Brookerchooser, an online broker comparison site, hosted a Fintech panel discussion in London last month where it became clear that the retail trading industry stands at a crossroads in Europe.

In a discussion that included representatives from retail brokers such as XTB and Saxo, it was argued that as regulatory pressures mount and user acquisition costs soar, the sector appears poised to undergo a structural transformation similar to what we’ve witnessed in consumer credit markets.

However, this transformation won’t affect all players equally. The impact will vary significantly based on platform business models and product breadth.

The Consumer Credit Precedent

The consumer credit industry provides an instructive template. Today, most consumer credit acquisition flows through specialized brokers rather than direct lender channels. These brokers handle marketing and user acquisition, subsequently matching consumers with lenders based on their creditworthiness, needs, and lender bid rates. This model didn’t emerge by accident. It evolved in response to three key market forces that make intermediation particularly valuable in consumer credit. First, lenders can only profitably serve specific user segments, making the average user more valuable to brokers (who can match them with multiple lenders) than to any single lender. Second, consumer credit advertising is heavily regulated, requiring specialized expertise and compliance infrastructure that brokers can provide more efficiently at scale. Third, lenders must verify that users meet increasingly stringent criteria before offering products, creating a natural role for intermediaries who can pre-screen and route applicants.

Fintech Super-Apps vs. Standalone Brokers

The retail trading sector’s evolution is likely to create a two-speed market. On one side, super-apps and comprehensive financial platforms like Revolut and Robinhood are well-positioned to maintain direct user acquisition channels. Their broad product suite (spanning banking, investments, cryptocurrencies, and other financial services) creates significant advantages. These platforms can get around advertising restrictions, amortize customer acquisition costs across multiple product lines while leveraging existing user relationships for cross-selling. They can build comprehensive user profiles and offer a seamless, integrated user experience that keeps users within their ecosystem. However, standalone brokers face a different reality. These specialized platforms, focusing primarily on trading services, are increasingly challenged by rising customer acquisition costs and more stringent regulatory requirements. Their limited ability to cross-sell other products puts them at a disadvantage compared to well-funded super-apps, making their current acquisition models increasingly unsustainable.

The Intermediation Opportunity

This bifurcation creates a clear opportunity in the market. While super-apps will likely continue their direct acquisition models successfully, standalone brokers are prime candidates for a shift toward intermediated acquisition, similar to the consumer credit market. Several factors support this trend. The high lifetime value of traders justifies significant investment in sophisticated intermediation infrastructure. Additionally, traders often move between different platforms over time, creating natural opportunities for brokers who can facilitate these transitions while ensuring regulatory compliance. The regulatory trajectory in trading increasingly mirrors that of consumer credit, particularly affecting specialized platforms.

Looking Forward

As these trends accelerate, we’re likely to see the emergence of specialized trading intermediaries who combine sophisticated marketing capabilities with robust compliance infrastructure. These intermediaries will likely focus primarily on routing users to standalone trading platforms, while super-apps continue to build their own acquisition funnels. This evolution could benefit multiple stakeholders. Standalone retail brokers would have the opportunity to reduce acquisition costs while maintaining compliance, while traders would gain access to more suitable platforms through better matching.

The market as a whole could see improved efficiency through specialization, and super-apps could focus on building integrated experiences without intermediary friction. For entrepreneurs and investors paying attention, this evolution represents a significant opportunity. The first movers who successfully bridge this gap – building compliant, scalable intermediation platforms for standalone brokers – could capture substantial value in what remains a large market.