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Tips on what to pay attention to
So you have read our comprehensive review of Saxo Bank (abbreviated SAXO) and you have decided to open an account. This guide will walk you through the steps of the process.
In some ways, this broker account opening process can be longer than for other brokers. That’s because SAXO is more sophisticated. But, we make this process a bit simpler. In the end going through it is worth the hassle given the benefits the broker may give you in the long run.
Let’s get started!
We added special considerations (Marked as⚠️) to pay attention to. They may be different to other brokers and/or have special importance.
STEPS TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
Phase 1 (Steps 1 to 3). This phase is a standard registration process: click the open account button, create your login credentials, and verify your email. Crucially, the country of residence (not your citizenship) you select during registration determines exactly which Saxo legal entity you are assigned to. While this guide focuses on the standard Saxo Bank onboarding flow, we also highlight the specific compliance and regulatory differences applicable to 🇬🇧 UK residents.
Phase 2 (Steps 4 to 10). A few standard steps: provide personal information including employment status, source of wealth, trading experience, choose your base currency and answer regulatory questions. Pay attention to your base currency selection, as Saxo generally does not allow the base account currency to be changed once the account has been funded. We also point out some of the additional suitability and compliance questions shown to 🇬🇧 UK applicants.
Phase 3 (Steps 11 to 16). Configure and finalize your account by completing the W-8BEN tax declaration, accepting the legal agreements and submitting proof of identity and address. Pay attention to your tax residency and the treaty in place between your country and the US to ensure that you benefit from the reduced US withholding tax rates where applicable. We also explain some of the additional legal declarations and verification steps required for 🇬🇧 UK-based applicants under Saxo’s FCA-regulated onboarding framework.
Phase 1: Identity Routing & Account Creation
Step 1️⃣ – Landing Page and Open Account Button
- Click the blue “Open Account” button on the top right of the screen or in the center.
Step 2️⃣ – ⚠️Create Account & Select Residency
- Enter your name, email address and country of residency:
⚠️Attention: the “Country” field is your country of main residence, not your country of citizenship
⚠️ Dynamic Routing & Legal Residency. Saxo Bank uses a centralized onboarding flow with automated jurisdiction routing. The country of residence selected during signup determines which legal entity and regulatory framework applies to your account. Most mainland European residents are onboarded through Saxo Bank A/S in Denmark, while UK residents are redirected to the FCA-regulated British entity. Some countries may additionally involve localized partnerships, such as BG SAXO in Italy.
- Start the Application. Ensure you select your country of tax residence; Saxo cross-references this automatically during the digital ID verification step, and any mismatch will result in your application being instantly flagged and rejected by compliance.
- Required Documents. Before clicking “Continue,” note the “List of documents and information to have ready” link at the bottom of the form.
- Click “Continue” but before make sure to complete the “I’m not a robot” reCAPTCHA human check verification right above the submit button to clear the automated security gate.
- ⚠️UK Accounts. Selecting the United Kingdom as a country of residency immediately triggers a notification redirecting users toward Saxo’s dedicated UK onboarding environment. To proceed with the UK application, you will need to enter your first and last name, provide an email address, and choose a password. After that, complete the CAPTCHA verification to proceed.
Step 3️⃣ – ⚠️Email Confirmation
- You will receive an email with a link to complete your application later if you prefer. The email is important because you will be able to set up a password just towards the end of the application (so if you do not complete immediately you most likely have to use the password reset function) and will include your account ID that is also your username.
- UK Accounts. If you are on the UK website, the process is slightly different. You will need to verify your email address before continuing with the application. Check your inbox for the verification code, enter it in the required field, and then click “Submit” to procee
Phase 2: Suitability & Financial Profiling
Step4️⃣ – Provide Personal Information
- Provide your personal details including phone number below and click “Continue“.
Step 5️⃣ – Employment And Source Of Income Information
- Employment Details: Enter your current employment status and your employer’s information. You can choose among:
Employee, private company
Employee, public sector company
Private company, Member of Board of Directors or Executive…
Public sector/state, Member of Board of Directors or Execut…
Political/Public office
Self employed
Retired
Student
Unemployed
⚠️Note that if you select “Unemployed”, the system will still require you to list the details and company name of your most recent job before you can continue.
- PEP Status. The platform will ask you to declare your PEP (Politically Exposed Person) status. If you don’t know if this applies to you, click the small information icon (i) to see the official definition.
Step 6️⃣ – Financial Information and Choice of Base Currency
- Indicate your source(s) of wealth and how much you plan to deposit each year
- Choose the base currency of your account per your convenience and your total investable assets.
Attention. Always be in a position to provide documents to justify your source of wealth (payslips, employment letter, inheritance documents, trading gain statements from former brokers etc). Be sure to keep these in your records, should you be required to provide them one day.
More about base currency
Base Currency Definition. Your account’s base currency is the primary denomination used for your aggregate portfolio accounting, performance reporting, and the currency in which default platform fees are calculated.
Supported Currencies. Saxo supports an extensive list of major base currencies directly in the registration dropdown menu, including: EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, AUD, CAD, CNH, CZK, DKK, HKD, HUF, JPY, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, and ZAR.
The Multi-Currency Sub-Account Feature. To trade global assets efficiently without incurring constant conversion spreads, Saxo utilizes a Sub-Account structure. While you choose one main master base currency during this application step, you can easily open free sub-accounts in different currencies (e.g., a USD sub-account alongside your primary EUR account) directly within the platform later. This allows you to fund, hold cash, and receive dividends natively in multiple currencies, shielding your capital from unnecessary FX conversion costs during foreign transactions.
⚠️ Strict Base Currency Lock. Pay close attention to your choice in the dropdown menu: Saxo Bank does not allow you to change your master account base currency once the account has been funded. Even when onboarding via regional partnerships like BG SAXO, all currency options remain unlocked and available for selection. However, if you make a mistake here and select the wrong one, you will have to contact support immediately before sending any money to fix it, or rely exclusively on adding sub-accounts later.
Funding & Conversion Tips. When moving cash between your multi-currency sub-accounts inside the platform, always execute transfers during regular Forex market trading hours. Saxo disables cross-currency sub-account transfers on weekends and major holidays to protect users from liquidity gaps and conversion errors.
Click “Continue“.
Step 7️⃣ – Financial Experience
- Confirm your level of financial experience and trading goals. Click “Continue“.
Step 8️⃣- Citizenship
- ⚠️ Confirm your citizenship. Under MiFIR regulations, Saxo Bank must collect unique National Client Identifiers for transaction reporting. As shown, once you select your nationality (e.g., Italy), the form dynamically loads your country’s tax field, requiring Italian residents to provide their alphanumeric Codice fiscale. If you hold multiple citizenships, check the “I have an additional nationality (incl. US)” box. Ensure everything is entered exactly as it appears on your passport to avoid compliance delays during document verification. Click “Continue“.
⚠️Step 9️⃣- Tax Residency.
- Confirm your Tax Residency and details. Select your primary tax jurisdiction from the “Which countries are you resident in for tax purposes?” dropdown menu. If you have dual-tax liabilities or fall under US FATCA reporting regulations, make sure to check the “I have an additional tax residency (incl. US)” box. Finally, populate your accurate Country of Birth and type your City of Birth exactly as detailed on your primary passport to clear the backend identity match. Click “Continue“.
Step 🔟 – Residential Address.
- Confirm your Residencial Address. Fill in your complete address details across the required fields, including Street Name, House Number, City/Town, and Postcode/ZIP.
⚠️ Critical Match Warning: The exact text data you type into these fields must perfectly replicate the information on the physical Proof of Address document (such as a utility bill or bank statement) you will be asked to upload later. Any spelling variations, missing house numbers, or zip code discrepancies between this digital input and your paperwork will automatically trigger a compliance review and stall your account activation.
Phase 3: Legal, Tax & Biometric Verification
Step 1️⃣1️⃣ – Tax Treaty Benefits
FOR ALL INVESTORS EXCEPT UK
- Claiming Tax Treaty Benefits. The W-8BEN form allows non-US investors to benefit from reduced US withholding tax rates under their country’s tax treaty with the United States. Without a valid declaration, US dividends may be taxed at 30% instead of the lower treaty rate (often 15%). Select your country carefully and complete the confirmation checkboxes before clicking “Sign and continue”.
FOR UK INVESTORS
- 🇬🇧 Compared to the standard European onboarding flow, UK applicants are presented with the same W-8BEN declaration process before accessing U.S. securities. However, UK applicants are asked to confirm whether special tax rates or treaty conditions apply to them.
Step 1️⃣2️⃣ – Accept General Business Terms
Legal Frameworks & Terms Acceptance. This final step legally ties your account to Saxo Bank’s regulatory infrastructure. The scrollable text contains mandatory legal agreements, including the General Business Terms, Risk Disclosure Statements, and Best Execution Policy.
The Checkboxes: To submit your application, complete the following options:
☑️ “I accept the above” – Mandatory. You must check this box to agree to the business and custody terms, or the platform will not let you proceed.
☐ Marketing Communications – Optional. Leave this box blank if you want to opt out of promotional emails, texts, and phone calls.
⚠️Do Not Close or Refresh: Once you click the blue “Continue” button, Saxo begins processing your file on their servers. As noted on the left panel, this can take up to 3 minutes. Do not close your browser tab, go back, or refresh the page during this time, or your application may be interrupted.
Step 1️⃣3️⃣- Password and Phone Number Verification
Set Your Password – Mandatory. Your chosen password must be at least 12 characters long and contain at least 1 number and 1 letter. The interface will display green indicator text once these security benchmarks are successfully met.
Verify Your Phone Number – Mandatory. The platform will instantly send a 6-digit SMS text code to your registered mobile device. Type this code into the “Verification Code” field to link your phone. If the text fails to arrive after a minute, check the “I didn’t receive a verification code” box to trigger a resend option. Click the blue “Continue” button to lock in your security credentials and proceed.
Step 1️⃣4️⃣- Upload your proof of residency and sign the contract
Proof of Residential Address. To clear the final Know Your Client (KYC) security stage, you must submit an official document that explicitly matches the exact full name and home address details you entered earlier in your application.
Accepted Document Types. As displayed in the dropdown menu selection, the platform accepts any of the following official documents:
Utility bill (issued within the last 6 months)
Bank statement (issued within the last 6 months)
Latest Tax statement (issued within the last year)
Residence Permit / Residence certificate (issued within the last 6 months)
Credit card statement (issued within the last 6 months)
⚠️Online Account Opening Confirmation: Right below the address upload zone, you must look for the “Click here to download” link. This dynamically generates your personalized registration contract. You are required to download this document, review it, physically or digitally sign it, and upload the completed file back to the “Online Account Opening Confirmation” drop zone before hitting continue.
- 🇬🇧 As shown in the second screen, British clients must answer additional declaration questions, including whether the account is being opened on behalf of another person and whether any health-related conditions could impact their ability to use or understand the platform.
Step 1️⃣5️⃣ 🇬🇧 – Verify Your Identity & Address
- Identity Verification Requirements. You must verify your identity. The platform requires two components:
- Take a picture of a valid ID: You can use a driver’s license, passport, or national identity card.
- Take a Selfie: Make sure you have a mobile phone or computer webcam ready for a quick face scan.
- Recommended Browsers. To minimize technical issues or camera loading errors during the biometric scan, Saxo explicitly recommends using Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.
- ⚠️ Biometric Privacy Consent: Clicking the blue verification button confirms your consent for Saxo and its automated service providers to securely collect, process, and store your facial data strictly for identity validation.
- Flexible Completion: If you do not have your physical documents or a functional camera on hand right now, you can click the “Do it later” link to skip this step temporarily and resume it when you are ready. Otherwise, click “Verify Identity Now” to complete the check.
Successful Submission. Once you finish the live selfie scan and document upload via Veriff on your smartphone, your screen will automatically refresh to this confirmation landing page.
Finalizing the Session. The message “Thank you! Your verification data has been successfully submitted” confirms that your biometric data, ID scans, and compliance forms have been securely packaged and sent to Saxo Bank’s automated compliance queue.
Next Step: Simply click the dark green “Continue” button to close the active verification interface.
Transition to Smartphone. To complete the secure identity verification, Saxo Bank routes you to a mobile-friendly onboarding terminal powered by Veriff. You will need a functioning smartphone with a camera to finish this part.
How to Connect Your Device. The platform offers two quick methods to transfer the session to your phone:
Option 1 (QR Code): Open your smartphone’s camera app and scan the unique QR code on the left to immediately open the secure link.
Option 2 (SMS Link): Select your country code (e.g., Italy +39), enter your mobile phone number on the right, and click “Next” to receive a secure login link via text message.
⚠️No Smartphone? If you do not have a mobile device available or your phone’s camera is broken, you can bypass this handoff by clicking the “Don’t have a smartphone? Continue with your current device” link at the very bottom to attempt verification using your computer’s webcam instead.
Step 1️⃣6️⃣🇪🇺 – Application Completed
Final Submission Screen. After clearing the verification checkpoint, you will land on this final confirmation page. Your registration data is now officially saved and locked.
The Waiting Period. Saxo Bank’s compliance team will begin processing your account. Keep a close eye on your inbox: you will receive a confirmation email once your account is approved, or an immediate notice if they require any clarifying documents from you.
Explore the Platforms: While your application is under review, you don’t have to just wait around. You can click the “Demo our platforms” link to log into a simulated environment and get familiar with Saxo’s trading interfaces and financial products with zero risk. You can now safely close this browser window.
Step 1️⃣6️⃣ – Application Completed
- Upon completing the application, you’ll be given a choice between logging in to Saxo Investor or Saxo TraderGo. Saxo Investor is primarily investing focused, Saxo TraderGo has a suite of more advanced features like margin, CFD and currency trading. You have access to both at any given time, but one is more likely to be suitable for your use than the other.
