THIS BROKER HAS CLOSED AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Please visit our broker review page for our most recommended brokers.
_______
Trade over 200 instruments with CYSEC-regulated and FCA-registered binary options broker AnyOption!
Despite CYSEC-regulated binary options brokers being limited in the bonuses they are able to offer, AnyOption’s 5%-25% refund on losing trades is great compensation and in practical terms, with no conditions to turnover attached, more attractive than cash bonuses unregulated brokers often offer. AnyOption’s trading platform, both desktop and mobile app versions, is first class and with over 200 tradable instruments available, this section also gets top marks. The ‘call me back’ customer support option is also a nice touch and helps towards the high marks awarded in this ratings section.
Intro
There are several factors when it comes to considering which of the many available binary options brokers to trade with, among which, but not only, are:
- How reputable a custodian of funds is the broker likely to be?
- The trading platform software provided
- Range of tradable financial assets
- Minimum and maximum trade sizes
- Customers Service
As with choosing any product or service, binary options traders should shop around before committing to a broker. Trialing the trading platform in demo mode and researching payment and withdrawals systems and all of the other details important to traders is a time-consuming task. However, traders, like any category of consumer, should, if they wish to avoid the risk of a less than satisfactory experience, take the time to research brokers before choosing one. We’ve made an effort here to minimise the time commitment required for that research as much as possible by covering in our broker reviews section the main categories of information that traders need to assess. Here we take a closer look at AnyOption.
Company Information
AnyOption has been operating since 2008, making it according to the broker’s own claim the oldest binary options broker on the market, and is fully owned and operated by parent company Ouroboros Derivatives Trading Limited. AnyOption’s parent company is regulated as an investment company with CYSEC, the Cypriot Securities Exchange Commission and operated across the European Union under the MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) passporting system. Outside of the EU, AnyOption, via Ouroboros is also registered as a clearing provider under the Financial Service Board of South Africa.
AnyOption’s regulatory environment demands strong company capitalisation levels, segregation of client funds from company operational accountancy and funds and pre and post-trade transparency requirements. Binary options regulation is still a grey area in many geographies but CYSEC and MiFID regulation of the industry is the most stringent anywhere and traders focusing on the safety of a broker would do well to work with those operating under according to the requirements set out them.
Recent news suggests that AnyOption/Ouroboros has agreed a merger with portfolio management company invest.com, however the deal is yet to be officially confirmed.
Trading Software
AnyOption’s proprietary and copyrighted trading platform is considered a binary options trading industry standard. The broker has had time and experience to refine it over the past decade and the current product demonstrates that. The trading interface itself is very well designed from both a usability and aesthetic point of view and embodies the philosophy of ‘doing the simple things well’.
The platform facilitates four different models of binary options trading. Classic binary options, of course, as well as longer term options and One Touch options where the price only needs to ‘touch’ the target price at any point before the expiry deadline. The ‘Options+’ format allows traders to close the option early at a reduced return to lock in profit.
AnyOption’s newest binary options format is called ‘Dynamics’ and offers greater control to traders. Dynamics works with a predefined investment level or option level that is not necessarily the current price of an asset (as it is with ordinary binary options). The option level does not change value over the option’s lifetime while the offered returns change dynamically in accordance with the asset’s current price and its relation to the option level. Traders see different returns for above / below options. The more risk taken – the greater the potential profit.
Mobile
The mobile version of the site is also, as might be expected, to a very high standard. Native apps in Android and iOS are available and traders will find the trading platform’s mobile experience to be almost as usable as the larger desktop format. Trade execution and general load times are, with a strong signal or if connected to WiFi, as fast as on the desktop software. Top marks!
Assets Available
AnyOption provides one of the richest selection of tradable instruments of any binary options broker with over 200 available at any one time across forex, commodities, indices and stocks asset classes.
Stocks and indices have great geographic diversity, allowing traders 24-hour opportunities to trade during weekdays as first Asian markets move on to European, with North America opening as Europe winds down for the day.
Option+ and Dynamics binary options formats have smaller lists of instruments that can be traded at any one time with the full assets index available to the traditional formats.
Pricing for quotes on instruments is provided by Thomson Reuters.
Trading Features, Fees and Payouts
AnyOption offers specialist Islamic faith compliant trading accounts which guarantee no interest or hidden fees.
There are no general fees attached top opening, operating or closing a trading account but a $/£/€50 maintenance fee is charged to ‘dormant’ accounts, which are classified as accounts which have seen no activity for at least 6 months.
There are also some fees attached to withdrawals, which vary depending upon the payment processing method chosen by the client. Credit card withdrawals are charged at a flat 3.5% flat fee, or minimum of £/$/€ 30 and wire transfers are also charged at £/$/€30. Withdrawals to wallets with E-payment processors such as Skrill and Neteller have charges ranging between 2.5% and 3.5%.
Payouts available on options can vary considerably and are calculated on the level of risk the trader takes on by placing a particular option. The riskier the position, the higher the payout. Payouts for ‘Dynamics’ options can reach 1000%+ but the standard level is usually between 70% and 80% of capital put at risk.
Bonuses & VIP programs
Due to being under the CYSEC regulatory regime, which forbids binary options brokers to offer bonuses, AnyOption does not have a real bonus structure. However, in lieu of bonuses AnyOption refunds between 5% and 25% of the invested stake for options that finish out-of-the-money. With traders generally losing the entirety of the stake placed on losing binary options, this is actually a very generous model and more than compensates for the broker’s inability to be able to offer traditional cash bonuses. These bonuses in any case often come with onerous trade turnover conditions and can lead to withdrawals being difficult to realise leading to many traders declining them.
Deposits and withdrawals
Deposits and withdrawals can be made via Mastercard, Visa and Maestro debit and credit cards as well as international wire transfer or with major e-payment processors such as Skrill, Neteller and GiroPay. Users should note that there can be discrepencies between which e-payment processors can be used for deposits and withdrawals in some territories as sometimes a deposit is possible with one option but not withdrawals.
Money-laundering regulation means withdrawals need to be supported with personal ID verification and, for higher value withdrawals, proof of deposited funds may be requested. It is better to make sure this documentation is provided and approved prior to attempting to make a withdrawal in order to avoid delays.
The minimum deposit required to open a full trading account is £/$/€100. There is no minimum withdrawal amount though fees do apply depending upon the payment processing method selected, as covered in the fees section above.
Customer Support
Customer support is to a very high level and support team professionals who are native speakers of every language the platform supports (English, Spanish, German, Italian and Dutch) are available via both live chat and a ‘call back’ service.
Extra features and resources
AnyOption has a great educational resource available to traders in the ‘Academy’ section of the broker’s website. Training videos, e-books and online courses are all available and categorised for ‘Beginner’, ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Advanced’ levels.
Live data on sentiment and trends is also provided via the ‘Live Data’ tool. This handy feature visualises positions that all the other traders in the platform are currently taking on an instrument to instrument level.
Verdict
All-in-all it is difficult to find much to criticise AnyOption on and traders should consider the broker both a high quality and secure choice. The trading platform is top-notch, the range of tradable instruments and binary options formats broad and education materials to a high standard.
Withdrawals could be charged at slightly lower fees but traders do not need to have any concern in terms of being able to take funds out of their trading account. Customer support is also to a high standard.
From our point of view AnyOption is one of the best binary options brokerage choices available to traders.
FAQ
Is AnyOption a safe broker to trade with?
Yes, AnyOption has been around since 2008 and is regulated by CYSEC, making it one of the most secure choices of binary options broker available.
What is the minimum account deposit I can make with AnyOption?
£/$/€100 is the minimum deposit.
What currencies can I use to make an account deposit with AnyOption?
US Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, Russian Ruble, Turkish Lira or Swedish Krone may be used in the account.