KBC Equitas Review 2025

Is KBC Equitas regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) and the National Bank of Belgium (NBB).

Is KBC Equitas safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

KBC Equitas clients are covered by the Belgian Compensation Scheme.

KBC Equitas does not provide negative balance protection. Ultimately, we don't think this would be a concern as KBC Equitas is not a CFD/forex broker.

Our brokerage experts put together a comprehensive guide on the safety profile of KBC Equitas.

Background

KBC Equitas is based in Hungary and was founded in 1994. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

KBC Equitas is a member of Belgium's KBC Group, which has a banking license. This is a good sign, as it can be considered as a safety net. Even if it’s not required by law that a struggling broker be saved by its parent bank, in most cases you can count on this happening, so a banking parent adds another layer of security.

KBC Equitas's parent, the KBC Group, is listed on the stock exchange, which is a big plus for safety as it means KBC Equitas releases financial statements regularly and transparently.

Being a member of an international group that has a banking license, is listed on a stock exchange, and publishes financial statements are all great signs for KBC Equitas's safety.

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Account base currencies

At KBC Equitas, you can choose from the following 11 base currencies:

This selection is better than what Hungarian competitors offer, but is rather average in an international comparison. Note, however, that you can only convert currencies when you give a buy or a sell order for a stock or a mutual fund. You cannot convert currency with the purpose of speculating on currency movements. For example, you can only convert HUF to USD by giving a buy order for a USD-denominated asset. The conversion cost is around 1%, which is high.

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer more base currencies.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your trading account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your trading account base currency, you won't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

KBC Equitas charges no deposit fees.

Here's all you need to know about minimum deposit requirements and depositing money at KBC Equitas.

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

KBC Equitas withdrawal fees and options

Domestic HUF withdrawals cost 0.25%, with a minimum fee of HUF 500 and a maximum of HUF 20,000. Withdrawal to your K&H bank account is free. International withdrawals and withdrawals in foreign currency cost 0.15%, with a minimum fee of HUF 5,000 and a maximum fee of HUF 60,000. It is also free if the withdrawal is made to your K&H bank foreign currency account.

Read our guide containing all key info on available withdrawal methods and related fees at KBC Equitas.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How long does it take to withdraw money from KBC Equitas? We tested the credit card/bank transfer withdrawal and it took 1 business day.

How do you withdraw money from KBC Equitas?

• Open the WebBroker platform.
• Go to 'Pénz műveletek' (Cash transactions).
• Click 'Kiutalás/Átvezetés' (Withdrawal).
• Fill out the form.
• Click 'Utalási megbízások elküldése' (Send transfer).

Can you open an account?

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Read our separate article on how to get your account started with KBC Equitas.

What is the minimum deposit at KBC Equitas?

The required KBC Equitas minimum deposit is $0.

Account types

KBC Equitas offers both individual and corporate accounts, which can be opened only in person at a physical branch.
Hungarian individuals can also open tax-advantaged accounts (NYESZ and TBSZ). The annual fee of a NYESZ account is HUF 2,000, as prescibed by Hungarian law.

How to open your account

The account opening at KBC Equitas is not fully digital: you have to visit a branch in person to apply for an account, then complete additional steps online. Individual and corporate accounts are available for Hungarians only.
We had to go to their office, but they did not open the account, only booked an appointment for the following week, which was very time-consuming and inconvenient. Next week we opened the account in person and set a username, which took around 30 minutes. The online registration was quicker, and they verified the account within a day.
The 9 steps of KBC Equitas account opening:

1. Go to any KBC or K&H Bank office and verify your identity and residency by providing these documents:
   • National ID
   • Address card
   • Tax card
2. Sign the contracts of account opening in person.
3. Download the KBC MobilBroker app.
4. Log in with the username and the Digipass generated password.
5. Set a PIN code.
6. Read the contracts.
7. Go to www.kbcequitas.hu and click on 'WebBroker belépés'.
8. Use KBC MobilBroker's QR reader to log in to the WebBroker and finalize your account opening:
   • acceptance of contracts
   • compliance test
   • choose fee package
9. Deposit funds to your account.

KBC provides its own self-developed web trading platform called MobilBroker. It is available only in Hungarian.
Unfortunately, we encountered some bugs when testing both the web and the mobile platforms.

Look and feel

The KBC Equitas mobile trading platform is user-friendly and easy to use.

Login and security

KBC Equitas provides only a one-step login for its mobile platform. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company's list of security changes.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are OK.

You can easily find your favorite stocks, as search results are neatly categorized.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types on the mobile trading platform:

• Limit
• Market
• Stop

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT)

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the KBC Equitas mobile platform.

Our analysts personally tested KBC Equitas's mobile trading platform; read the KBC Equitas mobile app review for a detailed verdict on its performance and features.

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KBC provides its own self-developed web trading platform called WebBroker. It is available only in Hungarian.
Unfortunately, we encountered some bugs when testing both the web and the mobile platforms: sometimes, after placing a limit order, we needed to wait as much as 40 seconds to get confirmation that the order was sent. We don't know if it really took 40 seconds to send the order to the exchange (which would be pretty bad) or there was just a problem with the platform showing the confirmation.
On another occasion, we wanted to modify a pending order and the system returned an unspecified error message even though the exchange was open at the time. We were only able to modify the order after waiting 10 minutes.
If you're a long-term investor, this isn't that big of a problem, because a small change in the price while you wait won't mean much. However, if you're a short-term trader these are serious problems and you should consider using another broker.

Look and feel

The KBC Equitas web trading platform is user-friendly. There is also a WebBroker Pro service available within the WebBroker platform, which is more suitable for advanced traders. However, its customizability is limited, as you cannot easily move the tabs.

Login and security

KBC Equitas provides a safer, two-step login.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

The products are categorized in the menu.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Limit
• Market
• Stop
• Iceberg

If you are unfamiliar with some of these terms or want to learn more, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til time (GTT)

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts and notifications on the KBC Equitas web trading platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

KBC Equitas has clear fee reports.

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This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer more stock markets to trade on.

Stocks and ETFs

At KBC Equitas you can trade on 27 markets with more than 20,000 stocks.

Funds

KBC Equitas offers 45 funds from 5 providers.

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo make more fund providers available.

Bonds

At KBC Equitas you can buy only Hungarian government bonds (e.g. MÁP Plusz, 1MÁP).

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo list more bonds.

Futures

You can only trade BUX futures contracts at KBC Equities. The BUX index is the official index of blue-chip shares listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange.

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer more futures markets to trade on.

Cryptos

You can trade several listed certificates, ETNs and ETPs in the crypto space.

We recommend KBC Equitas for long-term investors from Hungary who want access to a variety of markets.

Below you can find links to all aspects of KBC Equitas in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our KBC Equitas fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the KBC Equitas minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your KBC Equitas account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the KBC Equitas account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the KBC Equitas trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the KBC Equitas customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is KBC Equitas legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether KBC Equitas is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is KBC Equitas good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on KBC Equitas?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on KBC Equitas guide

I want to trade options, are they available at KBC Equitas?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on KBC Equitas?

What is the minimum account balance at KBC Equitas?

Check out the current account balance requirements at KBC Equitas in our What is the minimum account balance at KBC Equitas article.

Looking for commission and fees data for KBC Equitas?

We collected them in KBC Equitas commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from KBC Equitas?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on KBC Equitas.