German neo broker Trade Republic has made its first net profit and is preparing to broaden its horizons with a move into card payments.
The company is celebrating its 5th birthday with four million customers onboard and the introduction of a new branded Visa card with a one percent cashback reward for every purchase. This is dumped into a savings account that currently offers an attractive four percent interest rate.
The new card - available in plastic for an issuance fee and free for virtual - also offers worldwide free and unlimited ATM withdrawals for sums over €100 and a round up feature for investing spare change in the cardholder's portfolio.
The firm is coy about the size of its profits, but told the FT it was in the double-digit euro million ballpark. This is a sizeable turnaround from the €145 million net loss reported in its last financial year.
Equipped with a licence from the European Central Bank, Trade Republic is a full-service bank and is supervised by the Bundesbank and BaFin.
Christian Hecker, co-founder of Trade Republic, says: “Over the past five years, four million people have started to let their money work for them with us. Today, they manage 35 billion euros with Trade Republic. This makes us one of the most important banks for a new generation of young savers in Europe."