Pros
- Low minimum deposit
- Wide range of assets
Cons
- Unpublished spreads
- Expensive withdrawals
- Limited education
- Limited market analysis
Is IQ Option Safe?
Founded in 2013, IQ Options is managed and owned by IQ Options Europe Ltd, a financial services provider based in Cyprus and is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC). As a CySEC regulated broker, it is also MiFID compliant and is a member of the Investors Compensation Scheme. It is also regulated by Financial Services Authority of St Vincent and the Grenadines. See below for company registration details:
- IQ Option Europe Ltd is regulated by CySEC, license: 247/14.
- IQ Option LLC is regulated by FSA (St Vincent & the Grenadines) registration number 24840 IBC 2018.
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Considering the regulation and oversight on IQ Option, it should be regarded as a safe broker. Traders are also guaranteed negative balance protection, and payments are held in segregated bank accounts.
Investment Offering
IQ Option offers a variety of CFDs to trade, including Forex:
Scroll for more details Trading Conditions
IQ Option’s trading account has a low minimum deposit, making it easy to start trading, but spreads are much wider than most brokers in the industry.
Scroll for more details Account Types
Unlike most CFD and binary brokers, IQ Option has only chosen to offer two types of trading accounts: a standard trading account and a VIP account. Both accounts entitle traders to participate in the IQ Option’s weekly trading competitions. However, VIP account holders are offered additional trading benefits, such as free participation in trading promotions, 3% additional returns, and the service of a personal manager.
Demo Account
Those afraid to risk real money on trading will be glad to learn that IQ Option has an unlimited, free demo account. Upon opening the account, it is loaded with 10,000 in virtual dollars for trading on 400+ assets.
Real Account
This account requires a 10 USD minimum deposit and offers trading on 400+ assets. The maximum leverage offered on this account is 1:500, and spreads are some of the widest in the industry, at 5 pips pips on the EUR/USD. While IQ Option does not allow hedging, scalping, or copy trading, it offers Islamic Swap-Free accounts.
VIP Account
For the more serious trader, the minimum deposited is 1900 USD. Note that the VIP-status isn’t available for regulated traders.
Scroll for more details Spreads and Commissions
Spreads are much wider than most brokers, starting at 5 pips on the EUR/USD, 7 pips on the GBP/USD, and 14 pips on the EUR/GPB 14 pips. No commissions are charged on trades.
Deposit & Withdrawal
As a regulated broker, IQ Options ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. As such, all funds are returned to the source. IQ Options processes payments within three business days.
Growth in the South African market has led IQ Option to expand its reach in the region. As a result, bank transfers are now possible from a wide range of banks in the region. IQ Option accepts payments from Capitec, FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank, Nedbank, and Investec. Clients are entitled to 1 free withdrawal per calendar month. Note that withdrawals to a card may take up to 21 calendar days to be processed. Accounts are denominated in ZAR, EUR, GBP, RUB, and USD. See below for withdrawal and deposit methods:
- Visa/Mastercard: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 30 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged per transaction. Withdrawals are processed instantly.
- Capitec: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- FNB: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- Investec: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- Nedbank: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- Standard Bank: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- ABSA: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 167 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged. Withdrawals can take 1 – 3 business days.
- Neteller: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 30 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged per transaction. Withdrawals are processed within 1 – 3 business days.
- Skrill: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 30 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged per transaction. Withdrawals are processed within 1 – 3 business days.
- Perfect Money: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 30 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged per transaction. Withdrawals are processed within 1 – 3 business days.
- WebMoney WMZ: Deposits are free and processed instantly. Minimum withdrawals start at 30 ZAR, and a commission of 2%, up to a maximum of 450 ZAR is charged per transaction. Withdrawals are processed within 1 – 3 business days.
- Wire transfer: Deposits are free and can take 1 – 5 minutes to be processed. Withdrawals are charged at 31 USD per withdrawal.
Note: Regardless of the amount withdrawn, IQ Option charges a flat fee of 31 USD or equivalent in local currency for bank wire withdrawals.
Inactive Account Fee
After 90 consecutive days of no trading activity, an account is considered inactive, and a fee of 10 EUR, or local equivalent, will be charged each month until the account becomes active again.
IQ Option for Beginners
IQ Options offers a limited selection of educational and market analysis materials, including a Forex blog and a series of videos on trading basics.
Educational Material
While most of the videos cover market news issues, there are a set of videos covering the basics about the IQ Option platform and an introduction to CFD trading. Furthermore, a large portion of the material is focused on cryptocurrencies.
Scroll for more details Analysis Material
A Facebook-style news feed of 3rd party economic news is freely available to all visitors to the IQ Option website, along with a small section on expected high volatility news events. The rest of the analysis comes in the form of tools that are built into the platform.
Scroll for more details Customer Support
IQ Option has a 24/7 telephone and live chat customer support service available in 16 languages. Most countries have a toll-free phone option while others are charged at local rates, and this is available in South Africa. For the purposes of this review, we found the customer support unresponsive.
Trading Platform
Scroll for more details IQ Option provides its clients with a proprietary platform designed specifically to cater to their trading needs. The same platform is used for CFDs and binary options. The platform is user-friendly and features a large chart which is a great help for traders who wish to monitor the market conditions. Margin trading is also available for certain instruments.
The next layer down in the platform is the monitoring of 4 assets in more detail, each with a trading screen so multiple trades can be monitored. This is the platform showing its diversity as with the below example; the assets can be from different classes – this example shows the USD/ZAR and CAD/CHF currency pairs, Bitcoin, and Brent Crude Oil. This complexity of data and structure is unique to IQ Option.
Research & Education
IQ Option offers research tools directly in the browser. Below is an example of the single currency view where we have the pair USD/ZAR plotted. Straight from this screen, the trader can either speculate on the value of the currency pair either decreasing or increasing. You can see the simple functionality showing in the “higher” and “lower” buttons to the side of the screen.
IQ Option – The Social Platform
IQ Option offers leader boards displaying the top traders of the week, which is localised to South Africa. Tournaments are also available for traders who wish to participate; however, these tournaments are not available to regulated users.
Evaluation Method
We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the IQ Option offering. Central to that process is the evaluation of the reliability of the broker, the platform offering of the broker and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned to the broker.
IQ Option Risk Statement
Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. IQ Option would like you to know that: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 85% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Overview
Overall, IQ Option offers a unique, fun financial trading platform. While the trading conditions are poor, and the educational and market research sections are limited, IQ Option is considered a leading global binary options broker. Furthermore, its withdrawal fees are unreasonably high, and it does not allow hedging, scalping or copy trading.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 5 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. IQ Option platform supported. IQ Option is regulated by CySEC
IQ Option
CM Trading
Trade.com
I wish u guys could maximis withdrawals prosses to 2sec not 6to 19 days plz we love the platform plz plz the only problem is withdrawl process