Debit Money

DEGIRO gives you the possibility to buy on margin with our service Debit Money. This service is available for our Active, Trader and Day Trader profile types. Before making use of Debit Money, we want to ensure that you understand what it entails and the risks involved.

What is Debit Money?

The service Debit Money is what we call our margin facility. It allows you to invest more than your initial deposited funds, based on available collateral on your account. Any time the balance in a Money Market Fund (MMF) on your account is negative, you are borrowing money from DEGIRO. We offer this service for multiple currencies, which can be found in the Fee Schedule under ‘Debit rates’

How much money can I borrow with this service?

The amount that can be borrowed with Debit Money is based on the value and the composition of your portfolio. More information can be found in our Investment Portfolio Risk Handbook. The amount that can be borrowed varies depending on your account type, the balance in your MMF(s), the value of your portfolio and the risk of your portfolio.

At DEGIRO, products are categorised based on their risk level. For example, a product that is category A carries less portfolio risk than a product that is category D in our internal calculations. When you click on the icon next to your available to trade balance, you are able to see your portfolio risk. The general margin calculation is as follows:

Margin = value of portfolio + MMF balance - portfolio risk

With an Active profile, a more conservative risk approach is taken. This means that your portfolio risk is calculated as higher so that the margin available to you is lower.

With a Trader profile, a less conservative risk approach is taken. Your portfolio risk will be lower and the amount of margin available to you is higher.

What are the costs involved?

The fee charged for the service Debit Money is the debit rate and it depends on the currency in question. Details can be found on our Fee Schedule. For borrowed money that has not been allocated beforehand, an annual debit rate of 4% is applicable. Interest is charged on a monthly basis.

If you know you will want to borrow money from DEGIRO, you can allocate the desired sum beforehand in order to receive a reduced debit rate. These rates vary depending on the currency. For example, the allocated debit rate for GBP is LIBOR (minimum of 0) + 1.25%.

How can I allocate funds beforehand?

As mentioned, allocating funds you wish to borrow from DEGIRO allows you to receive a reduced debit rate. This is because we are then able to budget these funds accordingly. To allocate funds:

• Step 1: Go to the settings tab in your account and select ‘Allocation’.

• Step 2: Click ‘Add allocation’.

• Step 3: A window will appear where you can select the currency and the amountyou wish to borrow. Fill in the boxes accordingly.

• Step 4: Click ‘Confirm’.

After adding an allocation to your account, it will take effect on the first day of the following month. Please note that interest is charged on the full amount allocated, whether the full amount is used or not. If you wish to terminate your allocation, you can by changing the allocated amount to zero. When changing the allocated amount to zero, or to any other amount, this will take effect on the first day of the following month.

What are the risks involved?

When investing with borrowed money, the leverage effect is applicable and profits and losses are therefore amplified. This means that you can end up losing more money than what you initially invested. Therefore, this service is generally not recommended for beginning investors and those with a low risk tolerance.

Additionally, when the collateral in your portfolio is not sufficient to cover the debit balance, you may receive a margin call. This means that DEGIRO will ask you to increase the collateral or decrease the debit balance. If this is not done before the given deadline, DEGIRO will close some of your positions to rectify the limit breach. Please be aware that in the event that DEGIRO has to intervene, additional fees can be charged as per our Fee Schedule. More information about breaching limits can be found in the document Investment Services Information- Security Value, Risk, Debit Money and Debit Securities.

The information in this article is not written for advisory purposes, nor does it intend to recommend any investments. Investing involves risks. You can lose (a part of) your deposit. We advise you to only invest in financial products that match your knowledge and experience.

Please be aware that we have launched our new trading platform. Therefore, some of the content in this video, such as the navigation, may no longer be up to date. However, there are not big differences in general functionalities. To read more about the new trading platform and what has changed, please see here.