63.28% of retail investor accounts lose money due to CFD trading with FinecoBank".
FinecoBank share dealing costs
| Stock Markets | Commission |
| UK | £2.95 per trade |
| USA | $3.95 per trade |
| GER, ITA, FRA | €3.95 per trade |
| CAN TSX | C$10.00 per trade |
| SPAIN | 0.19% fee (minimum fee of €14.95) |
| SWITZERLAND | 0.19% fee (minimum fee of CHF24) |
| FINLAND | €9.00 per trade plus 0.19% fee (minimum fee of €2.95 - maximum fee of €19.00) |
FinecoBank Stocks and Shares ISA review
Customers can invest up to £20,000 in a FinecoBank Stocks and Shares ISA each tax year, allowing them to invest in a variety of funds, UK equities, bonds and exchange traded funds (ETFs).There is a maximum charge of 0.25% and there is a cap of £2.95 per month for assets held in either shares, ETFs or bonds. We explain the costs in more detail below.
FinecoBank Stocks and Shares ISA costs
| Fee type | Commission |
| Funds - Annual Stocks and Shares ISA platform fee | 0.25% - £100 and £250,000
0.15% - £250,001 and £1m 0.05% - £1m and £2m Free - Anything over £2m |
| Funds - Dealing | FREE |
| Funds - Transfer out | £0.00 |
| Shares, ETFs and Bonds - Annual Stocks and Shares ISA platform fee | 0.25% (Max £2.95 per month) |
| Shares, ETFs and Bonds - Dealing | As per above tables |
| Shares, ETFs and Bonds - Transfer out | £0.00 |
The funds platform fee is calculated and paid monthly. The monthly fee is calculated based on the total value of the portfolio in funds on the last day of each month. The shares, ETFs & bonds platform fee will be calculated and paid monthly. The monthly fee is calculated based on the value of your portfolio in listed products on the last day of each month. It is debited from the account within the first three working days of the following month.
FinecoBank banking services review
FinecoBank provides free online banking for its customers automatically and the account includes a free contactless debit card, sent in the post when you sign up. A FinecoBank account is required in order to invest via Fineco. Customers can use their Fineco account to convert money into multiple currencies in real-time without paying expensive currency conversion fees. Additionally, customers can set budgets and track their spending using the 'MoneyMap' feature on the FinecoBank mobile app. Perhaps the best thing of all about Fineco is the ability to bank, trade and invest, all from one single multi-currency account.
FinecoBank banking costs
| Service | Fee |
| Contactless debit card | FREE |
| UK ATM withdrawals and payments | FREE |
| EU ATM withdrawals and payments | FREE |
| UK bank transfers | FREE |
| SEPA bank transfers | FREE |
| EUR SEPA direct debit | FREE |
| Budget tracker | FREE |
| Online currency exchange | FREE (Spread is applied) |
FinecoBank fees and charges
It is free to bank with Fineco and it doesn't charge any monthly account fees or exit fees. It charges a platform fee of up to 0.25% for its Stocks and Shares ISA and £2.95 per UK trade ($3.95 for US shares), making it one of the cheapest online platforms for share dealing. Below, we list all other fees charged by FinecoBank.
CFDs (Shares) costs
| Shares CFDs | Commission |
| UK CFDs (Shares) | £0.00 with no added spread |
| USA CFDs (Shares) | £0.00 with no added spread |
| EUR CFDs (Shares) | £0.00 with no added spread |
CFDs (Indices) costs
| Indices CFDs | Commission |
| FTSE100 | 0.6 pips |
| Germany30 | 0.6 pips |
| NASDAQ | 0.6 pips |
| S&P 500 | 0.4 pips |
| Dow Jones | 1.0 pips |
CFDs (FX) costs
| FX CFDs | Commission |
| EUR/USD | 0.8 pips |
| GBP/USD | 1.0 pips |
| EUR/GBP | 1.0 pips |
CFDs (Commodities & Futures) costs
| Commodities & Futures CFDs | Commission |
| Light Crude Oil | 0.32 pips |
| Gold | 5.85 points |
Options costs
| Option type | Up to $499 | $500 - $9,999 | $10,000 + |
| S&P, DJ, Nasdaq, Russell, VIX | $3.95 per lot | $2.95 per lot | $1.95 per lot |
Bond costs
| Bond type | Commission |
| Euronext, MOT, EuroMOT, Hi-MTF, EuroTLX | £6.95 per order |
FinecoBank Pros and Cons
Pros
- Low commission and trading fees
- No minimum deposit
- Mobile app available
- Multi-currency banking without paying expensive currency conversion fees
Cons
- Can only deposit money by bank transfer
- Verification process can be complex
- Lack of educational tools
FinecoBank customer reviews
FinecoBank is rated as 'Great' on independent review site Trustpilot with an average score of 4.0 out of 5.0 from almost 500 customer reviews. Its app is rated 3.9 out of 5.0 on Google Play and 4.5 out of 5.0 on the Apple App store. Many of the positive reviews cite friendly and helpful customer service and many mention the low dealing fees. Of the negative reviews, some customers find the account opening process complex and question why there are so many codes, pins and passwords in order to finalise the account opening process.
Is FinecoBank safe?
While it is relatively new to the UK market, FinecoBank is well established, having been founded in Italy over 20 years ago. FinecoBank operates as a commercial bank within the UK and so is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Customers are also covered up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
FinecoBank alternatives
Below, we take a look at some popular alternative share dealing platforms and apps and see how they compare to FinecoBank.
FinecoBank vs Hargreaves Lansdown
FinecoBank is cheaper than Hargreaves Lansdown*, both in terms of how much it charges for share dealing and its annual platform fee. Where Hargreaves Lansdown does excel, however, is the number of products it offers, allowing its customers to invest in a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), Lifetime ISA and Cash ISA, in addition to its general investing account and Stocks and Shares ISA. Hargreaves Lansdown also offers an 'Active Savings' account which allows customers to easily switch between the competitive savings accounts in the UK, all from a single online account. Hargreaves Lansdown provides a number of online guides and tools that can give investors the courage to build a well-balanced and diversified portfolio; something that is lacking with FinecoBank. Fineco provides the cheapest option for experienced investors who are not interested in other investment products such as a SIPP or Lifetime ISA. Those wanting a better product selection and those who may need a little guidance may be better paying slightly more and opting for Hargreaves Lansdown. If you are looking for CFD trading then Hargreaves Lansdown does not currently offer it to new customers.
FinecoBank vs iWeb
FinecoBank provides banking services to its customers whereas iWeb customers can only use its platform to invest in either a Stocks and Shares ISA, Share dealing account or Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). It is free to open an account with FinecoBank, whereas iWeb charges new account holders £100 to open an account. However, it's currently free to open an account with iWeb as the company is running a special offer.
iWeb does not charge an annual platform fee, whereas FinecoBank charges investors up to 0.25% and share dealing is cheaper via FinecoBank. Both platforms offer a similar type of hands-off investing solution and so for most investors it is likely to come down to cost. We have therefore provided a simple cost comparison table below where we compare the main fees and charges of each platform side by side. iWeb does not offer CFD trading.
FinecoBank vs iWeb cost comparison
| FinecoBank | iWeb | |
| Account opening fee | £0.00 | £100 |
| Annual Platform Fee | 0.25% | No charge |
| Fund switches | FREE | £5 per trade |
| Share dealing | £2.95, $3.95 or €3.95 per trade | £5 per trade |
| Mobile app | YES | NO |
| Exit fee | £0.00 | £0.00 |
FinecoBank vs FreeTrade
Freetrade is a low-cost share-dealing app that allows investors to trade stocks and shares on the go. It is free to open an account with Freetrade and investors can start from as little as £1. Perhaps its biggest draw is that investors can trade commission-free, compared to a minimum of £2.95 per trade with FinecoBank. FinecoBank charges an annual platform fee of 0.25% for its Stocks and Shares ISA, whereas Freetrade charges a flat fee of £3 per month. Additionally, Freetrade allows investors to contribute to a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and new users can get a FREE SHARE worth up to £200 via this offer*.
FinecoBank Summary
FeinecoBank is likely to suit experienced investors that may benefit from combining their trading, investing and bank accounts into one simple online platform or mobile app. The products that FinecoBank offers are a little limited and particularly surprising is the omission of a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). It offers a cheap and simple way to trade shares and invest, however, it is worth remembering that there are cheaper ways for investors to buy and sell shares. Those solely interested in share dealing may want to look at specialist share dealing apps such as Freetrade as it offers commission-free trading in addition to a free share worth up to £200 for new customers. Another alternative is Dodl, a simplified investing app from AJ Bell that combines commission-free trading with low cost investing. Those new to investing may be better avoiding share-dealing apps altogether and looking at well-established platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell as they provide invaluable resources for beginner investors including interactive tools, calculators and best-buy guides.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses or take advantage of any exclusive offers - Freetrade, Hargreaves Lansdown