General Information

Santander UK is a large retail and commercial bank based in the UK and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the major global bank Banco Santander. It is registered in England and Wales, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance. It has its origins in three constituent companies—Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley—all former mutual building societies. It is one of the leading personal financial services companies in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest providers of mortgages and savings in the United Kingdom.

Regulation

Santander UK Plc is a regulated institution under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with License No. 106054. It holds a Market Making (MM) license type and has been regulated since December 1, 2001. The institution operates with the license type of “No Sharing.” You can contact them via email at customerservices@santander.co.uk and find more information on their website: https://www.santander.co.uk/. The regulatory status does not specify an expiry date, and Santander UK Plc is located at 2 Triton Square, Regent's Place, London NW1 3AN, UNITED KINGDOM, with a phone number of 448003897000. Certified documents related to their regulatory status are not provided in the information provided.

Pros and Cons

Santander offers a wide range of financial products and services to cater to diverse customer needs. However, it's essential to consider both the advantages and disadvantages when evaluating their offerings.

Pros:

1. Comprehensive Product Range: Santander provides a diverse selection of banking, investment, insurance, and borrowing options, allowing customers to find suitable solutions for their financial goals.

2. Accessible Customer Support: Customers can easily reach Santander's support through telephone, live chat, or the ATM/Branch Locator. The extended hours of operation and accessibility options accommodate various needs.

3. Regulated Institution: Santander is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), providing customers with confidence in their financial stability and adherence to industry standards.

Cons:

1. Monthly Fees: Some of Santander's current accounts come with monthly fees, which may not be ideal for individuals seeking fee-free options.

2. Complexity: With numerous products and services, navigating Santander's offerings can be overwhelming for some customers who may prefer simpler banking solutions.

3. Eligibility Criteria: Eligibility criteria apply to certain products, such as personal loans, which may limit access to individuals who do not meet specific income or credit requirements.

Here is a table summarizing the pros and cons of Santander:

Market Instruments

The Santander UKs segments include Retail Banking, Corporate & Commercial Banking and Corporate & Investment Banking. The Retail Banking segment offers a range of products and financial services to individuals and small businesses, through a network of branches and automated teller machines (ATMs), as well as through telephony, digital, mobile and intermediary channels. The Corporate & Commercial Banking segment offers a range of products and financial services include loans, bank accounts, deposits, treasury services, trade and asset finance for small medium enterprises (SME) and corporate customers. The Corporate & Investment Banking segment serves corporate clients and financial institutions.

Here's a summary of their products:

1. Current Accounts:

• Santander Edge Up Current Account:

• Earn cashback on selected household bills, supermarket, and travel costs.

• Earn interest on credit balances up to £25,000.

• Requires funding the account with £1,500 each month and setting up 2 active Direct Debits.

• No charges for using the debit card outside the UK.

• £5 monthly fee.

• Santander Edge Current Account:

• Earn cashback on selected household bills at supermarkets and travel spend.

• Access to an optional savings account with exclusive rates.

• Requires funding the account with £500 each month and setting up 2 active Direct Debits.

• No charges for using the debit card outside the UK.

• £3 monthly fee.

• Everyday Current Account:

• Simple and straightforward account with no monthly fee.

• 1|2|3 Student Current Account:

• Free 16-25 railcard for four years.

• Interest-free overdraft of £1,500 for the first 3 years of studies.

• Requires regular deposits of at least £500 every 4 months.

• 1|2|3 Mini Current Account:

• Designed to help children and young people learn money management.

• Offers interest on balances at certain thresholds.

• Choice of contactless debit card or cash card.

• Basic Current Account:

• Suitable for those with poor credit history or newcomers to the UK.

1. Mortgages:

• Services for first-time buyers, home movers, and those looking to remortgage.

• Options for changing lenders, borrowing more money, and managing existing mortgages.

• Later life mortgages for individuals aged 55 or over.

• Partnership with ufurnish.com for home furnishing experiences.

1. Credit Cards:

• Range of credit cards for various needs, including:

• All in One Credit Card

• Long Term Balance Transfer Credit Card

• Everyday No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card

• Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®

1. Savings and ISAs:

• Savings and ISAs for different goals, including:

• Easy Access Saver

• Regular Saver

• Santander Edge Saver

• Easy Access ISA

• Fixed Rate ISAs

• Fixed Term Bonds

• Junior ISA

• Inheritance ISA

1. Investments:

• Investment options with cashback incentives.

• Investment Hub for online advice and fund selection.

• Investment advice and resources available.

1. Insurance:

• Home insurance, including contents insurance for renters.

• Life insurance, including critical illness cover.

• Health insurance.

• Mortgage life insurance.

• Family and lifestyle insurance.

• Over 50s Life Insurance.

• Car insurance, including electric vehicle insurance.

• Travel insurance.

• Business insurance and landlord insurance.

1. Personal Loan:

• Personal loans with fixed interest rates.

• Loan amounts from £1,000 to £25,000.

• Flexible repayment terms.

• Loan eligibility criteria apply.

Santander provides a comprehensive range of financial products and services to cater to their customers' banking, investment, insurance, and borrowing needs.

Accounts

Six digit account sort codes are used in the range between 09-00-xx to 09-19-xx. Sort codes for accounts formerly held by Alliance & Leicester use the range 09-01-31 to 09-01-36.

Credit Rating

In October 2011, Moody's downgraded the credit rating of twelve financial firms in the United Kingdom, including Santander UK, blaming financial weakness. In June 2012, Moody rated Santander UK as being in a more financially healthy position than its parent company, Banco Santander.

Deposit & Withdrawal

In November 2009, Santander launched the first current account in the United Kingdom without fees (including unauthorised overdrafts) for its current and future mortgage customers. In January 2010, the bank began waiving fees for customers using Santander's automated teller machines in Spain, which traditionally would incur fees for transactions in a foreign currency.

Accepted Countries

Santander's Corporate and Commercial Banking division operates from a number of regional business banking centres across the United Kingdom. Less than 1% of Santander UK's business is held abroad.

Customer Service

Santander has frequently been rated the worst bank for customer service in the United Kingdom, although by July 2011 had sought to improve, notably by returning call centre operations to the United Kingdom from India. Its '123' product range was ranked third best in the United Kingdom in 2013, and in a moneysavingexpert.com poll in February 2014, customers ranked their satisfaction higher than with any of other main high street banks.

Santander's customer support offers several ways to contact them and obtain assistance:

1. Telephone Support:

• Customers can reach a Customer Service Center Advisor at 1-877-768-2265.

• Hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday to Saturday.

• For customers with hearing/speech impairments, there is a dedicated relay service at 7-1-1.

1. International Calls:

• For customers calling from outside the United States, there is a local number: 1-401-824-3400.

1. Live Chat:

• Customers can use the live chat feature on the Santander website to get real-time assistance with their inquiries or problems.

1. ATM/Branch Locator:

• For information on ATM and branch locations as well as their hours of operation, customers can use the ATM/Branch Locator on the Santander website.

Santander's customer support is accessible through various channels, including phone, chat, and online resources, ensuring that customers have multiple options to address their banking needs and inquiries. The telephone support hours are accommodating, and they provide accessibility options for customers with hearing or speech impairments.

Summary

Santander UK Plc is a regulated financial institution under the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with License No. 106054. They offer a diverse range of financial products and services, including current accounts, mortgages, credit cards, savings and ISAs, investments, insurance, and personal loans. Santander provides accessible customer support through telephone, live chat, and an ATM/Branch Locator, ensuring customers have various ways to seek assistance with their financial needs. Their customer service hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday to Saturday. Santander's comprehensive product offerings aim to meet a wide array of customer banking and financial requirements.

FAQs

Q: What types of current accounts does Santander offer？

A: Santander offers various current account options, including the Santander Edge Up, Santander Edge, Everyday Current Account, and specialized accounts for students and children.

Q: How can I contact Santander's customer support？

A: You can reach Santander's customer support by calling 1-877-768-2265 for general inquiries. For international calls, dial 1-401-824-3400. Alternatively, you can use the live chat feature on their website.

Q: Are there fees associated with Santander's current accounts？

A: Some current accounts may have monthly fees, such as £5 for the Santander Edge Up Current Account and £3 for the Santander Edge Current Account. The Everyday Current Account, however, has no monthly fee.

Q: What types of insurance does Santander offer？

A: Santander provides a range of insurance options, including home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, and travel insurance, catering to various coverage needs.

Q: Can I apply for a personal loan from Santander？

A: Yes, Santander offers personal loans with fixed interest rates. You can apply for loan amounts ranging from £1,000 to £25,000, with flexible repayment terms. Eligibility criteria apply, and you can typically get a decision within 5 minutes.

General Information

Hantec Markets, one of the subsidiaries of the Hantac group, was established in 2008 in Australia as a new brand. Its business scope focuses on CFDs trading on forex, commodities, indices and bullion.

Demo account is available for practicing and trades can be executed on the world renowned MetaTrader4 and 5 platforms.

One exciting news is that the broker is decently regulated by ASIC (Australia Securities & Investment Commission) and FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), proving a certain level of liability and legality. What's more, the broker implements fund segregation and negative balance to protect customer funds.

However, the company charges several fees such as commissions, overnight fees, conversion fees, etc., adding trading costs.

Pros and Cons

Is Hantec Markets Legit?

Yes, Hantec Markets is a legitimate and regulated forex broker that operates under the oversight of reputable financial regulatory bodies. It is officially regulated by ASIC (Australia Securities & Investment Commission) and FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), with licenses numbering at 326907 and 502635 respectively.

Though its CGSE and VFSC licenses are suspected to be fake clones, but after investigation, the regulated entities are subsidiaries of the Hantec Group who has 19 offices around the globe, which means Hantec Markets does not necessarily duplicate these licenses.

Nonetheless, during the research, we found that the company holds a suspected clone license with number “関東財務局長（金商）第102号” from FSA (Financial Services Agency) as well. But the company name is “Gaitame Finest Company Limited”, not relating to Hantect Group at all. You should be vigilant about this alarming red flag since the company might deceiving clients in another company's name in some business areas.

Regulated Country	Regulator	Regulatory Status	Regulated Entity	License Type	License No.
	ASIC	Regulated	Hantec Markets (Australia) Pty Limited	Market Making (MM)	326907
	FCA	Regulated	Hantec Markets Limited	Market Making (MM)	502635
	CGSE	Suspicious Clone	亨達金銀投資有限公司	Type AA License	163
	VFSC	Suspicious Clone	Hantec Markets (V) Company Limited	Retail Forex License	40318
	FSA	Suspicious Clone	Gaitame Finest Company Limited	Retail Forex License	関東財務局長（金商）第102号

Market Instruments

Currency pairs, indices, commodities, metals, energies, stocks... Hantec Markets gives its clients access to a massive trading market. So, both beginners and sophisticated traders could find what they want to trade on Hantec Markets.

Account Type

Demo account: Hantec Markets offers a demo account for you to test a little on the financial market without the risk of losing money.

Real account: there are 2 types of real accounts in total: Cent account and Standard account.

The Cent account is said to target beginners who want to trade with less risks. The initial deposit requirement is affordable at $10, with spread starting from 1.2 pips. However, additional functions such as copy trading and demo account are not available with this account. You cannot practice before you start real trading or imitate trading strategies from successful traders.

While Standard account, with access to a full suite of Hantec features, also requires the same initial deposit of $10. Spread is tighter from 0.1 pips and copy trading/demo account is available.

In addition, there is a Swap Free Accounts that allows trading the following products without swap charges: EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF, EURCAD, GBPCAD, EURGBP, CHFJPY, EURCHF, EURJPY, NZDUSD, AUDUSD, AUDNZD, USDCAD, GBPJPY, CADJPY, CADCHF, GBPCHF, XAGUSD, XAUUSD. However, if you hold a position for longer than one week in this account, a holding fee of 10 USD (or equivalent) per lot on FX and 30 USD (or equivalent) per lot on XAUUSD and XAGUSD per day will be charged.

Leverage

Hantec Markets offers a maximum leverage of up to 1:1000, which is a generous offer and ideal for professional traders and scalpers. However, since leverage can magnify your profits, it can also result in a loss of capital, especially for inexperienced traders. Therefore, traders must choose the right amount according to their risk tolerance.

Spreads and Commissions

Hantec Markets offers Forex trading with spreads starting from specified values for various currency pairs. There are no commissions charged for Forex trades. The spread type is floating, and the minimum order size is 0.01 lot. The trading conditions also include a stop-out level set at 40% of the used margin. Overall, Hantec Markets provides competitive spreads and transparent commission-free trading for Forex.

Trade major pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY:

EUR/USD spread: 0.00014898 pips

GBP/USD spread: 0.000213589 pips

USD/JPY spread: 0.022286942 pips

Hantec Markets offers precious metals trading with competitive spreads and floating spread types. Traders can trade gold (XAU) with a minimum margin requirement of 5% and silver (XAG) with a minimum margin requirement of 10%. The minimum order size for gold is 0.1 lot (10 ounces) and for silver is 0.1 lot (500 ounces). There are no commissions charged for trading these metals, and the trading hours are available according to the server time.

Hantec Markets offers CFD trading on a variety of symbols, including stocks. The spreads for stock CFDs start from specified values for each symbol. Additionally, there are no specific details provided regarding commissions for stock CFD trading.

Hantec Markets offers indices trading on various major indices in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the US. The spreads for indices trading start from specified values for each symbol. Additionally, there are no specific details provided regarding commissions for indices trading.

In terms of Commodity Trading conditions at Hantec Markets, both US Oil and UK Oil have a spread of 0.05. There are no specific details provided regarding commissions for commodity trading.

Hantec Markets offers cryptocurrency trading with competitive spreads on a range of popular cryptocurrencies.

Non-Trading Fees

Currency Conversion Fee:

A conversion fee may be applicable to trades based on the currency settings of your trading account, funding currency, and the settlement currency of the market being traded.

The conversion fee is set at 0.6% and is added to the settlement exchange rate, which is determined by the market rate at the time of settlement. To account for the conversion fee, the underlying exchange rate is multiplied by 1.006 during the conversion process.

For instance, if the GBP/USD exchange rate is 1.1, the applicable FX conversion rate would be 1.1 x 1.006 = 1.1066.

By default, CFD accounts are set to 'instant' conversion. This means that any realized profit, loss, funding, dividend adjustments, or commission will be automatically converted to your account's base currency.

Let's consider an example:

Suppose you have purchased £20 per point worth of FTSE (UK100), and the base currency of your trading account is USD. Since you are trading in GBP, which is different from your account's base currency, the related transactions need to be converted to USD.

Assuming the exchange rate is 0.7576 ($1 equals £0.7576), after incorporating the conversion fee of 0.6%, the conversion rate becomes 0.7576 x 1.006 = 0.7621.

If FTSE increases by 30 points, your profit would amount to £600. This profit will be reflected as £600/0.7621 = $787.30 in your account. To calculate the admin fee charged, multiply your profit by 0.6%:

$787.30 profit x 0.6% = £4.72 currency conversion fee (already included – not charged separately)

Overnight Funding (Swap charges):

Also known as the 'Swap' charge, this is the cost of holding a position overnight. The amount will be dependent on the size of your trade, whether you have a long or short position and the instrument you are trading. Swap rates are determined by the underlying interest rates of the products or currency pairs you have open positions in.

Trading Platforms

Hantec Markets offers two trading platforms for trades execution: the popular MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5.

Both platforms are widely recognized globally for its robust functions, built-in charting tools and techinical indicatiors and customized interface. Traders can configure settings of the platform according to their own preferences.

You can acess these two platforms via web on any devices, or download apps from Windows, iOS, Mac and Android devices.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Hantec Markets provides multiple payment methods:

Credit/Debit Card: Accepts USD, EUR, GBP, and NGN with a minimum deposit of $25 by Visa, Maestro, UK Debit Cards; no processing fees apply, and payment details must match the account name.

Skrill: Allows deposits in USD, EUR, GBP, and NGN with a minimum of $100; no processing fees, and account details must match.

NETELLER: Supports USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, NGN, and AUD with a minimum deposit of $100; no processing fees, and account details must match.

China UnionPay: Supports all Mainland Chinese cards; no minimum deposit specified and no processing fees.

Withdrawals are made via the original funding method, processed within 2-5 working days, and must match the account holders name.

Customer Support

Hantec Markets prides itself on providing excellent customer service to its clients. Each client is assigned a dedicated relationship manager who serves as their primary point of contact for any queries or issues. The relationship manager can be reached conveniently through the live chat tool available on the website.

The customer support team is also available 24/5 and can be contacted by leaving a message in the “contact us” section of the website.

Alternatively, you can reach out to them through the live chat feature, which is located at the lower right corner of the broker's website. Additionally, you have the option to contact customer support via telephone using the following numbers:

China – 4000280332

Nigeria – 7080601265

Jordan – 18442000155

Thailand – 1800019263

Taiwan – 886801491458

Pakistan – 080090044349

Main Office (UK) – +41225510215

Please note that international numbers may incur toll fees.

Office Locations:

Hantec Markets' main headquarters is situated at 5-6 Newbury St, Barbican, London EC1A 7HU in the United Kingdom. For the addresses of their Dubai, India, or other offices, please refer to the Hantec Markets website.

Education

Hantec Markets offers a wide range of educational resources on its website to support traders in their learning journey. These resources include market reports, analysis videos, YouTube webinars featuring Nigerian and African traders, as well as podcasts. Moreover, there is a dedicated learning hub that provides valuable content across four experience tiers, along with lessons on strategy creation and risk management.

Conclusion

Overall, Hantec Markets is a well-established forex broker with competitive spreads, transparent commission-free trading, and access to popular trading platforms like MT4 and MT5. Traders can benefit from various trading platforms and a diverse selection of tradable assets. However, some aspects, such as limited information about certain commissions and the availability of Hantec Social platform, could be improved. Traders should carefully assess their trading requirements and preferences, as well as consider the associated risks and costs, before choosing Garnet Trade as their trading platform.

FAQs

Is Hantec Markets a legitimate broker?

Yes, Hantec Markets is a legitimate and regulated forex broker. They are authorized and supervised by ASIC and FCA.

What account types do Hantec Markets offer?

Hantec Markets offers demo accounts, Cent accounts, and Standard accounts. The minimum deposit to open an account is just $10.

What trading platforms are available on Hantec Markets?

MT4 and MT5.

What is the maximum leverage offered by Hantec Markets?

Hantec Markets offers maximum leverage of 1:1000 for international clients using the Cent Account and 1:500 for international clients using the Standard Account. However, for European clients, leverage is limited by ESMA regulations to 1:30 for major FX pairs, 1:20 for minors and exotics, gold, and stock indices, and 1:10 for oil and silver.

What deposit and withdrawal methods are supported by Hantec Markets?

Hantec Markets supports Bank Wire, VISA, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, and UnionPay.