TradEqual Review
| Broker | TradEqual |
|---|---|
| US Traders Accepted | |
| Company Name | Ultima Capital Limited |
| Headquarters | Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Regulation | FSA of St. Vincent & the Grenadines (license #22965 IBC 2015) |
| Bonus Type | Deposit bonus |
| Bonus Size | $100 |
| Max Payout | 200% |
| Out-of-Money Reward | 0% |
| Trading Platform | Proprietary |
| Early Closure | |
| Deposit Options | Credit/debit card, bank transfer |
| Deposit Currencies | US dollar, euro, British pound |
| Minimum Deposit | $250 |
| Minimum Trade | $15 |
| Online Since | 2015 |
| Trading Instruments | Currencies, commodities, stocks, indices |
| Number of Trading Instruments | 24 |
| Binary Option Types | High/Low |
| Customer Support Types | Web form, email, telephone, paper mail |
| Education Offered | Basic articles and videos, glossary |
| Tools Offered | Early close, rollover, economic calendar, live chat with other traders |
| Commission | 4% commissions on winning trades and those that close exactly at the expiration limit. There is also a $100 withdrawal minimum. |
| Languages | English |
| Demo Account | Yes, free |
TradEqual is a very interesting binary options broker based in Kingstown in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Almost all binary options brokers are set up so that the broker is at the other end of your trade. If you win, the broker loses. If you lose, the broker wins. Many traders believe this leads to unfair practices on the part of binary options brokers.
With TradEqual, the other end of your trade is taken up by a fellow trader. If you win, that trader loses, and if you lose, they win. This situates TradEqual as a middleman instead of a party that is invested in your losses. In theory, this may lead to fairer practices (some FX brokers operate this way).
TradEqual is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines under license #22965 IBC 2015.
How It Works
As this is a relatively fresh concept, you probably want to know a little more about it. On TradEqual, you use a proprietary platform (no mobile available). Only High/Low trades are offered as of this point, since this entire process is somewhat experimental. You can either choose an option created by another trader and take the opposite side of the trade, or you can create an option yourself and wait for another trader to take the other side.
If you win the trade, you receive a payout, which may be quite hefty—as high as 200% (contrast that with typical payouts around 85% offered by most binary options brokers). If you lose, you lose your investment. There is a $15 minimum investment (or the equivalent in Euro or British Pounds). There is no maximum investment amount.
There are commissions on trading. This is very different from how most other binary options brokers work. If you win a trade or if the trade expires at a price equal to expiration limit, you have to pay a 4% fee from your winnings. If you lose, you just lose the investment (no additional fee).
Considering how high the payouts are compared to most brokers, this fee is really no big deal. You also can see how the broker makes money on every transaction—and again has no vested interest in your losses.
Traders can also open Silver and Gold accounts that allow receiving cashback on the money spent on commission based on the trading volume.
Features and Benefits
Here are some of the other features and benefits of TradEqual:
- Open an account with a $250 minimum deposit. Right now there is only one account type. The most recent promotion was a welcome bonus of $100 for new live accounts. Note that TradEqual does not accept USA traders. You may make your deposit using credit or debit card or bank transfer.
- Trade with a free demo account. This feature is not currently being promoted, but a screenshot captured from a couple months ago advertised it. This is something to speak to a customer service representative about.
- Educational features and trading tools are still pretty basic at this point. There are some articles to read and videos to watch, a glossary, and an economic calendar. You can use early close and rollover to control your trades.
- One very unique feature is a live chat window in the trading platform. This is a window you can use to talk to other traders, not staff. This allows you to plan trades together and talk about strategy. Community features like these are a great addition as they allow you to team up with others who use similar strategies for greater success.
- There is a $100 minimum withdrawal threshold if you want to take your money out of your account. There are however no withdrawal fees mentioned. I am guessing that there really are none, as this broker is already collecting fees through the trading commissions. Being able to withdraw your money without worrying about fees is a big deal! Not a lot of brokers offer this kind of flexibility.
One drawback of TradEqual is that there is no live chat feature on the site to talk to customer support. Your only support options are calling on the phone or sending an email or filling out the web form. It would be nice if this broker would offer direct chat support.
All in all the website and trading platform seem very well designed. There are a few pages with information that are a little hard to find (like the FAQ page), but generally, the site navigates well and reads well.
Conclusion: A Groundbreaking Broker
TradEqual really is very different from most other binary options brokers out there right now. They offer traders a unique opportunity not only to buy and sell options, but also to create options. And because of the way that the system is structured as a peer-to-peer trading network, TradEqual isn’t invested in your trades losing. This bolsters trust all around (as does the FSA regulation).
TradEqual offers some excellent features to go along with this innovative system. The fact that they offer a demo account is outstanding, since it gives you a chance to practice your trading risk-free. The addition of a chat room for traders is also a great feature.
You may be discouraged by having to pay commissions on your trades, but if you do the math, you likely will find that you still have a chance to make more money with TradEqual than you would with many competing brokers. Plus, you do not have to worry about withdrawal fees.
Hopefully TradEqual will eventually open up its doors to USA traders—and also add in some more assets to trade (there are only 20 as of right now) and different trade types like One Touch and Boundary trades. I do recommend that if you are interested in trading with TradEqual, you call on the phone and speak directly to a customer service representative. It is always important to test out a customer service team before you make a deposit with any broker online. All of that taken into account, this looks to be a very exciting binary options broker!