Trade Republic customer service and interest disputes

The neobroker Trade Republic has faced scrutiny regarding its management of customer accounts and interest payments. In September 2026, the company issued a 48-hour notice to certain customers in Portugal, requiring them to switch from German IBANs to Portuguese IBANs. Failure to comply with this migration resulted in the loss of 24/7 customer support and interest on account balances, a move the company attributed to the complexity and costs of maintaining parallel account configurations.

Concurrently, the consumer protection agency Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg has accused Trade Republic of refusing to pay back lost interest to affected customers. This follows a July legal settlement where the company agreed to stop misleading advertising regarding interest rates. The dispute involves claims that users were not clearly informed they had to manually activate interest functions within the app. While the company previously agreed to a settlement and a fine, it is reportedly denying back-payments to customers who missed interest due to these perceived advertising ambiguities.