For centuries private banking sold exclusivity: entry thresholds, closed funds, a personal banker. Berlin-based Trade Republic hands a similar set to millions — with a €1 entry threshold, a full banking licence behind it and partnerships at the level of Apollo and EQT.
For the EU-resident part of our audience it is a ready-made "second bank": deposits under the German guarantee scheme, brokerage for token amounts, interest on cash balances at the ECB rate and, since late 2025, private markets too. Let us look at how the company arrived at this line-up, what it earns on after the PFOF ban, and what in this shop window is worth checking before you sign.
Background
Trade Republic was founded in 2015 by three Berliners: former investment banker Christian Hecker, physicist Thomas Pischke and computer scientist Marco Cancellieri; the early anchor was the Düsseldorf broker Sino AG, which bought control in 2017. The app launched publicly in 2019, and mobile brokerage at a €1 commission quickly gathered millions of clients in Germany.
The venture story escalated steadily: in 2019–2020 the company raised over €60m in a Series B from Accel, Founders Fund, Creandum and Project A, and then $900m in May 2021 at a $5.3bn valuation in a round led by Sequoia with TCV and Thrive Capital participating. In June 2022 a €250m extension led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan was added.
In December 2023 the company obtained a full banking licence (ECB approval, BaFin supervision) and began turning into a full-service bank. In January 2025 the platform reported 8m customers and over €100bn in assets, opening national branches in France, Spain and Italy; in autumn 2025 Poland was added — the first market outside the eurozone, bringing the total to 18. By mid-2026, according to industry statistics, it had ≈10m customers, ≈€150bn in assets and a headcount of around 1,200.
The valuation was set by a secondary transaction: in December 2025 existing shareholders sold €1.2bn of stock at a valuation of ≈€12.5bn; Peter Thiel's Founders Fund increased its stake, and Fidelity, Wellington and Singapore's GIC came onto the register. The business is profitable in the meantime: in the 2023/24 financial year it earned €34.8m net on revenue of ≈€340m — a rarity for a European fintech of this size.
Products and pricing
The brokerage layer as of August 2026 looks like this: any trade in shares, ETFs, derivatives and ≈50 crypto assets costs €1 in external costs, while savings plans in shares and ETFs execute free of charge from €1. After the PFOF ban there are two execution modes: Best Price for the same €1, where the order is matched on Trade Republic's own venue with quotes checked across 30 exchanges, and Direct Price for €2 — direct routing to a chosen exchange.
Uninvested cash earns interest at the ECB deposit rate — as of August 2026 that is 2% a year, accrued daily and paid monthly; the €50k cap was removed in July 2025. Client money is spread across partner banks — Deutsche Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Citibank Europe, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis and SEB — while large balances partly go into liquidity funds, where asset segregation replaces the deposit guarantee.
The banking layer: a current account with a local IBAN (German, French, Spanish, Italian or Dutch, depending on the branch) and a Visa card — virtual for free, plastic €5 one-off, metal €50. Saveback returns 1% of card spending into a savings plan — up to €15 a month on spending under €1,500 and with an active plan of €50 a month or more; ATM withdrawals are free from €100, and €1 below that.
The flagship of 2025 is private markets. Announced on 15.09.2025: a partnership with Apollo and EQT, entry from €1, and a rollout to all of the platform's markets by the end of 2025. The product is packaged in ELTIF wrappers — Apollo Private Markets ELTIF and EQT Nexus; on top of the funds' own quarterly windows, Trade Republic promises monthly liquidity through an internal marketplace.
The convenience is paid for in fund fees: according to product breakdowns, ongoing charges run at ≈2.35% (EQT Nexus) and ≈2.8% (Apollo) a year plus a performance fee, and the total load in modelled scenarios reaches ≈4.5% a year. The pensions business is being rolled out next: in France, commission-free savings plans under the PEA tax wrapper and an account paying the local rate have launched; in Germany an Altersvorsorgedepot has been announced for the 2027 pension reform, and state-subsidised products are promised for all of the largest markets.
Competitive landscape
The closest pursuer is Munich-based Scalable Capital: its own ECB licence since 10.09.2025, BlackRock and Tencent behind it, and over 1m clients. Curiously, Scalable closed the PFOF era earliest of all — since December 2024 orders have gone through its EIX venue, built with Börse Hannover, whereas Trade Republic only moved to its own model on 2 July 2026. The pricing logic differs too: €0.99 per trade or a PRIME+ subscription at €4.99 a month, plus a full desktop platform — Trade Republic lives deliberately in mobile-only.
Revolut and N26 attack from the banking side, embedding trading into an everyday app; eToro competes on global reach and copy trading. Trade Republic's trump card is a rare combination: a German banking licence, 18 local markets with national IBANs, the ECB rate on cash with no subscription of any kind, and the only access in this group to private markets from Apollo and EQT.
What it means for the client
For a client with EU residency, Trade Republic is useful as a "second bank" and a cheap execution layer: guaranteed deposits, 2% on cash, €1 trades and automated savings plans. Onboarding requires permanent residency in one of the 18 countries of presence, an age of 18+, a European phone number, a SEPA account in your own name and a smartphone; the platform does not serve US citizens. For our audience this is filter number one, and there is no way around it.
Private markets from €1 is a handsome shop window, but the decision should be made on the documents of the specific ELTIF: a fee load approaching 3% a year plus a performance fee eats a noticeable share of the target return, and "monthly" liquidity rests on an internal marketplace that can contract under stress. For large tickets it is cheaper to access the same strategies through institutional channels.
Under the hood
The build follows a textbook trajectory: broker, then bank, then wealth platform. The brokerage stage delivered millions of clients at a negligible acquisition cost; the December 2023 banking licence freed the company's hands on deposits and margin on balances; the private markets layer and pension wrappers add prestige products on top of a mass base.
The economics historically rested on four streams: margin on client cash, card interchange, turnover-driven €1 commissions and payment for order flow, which supplied around a third of revenue in 2023. The EU's PFOF ban, whose transition period expired on 30.06.2026, closed the last stream — the response was an MTF operator licence from BaFin in January 2026 and an own execution model from 2 July 2026, in which the platform matches trades itself and earns on spreads. Critics point out that the conflict of interest has merely changed shape: in Best Price mode the counterparty to a retail order is the broker's own infrastructure.
For a builder the lesson lies in the cost of scaling: every country adds a regulatory and operational load, and Trade Republic covers it with a branch structure carrying local IBANs and state-incentivised wrappers such as the French PEA. The Apollo and EQT partnerships show the second mechanic: private markets brands come to you on their own once the platform has ≈10m clients.
Regulation and status
Trade Republic Bank GmbH has held a full banking licence since December 2023 (ECB approval, ongoing BaFin supervision) and, since January 2026, a multilateral trading facility operator licence as well; deposits are covered by the German statutory scheme up to €100k per client at each partner bank. The branches in France, Spain and Italy have been operating since January 2025; in total the platform is present in 18 European markets.
Milestones of recent years: 15.09.2025 — the private markets announcement with Apollo and EQT, launched by the end of 2025; December 2025 — the €1.2bn secondary transaction at a valuation of ≈€12.5bn; 02.07.2026 — the move to an own execution model after the PFOF ban.
FAQ
Can a non-EU resident open an account?
Onboarding requires permanent residency in one of the 18 countries of presence, an age of 18+, a European phone number, a SEPA account in your own name and a smartphone. The platform does not serve US citizens regardless of residency. Clients without EU residency will have to look at other jurisdictions.
What exactly are the private markets launched with Apollo and EQT?
The announcement was made on 15.09.2025 and the rollout completed by the end of 2025: the Apollo Private Markets and EQT Nexus ELTIF funds with entry from €1. Ongoing charges are ≈2.35–2.8% a year plus a performance fee; units can be sold monthly through the internal marketplace, while the funds themselves redeem quarterly and may cap redemption volumes.
How well protected is the money in the account?
Cash balances are spread across partner banks (Deutsche Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Citibank Europe and others) and at each are covered by the German guarantee scheme up to €100k per client. Large balances are partly placed in liquidity funds, where asset segregation serves as the protection. Securities and ELTIF units are held separately and carry market risk in full.
What did the PFOF ban of 30.06.2026 change?
Trade Republic stopped receiving payment for order flow, which supplied around a third of revenue in 2023, and since 2 July 2026 executes trades on its own venue under an MTF licence. The default Best Price mode still costs €1 with quotes checked across 30 exchanges; Direct Price at €2 sends the order straight to a chosen exchange. Earnings have shifted into spreads, so it makes sense to check execution prices against Xetra on a sample basis.
How much does the platform pay on cash?
The rate is tied to the ECB deposit rate: as of August 2026 that is 2% a year, accrued daily and paid monthly. The €50k cap was removed in July 2025, so interest applies to the whole balance without limit. When the ECB rate changes, the yield changes automatically.