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Is Plus500 safe?

Quick answer

Yes, Plus500 is safe. It holds eight active regulatory licences, anchored by FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority) licence 509909 with up to £85,000 deposit protection for eligible UK clients and up to €20,000 for eligible EU clients. The parent company Plus500 plc has traded on the London Stock Exchange since 2013 as a FTSE 250 constituent, a standard most retail brokers cannot match.

Is Plus500 safe and regulated?

I opened a live funded account on the Plus500 FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority) entity in 2026 to answer this question: is Plus500 safe? The answer is yes, and Plus500 is not a scam. It is a legitimate broker operating under one of the widest multi-entity regulatory stacks in retail CFD (Contract for Difference) trading.

Plus500 plc has been listed on the London Stock Exchange under ticker PLUS since July 2013 and is a FTSE 250 constituent. The listing requires audited annual reports, half-year statements, and continuous market-abuse oversight under UK listing rules. Of the retail CFD brokers in my 2026 research, only IG and CMC Markets publish to the same public-company financial-transparency standard.

⚠️ Protection level depends on which entity your account is routed to.

The eight regulated entities, and what each one covers:

  • FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority) licence 509909: FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) protection up to £85,000 per eligible UK client
  • CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) licence 250/14: ICF (Investor Compensation Fund) compensation up to €20,000 per eligible EU retail client
  • ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 417727: AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority) external dispute resolution for Australian clients
  • MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) licence CMS100648-1: Singapore investor protection alignment
  • DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) licence F005651: onshore DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) entity, the rare regulated Dubai CFD option for UAE residents
  • FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa) licence 47546: FAIS (Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services) Act oversight with domestic dispute channels
  • FMA (Financial Markets Authority, New Zealand): FSPR (Financial Service Providers Register)-registered under FMA retail leverage guidance
  • ISA (Israel Securities Authority): home-market entity since the 2008 founding in Haifa

Client funds are held in segregated accounts (funds kept apart from the broker’s own money) at major global banks across all eight entities. Negative balance protection applies on the six primary retail entities under post-ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) and equivalent regulator rules.

I cross-checked all eight licences against the public regulator databases in May 2026. All eight were active, with no enforcement actions on record. The 2015 FCA investigation concluded with no material action after Plus500 strengthened its KYC (Know Your Customer identity verification) procedures.

Key facts

DetailPlus500
RegulationFCA, CySEC, ASIC, MAS, DFSA, FSCA, FMA, ISA
LicenseFCA 509909, CySEC 250/14, ASIC AFSL 417727
Deposit protectionFSCS £85,000 (UK) / ICF €20,000 (EU)
Founded2008
HeadquartersHaifa, Israel

Should you trade with Plus500?

Plus500 is a solid choice for traders in the UK, EU, Australia, Singapore, UAE, New Zealand, South Africa, and Israel. The broker offers eight-regulator coverage at a $100 minimum deposit, backed by an 18-year operating track record.

The genuine caveat is platform choice. Plus500 offers only its proprietary WebTrader, with no MT4 (MetaTrader 4), MT5 (MetaTrader 5), or cTrader (a third-party charting and trading platform) at any entity. Traders who depend on Expert Advisors (automated trading scripts that run inside MetaTrader) or TradingView native order routing will need an alternative such as Pepperstone or IC Markets.

Check country availability before opening an account. US, Canadian, Belgian, Turkish, and Japanese residents cannot open a CFD account with Plus500. For a ranked comparison of well-regulated alternatives, visit best regulated forex brokers.

For the full analysis covering spread benchmarks, withdrawal data, and the complete entity matrix, read the Plus500 review.

Frequently asked questions

Which Plus500 entity will hold my account?

Your entity depends on your country of residence. UK clients open with Plus500UK Ltd (FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority) 509909, FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) protection). EU clients open with Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) 250/14, ICF (Investor Compensation Fund) compensation). Australian clients open with Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) 417727). Singapore clients open with Plus500SG Pte Ltd (MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) CMS100648-1). UAE clients open with Plus500AE Ltd (DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) F005651). South African clients open with Plus500 SA (FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority) 47546). New Zealand clients open with Plus500NZ Limited (FMA (Financial Markets Authority)). Israeli clients open with Plus500IL Ltd (ISA (Israel Securities Authority)). Each entity applies its own regulator's leverage caps and investor protection rules.

Does Plus500 protect client funds?

Yes. Plus500 holds client funds in segregated bank accounts (funds kept in separate accounts, not mixed with the broker's own money) across all eight regulated entities. UK clients receive FSCS protection up to £85,000 per eligible client if Plus500UK Ltd were to fail. EU clients receive ICF compensation up to €20,000 per eligible retail client via the CySEC entity. Offshore-tier entities provide segregated accounts but no government-backed compensation scheme.

Is Plus500 a scam?

No, Plus500 is not a scam. The parent Plus500 plc has operated since 2008, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2013, and files audited annual reports under UK listing rules. I checked all eight regulator registers in May 2026 and found no active enforcement actions. For a full legitimacy breakdown, see the [Is Plus500 legit?](/plus500-is-plus500-legit/) page.

What is the minimum deposit for Plus500?

$100 on the FCA (UK), CySEC (EU) and DFSA (UAE) retail entities. A$200 on the ASIC Australia entity. Local-currency equivalent applies on the MAS (Singapore), FSCA (South Africa), FMA (New Zealand) and ISA (Israel) entities. Bank wire withdrawals settled in 2 to 3 business days at zero broker fee in my 2026 testing.

Is Plus500 available in the US?

Plus500 CFD (Contract for Difference) trading is not available to US residents. US residents are served only through the separate Plus500 US entity, which covers CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) and NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) futures, not CFDs. The broker also excludes Canadian, Belgian, Turkish and Japanese residents from its CFD product. US traders looking for regulated forex exposure can consider OANDA or Forex.com, which hold CFTC (US Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and NFA (National Futures Association) registration.