Is City Index Legit?
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City Index
- Best for UK spread betting
- Best for Experienced CFD traders
- Best for Share CFD breadth
- Min deposit
- $250
- Spread from
- 0.5 pips
- Max leverage
- 1:200
- Regulation
- FCA · ASIC
Quick answer
Yes, City Index is a legitimate broker. FCA license FRN 113942 has been held since 1983, backed by ASIC AFSL 345646 and MAS CMS 200511. Parent company StoneX Group Inc. is NASDAQ-listed and files quarterly SEC reports. UK retail clients get FSCS protection up to £85,000. No enforcement action is on file. City Index is not a scam.
Is City Index Legit and Regulated?
Is City Index legit? I opened a live funded account and ran withdrawal and spread tests in 2026 to find out.
The answer is yes, and the evidence is publicly verifiable.
City Index holds active licences from three major financial regulators:
- FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority), firm reference 113942, held continuously since 1983
- ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 345646
- MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore), Capital Markets Services licence CMS 200511
The FCA licence at FRN 113942 dates back over 40 years. That is one of the longest unbroken FCA tenures of any CFD broker I reviewed in 2026.
The parent company is the clearest legitimacy signal. StoneX Group Inc.
is listed on NASDAQ under ticker SNEX and files quarterly 10-Q reports with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
StoneX discloses over $14 billion in consolidated client assets. No offshore or unregulated operation can credibly claim a NASDAQ listing with public SEC filings.
I cross-checked all three licences against public registers: the FCA Financial Services Register, ASIC ConnectOnline, and the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. All three were active and unrestricted as of June 2026.
No enforcement action has been filed against any City Index entity during the StoneX ownership period, which began with the 2020 acquisition of GAIN Capital.
⚠️ The one real risk at City Index is leverage, not legitimacy. 78% of retail CFD (contract for difference) accounts lose money, per City Index’s own FCA-mandated disclosure: a regulatory requirement, not a scam signal.
City Index is not a scam. It is a 43-year-old regulated broker under a publicly traded parent, with verifiable licences and no material enforcement history.
How to verify City Index’s legitimacy yourself
You do not have to take my word for it. Three checks take under five minutes:
- Search FRN 113942 on the FCA Financial Services Register at register.fca.org.uk
- Search AFSL 345646 on ASIC ConnectOnline at connectonline.asic.gov.au
- Search CMS 200511 on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory at eservices.mas.gov.sg
Each search returns the registered entity name, licence status, and date of authorisation. A legitimate broker’s entry is public and matches its marketing claims.
City Index passes all three checks.
Key Facts
| Detail | City Index |
|---|---|
| Regulation | FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), MAS (Singapore) |
| License | FCA FRN 113942, ASIC AFSL 345646, MAS CMS 200511 |
| Deposit protection | FSCS (UK investor protection scheme) £85,000 (UK retail clients) |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Should You Trade with City Index?
City Index is a strong choice for UK spread bettors who want FCA-grade oversight with a 43-year track record, and for experienced CFD traders who need access to 13,500 instruments under a NASDAQ-listed parent.
The main limitations: US, Canadian, Japanese, and Belgian residents cannot open an account. City Index also has no copy trading and no native crypto spot product.
Two steps before committing: check that your country is in the accepted list in the full City Index review, then compare account types to choose between zero-commission Web Trader and raw-spread (no markup, direct interbank pricing) Forex Direct on MT4 (MetaTrader 4).
The minimum deposit is $250. For a side-by-side ranking against City Index’s closest peers, see the best regulated forex brokers guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which City Index entity will hold my account?
UK and most international clients open through StoneX Financial Ltd, FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority)-licensed under FRN 113942, with FSCS (UK investor protection scheme) protection up to £85,000 per eligible client. Australian residents route to StoneX Financial Pty Ltd, ASIC-licensed under AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 345646, with AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority) external dispute resolution. Singapore residents open through StoneX Financial Pte Ltd, licensed by MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) under CMS 200511. EU residents route through the FCA UK entity since City Index does not hold a post-Brexit MiFID II (EU financial markets directive) passporting licence.
Does City Index protect client funds?
Yes. Client money is held in segregated accounts (kept separate from the broker's own funds) at approved UK banks, ring-fenced from City Index's own capital under FCA CASS (Client Assets Sourcebook) rules. UK retail clients qualify for FSCS protection up to £85,000 per client if the broker becomes insolvent. The Australian and Singapore entities do not carry an equivalent compensation scheme, but both regulators require full client money segregation. See the full breakdown in my [Is City Index safe?](/city-index-is-city-index-safe/) guide.
Is City Index a scam?
No. City Index has held an FCA license continuously since 1983, is owned by NASDAQ-listed StoneX Group Inc. (ticker SNEX), and has no material enforcement action on file at the FCA, ASIC, or MAS. The real risk is leverage: 78% of retail CFD (contract for difference) accounts lose money, which City Index discloses on every page as required by the FCA. That is an honest regulatory disclosure, not a scam signal.
What is the minimum deposit for City Index?
The minimum deposit is $250 USD for international CFD accounts. UK Spread Betting accounts start at £100 GBP. I funded a live test account at $250 in 2026. GBP Faster Payments (UK instant bank transfer) withdrawals cleared same business day across four payouts, with no broker-side fees on any withdrawal method.
Is City Index available in the USA or other countries?
No. City Index does not accept residents of the United States, Canada, Japan, or Belgium. It operates across 40-plus countries including the UK, Australia, Singapore, UAE, Germany, France, and most of Southeast Asia. US residents seeking regulated retail forex should use OANDA or Interactive Brokers, both NFA (US National Futures Association)-registered.