Trade Republic is a Berlin-based investing app and bank, founded in 2015, that offers stocks, ETFs, bonds, crypto and derivatives with a flat order fee and free savings plans. It operates as Trade Republic Bank GmbH, which holds a full German banking licence granted by the ECB in December 2023 and is supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank. It suits long-term savers and casual investors living in its 17 euro-area countries; it does not accept US persons or anyone resident outside those countries.
Risk warning: Trading carries a high risk of losing money, especially with leveraged products such as CFDs. A bonus does not reduce that risk. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.
Trade Republic
Existing Trade Republic customers who are enabled for the program can invite friends with a personal link. If the friend meets the conditions shown in the app within 21 days, both get a randomly drawn stock or ETF fraction worth 5 to 200 EUR at allocation.
Trade Republic
Trade Republic invests 1% of eligible card payments from your cash balance into a savings plan you choose, up to 15 EUR a month (1,500 EUR of spending). You need at least 50 EUR a month in savings plans.
Trade Republic
Trade Republic's German site advertises 2.5% a year on uninvested cash, paid monthly. The rate follows ECB policy and is not guaranteed.
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Trade Republic was founded in 2015 in Munich as Neon Trading by Christian Hecker, Thomas Pischke and Marco Cancellieri, and is now based in Berlin. It started as a low-cost broker app and became a full bank: the ECB granted Trade Republic Bank GmbH a German banking licence in December 2023, and the bank is supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank. In January 2025 it reported 8 million customers and more than 100 billion EUR in customer assets.
The product is built around the mobile app, with a web version. You can buy stocks, ETFs, bonds, crypto and derivatives, hold fractional shares, run ETF and stock savings plans from 1 EUR, and use a Visa debit card with an IBAN for everyday payments.
There is no account or depot fee. A one-off buy or sell order costs a flat 1 EUR external cost charge (Fremdkostenpauschale), whatever the order size. Savings plans on stocks and ETFs are free to run. Crypto orders also cost 1 EUR, and the price you get includes a spread on top. SEPA deposits are free. Check the price overview in the app before trading, since the fee list can change.
Uninvested cash earns interest. The German page showed 2.5% p.a. on 8 October 2026 and the Austrian page 3% p.a. Interest is calculated daily and credited monthly. The rate follows ECB policy and has moved several times (4% in early 2024, 2.0% in spring 2026). The maximum balance that earns interest depends on the country and account type and is shown in the app.
Trade Republic has no fixed welcome bonus published on its website. Its main promotion is Refer-a-Friend: an existing customer whose app shows a referral tile sends a personal invite link, and if the new customer completes the conditions shown in the app within 21 calendar days of opening the account, both can receive a stock or ETF fraction drawn at random, worth 5 to 200 EUR at allocation. The conditions can include a deposit of up to 3,000 EUR and up to five paid orders (savings plans do not count). The reward is credited within 30 days and can be locked against sale or transfer for up to 90 days. Closing the account during the lock lets Trade Republic claim it back. One referrer can earn at most 2,000 EUR or refer 40 people, and links may only be shared privately.
Two standing features work like ongoing rewards. Saveback invests 1% of eligible card payments made from your cash balance into a savings plan you choose, capped at 15 EUR a month (1,500 EUR of spending), but only in months where you hold at least 50 EUR in weekly, twice-monthly or monthly savings plans. The interest on cash described above is the other one. Neither is paid as a sign-up bonus, and Trade Republic can change both at any time.
Trade Republic serves permanent residents of 17 euro-area countries only: Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia. US persons are excluded, and people living anywhere else cannot open an account.
Customer cash is held at partner banks, where statutory deposit protection applies. Higher balances can also be placed in money market funds, which are not covered by deposit insurance. We found no BaFin or IOSCO warning about the firm. Consumer groups have challenged its marketing: the Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Wuerttemberg sued in February 2025 over allegedly misleading claims about the cash interest and deposit protection, and the Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg obtained a cease-and-desist undertaking over a 2022 free-share promotion. Read the deposit-protection wording in the app if you plan to keep a large cash balance there.
Not a fixed one on its website. New customers who join through a friend's invite link can receive a random stock or ETF fraction worth 5 to 200 EUR after meeting the conditions in the app within 21 days. Some new customers see a separate free-stock promotion in the app instead; using a referral link replaces it. All customers also get the standing interest on cash and Saveback on card payments.
No. Trade Republic does not use promo codes for its referral program. The new customer has to open the account through the personal invite link that an existing customer sends from the app, using the same phone number.
An existing customer with a referral tile in the app sends a private invite link. If the friend opens an account and completes the conditions shown in the app within 21 calendar days (a deposit of up to 3,000 EUR and up to five paid orders), both can get a random stock or ETF fraction worth 5 to 200 EUR. It is credited within 30 days and can be locked for up to 90 days. Each referrer is capped at 40 referrals or 2,000 EUR.
Yes. Trade Republic Bank GmbH holds a full German banking licence granted by the ECB in December 2023 and is supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank. Cash at partner banks is covered by statutory deposit protection, but balances placed in money market funds are not.