Featured partnerSign up to Lightyear and get up to €100 in a free fractional shareCapital at risk, terms apply. Seek guidance if necessary. Claim Up to €100 Capital at risk, terms apply. Seek guidance if necessary. - Trading 212 reports over 5 million clients on its homepage, checked on 13 October 2026. The company that holds the account still depends on where you live.
- Many EU clients are with Trading 212 EU GmbH in Ratingen, a German securities firm regulated by BaFin (ID 10109603). It is a different company from Trading 212 Markets Ltd in Cyprus.
- For that German company, cash is segregated at J.P. Morgan SE and Sparkasse. Shares are held through Interactive Brokers and Bank of New York Mellon, apart from the firm's own assets.
- If Trading 212 EU GmbH cannot return assets, EdW covers 90% of an eligible claim, up to €20,000 per person. That does not cover a fall in the market.
Trading 212's homepage, checked on 13 October 2026, says the group has over 5 million clients. The protection on an account still depends on which Trading 212 company holds it. Many EU clients are now with Trading 212 EU GmbH, the German securities firm regulated by BaFin, rather than with the Cyprus company that used to be the default description for Europe.
If you have considered opening a Trading 212 account in Europe, the useful question is which legal entity would hold it. Trading 212 assigns a new account from your country of residence. Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and a list of other countries go to Trading 212 EU GmbH. Italy, Poland, Greece and another group of countries still go to Trading 212 Markets Ltd in Cyprus. UK residents go to Trading 212 UK Ltd. If you already have an account, the company named at the bottom of the app menu is the one that holds it.
For clients of the German company, uninvested cash is held in segregated omnibus accounts at J.P. Morgan SE and Sparkasse, and shares are held through Interactive Brokers and Bank of New York Mellon. If the firm cannot return what it owes, the German investor-compensation scheme, EdW, covers 90% of an eligible claim, up to €20,000 per person. The detail, including what that cap does not cover, is below.
The companyWhich Trading 212 Company Holds Your Account
Trading 212 is a trading name used by several regulated companies. For European investors the split that matters is between the German company, the Cyprus company and the UK company. The supported countries page in Trading 212's help centre, and the page on who regulates Trading 212, are the firm's own lists.
BaFin's company database, in the extract dated 12 October 2026, lists the German firm as Trading 212 EU GmbH. It is a securities institution (Wertpapierinstitut) at Bahnstraße 47, 40878 Ratingen. The BaFin ID is 10109603. Trading 212's help centre gives the commercial register number as HRB 101710. Trading 212 Markets Ltd is the separate Cyprus firm.
Trading 212 EU GmbH, for many EU clients
A new account for a resident of any of these countries is opened with Trading 212 EU GmbH:
- Germany, Austria, France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain
- Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland
That list includes most of the large EU markets by population, which is why so many EU clients now sit with the German company. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are on the same list even though they are outside the EU.
Cyprus and the UK
A new account for a resident of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia is opened with Trading 212 Markets Ltd. That company is registered in Cyprus under HE 409763 and is authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission under licence 398/21.
UK residents are onboarded into Trading 212 UK Ltd, which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under Firm Reference 609146. Trading 212's help centre also places a number of non-European countries with the UK company. Australia has its own company, Trading 212 AU Pty Ltd.
To see the company on an account you already have, open the menu and scroll to the bottom. Trading 212's help centre says the company name is shown there. Do not assume from your country alone if you opened the account under an older arrangement.
Trading 212 key facts
The client count is the "over 5 million clients" figure on the Trading 212 homepage, checked on 13 October 2026. The company facts are from Trading 212's help centre and legal notices, and from the BaFin register extract dated 12 October 2026.
CompensationWhat Protects Clients of the German Company
Trading 212 EU GmbH is supervised by BaFin under the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG). Its funds and asset protection page says client assets are held under section 84 of the WpHG: the firm must keep records, keep client assets separate from its own, and organise itself so that the risk of loss is limited. BaFin's register shows permission to safeguard and administer financial instruments from 9 December 2025, and that permission was still open on the 12 October 2026 extract.
Two different caps are easy to mix up. EdW applies if Trading 212 itself cannot return client money or instruments. The bank deposit cap applies if a partner bank fails. Neither one pays you because a share price fell.
The two German caps
- Covers money and instruments owed from securities transactions
- Does not cover a fall in the market value of investments
- No cover for cash that is not in euros or another EU currency, so US dollar and Swiss franc balances are outside it
- J.P. Morgan SE through the Entschädigungseinrichtung Deutscher Banken (EdB), Sparkasse through the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV)
- Does not cover shares
- The cap includes other deposits you hold at that same bank, not only the Trading 212 balance
Trading 212's investor-compensation notice says the firm is assigned to EdW under the Investor Compensation Act (Anlegerentschädigungsgesetz). EdW pays 90% of the liabilities from securities transactions, up to €20,000 per creditor. The amount is based on the money owed and the market value of the instruments when the compensation event occurs. EdW's own explanation adds that investors must file a written claim within one year of being notified, and that there is no compensation for money denominated in US dollars or Swiss francs.
Clients of Trading 212 Markets Ltd are not in the German scheme. They are with the Cyprus company, under CySEC, and the Cypriot investor-compensation arrangements. Clients of Trading 212 UK Ltd are under the FCA and the UK compensation scheme. Those are separate regimes. The company named in your account is the one whose scheme applies.
CustodyHow the German Company Holds Cash and Shares
Compensation is the backstop. Day to day, the protection is segregation: client property is kept apart from the firm's own balance sheet, so that a failure of the firm does not make client assets available to the firm's creditors.
Cash
Trading 212's notice on omnibus accounts says client money for Trading 212 EU GmbH is held in omnibus accounts at J.P. Morgan SE and Sparkasse, strictly separate from the firm's own assets. The accounts are pooled, and the firm reconciles your balance so the app can show it. The same notice states statutory deposit protection of up to €100,000 per investor. The help centre adds that this is per person and per partner bank, and that the app shows the share of your cash at each bank.
Shares and ETFs
The custody article for Trading 212 EU GmbH says client instruments are held through two sub-custodians, Interactive Brokers LLC and Bank of New York Mellon. Which one is used depends on the market. US shares are at Interactive Brokers and the Depository Trust Company. German, French, Dutch, UK, Swiss and several other European markets can sit with either sub-custodian, at the local central securities depository. Most European-listed ETFs are domiciled in Ireland or Luxembourg and settle at Euroclear Bank or Clearstream Luxembourg, whichever exchange you bought them on.
The instruments are in pooled accounts. Trading 212 keeps the record of what belongs to each client. You hold a beneficial interest. The legal title is with the sub-custodian. Because the holding is pooled, your right is a contractual claim for delivery against Trading 212, which German practice calls Wertpapierrechnung, rather than a direct co-ownership right at the depository.
What happens if Trading 212 EU GmbH fails?
Financial Strength
A broker's own financial position matters because, in extreme tail scenarios, segregation can be undermined by poor reconciliation or fraud. The stronger and better-capitalised the broker, the less likely you are to need the compensation scheme at all.
Current financial position
Trading 212 UK Ltd's most recently filed accounts (year-end 2024) show revenue of £277.6 million, up 72% year on year, and net profit of £92.2 million. Profitability is meaningful for a retail broker, because it indicates the firm is not burning cash to acquire users and is funding operations from its own income rather than from venture capital. Across the group, client assets under administration crossed £25 billion (€30 billion) in May 2025, with 4.5 million funded accounts globally.
Trading 212 is privately held by its founders, with no requirement to deliver short-term returns to public shareholders. That tends to align broker incentives more closely with long-term client retention than with quarterly earnings.
For clients of the German company, the capital figure that belongs to that company is in its own Pillar 3 disclosure, not in the UK accounts. The disclosure for the year ended 31 December 2024 reports own funds of €2.1 million and a total capital ratio of 179.26%, against a regulatory minimum of 100%. Those own funds are the firm's regulatory capital. They are not the client cash or the client securities, which are held outside that capital under section 84 of the WpHG.
Trading 212 financial strength metrics
Our Verdict on Trading 212 Safety
For the many EU clients now with Trading 212 EU GmbH, the structure is a normal one for a German securities firm. BaFin supervises it. Cash is segregated at J.P. Morgan SE and Sparkasse. Shares are at Interactive Brokers and Bank of New York Mellon, in pooled accounts, with a client-level record. EdW is there if the firm cannot return what it owes, at 90% and up to €20,000, and it is not there for a market loss.
The cap is the part to take seriously once a portfolio is larger than €20,000. Segregation is what does the work above that line, and spreading a large portfolio across more than one regulated broker reduces the chance that one firm's outage or insolvency affects everything you own. Before you apply any of this to your own account, read the company name at the bottom of the menu. A Cyprus account and a UK account are not the German scheme. For the wider platform decision, read our Trading 212 review for EU investors. If you are comparing brokers, our eToro vs Trading 212 comparison sets the two side by side.
This information is not investment advice. Check the current legal documents, and whether Trading 212 fits your own situation, before you open an account.
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
Trading 212 assigns a new account from your country of residence. Residents of Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France and the listed French overseas territories, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland are clients of Trading 212 EU GmbH, regulated by BaFin. Residents of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are clients of Trading 212 Markets Ltd, regulated by CySEC. UK residents are clients of Trading 212 UK Ltd, regulated by the FCA. An existing account can be checked in the app: open the menu and scroll to the bottom.
Trading 212 EU GmbH is the German company, registered in Ratingen under HRB 101710 and regulated by BaFin under ID 10109603. Trading 212 Markets Ltd is the Cyprus company, register number HE 409763, regulated by CySEC under licence 398/21. The app looks the same, but the company, the supervisor and the compensation scheme are different. Trading 212's legal pages and the BaFin record both name the German firm Trading 212 EU GmbH.
EdW, the Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen, covers liabilities from securities transactions if BaFin determines that Trading 212 EU GmbH cannot meet them. The cover is 90% of the eligible claim, up to €20,000 per person. It includes a claim for the return of instruments held for you. It does not cover a fall in the market, and there is no cover for money that is not denominated in euros or another EU currency, so uninvested US dollar or Swiss franc cash is outside it. You have to claim in writing within one year of EdW's notice.
No. The €100,000 figure is statutory deposit protection on uninvested cash if a partner bank fails. It is €100,000 per person per bank, and it includes other deposits you already hold at that same bank. J.P. Morgan SE is covered by the Entschädigungseinrichtung Deutscher Banken (EdB). Sparkasse is covered by the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV). Shares are held with Interactive Brokers and Bank of New York Mellon, not in those bank deposits, so the €100,000 cap does not apply to them.
US shares are held through Interactive Brokers LLC at the Depository Trust Company, in a pooled account, separate from Trading 212's own assets. You have a contractual right to delivery against Trading 212 (Wertpapierrechnung), rather than a direct co-ownership right at the depository. If the firm fails, those shares are dealt with in the return of client assets. They are not protected by a US scheme such as SIPC through Trading 212. A shortfall in the pooled account would be shared pro rata.
EdW is a backstop for a shortfall, capped at 90% and €20,000. Above that, what matters is that cash and securities are held apart from the firm's own assets. Keeping a large portfolio at one broker, however closely supervised, still concentrates operational risk in one place. Splitting it across more than one regulated broker is a common way to reduce that concentration. Check the company named in your account before you apply a UK or Cyprus description to a German-company account.
Get a free fractional share worth up to €100 for new users
Featured partner: Capital at risk. Provider of the investment services is Lightyear Europe AS for the EU. Terms apply: lightyear.com/terms. Seek qualified advice if necessary. This is not investment advice. Sponsored Link.
