Freetrade: ISA, Invest, Trade 4+

Good but needs work.

I understand this is a relatively new platform, so teething problems are expected and that’s how systems get better. This has been a good app for me as I’ve been able to dive straight into the stock market and experience the excitement and devastation of earning and losing money. This platform isn’t great if you’re looking to day trade as the charts are very much delayed and inaccurate, however it is possible to use other charts and just purchase the stock through the app. This app stands out as the fees to date are free and you can execute a trade at no charge, other than small amounts of tax for each trade. Other platforms charge anywhere from £7-14 for one trade which is extortionate for someone having a dabble with a couple of hundred pounds. I would definitely recommend this app to experience the high and lows of buying stocks, but it’s very difficult to judge the market especially when you’re up against advanced AI systems that execute trades automatically. Be mindful and be careful and only invest what you can afford.

Easy, but still dangerous

On Freetrade’s platform and pricing:
The app is targeted towards amateur investors, welcoming them into investing in the most seamless way possible. The app itself is very easy to use, albeit almost “gamifies” investing which may be quite dangerous, and I’m not sure if I agree with. This is shown through various examples such as a limited amount of information being provided for each stock, making it incredibly easy to buy/sell stocks, and getting free stocks for getting someone to sign up and top up as if it were a game. I am not saying I think every investing platform should have an overly complicated UI, but perhaps there is a reason not everyone should get into investing. The charges are reasonable for the amateur investor, but only for someone in a very small investing bracket: for a person who wants to try day trading, 1£ per instant order makes no sense, and is absolutely a steal; for a longer term investor who is an average person with no extreme wealth background, 36£ per year (3£/mo) for an ISA is also a bit of a steal. Nonetheless the basic feature of the app provides an ideal introduction for someone starting out in investing. The only concern I have is in terms of the app functionality, where at times features may not work, such as Apple Pay top ups, which seriously limits my capacity to trust the platform. This is our money we’re dealing with after all.

Where’s my money?

So starting this review at a 1* hoping I might get some response that will equate to something resembling customer service. Opened an account and undertook the verification process. Once this was complete attempted to transfer funds through the app as they ask you to do. The bank approved the tx but it didn’t seem to clear properly and the funds didn’t leave my account; all good so far waited overnight to check this was the case as the app suggests and tried again. Tried again, this time the funds did leave my bank but haven’t arrived in my Freetrade account. Tried the app FAQ, and I don’t meet any of the criteria as to why it wouldn’t have transferred. So tried the online support which turns out to be an automated process that gives you a canned response as per the FAQ and closes the conversation. So have. written an email that will take 2 working days to reply to….my initial verdict on this app is that it isn’t reliable, I’m hoping to be proven wrong.

EDIT: So to play fair, Freetrade have responded within 24 hours. The problem apparently lies in their payment system and funds have to be manually paid in to have any guarantee of success. This is unnecessarily complicated but it seems to be a good system when it works so 3*

Developer Response ,

So sorry to hear this. Most of our bank transfers now arrive instantly! In some cases your deposit may need some manual intervention from us. See why here: https://tinyurl.com/tx4wkd6s. Please drop us an email at reviews@freetrade.io so we can check this deposit out for you!