XTB Opens Investing Accounts to Teenagers, Starting in Romania

XTB launched investing accounts for 14- to 17-year-olds in Romania today (Tuesday), with parents keeping control of the money. Romania is the first country to get the service, called XTB Young, the Polish broker said.

Clients aged 18 to 24 made up 17.4% of XTB's active clients across all its markets in the first half of 2026. In Romania, about a fifth of the broker's users are under 30.

The new accounts reach customers before they turn 18. At that point the account can continue under the parent's mandate, or the young person can open a standard XTB account, the broker said.

London's trading industry is coming home!

Parents Hold the Money, Teenagers Place the Trades

Teenagers can buy shares, including fractional shares, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Only a parent or legal guardian can deposit, withdraw or transfer funds, and deposits are capped at RON 15,000 (about $3,160) a year per account.

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The teenager opens and closes positions. The parent sees each account separately in real time, gets an alert on every trade and can close any position the teenager has opened. One parent may open up to three accounts.

Leverage Leverage In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders Read this Term and contracts for difference (CFDs) are off limits. Commodity CFDs alone generated 60.5% of XTB's gross result from financial instruments in Q2 2026, FM Intelligence data show.

ETF-based Investment Plans, which XTB redesigned and rolled out in five European markets in July, are available to teenagers in Romania.

To activate an account, the parent signs a legal guardian declaration and a power of attorney electronically. Contracts, statements and tax reports go to the parent, and the app includes learning material and an AI assistant, XTB said.

Brokers Look for Clients Before They Turn 18

The broker tied the launch to a survey it commissioned from Reveal Marketing Research in May. In it, 44% of respondents said money was discussed at home only when necessary during their childhood, and 12% said it was a sensitive or taboo subject.

Irina Cristescu, general manager of XTB Romania, said starting early is an advantage because "you have more time to learn from mistakes."

Charles Schwab opened a Teen Investor Account in the US in March for 13- to 17-year-olds. It is held jointly with a parent and also allows stocks, fractional shares and most ETFs, while options, futures, forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term and leveraged ETFs are excluded, according to Schwab.

In Germany, Trade Republic started a children's securities account in May 2025, initially for those under 16 and managed by parents, the personal finance site Finanztip reported.

The two brokers compete in each other's home markets, and XTB's chief executive said in June it would spend more on marketing in Germany than in Poland this year.

In the UK, CMC Markets added a Junior Cash ISA in April paying a variable 3.56%, a savings product with no share trading.

XTB, which has sold ISAs in the UK since December 2024, is campaigning there to lower the age for opening and managing a Stocks and Shares ISA alone from 18 to 16.