Which CFD brokers offer negative balance protection to UK retail clients?
Verdict
- Pepperstone offers negative balance protection to UK retail clients: if your account goes below zero, it says it will return it to zero as soon as possible.
- Capital.com, IG, Plus500, Saxo, Spreadex, FOREX.com, StoneX Trading and Trading 212 all state the same for UK retail clients on their own sites.
- The protection ends if you opt up to Professional status; Pepperstone's Pro page says plainly that it will not apply to you.
- It caps your loss at your deposit; it does not stop you losing that deposit, and it is not the same as a guaranteed stop-loss or FSCS cover.
Every UK retail CFD firm we checked publishes negative balance protection, so it should be a minimum standard, not a reason to choose one broker over another. What separates them is the protection you get on top. Pepperstone is our pick on overall terms; below is who says what, and the gaps worth knowing.
Pepperstone: protected as a retail client, not as a Pro
Pepperstone Limited (FCA 684312) states on its UK costs page that a retail account that falls into a negative balance will be returned to zero as soon as possible. On top of that, eligible clients are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000, and client money is held in segregated accounts at top-tier banks. The one catch: if you meet the Professional criteria and choose Pepperstone Pro for higher leverage, negative balance protection no longer applies.
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What each UK firm publishes
| Broker | FCA reference | What the firm says |
|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | 684312 | Negative balance returned to zero as soon as possible; not for Pros |
| Capital.com | 793714 | Balance automatically reinstated to zero |
| IG | 195355 (CFDs), 114059 (spread bets) | Negative balance protection for UK and Europe |
| Plus500 | 509909 | Customers cannot lose more than the funds in the account |
| Saxo | 551422 | Negative balance protection, applied per account for retail clients |
| Spreadex | 190941 | Retail clients covered by negative balance protection |
| FOREX.com / StoneX Trading | 446717 | Retail balances never allowed below zero; not for Pros |
| Trading 212 | 609146 | A retail client cannot lose more than deposited |
A gap in prices, with and without the protection
Say you hold £1,000 in an account and a market gaps sharply overnight through your stop. The position closes at a loss of £1,300. As a retail client with negative balance protection, the broker resets your account from minus £300 to zero: you lose £1,000. As a Professional client, you would owe the extra £300. The figures are an illustration, but the mechanism is why the protection matters most around weekend gaps and surprise announcements.
Three protections that are easy to confuse
- Negative balance protection limits your loss to the money in your account.
- A guaranteed stop-loss fixes the exit price of one trade, usually for a fee. Pepperstone does not offer one; Capital.com, IG and Spreadex do.
- FSCS cover (up to £85,000 for eligible Pepperstone clients) protects your money if the firm itself fails, not against trading losses.
Before you rely on it
Read the client agreement for the exact wording, check that you are classed as retail rather than Professional, and remember that a firm can only reset a negative balance after it has happened: leverage limits of 1:30 on major FX and 1:5 on shares are what stop most balances getting there.
Sources
Statements taken from each firm's UK pages.
Do UK spread betting accounts get negative balance protection too?
At Pepperstone, the protection covers retail spread bets and CFDs alike. StoneX Trading also applies it to both.
Does negative balance protection cover Professional clients?
Generally not. Pepperstone and StoneX both say it does not apply to Professional clients.
Can I still lose my whole deposit with negative balance protection?
Yes. It stops losses going beyond the account balance, not losses up to it.
CFDs and spread bets are complex and leveraged, and you can lose your whole deposit quickly even with negative balance protection. This page summarises what firms publish and is not investment advice.