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| Broker | Banc De Binary |
|---|---|
| Website URL | www.bancdebinary.com |
| Headquarters | Cyprus |
| Trading Platform | SpotOption |
| Minimum 1st Deposit | $250 |
| Minimum Trade Amount | $1 |
| Bonus | 100% Bonus After First Deposit |
| Payout | Up To 91% |
| Free Demo Account | |
| Regulated | |
| Regulation | CySEC |
| Number of Assets | SpotOption |
| US Traders Allowed | |
| Mobile Trading | |
| Tablet Trading | |
| Overall Score | 85 |
Full Review
Banc De Binary has had a checkered past but it may be the top broker. At least for European traders. BDB is among the first, largest and best brokers on the market today, you just have to look past the headlines. BDB’s past trouble comes down to regulation. Binary options regulation is a complex and tricky subject, it is not the Banc’s fault that it overstepped the bounds so long as it was not done with malicious intent. You will have to be the judge of that, as for everything else, BDB is a good broker and one that I would use if I could trade there. Unfortunately U.S. citizens can’t use BDB. I however was able to gain limited access through my connections in able to update my review.
What’s The Deal
As part of its move to establish itself as a recognized and respectable financial services company it was first to jump on the CySEC bandwagon. The banc became CySEC regulated and then went on to say, inappropriately, that it was seeking CFTC regulation. Whether or not that is true is a matter of nuance I think but regardless, the CFTC cracked down on BDB pretty hard. The CFTC doesn’t like off-shore binary options brokers. This crackdown led to mentions of a lawsuit but I don’t think that is still a threat. The last reports of that possibility were in the summer of 2013, since then the banc has taken great steps to cut itself off from the U.S. market. Through all of this you must not forget that BDB is the leading CySEC broker and I say leading because not only did it get CySEC regulated it then took use of the Financial Passport to register with nearly every other country in the EU.
Banc De Binary Has A Great Platform
As I have already established it is the top regulated (EU) binary options broker. This ensures that your deposits are safely held in third party clearing houses and are protected up to limit under the EU Investors Compensation Fund. This is a big bonus over other, unregulated brokers. After that what is so great? BDB is a SpotOption based broker and a large one, which means that it comes with all the features available. The broker has the most extensive asset list available with all assets available during their normal market hours. This means that when the DAX is open and you want to trade you can. There are over 100 of stocks listed, more on the actual platform. That goes for the indices, forex and commodities too. There are nearly 30 international indices, over two dozen forex pairs including Bitcoin and about a dozen of the worlds heavily traded hard and soft commodities including wheat, corn, cotton and sugar.
The thing I like about SpotOption brokers and BDB in particular is the expiry. This broker has the best expiry available of any binary broker I can think of. There are of course 60 Seconds options but there are also several intra-day expiry’s, end of day, end of tommorow, end of the week, end of the month, end of next month and on out to the end of the year on some assets. Of course, you won’t find every expiry available for every asset but there are plenty of choices for each. The good thing is that since BDB has such a large trader base it can offer more assets and more expiry’s. The most heavily traded assets such as the EUR/USD, USD/JPY and others are where you will find the most expiry’s. Regardless of which asset you trade there will be an expiry to suit your style.
Available options include Call/Put, Long Term, 60 Second, OptionBuilder, One Touch and Pairs. The Call/Put is the standard binary options trade also known as high/low or over/under. The Long Term options are where you will find call/put options with the longest expirations, out to a year. 60 Second is self explanator, options that expire in 60 seconds. OptionBuilder is a feature popularized by BDB and SpotOption, it allows you to pick and choose from several different risk/reward levels for call/put trades. Pairs is newer feature that matches two companies of like business or other pairs of assets in a form similar to forex trading. You can make your trades based on which will be stronger.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Depositing is super easy but so is withdrawing. I recommend using an online wallet such as Skrill or MoneyBookers as they offer the quickest withdrawals but you can also use credit cards, debit cards or wire transfers. Minimum deposit is $250 and there is a bonus available to new customers. It is not automatic, be sure to ask your account respresentative about it. Bonuses come with trade minimums, not unexpected, but you are able to begin making withdrawals before it is met under certain conditions.This is another bonus of EU regulation.
Accounts can be denominated in a variety of major currencies including EUR,GBP, AUD and USD which I think is funny. In order to make a withdrawal you will need to complete the ID process which I suggest you begin as soon or before you make your first deposit. Because of CySEC and EU regulations withdrawals must be quick and easy. There is a short 2-3 processing period and then withdrawals will be in your account as soon as your method allows. Credit Card and wire transfers may take up to 2 weeks but withdrawals to Skrill or another wallet should be much quicker and could even clear in as little as 24 hours. There are also no fees for withdrawals, a pleasant bonus.
My last thoughts on BDB. It is a good broker, possibly a great broker, for EU residents.