BUX, the European neobroker owned by ABN Amro, has been fined €1.6 million by Dutch regulators for compensating influencers, existing customers, and comparison websites for bringing in new clients.
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) issued the fine after determining that BUX infringed upon the inducements ban. BUX has stated that it ceased paying referral fees in April 2023, prior to ABN Amro’s agreement to acquire the platform, and the bank was aware of the AFM investigation at that time.
Based in Amsterdam, BUX offers an investment platform to hundreds of thousands of users across several European countries, featuring stocks, ETFs, and ETCs, as well as both pre-built and custom investment plans.
Yorick Naeff, CEO of BUX, remarked, “While we respect the AFM’s position, we want to emphasise that the referral fees we have paid in the past came out of our own pocket and have never been at the expense of our customers.”