They must be UK-based and FCA-regulated. Check they have - negative balance protection segregation of clients' funds client deposits protection scheme
I usually trade major pairs, mostly having USD simply because they are traded in high volumes and come with lower spreads.
They only accept EU/UK clients, since they are cysec regulated. Got my account open with them last week only, looks pretty much decent. Let’s see.
Just a thought. These high liquidity pairs can still put you at the risk of widening spreads in case there’s economic volatility. Keep an eye on the economic calendar. That’s one solution to be safe.
Is it true that each forex broker charges a different spread that gets added to the transaction cost?
Yes. Also each broker varies their spreads every minute of each day. Each pair has 2 prices, bid (sell) and ask (buy). The ask is never lower than the bid. Watch the quoted bid-ask prices on your preferred target pair minute by minute to see how spread varies. Watch at high risk times like around news announcements or the open or close of trading in London, New York and Japan.