The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets fined trading app BUX 1.6 million euros on 18 November 2024 for running paid referral schemes that broke the commission ban Dutch law places on investment firms. BUX challenged the fine in court. The court upheld it. BUX confirmed the outcome through its own newsroom in March 2025, and the case now stands as a settled enforcement action rather than an open dispute.
The AFM found that BUX operated what it called an affiliate program and a friends program, paying compensation to finfluencers, comparison websites, and existing customers for bringing in new account holders. Under the inducements ban that applies across the Netherlands, an investment firm may not accept or pay commissions where doing so risks steering a customer toward a decision that serves the firm rather than the client. The AFM treated the referral payments as exactly that kind of steering incentive, regardless of who ultimately covered the cost.
What Was the Referral Scheme BUX Ran
Court and regulatory summaries describe two parallel tracks running for years before BUX shut them down. Finfluencers and comparison sites earned a fee for every new customer they funnelled toward the app, and existing customers earned rewards for referring friends and family. BUX stopped both programs in April 2023, well before the AFM issued its formal fine in November 2024, but the regulator still pursued the penalty for the years the schemes had already been running.
BUX CEO Yorick Naeff has defended the company publicly, saying the referral fees came out of BUX itself rather than out of customer accounts, and arguing that the scope of the Dutch commission ban is, in his words, too unclear. The AFM was not moved. Its own public statement on the case reads: “The ban on commissions ensures that investment firms put the interests of the customer first. The ban prevents consumers from being steered in a direction that is not in their interest as a result of financial incentives.”
Why the ABN Amro Ownership Timing Matters
ABN Amro completed its acquisition of BUX in December 2023, making the trading app a subsidiary of one of the Netherlands largest banking groups. The AFM discussions over the referral scheme were already underway at the time of that acquisition, meaning ABN Amro brought BUX into its retail investment arm with a known regulatory exposure still on the table. The fine landing a year after the deal closed is a reminder that a change of ownership does not erase a firm liability for conduct that predates the sale.
Industry Implication
BUX is one of the more visible names in the European neobroker wave that has leaned heavily on social media personalities and referral incentives to build a retail user base fast. Regulators across the region have been increasingly uneasy about finfluencer marketing precisely because it blurs the line between organic recommendation and paid promotion. A case like this, where the fine was contested and then upheld by a court rather than quietly settled, gives other neobrokers less room to argue the rules are too vague to enforce.
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A firm can stop a bad practice years before the fine lands and still owe the penalty for the time it ran. BUX stopped its referral programs in April 2023, fought the AFM fine in court, and lost anyway, which tells us the AFM case was built on solid ground rather than a technicality BUX could talk its way around. Traders comparing brands should read this as confirmation that even a bank owned neobroker, ABN Amro among the most established names in Dutch finance, is not above having its growth tactics tested and found wanting by a regulator with real teeth. BestForex.io treats a fine that survives a court appeal as a materially stronger signal than one a firm pays quietly to make a headline go away.
About BUX
BUX is a Netherlands based trading app offering stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto to retail customers across several European markets, with its BUX Zero product line built specifically around commission free investing. ABN Amro completed its acquisition of BUX in December 2023, bringing the app under the ownership of one of the Netherlands largest banking groups. BUX is authorised and supervised in the Netherlands, with the AFM as its home regulator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BUX regulated?
Yes. BUX is authorised in the Netherlands and supervised by the Authority for the Financial Markets, the same regulator that issued the 1.6 million euro fine over its referral payment schemes.
Why was BUX fined by the AFM?
The AFM fined BUX for paying referral fees to finfluencers, comparison websites, and existing customers through an affiliate program and a friends program, which the regulator found violated the Dutch ban on commissions for investment firms.
Did BUX pay the fine?
BUX challenged the fine in court. The court upheld the AFM penalty, and BUX has indicated it is still weighing further substantive legal proceedings.
Is BUX Zero the same company as BUX?
Yes. BUX Zero is the commission free investing product line operated by BUX itself, not a separate broker, and is covered by the same AFM authorisation and the same regulatory record as the wider BUX brand.