Polish online brokerage XTB (WSE: XTB) has launched its largest marketing campaign to date, featuring football legend Zlatan Ibrahimović across 13 markets spanning four continents as the company pushes to expand its global investor base.

The move comes at a time when the domestic fintech market is seeing an increasingly fierce battle for every client. New foreign players are entering the fray, while local brokerage houses are aggressively cutting fees.

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XTB Launches Largest Global Campaign With Zlatan Ibrahimović Across 13 Markets

“Don’t just make money. Let it work for you at XTB” is the slogan promoting the latest campaign, which has so far officially launched in the Polish market.

In the new ad, XTB encourages passive wealth building through ETFs, investment plans, earning additional funds from yield on idle cash, and long-term saving with retirement accounts.

“We are focusing on more emotionally driven communication to change the way people perceive investing, making it a fundamental aspect of our lives,” said Szymon Szymański, Chief Growth Officer at XTB. “Today, investing is a necessity, and everyone should consider putting their money to work for them, regardless of their initial amount.”

The campaign, which began rolling out this week, targets Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain, Italy, Chile, the MENA region and Indonesia. Digital and social media advertisements featuring the Swedish striker will air first, followed by television and video-on-demand spots starting in October. Ibrahimović became the Polish fintech ambassador a year ago, in September 2024.

Did it win over clients and shareholders? Hard to say. XTB’s stock has faced two days of heavier selling, falling more than 5% in total and testing its August lows. Today (Thursday) it is attempting a rebound, but the gain is modest at 0.3%, bringing the price to PLN 72.4.

European Brokerage War Heats Up

XTB's marketing push comes as competition intensifies in the European retail investment market. The Warsaw-based company, which serves 1.7 million clients worldwide, has evolved from a FX trading company into a more comprehensive investment app offering thousands of global instruments including stocks, ETFs, CFDs and cryptocurrencies.

The timing coincides with aggressive moves by competitors targeting Poland's growing retail investor base. In September, mBank's brokerage arm slashed ETF trading fees to zero percent, followed days later by a similar move from BOŚ brokerage. Both promotions run through February 2026 and directly challenge XTB's commission-free trading model, which applies to transactions under 100,000 euros monthly.

The fee war reflects the explosive growth in Polish retirement investment accounts, with 61% of new brokerage accounts in 2024 linked to IKE and IKZE retirement products that XTB aggressively expanded into last year.

Global Players Circle Polish Market

International brokers are also eyeing Poland's retail investment boom. Revolut added 412,000 Polish investment app users in 2024, a 109% year-over-year increase, while expanding its investment platform offerings.

Meanwhile, Robinhood secured a Lithuanian brokerage license this year, granting the American app access to all EU markets. The company plans to offer commission-free trading of tokenized stocks and eventually 24/7 trading throughout the week.

German digital bank Trade Republic has also entered Poland, offering flat 4-zloty fees for stock, ETF and cryptocurrency trades regardless of transaction size.

“Many people wait until they have enough money to start, but in fact, investing EUR 5 a day can go a long way. There is no wrong time to start investing, and this message is central to our new campaign,” Szymański said. The campaign will run through the end of 2025, with the largest costs hitting XTB's fourth-quarter results.

The brokerage's pivot reflects broader industry trends as retail investors increasingly demand access to global markets, particularly US stocks, which have delivered years of gains. XTB now offers educational materials, retirement accounts and multi-currency payment capabilities alongside its core trading platform.

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