Poland’s retail brokerage market exploded with 713,711 new accounts in the year to May 2026, pushing the total to 2.86 million and positioning the country as a serious alternative to Cyprus for CFD broker operations. XTB led the surge, crossing one million domestic accounts and posting first-quarter net profit of PLN 535 million, up 176 percent year-on-year.
The economics now favor Warsaw. EU capital requirements are harmonized at EUR 750,000 regardless of jurisdiction, while Polish labor costs run 40 to 60 percent below Western Europe. A regulatory carve-out allows experienced retail clients to access leverage up to 1:100 on major forex and indices, well above the standard 1:30 ESMA cap. Poland already hosts around 370,000 active forex clients, dwarfing Germany’s 63,000.
The risks are material. Client loss rates hit 72.2 percent in 2025, and KNF fined XTB PLN 20 million over marketing violations, signaling strict enforcement ahead.
FXnCO Insight
Brokers eyeing Poland should price regulatory scrutiny and high client churn into setup models, not treat them as one-off events.
Source: Finance Magnates