Broker to Trading

Dukascopy Bank SA is Swiss regulated and offers binary option trading on a range of underlying Forex pairs. Payout rates are up to 90% and two formats are available. Dukascopy offers the possibility of a refund on unsuccessful trades, in return for a reduction in the potential payout rate for a successful trade. Trading takes place on its 'Binary Trader' web trader and app.

Binary options trading is speculative and high risk and involves the risk of losing your entire investment. You should only trade money you can afford to lose entirely.

Minimum deposit

The minimum deposit is $1000. The trader may test out the platform with a free demo initially.

Premium

To purchase a binary option, a trader pays Dukascopy a 'premium', which defines the contract or trade size (there in no commission charge).

Account opening

Accounts can normally be opened by completing the online application form and then completing identity verification (this may be done through video, thereby finishing the application and thus normally allowing the trader to start trading on the same day), Dukascopy

Trading conditions

• Trading is only allowed intraday.
• The minimum contract size is 1, except for JPY base currency where it is 100. This means that the trade size can be as low as $1 or £1 (or ¥100).
• The maximum contract size is $1000.

Chained contracts

Dukascopy offers chained contracts, with two types, Winning and Martingale, with a limit of three additional contracts. With 'Winning', the system will place a new contract with an increased size whenever the previous contract expired in-the-money. Martingale will double the contract size when the previous contract expires out-of-the-money.

Platform

The web platform offers time frames from tick to 1 month, line or bar charts, and over 50 technical indicators.

Funding

Dukascopy accepts funding in: AUD, USD, GBP, CHF, EUR, CAD, CZK, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, RUB, CNH, SEK, SGD, TRY, ZAR, BTC, ETH and USDT.

Deposits can be made by Wire Transfer, Debit and Credit cards, Bank Guarantee, Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Ether and Tether.

Bank guarantee is for deposits from USD 100,000.

Markets

Underlying assets available are Forex pairs, with 15+ available.

Trading styles

Binary options is for manual trading only. Automated trading is not allowed.

Minimum and maximum time frame

Dukascopy allows binary options contracts from 3 minutes to 22 hours and 59 minutes (i.e. the maximum time within the intraday sessions). Some Forex contracts have a longer minimum contract duration of 10 minutes.

Effect of the spread

While there are no fees other than the Premium to open a trade, the spread negatively affects the probability of a gain. For an 'Up' option, the strike price is based on the ASK, but the expiry is the BID price. For a 'Down' option, the strike price is based on the BID price and the expiry is the ASK price. Thus to be in-the-money the price of the underlying asset has to move more than the bid/ask spread, in the traded direction.

Payout rates

Payout rates range from 70%-90%.

Prices

Binary options prices are taken from the Swiss Foreign Exchange (SWFX) Marketplace liquidity pool.

Formats

Two formats (trade types) are offered, 'Binary Options' and 'Touch Binaries'. Binary options is an Up/Down or High/Low format. The trader speculates whether the price of the underlying asset will be lower or higher at close than at the beginning of the trade.

Touch Binaries have two strike prices. One is set by the trader, the other is set by the system, on the other side and at the same distance. Hitting the trader's set strike price, results in a gain, hitting the system set strike price results in a loss. If the price of the underlying asset does not reach either strike prices, the traded sum is returned to the trader.

Payout/Refund

When placing a trade, the trader can choose the payout/refund percentage, T&Cs apply. Choosing no refund in the event of an out-of-the-money trade results in the highest potential payout rate. Choosing a refund reduces the potential payout rate by that percentage amount.

Comparative study

Dukascopy Bank is something of a rarity, offering binary options and regulated by one the major regulatory bodies. There are still other binary options brokers. Many are offshore, and may not be regulated.

Dukascopy Bank has a considerably higher minimum deposit than many other brokers, however Dukascopy Bank pitches itself as geared towards more professional traders. The maximum payout rates (for successful trades), which is a headline figure traders look to, is competitive with other brokers offering similar types of trade types. In fact Dukascopy Bank provides a wide range of features, including the capacity to choose a refund (T&Cs apply).

Other brokers may have a wider range of markets, but Dukascopy Bank uses its SWFX ECN for its underlying Forex prices. Thus the trader may find a certain relative reassurance from this broker in respects of safety, when trading this risky market.

Regulation

Dukascopy Bank SA is based in Geneva in Switzerland and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as a bank and a securities dealer. Its address is: Dukascopy Bank SA, Route de Pre-Bois 20, ICC, Entrance H, 1215 Geneva, Switzerland.

Summary

Dukascopy is a Swiss regulated broker which offers binary options with payout rates from 70%-90%. It provides two trade types and the capacity to chain contracts. It offers both a web trader and mobile and tablet apps. Dukascopy has a low minimum contract size of $1. The trader can fund their account by a variety of methods including Credit/Debit Card, Bank Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, Ether and Tether.