XTB Opens Investing Accounts to Teenagers, Starting in Romania

XTB introduced investing accounts for 14- to 17-year-olds in Romania on Tuesday, making the country the first market for a service the Polish broker calls XTB Young. Under the structure, teenagers choose and close their own positions, but a parent or legal guardian retains control of the money.

Teenagers can trade shares, including fractional shares, and exchange-traded funds. Leverage and contracts for difference are excluded. Only a parent or guardian can deposit, withdraw or transfer funds, with deposits capped at RON 15,000 (roughly $3,160) per account each year. A single parent may open up to three accounts.

Parental oversight built in

Guardians see each account separately in real time, receive an alert on every trade and can close any position the teenager has opened. Activation requires an electronic legal guardian declaration and power of attorney, and contracts, statements and tax reports are sent to the parent. The app carries educational material and an AI assistant.

XTB's ETF-based Investment Plans, redesigned and rolled out across five European markets in July, are also available to Romanian teenagers. When a user turns 18, the account can continue under the parent's mandate or be converted into a standard XTB account.

The broker linked the launch to a Reveal Marketing Research survey it commissioned in May, in which 44% of respondents said money was discussed at home only when necessary during childhood and 12% described it as a sensitive or taboo subject. Irina Cristescu, general manager of XTB Romania, said starting early gives young people "more time to learn from mistakes."

The move reflects broader competition for younger clients. Clients aged 18 to 24 accounted for 17.4% of XTB's active clients across all markets in the first half of 2026, and about a fifth of its Romanian users are under 30. Elsewhere, Charles Schwab launched a Teen Investor Account in the US in March for ages 13 to 17, and Trade Republic introduced a parent-managed children's securities account in Germany in May 2025. In the UK, XTB is campaigning to lower the age for independently opening and managing a Stocks and Shares ISA from 18 to 16.