Imperial Options (Inactive) Review

Max Bonus: 200%

Imperial Options (Inactive)

Rating: 1.0/10

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Broker	Imperial Options (Inactive)
US Traders Accepted
Company Name	Global Capital Ltd.
Headquarters	Marshall Islands
Regulation	No
Bonus Type	Match bonus
Bonus Size	200%
Max Payout	85%
Out-of-Money Reward	0%
Trading Platform	SpotOption
Early Closure
Deposit Options	Credit/debit cards, wire transfer, Neteller, Skrill
Deposit Currencies	US dollar, British pound, euro
Minimum Deposit	$250
Minimum Trade	$5
Maximum Trade	$3,000
Online Since	2012
Trading Instruments	Stocks, currencies, indices, commodities
Number of Trading Instruments	58
Binary Option Types	High/Low, Pairs, Long Term, 60 Seconds, One Touch, Ladder
Customer Support Types	Email, web form, telephone, call-back, paper mail
Education Offered	FAQ, glossary, videos, eBook, 1-on-1 training
Tools Offered	Trade alerts, market reviews, double up, rollover, early close, social trading
Commission	20 x Turnover requirement for accounts with bonus, 1 x turnover for accounts without bonus. Withdrawal fee is 1% of the amount or $50, whichever is greater. If account balance falls under $250 and an amount under $250 is requested, there will be a $25 fee. Minimum withdrawal is $100.
Languages	English, French, Russian, Arabic, German, Spanish, Dutch
Demo Account	No

Imperial Options stopped offering binary options brokerage services. The review below is presented for the archiving purposes.

Imperial Options is a binary options broker owned and operated by Global Capital Ltd. in the Marshall Islands.  For the most part, they look to be a typical white label SpotOption trading site.  Looking over their features, I did not find anything that really stood out as a major plus, and I did discover some significant drawbacks in the area of withdrawals and bonuses.  For that reason, I would not recommend them at this time.  Read on to find out more.

Depositing Money and Opening an Account

You can get started on Imperial Options easily enough.  Just deposit $250 in US Dollar, Euro, or British Pound.  You can transfer the money over using your credit or debit card, wire transfer, Skrill, or Neteller.

You will see that there are four different account tiers available:

• Micro: $250+
• Silver: $2,500+
• Personal RM Account: $10,000+
• VIP Account: $50,000+

At the Micro level, you can get a 25% bonus.  That increases to 50% at the Silver level, 100% at the Personal RM Account level, and 200% at the VIP level.  That might seem generous, but due to the restrictions on withdrawals, I would urge traders not to accept.

Imperial Options is fairly generous with resources as well.  One-on-one training is offered at every level except for the Micro tier.  The same goes for trade alerts.

Severe Withdrawal Restrictions

The problems start if you want to withdraw your money.  Imperial Options has several long, convoluted pages dedicated to explaining withdrawals in their terms and conditions.  The reason they need several pages is that they make it very hard for you to access your money.

On Imperial Options, you can either accept or reject a bonus offer.

If you accept the bonus, there is a 20x turnover requirement (that is 20x the amount of the bonus + your deposit added together).  This is not unusual at all, but Imperial Options will not let you withdraw anything until you meet it.  That includes your initial deposit.  This is not unheard of in binary options, but it isn’t a good thing.  Think about it.  If you deposit $250 and get a $62.50 bonus, you would have to turn over $312.50 a total of 20 times.  So you would have to trade $6,250 just to make a single withdrawal!

If you choose not to accept a bonus, Imperial Options still forces you to meet a 1x turnover requirement.  So you cannot withdraw your money whenever you want.  If you deposit $250, you need to trade at least $250 before you are eligible to withdraw your deposit and/or winnings.  This is not common.  The very act of depositing your money at Imperial Options means it is in effect no longer “yours” until you meet the rollover requirement.

On top of that, you can look forward to a fee on all your withdrawals: one percent or £50, whichever is greater.  If your account balance happens to dip under £250 and you attempt to request an amount below that (in other words, any amount of the money remaining in your account), you will be charged an additional £25 fee.  The minimum withdrawal threshold is £100.

Seriously, that is a lot of restrictions and fees on something that should be simple with no strings attached.  Your money should be your money.  The best brokers impose few or no fees on withdrawals.  They let you withdraw your deposit at any time.  If you accept a bonus, they may even let you take out a percentage of your winnings which corresponds to that deposit before you meet the full rollover requirement.

Trading on Imperial Options

If you still care to trade on Imperial Options, you can do so on your desktop, laptop, or mobile device.  There are 58 assets including stocks, currencies, commodities, and indices.  Trade types include High/Low, Pairs, Long Term, 60 Seconds, Ladder, and One Touch.  That is at least plenty of variety, and one of the few good things this broker has to offer.  There is also a wide range for investments.  The minimum trade size is just $5, while the maximum trade size at most account tiers is $3,000.  If you have a VIP account, you can raise that ceiling.

Resources and Customer Service

There are some educational resources and trade tools offered on Imperial Options.  As I mentioned before, you can qualify for trade alerts and one-on-one training at most account tiers.  Other tools include double up, rollover, early close, market reviews, and social trading.

If you look at the educational center, you will find some videos and an eBook along with the FAQ and glossary.  There is actually some training on different types of trading strategies, but the video content is otherwise pretty basic.

You can access customer service via telephone, email, web form, or paper mail.  You can request a call-back, which is nice, but there is no live chat, which is inconvenient.  Whenever a broker refuses to provide live chat and only gives a phone number, I expect that means that they are looking for a chance to give me a hard-sell over the phone.

Conclusion: Too Many Strings Attached

It is hard to list anything exciting about Imperial Options.  Yes, they offer many trade types, but so do many other brokers.  Yes, they seem to be generous with training and trade alerts, but so are many of their competitors.  They offer no demo account.  Their high bonuses come at a very high cost.

It is hard to imagine why you would want to open an account here as a result.  The withdrawal policies and fees really are way over the top and make it difficult for you to claim your winnings and even your initial deposit.  It makes a lot more sense to trade with another broker who will not charge you so many fees and who will allow you to withdraw your deposit and some percentage of your winnings at any time.  For this reason, I recommend that traders steer clear of Imperial Options.

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