WEBTradingCITY Review 2021

Little was known about Flatex before they partnered with Degiro in August 2020, and due to their quick rise in popularity thereafter, we wanted to take a look for ourselves as to how this particular brokerage faired in the modern world of online trading.

Since starting operations in 2006, Flatex became one of Germany’s leading online brokers. They processed approximately 70 million transactions from around 1.2 million customers in 2020 and have garnered many awards for securities trading, with several honorific titles such as 'best online broker', 'cheapest broker', and 'best ETF and leverage broker’. With all the awards they had won, along with their acquisition of Degiro, we wanted to know more.

Account Opening

As Flatex are based in Germany, their services mainly target people who either live in Germany or one of the Germanic speaking countries around Europe and the rest of the world. The website and platform is all in German, so if you do not speak the language you may have some difficulty in getting on with the system.

Opening an account at Flatex compared to other brokers, is a little bit more in-depth than usual. Initially, you will be able choose a basic account type you’d like which will generally be a ‘cash and securities’ account, but you can change this later to include FX trading too.

You will need to go through a security verification check before the account is activated. Opening an account just on the website is only possible for German or Austrian residents, so if you are outside these countries, you will need to verify your account by sending them physical documents with evidence of your identity and address.

You will receive a card called an iTANCard after your account is active, which is required to place any trades and access or manage your account. And since Flatex do not require a minimum deposit to start trading, you can get started right away!

Costs and Fees

At Flatex, there are no fees on the services which are not directly related to trading, meaning they do not charge for opening or keeping an account, or for inactivity, or for depositing or withdrawing funds. This means you can concern yourself only with your trading costs, which is a major benefit compared to other brokers which charge many extras.

Flatex operates on a flat fee commission based trading system for each trade, which greatly simplifies calculating your expenses. At the time of writing this article, each trade you make will cost you just under €6, which is around $7. A pretty cool point to note is that this fee does not change depending on trading volume; you will still pay a €6 commission regardless if your trade is €20,000 or €20.

Whether you are trading stocks, bonds, or funds, the €6 is the same, however, we noticed that flatex charge a higher amount of fees for trading in FX. FX trades combine a commission, spread cost of the trade, and a fee for financing.

Platform and Apps

Flatex’s platform provides all the usual features you’d expect from an online trading platform and we really liked the speed and functionality of the interfaces they provided. Flatex also offers an app for mobile devices, including iOS and Android. The app looks and behaves exactly like the website so jumping from one device to another is pleasant to do.

range of products

Flatex allows you to trade stocks, ETFs, FX, funds, and bonds. They offer 22 stock markets for you to choose from, ranging from US markets to Asian markets, and one of the most attractive features about their platform is that it allows trading in US penny stocks. These stocks are popular with traders worldwide for their potential to rise very quickly and give investors a high return. This is of course an excellent option but primarily aimed at traders who have a higher tolerance for risk and are looking for potential better winnings than they could get in the usual equity markets.

products offered

Non-Trading Fees

Deposit/Withdrawal Methods

Final Thoughts

Although Flatex are primarily aimed at German users and do not really cater for the global market, their potential to be a global leader is a good one considering their offerings are seemingly much better than your average worldwide broker platform. Flatex is a broker that both new and experienced traders can clearly rely on to provide an excellent service to their users. Their flat-fee pricing means you always know how much your trading is costing you, and the penny-trading services is a superb option that other brokers simply don’t do. All in all, an excellent online broker.

Our Flatex Rating

★★★★★

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