Bux launches ‘BUX Zero’ to begin offering fee-free trading in Netherlands

Bux, the Amsterdam-based fintech that wants to make investing more accessible, is launching its fee-free trading app today.

Dubbed "BUX Zero," the new offering is available first to users in the Netherlands who previously signed up to the wait-list. Further European launches are to follow, with Germany and Austria up next.

The BUX Zero app promises to demystify investing in public markets for people who perhaps haven't done so before, and also make it cheaper.

"It will offer a unique combination of a simplified investing experience along with a vibrant community where they can follow, learn from fellow investors and explore new investing opportunities," Nick Bortot, CEO and founder of Bux, told TechCrunch in June.

In addition, the idea is by removing fees it makes investing small sums more viable - a high fee per buy/sell can make it prohibitively expensive to do so.

At launch, both market orders and limit orders are commission-free until the end of this year, after which Bux will charge a1 and a2 per order, respectively.

A "market order" executes as quickly as possible at the market price, and a "limit order" sets the maximum/minimum price you are willing to buy or sell.

Once the special offer ends, BUX Zero will also introduce a third order type called a "basic order", which will be commission-free "forever" and is executed at a fixed time, once per day.

A subscription plan is also being tested. This will give BUX Zero users the option of paying a fixed monthly fee to get access to unlimited commission-free market, limit and basic orders. "The subscription fee will be lower than the commission of a single transaction at a traditional online broker," says Bux.

All of this is made possible because, like a number of competitors, such as Freetrade, Bux recently brought its brokering in-house.

Bortot has previously said this gives the company control over "the full value chain," including a full brokerage license, back-end technology and operation - and, of course, lowers overheads per trade.

It's a similar argument made by challenger banks that have built out their own banking stack.