Trade Republic CEO and co-founder Christian Hecker. Image: Trade Republic
Starting today, people in Ireland will have access to more than 8,000 global stocks and other investments through the Trade Republic app.
German start-up Trade Republic is launching its stock-trading services in Ireland today (18 October).
This means that Irish customers will be able to invest and trade through the company’s app. It comes just a few months after commission-free investment app Lightyear launched in Ireland.
Founded in Munich in 2015 and now headquartered in Berlin, Trade Republic lets users buy and sell shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and crypto through their smartphone for a fee of €1 per transaction.
“Through our easy-to-understand product, we want to encourage everyone to take advantage of opportunities in the financial markets,” said CEO and co-founder Christian Hecker.
“50pc of our customers have never invested before, and now consider Trade Republic a reference for savings plans and for the long-term growth of their own funds.”
Irish customers will now have access to a total of more than 8,000 Irish, European, Asian and US stocks, along with 1,100 ETFs, with extended trading hours between 7.30am and 11pm. Other features include real-time data, price alerts and options to automate investments.
The expansion into Ireland brings Trade Republic’s European presence to a total of 17 countries.
‘Wake-up call’
Citing rising inflation in the eurozone, Hecker said that the current economic situation should be a “wake-up call” for people in Europe.
“All Europeans need to have access to capital markets to start fuelling long-term investing, participate in economic growth and ultimately save up for retirement,” he said.
“We built Trade Republic to enable them to do exactly that and have now opened our doors to a total of 17 markets, so Europeans everywhere can finally take their personal finances into their own hands.”
Earlier this year, the online broker brought its Series C round to more than $1.1bn in what was one of the largest fintech funding rounds in the world in the first half of 2022.
Adults living in Ireland who have access to a smartphone, a European phone number and a SEPA bank account are eligible to open an account with Trade Republic.
The platform is looking to pitch itself as an alternative to people leaving money in their bank account and losing purchasing power.
“With inflation being almost 9pc in Ireland, there really is no alternative to investing,” said Hugo Suidgeest, country manager of Trade Republic in Ireland.
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