Trading 212 Waiting List: What has happened to Trading 212?

Trading 212 is a fintech group founded in 2004 and headquartered in London. It is known for offering stocks and ETFs with no commission (other fees may apply, see terms and fees) through one of the most intuitive mobile and web platforms in European retail investing, as well as promotions like the free fractional share worth up to €100 for new clients. Trading 212 now has more than 5 million clients (lifetime funded accounts) and reported over €30 billion in client assets in May 2025.

In this article, we look at what happened to Trading 212’s waiting list system, why investors in certain regions once had to join a queue before opening an account, and where things stand in 2026. We’ll also share alternatives to Trading 212 for anyone who cannot open an account or wants to compare options.

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Why did Trading 212 introduce a waiting list?

In January 2021, a wave of retail investor activity driven by Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum led to extraordinary market events, most famously the GameStop short squeeze, in which the stock rose more than 20-fold in a few weeks. The episode drew millions of newcomers to retail investing platforms across Europe and the US, many for the first time.

Trading 212 was one of the platforms hit hardest by the surge. Citing unprecedented demand (you can check more Trading 212 stats here), the company stopped onboarding new clients on 28 January 2021 and, in early February, introduced a waiting list for prospective customers. The pause gave its infrastructure, identity checks (KYC, short for “know your customer”) and customer support time to catch up.

Trading 212 then reopened region by region. EU registrations resumed during 2021, and the UK, the last major market still queuing, reopened to all residents on 30 August 2022.

As of 2026, there is no general waiting list. Clients from the EEA (except Belgium), the UK, Switzerland and a list of other supported countries can open accounts directly, without joining a queue. Trading 212 has also kept expanding its regulated footprint: Trading 212 EU GmbH, a German bank supervised by BaFin (Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority), began onboarding German clients in January 2025 and now serves much of Western Europe.

If you cannot open an account today, the reason is almost certainly not a queue. It is that your country is either unsupported or, in one specific case, blocked. The next section explains which is which.

Which countries can (and can’t) open a Trading 212 account?

Eligibility now falls into three categories:

1. Open for onboarding: every country in the European Economic Area (EEA) except Belgium, plus the UK, Switzerland and Australia. Trading 212 also accepts residents of a number of other countries through its UK entity, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand.
2. Blocked: Belgium is the exception, and it is often described incorrectly. Trading 212 does not accept new clients resident in Belgium, and it is the only EEA country in that position. Some Belgians who signed up before the block still hold accounts, but new registrations are refused and Trading 212 has published no timeline for a change. Our article on Trading 212 in Belgium covers the likely reasons and what Belgian investors can use instead.
3. Not supported: Trading 212 does not onboard clients from the United States and Canada, nor from many other countries outside Europe, such as India, Japan and China. There is no waiting list for these markets, since the company is not set up to serve them. If you live in one of these countries, the alternatives section below is the right place to start.

Which company you sign up with depends on where you live. Each entity is supervised by a different regulator, which also determines your investor protection scheme.

If you are unsure whether Trading 212 is available where you live, the official supported countries list above is the quickest check. The registration form will also either let you proceed or tell you the service is unavailable.

What about expansion to new markets?

Trading 212 has not published a timeline for entering new countries. Historically, expansion has come gradually, as the company secures the relevant licences. Recent steps include the German entity (2025), a crypto account authorised under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, launched in October 2025, and a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) for UK clients in 2026.

If you are in a country where Trading 212 is not available, you can:

• Check the supported countries list from time to time for changes.
• Follow the company’s official channels and community forum for announcements.
• Consider one of the alternatives below if you would rather start investing now.

Top-tier regulators supervise all the companies mentioned here, such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

Founded in 2007, eToro is an international online broker with over 40 million registered users and 4.28 million funded accounts (June 2026), offering thousands of instruments including stocks, ETFs, real cryptocurrencies, and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, forex, indices and crypto. ETFs trade commission-free (other fees apply), and fractional shares are supported. Real stocks carry a commission of $1 or $2 per trade, depending on your country and the exchange. eToro went public on the Nasdaq (ticker: ETOR) in May 2025.

eToro’s platform, accessible via web and mobile, is built around social trading. Investors can discuss ideas, market news and strategies with other users. You can automatically replicate other investors’ trades through CopyTrader, following up to 100 traders at once, and invest in Smart Portfolios, thematic baskets built around specific strategies such as AI, clean energy or dividend stocks.

The demo account is useful for beginners, with $100,000 of virtual money that mirrors live trading closely. On the downside, withdrawals from a USD account cost $5 with a $30 minimum (withdrawals from local-currency accounts such as EUR are free), and there is no inactivity fee. Currency conversion is a real cost for euro-based investors who trade USD assets.

eToro is regulated by several top-tier authorities, including the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus and EU), FinCEN (US) and ADGM FSRA (UAE). European clients are typically served through eToro (Europe) Ltd, a CySEC-regulated entity (licence 109/10) that passports across the EU under MiFID II. Retail clients in the EU are covered by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000.

Founded in 1978 and publicly listed on the Nasdaq (ticker: IBKR), Interactive Brokers is a global online broker that has weathered every major financial crisis over nearly five decades, building a reputation for resilience, transparent execution and rigorous risk management.

Interactive Brokers offers an advanced platform with an exceptionally wide product range (stocks, ETFs, options, futures, bonds, mutual funds, forex and more) across 170+ markets in 40 countries, with Smart Routing for execution quality and a comprehensive set of analysis tools.

Beginners have access to a strong educational library, though the learning curve on the main platforms (Trader Workstation, IBKR Desktop, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile) is steep, which is why we mainly endorse IBKR for more experienced investors. Customer support is responsive and gives clear answers.

On the downside, the fee structure is complex, account opening takes a few days, and the broker is not commission-free. However, once you factor in FX fees, tighter spreads, securities lending income through the Stock Yield Enhancement Program, and global market access, IBKR clients typically save significantly over the long run.

For newer investors, IBKR also offers IBKR GlobalTrader, a mobile app for trading stocks, ETFs and options with automatic currency conversion, fractional shares from $1 and a paper trading mode.

Want to know more? Check our comprehensive Interactive Brokers review.

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is an online broker offering a wide range of products, including real shares and CFDs on forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. It operates in 65 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: PLUS) as a constituent of the FTSE 250.

There are two distinct account types:

• Plus500 CFD: focused exclusively on CFD products.
• Plus500 Invest: where you trade real shares and own the underlying stock. Availability varies by country, so check it is offered where you live.

As a side note, Plus500 Futures, a platform available only to US users, is also part of the Plus500 group.

The main web platform is WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offering a stable, responsive experience across devices, with a polished mobile app. A free demo account lets you test the features before committing real money.

Customer support is available through a chat function that stays visible on the trading platform. Spreads are competitive. On CFD accounts, Plus500 charges a currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% and an inactivity fee of up to $10 a month after three months without logging in. On Plus500 Invest, you pay a small commission per trade, for example $0.006 per share on the US market.

Plus500 is regulated by several top-tier authorities including the FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australia) and MAS (Singapore), so the investor protection scheme depends on the entity you sign with. European investors are typically served through Plus500CY Ltd (CySEC licence 250/14), with client funds protected up to €20,000 under the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund. Plus500 also provides negative balance protection on CFD trading for retail clients in the EU and UK.

Founded in 2002, XTB is a major player in the brokerage industry with extensive worldwide experience. It is regulated by several top-tier authorities including the FCA (UK), KNF (Poland), CySEC (Cyprus) and DFSA (Dubai), listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ticker: XTB), and had over 2.8 million clients in June 2026.

XTB offers 0% commission on real stocks and ETFs up to €100,000 of monthly turnover, then 0.2% with a €10 minimum, fractional shares and an Investment Plan feature for recurring ETF investing. It also offers CFDs on indices, forex, commodities and cryptocurrencies, which are complex instruments where a majority of retail accounts lose money.

There is a free demo account for practising. Forex spreads are competitive, while crypto CFD spreads are wider. An inactivity fee of €10 a month applies after 12 months without trading, combined with no deposits in the previous 90 days. Opening and funding an account is quick and fully digital.

One availability note relevant to this article: XTB does not accept clients resident in Belgium, so it is not an alternative for Belgian investors blocked from Trading 212.

Bottom line

Trading 212 saw a major surge in sign-ups in early 2021, driven by the GameStop short squeeze and the wider retail investing boom. The platform could not keep up with onboarding demand, so it paused new accounts and introduced a waiting list.

That system has been wound down. As of 2026, clients across the EEA (except Belgium), the UK, Switzerland and a list of other supported countries can open Trading 212 accounts directly, with no queue.

Two exceptions are worth remembering. Belgium is blocked, so Belgian investors cannot open an account however long they wait. And in countries where Trading 212 does not operate, such as the US and Canada, there is no waiting list to join because the service is not offered at all.

If you are in a supported market, you get access to stocks and ETFs with no commission (other fees may apply, see terms and fees), fractional shares from €1, Pies and AutoInvest for recurring investing, interest on uninvested cash and, for EU clients, a crypto account. If Trading 212 is not available where you live, the alternatives above are all worth exploring, bearing in mind that availability varies between them too.

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