The app aims to disrupt the existing stockbroker model where investors may be £10+ per trade for dealing stocks and shares. Founder Ivan Ashminov says it is currently the first and only app in the UK and Continental Europe offering zero commission trading. People can open an account with £100 and can trade a model portfolio prior to investing.

There are other groups looking to launch.  Freetrade is also set to offer free share trading later this year.  JP Morgan has launched You Invest, which is a new trading platform offering limited free trades. US platform Robinhood also offers free trading and is rumoured to be looking to launch in the UK.

Trading 212’s platform is currently the UK’s highest rated trading app and has been downloaded over 12 million times across Apple’s App Store and via Google Pay.

The group plans to make up the costs by offering other services on top of share dealing, including a robo-investment service that will launch in 3-5 months’ time. Ashminov believes this ‘Freemium’ model will allow the majority of users to trade for free: “The majority pay nothing, while those who are more active, or who have larger accounts are charged a small fee. We want to make long-term investing appealing to absolutely everyone including millennials.”

The platform incorporates a number of global exchanges. Among others, investors can trade stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Borse, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. The app will also have a stocks and shares Isa.

Ashminov says financial services have lagged other industries in embracing disruption. Investors are still paying high commissions and are often unaware there are other options: “People have been a lot more conservative in adopting new services, never mind how clumsy the existing service and that they are paying high fees.”