IQ Option, managed by IQ Options Europe Ltd, is a financial services provider based in Cyprus. The trading platform is designated as a Cypriot Investment Firm (CIF) and falls under the jurisdiction of the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC).
It is authorized to provide financial services to customers of the European Economic Area (EEA) under the CIF license # 247/14. The trading platform was first launched in 2013 and since then it has grown by leaps and bounds. With its low minimum deposit requirement of $10 and a free demo account, IQOption has truly made online trading accessible to everyone.
Regulation and reputation
Over the few short years it has been operating, IQ Option has won several awards praising the quality of its services and its reliability. Today it is also recognized as one of the leading brokers in the industry. To reinforce its image as a reliable broker, traders will be pleased to know that IQOption is a regulated broker under the jurisdiction of the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under the name of the holding company IQ Option Europe.
As a regulated broker under CySEC, this means that IQ Option is also a MiFID compliant broker. In other words, IQOption is allowed to offer its services to customers within the EEA. A further advantage for clients of being regulated by CySEC is the fact that IQOption is also a member of the Investor Fund for investors. Under this scheme, each of IQ Option’s clients’ funds are protected up to a maximum amount of 20,000 euros.
But for traders outside the EEA, their accounts are managed by a separate sister company called IQ Option Ltd. The company is based in Mahe, Seychelles and is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Trading Platforms
Rather than choosing a standard trading platform, IQ Option has chosen to provide its clients with a proprietary platform specifically designed to meet their trading needs. The same platform is used for CFDs and for trading binary options. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, and includes a large chart that is a great help for traders who want to monitor the conditions in the markets.
In addition, the platform has a wide variety of trading tools that are usually not found on any trading platform with a binary capability. Some of the advanced trading tools we can view popular technical indicators such as moving averages, Bollinger Bands, MACD and RSI.
The brand regularly adds new features to the platform to offer traders more flexibility. One such feature is the ‘top-up position’. This allows the trader to keep a trade open if he is approaching a stop loss. This gives the trader more room to allow trades to recover before closing. It should be used with discipline, but offers traders new risk management or trading strategy options.
Mobile commerce
For traders who cannot stay longer in their trading term, they can install the mobile trading app offered for free by IQ Option. The mobile trading app, designed specifically for smartphones and mobile devices, enables traders to check their account status, keep up to date with all the developments in the market as well as execute trades.
Trading accounts offered
Unlike most CFDs and binary brokers, IQ Option only chose to offer 3 types of trading accounts, a standard trading account, a VIP account and a demo account.
To open a standard account, only a minimum deposit of $10 is required. As for the VIP trading account, you need to make a minimum deposit of $1900 (or currency equivalent) – but the trading volume must be $15000.
Both types of trading accounts give the trader the right to participate in the weekly trading competitions of the IQ Option. However, the VIP account gives the account holder additional trading benefits such as a free participation in the trading promotions, 3% additional returns and the service of a personal manager.
Potential traders who want to try the platform can first log into the demo account. It is offered for free and does not require an upfront deposit, as some brokers require their clients to do first. The demo account is preloaded with $1000 practice money that you can use to execute your practice trades.
Bonuses and promotions
In accordance with CySEC’s regulations, IQ Option no longer offers any form of deposit bonuses. The only type of promotional offer that traders can participate in at IQOption is the trading competition that they can participate in for an entry fee. Prizes for the competition range from $100 to approximately $100,000.
Assets at IQ Option
At the moment, traders at IQ Option can trade 90+ different types of underlying assets. It consists of a variety of currency pairs, market indices, stocks and commodities. Recently, IQ Option also added a selection of 12 different types of cryptocurrencies for its clients to trade in.
The list of available markets is constantly growing. Recently, the firm expanded their list of stocks and shares, taking the total beyond 150. Expect this expansion to continue in all areas. IQ has also spread markets across all products, so things like oil, gold and silver have been added to the asset list for digital trades.
Minimum trade sizes change with each product. Binary and digital options can therefore be opened for $1, but a Forex CFD has a minimum trade size of $20, and FX Options $30 (or Euro or GBP equivalent).
FX Options
FX Options is a very new product. In fact, they are so new that they are currently only available across the five major currency pairs.
They are available in EU regulated markets and offer investments in fixed risk, similar to binary options. There is a set expiration for each FX option and the potential payout is dependent on the underlying asset price. Where a trader believes that a strong price movement is imminent, the payouts reach 2000% and more.
As expiration approaches, the payout tends to grow, as these options are affected by the same delta and gamma values as traditional options. There is a minimum trade of 30 dollars placed on FX options, but they can be sold at any time up until expiration. So if a trader has brought a call or a put, both can be sold before expiration to lock in the gains or cut losses.
This is an excellent way for EU traders to still access fixed risk trades.
As the product grows in popularity, IK will undoubtedly expand the range of markets and expirations (currently only 1 hour expiration is available).
Cryptocurrency Multiples
Another innovative product delivered by IQ is the Cryptocurrency Multiples. It effectively works like leverage, and the price movements in the underlying assets are magnified. IQ Option first introduced this idea with Bitcoin x 100. This amplified the price movements by 100 times, creating huge opportunities – and risk – for traders.
The product was so popular that IK expanded the concept to Ethereum, IOTA, Ripple and others. The multiplier factor ranges from x20 to x50 and x100 on Bitcoin as mentioned. At the moment these products are only available to non-EU dealers.
Trading Costs and Fees
The IQ Option is transparent with their fees and charges. To see what the cost of trading at IQ will cost, consider:
- Spreads – The difference between buying and selling prices. This is often variable and will depend on volatility, liquidity and even the time of day.
- Exchange Fees – these are fees applied to positions held overnight. Charges range from 0.1% to 0.5% and will be higher when positions are held over the weekend.
- Dormant account fees – If an account is inactive for 90 days, IK will start applying a fee of €10 (or currency equivalent) every month, if the account balance is higher than zero.
- Withdrawal fees – with most payment service providers there are no fees, but bank transfers charge a fee of $31 (or a currency equivalent).
- Commission – Certain crypto trades are charged a commission of 2.9%. This charge does not apply to any other asset.
Customer Service
One of the most important points of IQOption is their customer support. To ensure that traders at IQOption can get the help they want, when the need arises, the broker has made its support services available 24/7. They can contact the support team via email, live chat or by phone. For the benefit of traders whose native language is not the English language, IQOption has also translated their website into a dozen different languages.
Deposit and withdrawal
For financing operating accounts at IQOption, the broker has provided support for various methods of fund transfer. These methods include transfer with credit cards, ewallets and bank transfer. Accepted credit cards include VISA, Mastercard and Maestro. As for the eWallet options, it includes popular wallets such as Neteller, Skrill, Perfect Money and Webmoney.
To withdraw funds, traders can also use the same methods they used to make a deposit in the first place. Processing withdrawal requests usually takes one business day, but can take as fast as a few hours when withdrawing using the eWallets method. For credit cards and bank transfer, the entire withdrawal process may take up to ten business days to complete.
The growth in the Asian markets has also led to the IQ Option expanding their reach in the region. As a result, bank transfers are now possible from a wide variety of banks in this area:
Thailand – Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Government Savings Bank, TMB Bank.
Indonesia – Central Asia, Negara Indonesia, Rakyat Indonesia, CIMB Niaga, Mandiri.
Vietnam – Vietcombank, the commercial bank in Asia, the bank for investment and development, Techcombank, Vietin Bank, Sacombank, Donga Bank, Eximbank.
Malaysia – Maybank, Hong Leong Bank, RHB Bank, Public Bank, CIMB Bank, AmBank
Philippines – Help2Pay – Supports both BDO (BDO Unibank) and MTB (Metrobank)
South American options are also being expanded:
Brazil – Jeton Wallet (supporting Boleto Bancario), and AstroPay (Boleto, Itau, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Caixa, Santander)
Argentina – AstroPay (Supported Banks; Pago Facil, Santander, Banco Galicia)
Perfect Money can also be used throughout South America, including Colombia. Perfect Money is also a valid choice in Nigeria and Pakistan, as well as in parts of Europe.
Jeton will also support IQ Option traders from India and a variety of banks catering to South African traders have also been added.
China Union Pay can facilitate deposits and withdrawals for merchants in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.
Is IQOption suitable for day trading?
One of the most important factors to consider when looking for a broker to day trade with is to look at the types of instruments available to trade. With the IQ option, since the broker offers CFDs that allow traders to open and close their market positions at any time, it is a suitable broker for day trading. In addition, the broker is well regulated, helping to ensure that your money is handled professionally and ethically.
Questions
What is the minimum deposit requirement to open a trading account?
The minimum deposit at IQOption is $10.
How fast can my withdrawal request be processed?
Withdrawal requests at IQOption usually take one business day, but are as short as a few hours.
Is IQOption a reliable broker?
Yes. IQOption is a reliable broker and is regulated by CySEC.
What kind of trading platform does IQOption have?
IQOption uses a proprietary trading platform.
What is the maximum leverage available at IQOption?
The maximum leverage offered by IQOption is 1:500 for non-EEA members. EEA traders will cover leverage at 1:30. However, EEA traders can register as professional – this means that the regulatory limits do not apply to their account. Visit IQ Option for more details.
Accepted countries
IQ Option accepts traders from Thailand, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries.
Traders cannot use the IQ option from the United States, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Belgium, Russian Federation, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain.