Same trading fees as EU personal accounts. The one additional cost: a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) fee of EUR 48 + VAT per year, required for regulatory compliance on business accounts. A personal account must exist first. Money Market Funds (MMFs) are available for business cash management at 0.20%–0.25% annual fee.

The LEI is the only structural cost difference between personal and business accounts. For a business investing in ETFs only, the effective annual platform cost is EUR 48 + VAT.

Orders priced at 0.10% per trade with the following floor per currency: CHF 1.50, DKK 10, SEK 10, NOK 10, PLN 5, HUF 200. For small orders in these currencies the minimum applies — a 400 CHF order in a Swiss-listed stock costs CHF 1.50 (0.38%), not 0.10%.

UK GIA and ISA holders pay nothing per trade on US stocks, UK stocks, and ETFs — no percentage, no flat fee, no minimum. This is a structural pricing advantage versus most UK-domiciled platforms. FX at 0.10% is the main cost to manage. For a UK investor buying USD-denominated US stocks with GBP, the total transaction cost is the FX conversion only.

Fractional shares and ETFs: minimum $2 / EUR 2 / GBP 2 per order. Crypto: minimum ranges from $1 to $6 depending on the asset. There is no minimum deposit or balance threshold to open or maintain an account.

Lightyear supports a multi-currency account holding GBP, USD, and EUR simultaneously. The practical implication: if you deposit USD directly via a bank transfer, you can buy US-listed assets with that USD balance and pay zero FX conversion on that trade. The conversion cost moves to your bank, not Lightyear — and many banks offer better FX rates than 0.35% if you shop around.

For Plans, Lightyear uses same-currency balances first before converting. Keep the relevant currency topped up and auto-invest executions avoid FX entirely.

For an EU investor making one EUR/USD conversion per month at EUR 500, Lightyear’s 0.35% costs EUR 1.75 vs EUR 0.75 at Trading 212 — a difference of EUR 1.00/month or EUR 12/year. On ETF-only portfolios in the same currency (e.g., EUR-hedged UCITS ETF bought with EUR), FX never triggers and the comparison becomes irrelevant. The FX cost gap matters most for mixed-currency stock traders doing frequent conversions.

Lightyear’s EUR vault rate tracks the ECB overnight rate and sits below Trade Republic’s uninvested cash rate (which has been competitive at 3%+ for EUR, though variable). For EU investors prioritising yield on large cash balances, compare current rates directly — the gap can be material on balances above EUR 10,000 over a full year.

Lightyear explicitly states it does not receive payment for order flow (banned under UK FCA rules and being removed across EU under MiFID II) and does not lend client securities or cash to third parties. EU and UK instruments are executed in partnership with ABN AMRO; US instruments via Alpaca Securities; crypto via Kraken. The absence of PFOF means execution quality is not being traded away for revenue — a meaningful structural positive versus some zero-commission alternatives.

Lightyear routes orders to regulated markets and MTFs via institutional partners. Fractional fills are matched OTC against Lightyear’s own book using real-time market data. App prices are indicative; execution price may differ due to market volatility. Market orders execute as soon as possible during trading hours — for ETFs with tight spreads this is typically negligible, but for less-liquid instruments or larger fractional OTC fills, verify execution quality before committing.

All investments are held with authorised custodians under nominee or omnibus structures. Customer assets are legally distinct from Lightyear’s corporate balance sheet and are shielded from Lightyear’s creditors in the event of insolvency. Lightyear operates as an investment firm — it holds no banking licence. It is privately held (Series B) and not publicly listed.