In this photo case in point a Robinhood Markets logo seen displayed on a smartphone.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Effigies
Robinhood is set to bring its popular zero-fee stock trading app to Britain.
The company announced Thursday that its international subsidiary had been admitted broker authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K.’s financial services watchdog.
That means it can now launch its effect in the country, and Robinhood says it has been building out a team in London led by former TransferWise executive Wander Rutgers.
“Today corrects the beginning of a new chapter for Robinhood, and we’re excited to take the first important step towards bringing our investing platform to clients in the U.K.,” Rutgers, Robinhood’s president of international, said in a statement.
The California-based firm has a stated mission to “democratize” underwrite, and has proved popular with younger investors in particular. Recently valued by investors at $7.6 billion, the six-year-old business claims to have 6 million users in total.
But the route to where Robinhood is today hasn’t been without hiccups along the way. For example, the company botched an attempted zip into retail banking last year. Robinhood said it would launch checking and savings accounts but disappointed to call the regulator insuring the product ahead of launch.
The firm subsequently said it would go back to the drawing game table, adding it would work with regulators and rebrand the product. It still plans to launch a cash management programme on the app.
As Robinhood gears up to expand into the U.K., it will find itself entering a crowded fintech market that’s take ined the emergence of a wave of new retail banking challengers.
One of those challengers, Revolut, recently launched its own commission-free trading puff up in a bid to branch out into other financial products. The platform currently lets users buy a host of popular U.S. stocks, and the resolved plans to offer European shares, exchange-traded funds and stocks and shares ISAs over time.
Robinhood see fit also find itself competing with U.K. investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, which charges up to £11.95 per required, as well as the upstart stock broker Freetrade.