Saxo, a renowned European online broker (rebranded from “Saxo Bank” in 2024-2025), made significant changes to its global operations starting in 2024. Among other strategic shifts, Saxo ceased onboarding new clients in several countries – including Turkey – as part of a deliberate market focus on its core European and Asia-Pacific jurisdictions.
This article explores the implications for current and prospective clients in Turkey and outlines the best alternative investment platforms available to Turkish residents in 2026.
Is Saxo available in Turkey?
No – since July 1, 2024, Saxo no longer accepts new Turkish clients. Existing Turkish clients onboarded before that date may have been subject to transitional arrangements, but new account opening from Turkey is closed.
You can check Saxo’s full list of accepted and restricted countries here.
If you try to open a Saxo account from Turkey today, you won’t find “Turkey” in the country selector during the onboarding flow.
For context, this decision was part of Saxo’s broader strategic refocus – the same period that saw Saxo’s acquisition by the Swiss-Brazilian J. Safra Sarasin Group in March 2025, and the platform consolidation that combined SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO into the unified SaxoTrader platform in 2025. Saxo continues to actively serve clients across most of the EU, UK, Switzerland, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and other major markets – just not Turkey.
Impact on current clients
Existing Saxo clients in Turkey did not face immediate offboarding when the new client restriction took effect in July 2024. However, Saxo planned to complete the offboarding of all Turkish clients by the end of 2024, with clients notified directly about the specific process and timelines. By 2026, Turkish residents who were previously Saxo clients would need to have moved their accounts to alternative brokers – making the question of “best alternative” particularly relevant.
Alternative brokers for Turkish investors
For affected Turkish investors, several reputable international brokers remain accessible and offer comparable (or better) functionality to what Saxo provided. Our top recommendation:
- Interactive Brokers (IBKR): the best overall alternative to Saxo for Turkish residents. IBKR is genuinely Saxo’s closest peer in terms of breadth – offering access to 150+ markets across 30+ countries, a comparable product range (stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, forex, commodities), industry-low FX conversion fees (0.20 bps, minimum $2), and tiered commissions that scale down with monthly trading volume. As a NASDAQ-listed broker (ticker: IBKR) regulated by multiple top-tier authorities (SEC/FINRA/SIPC in the US, FCA in the UK, CBI in Ireland, ASIC in Australia, SFC in Hong Kong, MAS in Singapore, and CIRO in Canada), IBKR brings strong institutional credibility. Turkish residents are typically onboarded through Interactive Brokers’ international entity, with the account opening process fully digital and typically completing within a few business days. IBKR also offers IBKR GlobalTrader, a simpler mobile-first app suitable for newer investors moving from Saxo’s user-friendly interface.
Why did Saxo leave Turkey?
Saxo’s decision to exit Turkey was influenced by several factors typical of strategic market-rationalisation decisions made by global brokers:
- Regulatory compliance: maintaining licensed operations across many jurisdictions is increasingly resource-intensive. Different countries have varied regulatory frameworks with diverging requirements – and Turkey’s regulatory environment for foreign brokers has presented specific complexity, particularly around CMB (Capital Markets Board of Türkiye) oversight and FX trading restrictions.
- Operational efficiency: by focusing on fewer markets, Saxo can streamline operations and concentrate resources on jurisdictions that align with its broader strategic positioning – particularly Europe, the UK, Switzerland, the UAE, and Asia-Pacific.
- Risk management: exiting volatile or higher-risk jurisdictions helps brokers manage and mitigate financial, legal, and operational risks. Turkey’s persistent lira volatility and the country’s evolving regulatory framework around financial services may have factored into this risk calculation.
- Resource optimisation: concentrating on fewer markets allows brokers to deliver higher-quality service and faster product innovation in their core regions.
- Strategic refocus: the Turkey exit coincides with broader Saxo strategic shifts including the J. Safra Sarasin acquisition (March 2025) and the unified SaxoTrader platform consolidation – both pointing to a more focused, Europe-and-private-banking-oriented business model.
The bottom line
Saxo’s strategic exit from the Turkish market represents a meaningful change for affected Turkish investors who valued the platform’s breadth and user-friendly trading experience. Fortunately, several well-regulated international alternatives remain accessible to Turkish residents – with Interactive Brokers being the closest functional equivalent to Saxo in terms of product range, market access, and institutional credibility.
Affected Turkish investors should:
- Review their current Saxo positions and complete any transfer or liquidation arrangements per Saxo’s offboarding communications.
- Compare alternative brokers based on fees, supported markets, product range, regulatory protection, and Turkish-resident onboarding requirements.
- Open a new account at the chosen alternative broker and transition holdings (typically through cash settlement followed by re-purchase, since cross-broker share transfers can be operationally complex from Turkey).
- Consider any Turkish tax implications of the transition (Turkey applies a Withholding Tax on certain investment income for resident investors, plus specific reporting obligations for foreign-broker accounts).
By understanding the reasons behind Saxo’s exit and exploring well-regulated alternatives, affected investors can navigate this transition smoothly and continue building their portfolios in 2026 and beyond.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own research, verify current broker availability for Turkish residents, and consider consulting a qualified financial or tax advisor about the specific implications for your situation.
