Scalable Capital Opens Trading to ChatGPT and Claude in European First

Scalable Capital, a German digital broker, has become the first European bank to let clients use external AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude to execute trades and review portfolios. The integration, announced on Tuesday, includes security controls, but the company did not disclose full technical details. Founder and Co-CEO Erik Podzuweit called it a first step, noting many users remain hesitant to let AI manage their finances.

August 25, 2026 , Inside AI — Scalable Capital , a German digital broker, now lets its account holders use external AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude to execute trades and review portfolios. The company announced the move on Tuesday, framing it as the first such integration by a European bank. The feature works alongside Scalable's existing app and website. Customers can connect their brokerage accounts to the AI platforms and issue trading instructions or ask for portfolio analysis through conversational prompts. Scalable said the service includes multiple security controls, though it did not disclose the full technical architecture behind the integration. Erik Podzuweit , Scalable founder and Co-CEO, described the launch as an interim step before AI becomes embedded directly in Scalable's own application. He acknowledged that many users remain cautious about letting a chatbot access financial data. "A lot of people might still be hesitant to let ChatGPT look at their portfolio, manage their portfolio. So I think that it's a first step," Erik Podzuweit, founder and Co-CEO, Scalable Capital The broker, founded in 2014 , serves more than 1 million clients and oversees over €60 billion in assets. Its primary markets are Germany and Austria , with additional operations in Italy , Spain , France , and the Netherlands . Scalable's move arrives as European retail brokers face intensifying competition. Digital-first platforms have pressured traditional lenders by offering lower fees and simpler onboarding. Adding AI access could become a differentiator, but it also raises questions about liability, data privacy, and execution quality when trades are routed through third-party models. Why a Broker Would Hand Trading Keys to Chatbots The integration reflects a broader push by financial firms to test generative AI in client-facing roles. Banks have experimented with AI assistants for customer service, research summaries, and compliance checks. Scalable is going further by allowing actual trade execution through external chatbots. Podzuweit said his hypothesis is that AI usage will on average lead to better returns for investors, but he stressed that the outcome is unproven. The company did not provide data on expected performance differences or how it would measure AI-driven outcomes against human-directed trading. Security remains the central concern. Connecting a brokerage account to a third-party AI service requires careful authentication and permission scoping. Scalable said it added unspecified security measures, but the announcement did not detail whether the chatbots receive read-only access by default, require explicit confirmation for each trade, or store conversation logs. European regulators have been cautious about AI in financial services. The EU AI Act classifies certain financial applications as high-risk, and the European Securities and Markets Authority has warned firms about unclear accountability in automated systems. Scalable's integration will likely attract regulatory attention if it scales beyond early adopters. The Real Test Is Whether Users Trust AI With Money Scalable's cautious framing suggests the company expects slow adoption. The chatbot route may appeal to tech-savvy investors who already use AI tools for research. But most retail clients are unlikely to delegate trading decisions to a general-purpose model without stronger evidence of reliability. Competing brokers will watch closely. If Scalable reports meaningful usage without security incidents, rivals may follow with similar integrations. If users stay away, the feature may remain a niche experiment rather than a template for European finance. The announcement was reported by Tom Sims and edited by Linda Pasquini for Reuters . Scalable did not specify a timeline for bringing AI capabilities directly into its own app, where it would have tighter control over prompts, data flows, and execution safeguards.