MEGATHREAD: European expansion 🇪🇺

Oh, it seems you’re busy now
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/gamestop-saga-uk-trading-app-freetrade-halts-purchases-of-us-stocks.html

@Freetrade_Team @Viktor @adam Is it possible to have a more clear timeline for the Roll-out to Europe?
I found the roadmap and the (latest) newsletter too generic. I don’t need to know the exact date but I would like to know if it will happen within months, whithin this year or next year?

I am already investing using the app as a beta tester in the Netherlands. However, for practical reasons (conversion from Euro to GBP) I am keeping my invested sum to the minimum (already for a full year).
This year I have the intention to go a bit bigger. So I am wandering if that’s feasable with FT timeline for the Netherlands.

Any small clarification is much appreciated :slight_smile:

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Please come to Croatia. :croatia:

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Any French folks here keen for some movement? It looks like there’s a new French member of FT team. Welcome @Romain

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Bonjour @Romain :wave: :fr:

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Une confirmation de la part de FT sera bien. Enorme nouvelle!

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Putting rocket emojis are the thing lately but FT expanding to Europe will feel like that for sure :smile:

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Amsterdam must be a priority. It is now becoming the main exchange in Europe now that UK has left EU.

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To quote @adam, Freetrade have hired their first employee in France who is launching the platform there “right now”.

To missinterpret @adam, Freetrade were launching in France at 18:47 UTC today.

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:postbox::gun:

:clap::clap:

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Loving the fact that Adam takes no prisoners on his Twitter! :rofl:

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Viktor didn’t mix his words on his Twitter either on the same issue - I love the honesty and boldness to call rivals out on their lies. The translation of his post (according to Google Translate) basically reads:

“There is nothing worse than when a company is not honest with its customers. To say they are not like the evil American company if their business model is exactly the same.”
and " Why is the “Payment for Order Flow” concealed?".

Not sure Freetrade could be more clear where they stand on such issues. One of the best things to come from the Clubhouse the other day was Adam talking about how the model will remain consistent when opening in other markets too. :+1:

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I wonder whether Canada might be on the cards one day? Dodds obviously knows the landscape and from what I’ve heard they don’t have any commission free options because RH etc don’t want to go near it, because payment for order flow is banned.

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Payment for order flow has been banned by EU regulations.

How can Trade Republic, or any other company with HQ and operations within the EU, have a business model based on banned processes?

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It’s not banned in Germany.

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I think Germany is a special case, for whatever reason they allow payment for order flow.

Does this means the ban of PFOF under EU regulations is optional rather than mandatory?

And if it’s optional…
it’s not really a ban is it?..
it may occur in other EU countries

Or, if this is banned for everyone but Germany because Germany is a special case then there’s a double standard isn’t it?

Being special for some is not ok. It’s either banned or it’s not. It’s either mandatory or optional. Special is for spouses, children, brothers/sisters, parents, and some close friends. Not states or companies of a given state.

Being mandatory for everyone is ok.

Being optional for everyone is ok.

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You could say we got special treatment when we were allowed to keep our currency. Seems like if one of the powerful countries doesn’t like something they can opt out

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Special treatment is to give the option exclusively to one or to a limited few and make it mandatory for everyone else.

This is not the case with the UK staying with the Pound Sterling.

Being part of the Euro is optional for everyone from the get go. Every country who met the qualifying criteria (and even countries who didn’t but faked it) could decide to opt in, or to opt out. Some opted in, including some who faked it. And several countries opted out, not only the UK. And some were kept out because they didn’t met the qualifying criteria.

It does indeed feel that way sometimes

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Mifid II can be interpreted as limiting payment to order flow. But it apparently doesn’t ban it outright. So there’s space for EU countries to allow it or not. I’ve just read some German articles on it and they say that the German legislature is aware of it being possibly detrimental to customers and are monitoring it. That’s a big risk in Trade Republic’s business model. I can definitely see that changing in not too far a future with new laws being introduced to ban it.

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