Crypto Fees at Neobrokers: Why the PFOF Ban Raises Your Stock Costs but Leaves Your Coin Purchase Untouched

Since September 2, 2026, a stock or ETF order at N26 costs money again: 0.90 euros per transaction. Anyone buying a coin in the same account still pays between 1.5 and 3.5 percent of the order volume. On a 1,000 euro trade that is 15 to 35 euros against 90 cents. The reason for the equity fee is a European ban that simply does not apply to crypto assets.

The ban concerns payment for order flow, or PFOF. It describes a practice in which a broker is paid by a trading venue for routing client orders to that venue. For you as an investor, this was for years the reason share purchases at neobrokers cost almost nothing: the bill went to the trading venue, not to you. Since July 1, 2026, that revenue stream has been fully banned in Germany, and providers are now collecting the money directly from you.

Nothing changes for cryptocurrencies, because they never fell under the rule in the first place. That is exactly what makes the current moment interesting. The equity fee becomes a clearly disclosed number, while crypto costs remain what they always were: a percentage or a spread that almost nobody works out. This analysis was compiled by cryptoticker.io on September 3, 2026.

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