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Is Capital.com Legit?

Quick answer

Yes. Capital.com is a legitimate broker regulated by the FCA (UK regulator, licence 793714), CySEC (EU, licence 319/17), and ASIC (Australia, AFSL 513393). UK clients get FSCS (UK investor protection scheme) cover up to £85,000. I opened a live funded account and tested withdrawals in 2026; they cleared in 1-3 business days. No enforcement actions appear on any regulator register. Capital.com is not a scam.

Is Capital.com Legitimate and Regulated?

Is capital.com legit? The answer is yes.

Capital.com is a legitimate CFD (Contract for Difference, a leveraged product that tracks asset prices without requiring you to own the underlying asset) broker founded in 2016, headquartered in London. I opened a live funded account and tested withdrawals in 2026.

Three major regulators authorise the broker’s core entities:

  • FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, the UK financial regulator): Capital Com (UK) Ltd, licence 793714, authorised since 2018
  • CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the EU regulator): Capital Com SV Investments Ltd, licence 319/17, authorised since 2017
  • ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission): Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd, AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 513393, authorised since 2020

Capital.com also runs offshore entities in Seychelles, regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, licence SD153), and the Bahamas, regulated by the SCB (Securities Commission of the Bahamas, licence SIA-F138). These serve clients in markets outside the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC catchment zones.

I cross-checked all six licences against the relevant public registers in June 2026. All six are active. No enforcement notices appear on the FCA, CySEC, or ASIC registers for any Capital.com entity.

Client fund protection varies by the entity that holds your account:

  • UK (FCA entity): FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme, UK investor protection) cover up to £85,000 per claimant in the event of insolvency
  • EU (CySEC entity): ICF (Investor Compensation Fund, Cyprus retail protection) cover up to €20,000 per retail client
  • Australia (ASIC entity): AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority) external dispute resolution
  • Seychelles and Bahamas entities: segregated (held separately from the broker’s own money) funds only, no statutory compensation scheme

Negative balance protection applies on the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC entities. Your account balance cannot fall below zero on any of those three.

⚠️ One risk worth naming before you fund: Capital.com’s own published disclosure states that 77.86% of retail CFD accounts lose money on this broker. This matches the typical retail CFD industry range and is a product risk, not a legitimacy concern. The broker’s free Investmate academy is worth completing before you deposit.

My withdrawal test in 2026 found card withdrawals cleared in 1-3 business days. UK Faster Payments (the UK’s instant bank-to-bank transfer service) arrivals were same-day inside business hours.

For a full breakdown of spreads, platforms, and account types, see the Capital.com review.

Key facts

DetailCapital.com
RegulationFCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSA (Seychelles), SCB (Bahamas), NBRB (National Bank of the Republic of Belarus)
FCA licence793714
CySEC licence319/17
ASIC licenceAFSL 513393
Deposit protectionFSCS £85,000 (UK); ICF €20,000 (EU)
Founded2016
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom

Should you trade with Capital.com?

Capital.com suits traders who want three-jurisdiction regulatory backing, a low entry barrier, and a well-reviewed mobile app. The $20 minimum deposit and free Investmate academy make it one of the lower-barrier entry points in the regulated CFD broker space.

The platform limitation is real: MetaTrader 5 and cTrader (a professional trading platform popular with experienced active traders) are not available. Traders who depend on those platforms should consider IC Markets or FP Markets instead.

US, Canadian, and Japanese residents cannot open an account. Outside those three restricted regions, Capital.com covers the UK, EU, Australia, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, and Southeast Asia.

Before funding: open the free demo account first. Capital.com gives you $10,000 in virtual funds at no cost. Confirm which entity will hold your account before depositing.

The FCA and CySEC entities carry the strongest statutory protection. For a broader view of regulated options, see the best regulated forex brokers guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which Capital.com entity will hold my account?

It depends on your country. UK residents are placed on Capital Com (UK) Ltd, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK)-regulated entity. EU residents typically land on Capital Com SV Investments Ltd, regulated by CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) in Cyprus. Australian residents use Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd, regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission). Traders outside these jurisdictions, including much of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and Southeast Asia, are routed to the Seychelles FSA (Financial Services Authority) or Bahamas SCB (Securities Commission of the Bahamas) entities. The entity on your contract determines which compensation scheme applies to your funds.

Does Capital.com protect client funds?

Yes. Client funds are held in segregated bank accounts (held separately from the broker's own money), across all six entities. UK clients on the FCA entity have FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme, UK investor protection fund) cover up to £85,000 in the event of insolvency. EU clients on the CySEC entity have ICF (Investor Compensation Fund, Cyprus retail protection) cover up to €20,000 per retail client. Australian clients have access to AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority) external dispute resolution. Clients on the offshore Seychelles and Bahamas entities receive fund segregation but no statutory compensation scheme.

Is Capital.com a scam?

No. Capital.com is a legitimate broker founded in 2016, regulated by the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC. I found no enforcement actions on any of the three major regulator registers as of June 2026. Trustpilot shows 4.4 out of 5 across roughly 10,500 reviews, with consistent positive feedback on withdrawal speed and customer service. The honest caveat: 77.86% of retail CFD (Contract for Difference) accounts on Capital.com lose money, per the broker's own published risk disclosure. That is a product risk, not a scam signal.

What is the minimum deposit for Capital.com?

The Standard account opens at $20 via debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Bank wire requires a $250 minimum because of cross-border processing costs. There is no account opening fee and no inactivity fee for the first three months. In my testing, withdrawals cleared in 1-3 business days on the card route.

Is Capital.com available in the USA?

No. US residents cannot open a Capital.com account. The broker does not hold a US derivatives licence with the NFA (National Futures Association) or CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). US-regulated alternatives include forex.com, OANDA, and tastyfx, all of which are authorised to serve US retail forex clients.