Lightyear turns up the heat in competition for UK retail investors with zero-commission push

News provided by

Lightyear UK Ltd

11 Mar, 2026, 07:00 GMT

  • Investment platform Lightyear slashes fees, becoming cheaper than the likes of Trading212, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor across account, commission and FX fees for personal customers
  • The platform will build on new financial infrastructure to eliminate trading fees and cut FX to just 0.1% in a move to help more Brits grow their wealth.
  • Lightyear's research reveals Brits are still stuck in a 'cash comfort zone', with more than three times as many people (54%) holding savings in cash instead of a Stocks & Shares ISA (15%).

LONDON, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Investment platform Lightyear has turned up the heat in the retail brokerage price war, eliminating commission fees and slashing its foreign exchange rate to just 0.1%.

This move places Lightyear among the UK's lowest cost brokers, as the company looks to turn Brits from a nation of savers to that of investors.

Ahead of the end of the tax year, research from Lightyear shows 54% of Brits hold savings in cash, vs only 15% investing through a tax-efficient Stocks & Shares ISA. These numbers show a clear disconnect. While 86% of people consider financial health important, the majority are still sitting on the sidelines.

Lightyear's price drop today challenges the cost Britons bear for investing

"For too long, UK retail investors have got the short end of the stick. They've either been squeezed by legacy platforms charging exorbitant fees for basic market access, or lured by neobrokers with promises of "free trading", actually monetising through wide FX markups or pushing users towards complex and expensive products like CFDs." comments Wander Rutgers, Lightyear's UK Chief Executive.

The move is built on strong infrastructure improvements

Lightyear's announcement is underpinned by a significant overhaul of its backend infrastructure - the platform is now a direct member of CREST, the UK's central securities depository. By bypassing third-party intermediaries through that membership, Lightyear will cut its own costs and chooses to pass on structural savings to consumers.

"Becoming a direct member of CREST sets us up for a range of product improvements, instrument expansion and a fundamentally lower cost structure. We want to pass those wins on to our customers. We aren't cross-subsidising with risky, casino-style products; our aim is to fundamentally low our cost to serve, by cutting out expensive middlemen from the investing process, and passing that margin directly back to the customer." says Rutgers.

Ramin Nakisa, co-founder of PensionCraft: "The UK market is full of brokers, making all sorts of shiny promises to win over customers. And choosing between them can feel very overwhelming. To me, the most important thing when deciding on an investment platform is understanding if the provider is simply trying to push you to gamble with your money, or help you build long-term wealth. Lightyear does the latter, wholeheartedly.

Today's news of even lower prices for UK individual investors is great. Firstly, because turning up the heat on the market might just push legacy providers to look into, maybe even correct, their outdated, expensive pricing. But more importantly, it's not a price drop for the sake of a price drop. The team is truly building innovative technical solutions, making sure they're around forever to offer UK investors the fairest possible access to markets."

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Methodology: Full notes on research can be found here

About Lightyear

Lightyear is a simple and approachable way to invest your money globally without unnecessary barriers or sneaky fees. Founded in October 2020 by Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, both early Wise (formerly TransferWise) employees, Lightyear has offices in London, UK and Tallinn, Estonia.

The company has raised $58 million to date and is backed by NordicNinja, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Ventures, Metaplanet, Skaala, Superangel and SpecialistVC. Other investors include Sir Richard Branson, Wise's Taavet Hinrikus, Bolt's Markus Villig and early Monzo backer and HM Treasury Special Envoy for Fintech Eileen Burbidge MBE.

Lightyear Europe AS is authorised and regulated as an investment firm by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority having the right to provide services in all EU and EEA countries. In the UK, Lightyear U.K. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 987226).

About Pensioncraft

"PensionCraft provides a friendly, independent and affordable source of investment education, designed to help individuals build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to invest well. Their aim is to help people understand how markets work, so they can make informed decisions, avoid common and costly mistakes, and keep more of their returns by minimising unnecessary fees. Learn more at pensioncraft.com.

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