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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.

Broker 1

Broker 2

VS field	RBC Direct Investing rbcdirectinvesting.com Stock BrokerETF BrokerMutual Fund	DEGIRO degiro.com ETF BrokerMulti Asset BrokerETF
Decision summary
Overall score

Trust score	94	100

Cost score	78	92

Platform score	86	92

Withdrawal score	79	89

Best for	Canadian residents · Existing RBC banking clients · Long-term investors using registered accounts	European self-directed investors seeking low-cost access to stocks and ETFs · Investors who prefer web/mobile platforms and exchange-traded products

Watch out	Needs verification	Needs verification

Trust & regulation
Regulators	Member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Source	Primarily supervised by BaFin and Bundesbank in Germany; Dutch branch registered with DNB and supervised by AFM and DNB. Source
License numbers	Specific registration or license numbers were not disclosed on the reviewed official pages. Source	Financial licence number not disclosed in reviewed official sources. Commercial registrations found: flatexDEGIRO Bank SE HRB 141330 on flatexDEGIRO Bank SE imprint; DEGIRO UK footer states HRB 105687; Dutch Branch KvK 82510245. Source
Regulated entities	RBC Direct Investing Inc. is the Canadian regulated entity and CIPF member. Source	DEGIRO is operated by flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, a branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE; flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is a licensed German bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Source
Negative balance protection	No negative balance protection disclosed; margin borrower remains responsible to repay the loan and interest even if securities decline. Source	No negative balance protection found. Official account-profile page warns losses can exceed deposit and result in a negative Balance for derivatives, margin and short-selling services; margin profiles are legacy-only. Source
Investor compensation	Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Source	Cash in flatexDEGIRO Bank SE Cash Account protected up to €100,000 per customer under German Deposit Guarantee Scheme; investor compensation covers up to 90% of non-returned assets, max €20,000 per customer; UK FSCS does not apply. Source
Restricted countries	Non-residents of Canada should not access RBC Direct Investing automated services; offers are not solicitations outside Canada including the United States. Source	Available via listed country selector in Europe/UK; US persons are not accepted; UK onboarding for new clients was temporarily unavailable on the reviewed UK page. Source

Trust & regulation

Regulators

Member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).

Source

Primarily supervised by BaFin and Bundesbank in Germany; Dutch branch registered with DNB and supervised by AFM and DNB.

Source

License numbers

Specific registration or license numbers were not disclosed on the reviewed official pages.

Source

Financial licence number not disclosed in reviewed official sources. Commercial registrations found: flatexDEGIRO Bank SE HRB 141330 on flatexDEGIRO Bank SE imprint; DEGIRO UK footer states HRB 105687; Dutch Branch KvK 82510245.

Source

Regulated entities

RBC Direct Investing Inc. is the Canadian regulated entity and CIPF member.

Source

DEGIRO is operated by flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, a branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE; flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is a licensed German bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.

Source

Negative balance protection

No negative balance protection disclosed; margin borrower remains responsible to repay the loan and interest even if securities decline.

Source

No negative balance protection found. Official account-profile page warns losses can exceed deposit and result in a negative Balance for derivatives, margin and short-selling services; margin profiles are legacy-only.

Source

Investor compensation

Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).

Source

Cash in flatexDEGIRO Bank SE Cash Account protected up to €100,000 per customer under German Deposit Guarantee Scheme; investor compensation covers up to 90% of non-returned assets, max €20,000 per customer; UK FSCS does not apply.

Source

Restricted countries

Non-residents of Canada should not access RBC Direct Investing automated services; offers are not solicitations outside Canada including the United States.

Source

Available via listed country selector in Europe/UK; US persons are not accepted; UK onboarding for new clients was temporarily unavailable on the reviewed UK page.

Source

Costs & account conditions
Minimum deposit	No minimum to open; GoSmart page states no minimum investment and comparison page states opening an account is free. Source	No fixed minimum deposit identified; DEGIRO homepage says users can add any amount of money to the account for free. Bank-account verification search result states minimum EUR 0.01 for linking a new bank account. Source
Spread from	Not applicable: RBC Direct Investing is not a CFD/forex spread broker; equity/fixed-income pricing is commission/quote based. Source	Not a quoted-spread CFD/FX broker field. DEGIRO discloses that bid-ask spreads are implicit market costs and not direct broker costs. Source
Commission	Commission schedule varies by asset and account type; key online/mobile stock/ETF commission is $9.95 standard. Source	Examples from UK fee page: US stocks €1 + €1 handling; LSE £1.75 + £1 handling; selected ETFs €0 + €1 handling; global ETFs €2 + €1 handling; options €0.75 commission. Currency, connectivity, external product and spread costs may apply. Source
Maximum leverage	Maximum leverage is not stated as a fixed ratio; margin loan value varies by security and market value. Source	DEGIRO currently does not allow new changes to margin-trading profiles; legacy Active/Trader/Day Trader accounts may have Debit Money / derivatives risk but maximum leverage was not disclosed in reviewed sources. Source
Deposit fee	RBC states it does not charge a fee to transfer in an account; other institutions may charge. Source	No deposit fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; deposits listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source
Withdrawal fee	Registered and transfer fees vary: TFSA/FHSA $0, HBP/LLP $25, RSP $50, wire $45, cheque $10, transfer out $150. Source	No withdrawal fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; withdrawals listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source
Inactivity fee	No inactivity fee found on reviewed official pricing and FAQ pages; RBC discloses $0 account maintenance fee but not a separate inactivity fee. Source	No inactivity fee; UK fee page lists inactivity fee as €0. Source

Costs & account conditions

Minimum deposit

No minimum to open; GoSmart page states no minimum investment and comparison page states opening an account is free.

Source

No fixed minimum deposit identified; DEGIRO homepage says users can add any amount of money to the account for free. Bank-account verification search result states minimum EUR 0.01 for linking a new bank account.

Source

Spread from

Not applicable: RBC Direct Investing is not a CFD/forex spread broker; equity/fixed-income pricing is commission/quote based.

Source

Not a quoted-spread CFD/FX broker field. DEGIRO discloses that bid-ask spreads are implicit market costs and not direct broker costs.

Source

Commission

Commission schedule varies by asset and account type; key online/mobile stock/ETF commission is $9.95 standard.

Source

Examples from UK fee page: US stocks €1 + €1 handling; LSE £1.75 + £1 handling; selected ETFs €0 + €1 handling; global ETFs €2 + €1 handling; options €0.75 commission. Currency, connectivity, external product and spread costs may apply.

Source

Maximum leverage

Maximum leverage is not stated as a fixed ratio; margin loan value varies by security and market value.

Source

DEGIRO currently does not allow new changes to margin-trading profiles; legacy Active/Trader/Day Trader accounts may have Debit Money / derivatives risk but maximum leverage was not disclosed in reviewed sources.

Source

Deposit fee

RBC states it does not charge a fee to transfer in an account; other institutions may charge.

Source

No deposit fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; deposits listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees.

Source

Withdrawal fee

Registered and transfer fees vary: TFSA/FHSA $0, HBP/LLP $25, RSP $50, wire $45, cheque $10, transfer out $150.

Source

No withdrawal fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; withdrawals listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees.

Source

Inactivity fee

No inactivity fee found on reviewed official pricing and FAQ pages; RBC discloses $0 account maintenance fee but not a separate inactivity fee.

Source

No inactivity fee; UK fee page lists inactivity fee as €0.

Source

Markets, platforms & payments
Tradable assets	Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, GICs, bonds and other fixed income, IPOs, gold and silver certificates. Source	Shares, ETFs, bonds and derivatives such as options and futures; DEGIRO product pages also describe investment funds availability. Source
Trading platforms	Online Investing platform, RBC Mobile app and Trading Dashboard. Source	DEGIRO provides a web/desktop trading platform (Webtrader) and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Source
Account types	GoSmart supports TFSA/FHSA/RRSP; full-suite supports registered, non-registered, business and more account types. Source	DEGIRO account/profile types include Basic, Active, Trader, Day Trader and Custody. Active, Trader and Day Trader are legacy-only and new margin profiles are no longer available. Source
Deposit methods	RBC transfers, bill pay from other financial institutions, in-kind transfers, PAC, Avion points and mobile app funding. Source	Manual bank transfer from a verified linked/reference bank account; deposits must use the account base currency. Source
Withdrawal methods	Transfers to RBC bank accounts, automatic funds transfer to Canadian financial institutions, wires, cheques and registered plan withdrawals. Source	Withdrawals go back to the primary registered/linked bank account; only uninvested cash in the Cash Account can be withdrawn. Source
Withdrawal processing time	RBC transfers out are real-time during business hours, otherwise next business day; locked-in/RRIF/RESP excluded from that statement. Source	Withdrawals may take up to 2-4 working days; transfers can take up to 2-3 working days to complete. Source

Markets, platforms & payments

Tradable assets

Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, GICs, bonds and other fixed income, IPOs, gold and silver certificates.

Source

Shares, ETFs, bonds and derivatives such as options and futures; DEGIRO product pages also describe investment funds availability.

Source

Trading platforms

Online Investing platform, RBC Mobile app and Trading Dashboard.

Source

DEGIRO provides a web/desktop trading platform (Webtrader) and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Source

Account types

GoSmart supports TFSA/FHSA/RRSP; full-suite supports registered, non-registered, business and more account types.

Source

DEGIRO account/profile types include Basic, Active, Trader, Day Trader and Custody. Active, Trader and Day Trader are legacy-only and new margin profiles are no longer available.

Source

Deposit methods

RBC transfers, bill pay from other financial institutions, in-kind transfers, PAC, Avion points and mobile app funding.

Source

Manual bank transfer from a verified linked/reference bank account; deposits must use the account base currency.

Source

Withdrawal methods

Transfers to RBC bank accounts, automatic funds transfer to Canadian financial institutions, wires, cheques and registered plan withdrawals.

Source

Withdrawals go back to the primary registered/linked bank account; only uninvested cash in the Cash Account can be withdrawn.

Source

Withdrawal processing time

RBC transfers out are real-time during business hours, otherwise next business day; locked-in/RRIF/RESP excluded from that statement.

Source

Withdrawals may take up to 2-4 working days; transfers can take up to 2-3 working days to complete.

Source

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