Robinhood Investment platform to Launches In The U.K for the United Kingdom Investors to trade USA stocks

United States stock trading app, Robinhood, is set to join the Fintech boom in Britain after rolling out its commission-free trading app in the UK.

Robinhood Investment platform was founded in 2013, the company's valuation has risen to a $7.6bn (according to a report in July) having won over investors on its trading services, which give users the chance to invest in the US and global stocks such as Amazon, Apple, Shell, Chevron and Nike without having to pay a fee.

Customers in Britain will be able to sign up to get early access to Robinhood’s stock trading service, which is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2020.

The no-fee trading app of Robinhood was launched in 2015 and has proved to be popular among millennials in the United States, where it has grown rapidly and has six million users.

The decision to launch in Robin Hood, U.K., comes after the Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K. authorized Robinhood to operate as a broker in the U.K. in August 2019.

Wander Rutgers, president of Robinhood UK, said, “we are very proud to choose the U.K. as our next market and it’s a continuation of our mission to make investing more accessible for people around the world."

In the U.K., Robinhood will market its core product which offers unlimited commission-free trade with no minimum amount required in your account. A website that would be aimed at U.K. investors will be in place.

According to Rutgers:

"The company won’t be offering direct trading in shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). For now, U.K. customers will only be able to buy or sell shares that trade on the U.S. market. This includes more than 3,500 U.S.-listed stocks such as Amazon, Apple and Nike, and more than 1,000 global equities, including household names like Burberry, BMW and Barclays. Customers will not have to pay fees to convert pounds to dollars."

The app offers a variety of free features to help users navigate the market, including access to business news articles and videos, analyst ratings and earnings snapshots as well as price movement alerts and watch lists.

Robinhood will not be offering trading in options in the U.K., nor trading in cryptocurrencies, which it provides in some U.S. states.

The company is entering a market where there are already fee-free stock trading firms such as Trading 212 and Freetrade as well as established firms such as Hargreaves Lansdown which charge a fee for each trade. Rutgers said Robinhood’s technology, customer focus and the trust it had built up among U.S. users set it apart from the competition.

He said Robinhood sees potential for its product in the U.K., particularly among millennials who may have been put off stock market investing by the cost.

“The U.K. isn’t yet a market of investors and we see that in a lot of people that we spoke to. They see investing as something that is costly, that’s expensive, or something that just doesn’t feel like something for them. At the same time, we see that interest rates are as low as they have ever been and most people who have money in their … bank savings account are losing money against inflation,” said Rutgers.

Robinhood was not discouraged from investing in London, a Fintech hub, by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, said Rutgers. “One of the important reasons why we picked London as the place for our office is of course the tech talent here, the market for talent is great. Currently we have about 10 people in the U.K. We aim to grow that over time. We are hiring,” he said.

 As a private company, Robinhood does not make public any numbers on its revenues or profit or loss and Rutgers declined comment on any plans for an IPO.