24Option Broker Review
24option is a leading forex and CFD broker that has been in business for 8-years, first as a binary option broker. In a world were retail forex brokers come and go, 8-years reflects stability. That being said, while the company is not a scam, they don’t always play above board. 24option just announced in July that it would no longer be trading binary options. While the parent of the 24option brand has been active in forex for 3-years, there practices in the binary options space could be a bone of contention for forex traders. The 24options platform is sleek and intuitive, making it easy to execute a trade, but they will not allow you to test the platform without an initial deposit. The company offers nearly a dozen different banking options which will allow you to easily deposit and withdraw funds, offering access to more than 80 countries.
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Company Information
24option was established in 2010, as a binary option broker and recent began trading forex and CFD’s in December of 2016. The company is owned by Rodeler Ltd., which is a Cyprus Investment Firm based in Limassol, Cyprus. The company owns several online trading brokers including 24FX. Rodeler Ltd is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission and its CIF license number is 207/13. While it is always better to be regulated as opposed to unregulated, it is not until recently that the CSEC has cracked down on unscrupulous behavior.
For European Union countries, 24option brand falls under the EU Passporting rule, and therefore registered with EU member states, authorized by their jurisdiction. For Non-European Union clients, they are covered by a subsidiary of Rodeler Ltd called Richfield Capital Ltd, which is regulated by the Belize International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) under the license number IFSC/60/440/TS/15-16.
24option uses its own proprietary trading platform, that the company calls Scipio, which allows them to add features and new products more efficiently. 24option won the 2016 FBO Best broker award, for providing the best service for a binary option broker.
Rodeler saw the writing on the wall relatively early and made the switch from strictly a binary option broker to a forex broker as scrutiny about the binary options industry started to climb. In the United States, there is only 1-regulated binary options broker called Nadex. The practices that 24options uses as a forex broker will be scrutinized, given the companies past. 24option binary option trading was first halted in France, because of their trading practices, which did not place their clients first. The crackdown on binary options brokers eventually led to the termination of trading these products.
Registration
The initial registration process if relatively basic. The company will ask you for your name, email address, and phone number, and you will also be prompted for a password. Many forex brokers allow U.S. traders to transact on their platforms, but 24option does not provide access for U.S. investors. The reasoning dates back to their binary option product. U.S. traders are not allow to trade U.S. governed unregulated binary option products.
24options is one of the few brokers that requires that you put down an initial deposit before you can have access to their demonstration product. You can still register and look around, but you cannot start trading without depositing their minimum. This was the case when 24option had a binary options business and likely did not want clients to know the difficulty it took to be successful trading binary options. Most of the forex brokers that are considered competitors of 24option provide a demo account, allowing perspective clients to take a test drive. So, in the past, if you wanted to take the platform for a spin, you will need to hand them $100. This is also the minimum deposit. This practice is unusual, and you can make your own decision about what you think it means.
Assets available
24option offers a wide array of assets which include major and minor currency pairs, along with crosses and emerging market currency pairs. Commodities, are offered and include petroleum, natural gas, precious metals, base metals, as well as grains and soft commodities. Worldwide equity indices are offered including U.S., European, and Asian benchmarks. 24option offers dozens of individual shares with a focus on U.S. companies, including some of the most popular stocks such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. In addition, they offer a number of European shares from Germany, and the U.K. To provide a liquid market, 24options focuses on the most liquid shares, which allows them to hedge their risk. For CFDs trading, there are 13 commodities that are available, 18 stock indices, 42 currency pairs and 132 individual shares.
Bonuses & VIP programs
24options offered a welcome bonus for binary options trading, but does not offer any bonuses for forex trading which is more heavily regulated.
Commissions and Spreads
The commissions and spreads that 24option charges is predicated on the type of trading account that is active. The also claim that these levels are subject to change. Just as a refresher, a commission is an amount a broker charges to place a trade, which is generally a fix fee. A spread is the difference between where you can purchase an asset and were you can sell the asset. It is common in the forex market to have a spread which allows brokers to make their money from selling you a product at one price and then trying to buy it back at a lower price.
Account Type
24option has 5-account types, from a basic account that provides access to trading, to their Diamond account which requires a larger active deposit, but offers more benefits. Currency market participants describe a spread in terms of pips which is the smallest change in the price of a currency pair.
Basic Account
Major pairs, 3 pips Minor pairs 4 pips and Emerging pairs 7 pips
Minimum Deposit of 100 EUR or GBP
Silver Account
Major pairs, 3 pips Minor pairs 4 pips and Emerging pairs 7 pips
Minimum Deposit of 2,000 EUR or GBP
Gold Account
Major pairs, 2 pips Minor pairs 3 pips and Emerging pairs 7 pips
Minimum Deposit of 25,000 EUR or GBP
Platinum Account
Major pairs, 1.5 pips Minor pairs 2.5 pips and Emerging pairs 7 pips
Minimum Deposit of 50,000 EUR or GBP
Diamond Account
Major pairs, 1.5 pips Minor pairs 2.5 pips and Emerging pairs 7 pips
Minimum Deposit of 100,000
The basic account provides access to all of the platforms that 24option provides. The Silver account includes trading alerts and a personal trading coach. The Gold account adds SMS and email alerts. The platinum account adds web research and live training sessions. The Diamond account includes complementary tickets to Juventus FC soccer matches. All of these benefits are subject to change.
Customer support
24option has a customer service department that covers a global clientele. 24option website can manage this process in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Arabic, Polish and Portuguese. Customer services claims they are available around the clock, 7-days a week. Supported channels include:
Email – An effective way to communicate, but the response time is generally 24-hours
Web Contact Form – Just as effective as email, but you could wait 24-hours for a response
Live Chat – Generally the most effective way to communicate, and actively available during the European trading hours.
Telephone – Most of the time you will need to leave a message and wait for a return call within 24-hours.
Types of Platforms
24option has three specific types of platforms that provide access to the Forex markets. 24option is one of the forex brokers that have integrated currency trading with 24option’s MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform which the traders can download and install onto their computers. This has all the tools that you would expect from a meta trader system. You can back test your strategies, and determine if your techniques can make money using historical data. Additional, you can automate your trading system to send signals directly to 24options, who will execute your trades.
Web Platform
Additionally, 24option offers its own web based platform, which is relatively easy to use. The trading platform has a simple buy or sell next to each currency pair, on the trading page.
You have the choice to click on any asset, and the 24option web platform shows you were you can sell and buy the security. It also provides a graph of the instrument, in this case the EUR/USD currency pair, along with a chart of the currency pair. In addition, the web platform has tabs for economic calendars, which describe the event, the forecast, the actual release and the previous release. This will allow you to determine if the new information that is released will be market moving.
There is also a daily market update, that provide traders news and analysis of daily economic releases as well as technical analysis which is the study of historical price action that helps determine the future direction of a security.
Mobile
The mobile application is like the web based platform. It has the same trading capabilities, and provides charts, as well as swipe technology for trading. 24option mobile trading apps are optimized for iOS and Android powered devices. Additionally, the MT4 platform has a mobile version which offers traders the ability to use most of the MT4 functionality including live streaming rates, transactions and position management.
24option Deposits & Withdrawals
Funding your account is relatively easy. There are several methods which a trader can use to fund an account. To deposit funds, the following methods can be used:
Credit/Debit Cards
Wire Transfer
CashU
Skrill
MoneyBookers
Minimum deposit requirement
Credit Card:- $100/€100/£100
Electronic Payment:- $100/€100/£100
Wire Transfer:- $1000/€1000/£1000/¥100,000
24option does not charge any fees or commissions on deposits. Withdrawals via Wire transfer are charged 30 Euros. Basic, Silver and Gold account holders get one free withdrawal per calendar month but for Platinum account holders every withdrawal is free.
Maximum Daily Deposits
Daily Limit: $/€/£ 10,000/¥100,000
Monthly Limit:$/€/£40,000/ ¥4,000,000
Withdrawals
After account verification, withdrawals follow the same path as the initial deposits and take 3-5 business days to finalized.
Withdrawal Fees
24options charges no fee for Platinum and Diamond accounts. Other accounts are able to withdrawal with no charge once a month. Additional withdrawals face a variable charge.
Verdict
Pros
- Multiple Platforms
- Sleek Layout
- Regulated Entity
- Multilingual Support
- Wide Selection of Instruments
Cons
- Does not Support an Electronic Communications Network
- Has a checkered past in Binary Options Trading
FAQ
Can I trust 24option?
The company is no longer trading binary options which seemed to be their least reputable area. That being said the same company owns the forex division. Buyer be ware
Is 24option regulated?
Yes, they are regulated by CySEC in Cyprus
Is 24option a scam?
The company is not a scam. They have robust web security, and do not try to take your money.
How does 24option make money?
Forex brokers make money on the bid/offer spread, as well as the deposits in your account.
While 24option has multiple platforms, and support currency trading in multiple languages, there reputation as an unscrupulous binary options brokers, makes this forex broker a risk that might not be worth taking.