⏱️ 17 min read · 3,226 words · Updated Jun 13, 2026

Is DEGIRO safe?

“That’s the question that pulls people to Google late at night, usually after they’ve downloaded the app, looked at the low fees, and then suddenly thought: wait, where is my money actually sitting?”

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If you’re here, you’re probably in that exact spot. Good. It means you’re thinking about this the right way.

The short answer is yes, DEGIRO is safe in the ways that matter most for a Broker. It’s regulated, it’s insured against insolvency up to meaningful limits, and it’s been operating since 2013 without a major scandal involving client funds. But “safe” is a word that gets thrown around loosely, and the longer answer is more useful. Because what you actually want to know isn’t whether DEGIRO is a legitimate company. It’s whether your money is protected if something goes wrong, whether the platform can handle volatility, and whether there are risks that don’t show up in a Google ad.

Let’s walk through all of it. No fluff, no “at the end of the day” nonsense. Just what you need to make a decision.

How DEGIRO Is Regulated – is DEGIRO safe

DEGIRO is a Dutch Broker founded in 2013 by a group of former BinckBank traders. It’s headquartered in Amsterdam and operates under the supervision of two primary regulators: the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). The reason it falls under BaFin as well is that DEGIRO expanded into Germany early on and obtained a full banking license through its German entity, flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, which is based in Frankfurt.

This matters because both the AFM and BaFin are serious regulators. They’re not some offshore licensing body you’ve never heard of. These are the same authorities that oversee major European banks. DEGIRO has to comply with MiFID II, the European Union’s comprehensive framework for investment firms. That means regular audits, capital adequacy requirements, and strict rules about how client assets are handled.

One specific requirement under MiFID II is that client funds must be segregated from the Broker‘s own operational funds. In plain language, this means DEGIRO can’t use your money to pay its rent or cover its own trading losses. Your cash sits in separate accounts at custodian banks. If DEGIRO were to go bankrupt, those segregated funds are technically not part of the bankruptcy estate.

That said, segregation doesn’t mean zero risk. There have been cases in the brokerage world where segregation failed in practice, even when it existed on paper. It’s a strong protection, not a magic shield. But combined with the regulatory oversight, it’s a meaningful layer of safety.

What Happens If DEGIRO Goes Bankrupt?

This is the scenario that keeps people up at night, so let’s be direct about it. If DEGIRO were to become insolvent, two protection schemes apply. First, the German deposit guarantee scheme (Einlagensicherung) covers cash deposits up to €100,000 per client. This is the standard across the EU and is backed by German law. So if you have €80,000 sitting as uninvested cash in your DEGIRO account, you’d be covered.

Second, there’s the securities investor compensation scheme, which in Germany covers up to 20,000 euros or 90% of the owed securities value, whichever is lower. This one is less generous than the deposit guarantee, and it’s worth being honest about that. If you hold a large portfolio of stocks and ETFs, the securities protection won’t cover your full position. The idea is that your actual securities (the shares you bought) are held in your name or in a segregated custody account, so they should be returned to you regardless of DEGIRO’s financial health. But if those securities are missing for some reason, the compensation kicks in, and it has limits.

Here’s where I’ll give you my actual opinion: the bankruptcy risk for DEGIRO specifically is low. The company merged with flatex, a publicly listed German online bank, in 2020. flatexDEGIRO AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization in the range of several hundred million euros. It’s not some startup running on venture capital fumes. That doesn’t make it immune to failure, but it’s a far cry from the fly-by-night brokers that pop up every few years.

“Is DEGIRO safe? It’s regulated by the AFM and BaFin, your cash is segregated, and deposit protection covers up to €100,000 per client. Those are real protections, not marketing talk.”

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Platform Reliability and Technical Safety

Regulation and investor protection are one thing. Whether the platform actually works when you need it is another. And this is where DEGIRO has a mixed record that’s worth discussing honestly.

During periods of extreme market volatility, DEGIRO has experienced outages. The most notable incidents occurred in early 2020 when COVID-19 triggered massive trading volumes across the entire brokerage industry. DEGIRO, along with several other low-cost brokers like Robinhood and Trade Republic, had periods where users couldn’t log in or execute trades. For some people, that meant being unable to sell positions during a sharp downturn. That’s not a theoretical risk. It happened.

DEGIRO has since invested in infrastructure improvements, and the platform is generally stable during normal market conditions. But if you’re someone who needs to trade during breakouts or crashes, you should know that a discount broker’s infrastructure may not match what you’d get from a full-service bank or a larger platform with deeper pockets for server capacity.

On the security side, DEGIRO uses two-factor authentication, which you should absolutely enable. The app and website use standard encryption. There haven’t been any major data breaches that I’m aware of, which is a good sign given that the platform serves over 2.5 million clients across Europe.

One thing that does bother me, though, is the lack of certain order types that more advanced traders rely on for risk management. DEGIRO supports stop-loss orders, but the execution isn’t guaranteed in the way it is on some other platforms. A stop-loss on DEGIRO becomes a market order once the trigger price is hit, which means in a fast-moving market, you could get filled at a significantly worse price than your stop level. For most long-term investors buying ETFs, this won’t matter much. But if you’re trading individual stocks actively, it’s a gap worth knowing about.

How DEGIRO Compares to Other Brokers on Safety

Let’s put DEGIRO next to some alternatives. Because “is DEGIRO safe” only has meaning in context. Safe compared to what?

Interactive Brokers stands out on securities protection because of the SIPC coverage for its US entity, which goes up to $500,000. If you’re a US citizen or have access to Interactive Brokers’ US arm, that’s a stronger safety net for large portfolios. But for European residents using DEGIRO, the protections are broadly in line with what Trade Republic and Saxo offer. They’re all operating under the same EU regulatory umbrella.

The one area where DEGIRO arguably falls behind is customer service. It’s not a safety issue in the regulatory sense, but if you have a problem with your account, getting a timely response from DEGIRO can be frustrating. Multiple users across forums and review sites report slow email responses and limited phone support. When you’re dealing with a locked account or a disputed trade, slow support feels like a safety issue even if it technically isn’t.

The Real Risks That Don’t Make It Into the FAQs

Here’s where I’ll push back on the usual narrative. Most articles about whether a broker is safe focus on regulation and deposit protection. Those are important. But there are other risks that affect your actual experience and your actual money, and they deserve attention.

First, currency risk. DEGIRO offers access to multiple exchanges, including US, European, and Asian markets. If you buy a US-listed ETF, you’re exposed to EUR/USD fluctuations unless you use DEGIRO’s currency conversion tool, which charges a fee (0.25% for automatic conversion, or you can manually convert at a lower spread). Over time, that currency cost adds up, and it’s not something most safety discussions mention because it’s not about the broker failing. It’s about the broker quietly costing you money.

Second, the product range has limits. DEGIRO doesn’t offer options trading, futures, or forex. For some people, that’s actually a safety feature. It keeps you from blowing up your account on derivatives you don’t understand. For others, it means you can’t hedge positions the way you might want to. Neither is wrong, but the limitation shapes your risk profile whether you realize it or not.

Third, DEGIRO’s model of routing orders through its own internalizer has drawn scrutiny. In 2023, BaFin imposed a fine on flatexDEGIRO because the bank had not correctly reported certain transactions under MiFID II requirements. The fine was related to reporting failures, not to misuse of client funds, but it’s a reminder that even regulated companies make compliance mistakes. DEGIRO has since addressed the issues, but it’s worth knowing that regulatory compliance isn’t a one-time checkbox.

And here’s a small aside that I think gets overlooked: DEGIRO’s interface is designed to make buying easy. It doesn’t do much to warn you about concentration risk, or to encourage diversification, or to ask whether you’ve thought about what happens if the single stock you’re buying drops 40%. The platform is neutral in a way that can feel like permission. That’s not DEGIRO being unsafe. It’s DEGIRO being a tool. But tools shape behavior, and if you’re not careful, the ease of use can work against you.

What DEGIRO Users Actually Complain About

I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit reading through Trustpilot reviews, Reddit threads, and Dutch consumer forums about DEGIRO. The complaints cluster around a few themes, and they’re worth mentioning because they paint a picture that’s different from the marketing.

The most common complaint is about withdrawal delays. DEGIRO states that withdrawals take 2-3 business days, but some users report it taking a week or more. This isn’t money being lost. It’s money being slow. But when you need access to your funds and they’re stuck in processing, it feels like a problem.

Another frequent issue is around corporate actions. When a stock you hold undergoes a merger, spinoff, or dividend adjustment, DEGIRO’s handling of these events has occasionally been slow or confusing. Some users have reported not receiving the correct shares after a corporate action for weeks. Again, this isn’t fraud. It’s operational friction. But it’s the kind of thing that makes you question whether the low fees are worth the hassle.

There’s also a recurring complaint about the lack of fractional shares. If you want to invest a specific euro amount in an expensive stock like Amazon or Berkshire Hathaway, you can’t buy a fraction of a share on DEGIRO. You have to buy whole shares, which means your portfolio allocation might not be as precise as you’d like. This is a feature gap, not a safety issue, but it affects how you build your portfolio and therefore your risk.

On the positive side, the vast majority of DEGIRO users have no problems. The platform processes millions of trades, and the overwhelming experience is smooth. But the complaints that do exist are consistent enough that they’re not just noise. They’re patterns.

Is DEGIRO Safe for Long-Term ETF Investors?

This is probably the most relevant question for the majority of people reading this. If you’re planning to buy and hold ETFs, maybe do a monthly investment in a world index fund, and not touch your portfolio for years, is DEGIRO safe enough?

Yes. For that use case, DEGIRO is as safe as any regulated European broker. Your ETF holdings are held in a segregated custody account. The underlying assets are managed by large fund providers like Vanguard, iShares, or Amundi. Even in a worst-case scenario where DEGIRO collapsed, your ETF shares would be transferred to another broker or returned to you. The €20,000 securities compensation limit is unlikely to be relevant unless DEGIRO somehow lost track of your holdings, which would be an extraordinary failure.

The fees are also genuinely low for this use case. DEGIRO charges no commission on a selection of ETFs through its core selection, which includes popular funds like the Vanguard FTSE All-World. For other ETFs and stocks, the fees are competitive. If you’re investing regularly over decades, the fee savings compared to a traditional bank broker are substantial.

But I’ll contradict something you’ll hear a lot: low fees don’t automatically make a broker the best choice. If the platform frustrates you, if the customer service is unresponsive when you need help, or if the interface makes it hard to track your performance, those friction costs are real even if they don’t show up on a fee schedule. Some people are better off paying slightly more at a broker that offers better tools and support. That’s not a popular opinion in the low-cost investing community, but I think it’s true.

“For long-term ETF investors, DEGIRO is safe enough. Your holdings are segregated, the regulation is solid, and the fees are hard to beat. The real question is whether the platform fits how you actually invest.”

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Practical Steps to Protect Yourself

Regardless of which broker you use, there are things you can do to reduce your risk. These aren’t specific to DEGIRO, but they’re especially relevant if you’re using a low-cost platform where you’re largely on your own.

Enable two-factor authentication immediately. This is the single most effective thing you can do to protect your account from unauthorized access. DEGIRO supports 2FA through an authenticator app, and there’s no reason not to use it.

Don’t keep large amounts of uninvested cash in your brokerage account. The deposit protection covers up to €100,000, but if you have significantly more than that sitting in cash, consider spreading it across multiple institutions or moving excess cash to a dedicated bank account. This isn’t because DEGIRO is likely to fail. It’s because concentration risk applies to brokers just like it applies to stocks.

Keep records of your transactions. Download your trade confirmations and account statements regularly. In the unlikely event of a dispute or a platform error, having your own records makes resolution much easier. DEGIRO provides transaction history in the app, but having a local backup is just sensible.

And understand what you’re buying. This sounds obvious, but a surprising number of people buy ETFs without knowing whether they’re accumulating or distributing, what index they track, or what the total expense ratio is. DEGIRO provides basic information, but it’s not a financial advisor. The safety of your portfolio depends more on what’s in it than on which broker holds it.

FAQ

Is DEGIRO regulated? – is DEGIRO safe

Yes. DEGIRO is regulated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). It operates under MiFID II, the EU’s comprehensive investment services framework. Its German banking entity, flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, holds a full banking license.

What happens to my money if DEGIRO goes bankrupt?

Your cash deposits are protected up to €100,000 through the German deposit guarantee scheme. Your securities (stocks and ETFs) are held in segregated custody accounts, meaning they belong to you, not to DEGIRO. If securities are missing, the German investor compensation scheme covers up to €20,000 or 90% of the owed value, whichever is lower.

Has DEGIRO ever been hacked?

There have been no publicly reported major data breaches at DEGIRO. The platform uses standard encryption and offers two-factor authentication. No system is immune to cyberattacks, but DEGIRO’s security track record is clean as of now.

Is DEGIRO safe for US citizens?

DEGIRO has restricted access for US citizens due to regulatory requirements. If you’re a US person, you likely won’t be able to open an account. For European residents, the protections described in this article apply fully.

Can I lose money investing through DEGIRO?

Yes, but not because of DEGIRO. If the stocks or ETFs you buy go down in value, that’s market risk, not broker risk. DEGIRO is a platform that executes your trades. It doesn’t guarantee returns. The safety question is about whether your funds are protected from broker failure, not from market losses.

How does DEGIRO make money if the fees are so low?

DEGIRO earns revenue through several channels: currency conversion fees, interest on uninvested cash, securities lending (where they lend out your shares to short sellers for a fee), and payment for order flow on certain transactions. The low trading fees are subsidized by these other revenue streams. This is standard in the industry, but it’s worth understanding because it creates potential conflicts of interest.

Is DEGIRO better than a traditional bank broker?

It depends on what you value. DEGIRO has lower fees and access to more exchanges than most traditional bank brokers. But bank brokers often offer better customer service, more research tools, and sometimes financial advice. If you know what you’re doing and want low costs, DEGIRO is hard to beat. If you want hand-holding, a bank might be worth the extra cost.

Sources

• flatexDEGIRO AG Investor Relations
• BaFin Official Website
• Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)

Conclusion

Is DEGIRO safe? The answer is yes, with the caveats that apply to any broker. Your money is regulated, segregated, and protected up to meaningful limits. The company is publicly listed, has a banking license, and operates under two of Europe’s most credible financial regulators. For the core use case of buying and holding ETFs or stocks over the long term, DEGIRO is as safe as you need it to be.

But safety isn’t just about whether the broker will steal your money. It’s about whether the platform works when you need it, whether you can get help when something goes wrong, and whether the tool you’re using fits how you actually invest. On those dimensions, DEGIRO is adequate but not exceptional. The fees are excellent. The customer service is not.

If you’re opening a DEGIRO account, here’s what I’d suggest. Enable two-factor authentication on day one. Don’t keep more cash than you need for investing. Download your statements regularly. And spend 20 minutes reading the fee schedule so you’re not surprised by currency conversion charges or transaction costs on specific exchanges. Those small steps will do more for your actual safety than any article, including this one.

The bottom line: DEGIRO is a legitimate, regulated broker that’s safe for most investors. It’s not perfect, and it’s not the right choice for everyone. But if you go in with your eyes open, it’s a solid platform for building a long-term portfolio at low cost.