XTB CEO Says Broker Was “a Bit Late” to the UK as Indonesia Trails Only Poland
XTB's CEO Omar Arnaout acknowledged the Polish broker was 'a bit late' to the UK market, while Indonesia has emerged as its second-largest market by account sign-ups.
XTB's chief executive Omar Arnaout admitted on Thursday that the Polish broker had probably arrived in the UK market later than competitors. He stated that competing with established British firms would require very large marketing budgets, and that XTB would approach the market cautiously. This admission came as XTB reported a fourfold rise in third-quarter profit to PLN 213.7 million (about $54.4 million).
In contrast to its UK struggles, Arnaout highlighted that Indonesia now signs up more accounts each month than any XTB market except Poland. The Indonesian market was initially considered a test with a six-month deadline to prove itself, but has since exceeded expectations.
I think we were simply a bit late to this market.
UK Market Challenges
XTB's UK business remains small compared to its competitors. In 2025, XTB's British unit more than doubled its revenue to £8.64 million (about $11.6 million), while Trading 212 booked £277.6 million in the UK over the same period. This puts XTB's British revenue at approximately 3% of its rival's, according to FinanceMagnates.com calculations.
XTB launched a zero-fee stocks and shares ISA in December 2024 and added a cash ISA this year. The platform had 11,767 ISA and cash ISA accounts at the end of September, up from 10,717 three months earlier. This gain of about 1,050 accounts pales in comparison to the 152,000 customers AJ Bell added in the 12 months to September, as British platforms and CFD brokers compete for the same tax-free savers.
Indonesia's Success
Indonesia has emerged as XTB's second-largest market by account sign-ups. The Polish broker bought a 90% stake in local broker Eagle Capital Futures in January 2024 and started with US stocks and exchange-traded funds before winning approval to offer contracts for difference (CFDs) this summer.
Arnaout described the client intake in Indonesia as 'very large,' noting that 'only the Polish market signs up more accounts' each month than Indonesia. XTB's Indonesian unit reported funded accounts rose 741.51% in the first half of 2026 compared with the second half of 2025.
The Indonesian unit launched CFDs on gold, silver, palladium, oil and natural gas in August, with options following in the third quarter. XTB has also included Indonesia in its advertising campaign featuring Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tyson Fury that started on October 1. The company is stepping up marketing for the CFDs and expects to know within four to five weeks how much demand they will generate.
Competitive Landscape
XTB is not alone in expanding into Indonesia's regulated futures market. Plus500 took over Global Intra Berjangka, a local broker that had stopped taking new clients, while AIMS opened a Jakarta office in May under a license from Bappebti. The regulated customer base these brokers compete for amounts to tens of thousands, with Bappebti reporting 67 active futures brokers and 70,676 active retail customers in November 2024, up 53.93% from a year earlier.
Looking ahead, XTB is planning next year's budgets with a significant increase for Germany to compete with Trade Republic and Scalable Capital. Arnaout had previously stated that XTB would spend more on marketing in Germany than in Poland this year. In France, he said XTB should rank among the three or four most popular investing apps by the end of the year, though revenue there has yet to catch up with sign-ups.
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