How to buy US stocks and ETFs from Cyprus

This page lists the investment platforms whose own pages say they accept residents of Cyprus, with their licences, fees and the deposit methods available here. We only count platforms that publish a list of the countries they accept: a company that does not say whom it accepts is left out, even if it might open an account for you. Being on the list is not a recommendation.

Some verified points for Cyprus:

• Interactive Brokers names Cyprus on its list of available countries and territories, with a note: “Excluding Hedge Fund accounts.” Its pages do not say which of its companies opens accounts for residents of Cyprus, so check the company named in your client agreement; one of them is Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. IBKR charges no fee for bank transfer deposits (your bank may), and after two free withdrawals a calendar month it charges a fee per withdrawal.
• Lightyear names “Cyprus (Republic)” on its list of countries where personal accounts are available. In Europe its service is provided by Lightyear Europe AS, authorised and regulated as an investment firm by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (Finantsinspektsioon). Lightyear says its customers’ assets are covered up to €20,000 by the Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund; crypto assets are not.
• The Central Bank of Cyprus explains that Cyprus has two investor compensation funds: the Investor Compensation Fund for Clients of Banks, for clients of credit institutions that offer investment services, and the Investor Compensation Fund for Investment Firm Clients. The regulations for the two funds were issued by the two competent supervisory authorities, the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

The fund for clients of banks pays compensation when a member bank, because of its financial circumstances, cannot return its clients’ money or hand over their financial instruments. “The maximum amount of compensation to each covered client is €20.000, irrespective of the number of accounts held, currency and place of offering the investment service.” Bank deposits are protected by a separate scheme: “The maximum amount of compensation, per depositor, per credit institution is €100.000, including accrued interest.” No investor compensation scheme pays for falling prices.

For US shares, the platform will ask you for Form W-8BEN. The IRS says most US-source income of a foreign person, dividends included, is taxed at 30% through a withholding tax unless a tax treaty or the tax code sets a lower rate. Cyprus is on the IRS list of US income tax treaties, so a lower rate may apply. Cyprus may tax the same dividend too, so ask the tax authority or a qualified tax adviser.