Key Insights
- Robinhood announces plans to launch UK stock trading app in early 2024 after previous attempts stalled
- CEO Tenev says goal to open waitlist access gradually before full rollout centered on trading U.S. stocks
- Relaunch follows 2020 suspension of Robinhood’s initial UK expansion just year after gaining regulatory approval
LONDON — Online brokerage platform Robinhood is taking another shot at expanding operations overseas, announcing this week plans to finally launch its stock trading app in the United Kingdom after pausing initial attempts years ago.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vladimir Tenev said the company has opened a UK waitlist for early access to the app which will gradually open up in early 2024. The relaunched effort focuses on letting Britons trade U.S. stocks and funds.
I aspire for Robinhood to be a global company. That’s been the plan from the very beginning, remarked Tenev, citing the immigrant background of Robinhood’s founders as motivation to expand abroad.
Robinhood previously sought bringing its commission-free trading app to the UK in 2019 after gaining regulatory approval. But by 2020, the brokerage suspended its overseas growth to concentrate on the domestic U.S. market.
Read also! Is Robinhood Legit?
Now with its core business on steadier footing after the meme stock mania and 2021 GameStop saga, Robinhood appears ready to revisit international territories starting with the UK.
The potential is ripe for Robinhood’s signature user-friendly platform to disrupt Britain’s traditional finance landscape, though past missteps highlight why the company is taking a deliberate approach.
Read also! Robinhood Crypto Wallet Launches on Android Worldwide
By initially rolling out to a limited user base for testing, Robinhood seems focused on getting things right this time in the UK after ambitious global visions were dashed once before. But the brokerage’s industry shakeup may finally reach across the pond in 2023.