Wise Banc Review
Editor’s Note: Why Wise Banc Sucks In 50 Words
They are relatively new, unregulated, and with a messy website in some places. The spreads are way too big, the platform is mediocre and scam suspicions are surrounding them. Oh, and if that’s not enough, according to their Terms and Conditions, after two months of inactivity, you will be charged 500 bucks every month. Go figure… does that suck or not?
Why Wise Banc Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words
This is where things get complicated because there’s nothing that makes this broker stand out in a good way. In the past they offered an up to date news section where they gave a brief overview of the market but that’s gone now, so… yea, nothing.
Is Wise Banc A Scam?
Calling a broker Scam shouldn’t be taken lightly but several financial watchdogs such as ASIC, FCA, OSC, FMA, FINMA, etc. have warned that this broker may be a scam (more details below). Maybe we should use some common sense and listen to those guys!
Also, the name Orion Service appears on the PrimeCFDs website, which is a very similar brokerage that offers CFDs and FX but they are closed for some time now. Another thing worth mentioning is that the original website wisebanc (dot) com went down and the broker appeared closed; however they are now operating via their new domain: wisebanc (dot) online.
Should I Open An Account With Wise Banc?
Wise Banc is a CFD and FX broker owned and operated by Orion Service EOOD, a company apparently located in Bulgaria. The company is not regulated by a major regulatory agency, but several financial watchdogs have issued warnings against it.
The broker was launched sometime in 2018, probably April according to online sources, but we cannot say for sure and Wise Banc doesn’t bother telling us. They offer CFD and Forex trading on the Tradersoft platform, which is the go-to solution for many new brokers nowadays. It’s definitely not bad but is better suited for beginners rather than experienced traders.
Keeping up the trend of not telling us much, Wise Banc doesn’t offer information about the amounts needed for each account type. They have 5 account types (Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) and each comes with different perks, such as bonuses, news alerts, a dedicated account manager and more. The minimum deposits are not specified and there’s another problem: the spreads listed on their Accounts page do not match what you find on the trading platform and the discrepancies are huge. For example, on the Accounts page they list a spread of 0.0007 for EUR/USD; if this were true, they would blow out of the water all major FX brokers. When you go to the trading platform, the real spread is displayed: 3 pips, which is big for this pair. Same thing with Bitcoin: they list a spread of 135 USD on the site, when in fact the spread is more than 200 USD on the trading platform.
The leverage goes up to 1:500 for currency pairs, 1:100 for commodities and 1:10 for most cryptocurrencies. These numbers are very similar to what all others are offering and that’s about all I can say about Wise Banc: very similar to all others. They don’t have great spreads or trading conditions, they are not regulated and several warnings have been issued against them.
It seems we are seeing something similar to the Binary Options rush. Remember that all SpotOption binary brokers looked the same? Well, now there are tons of new CFD/Crypto brokers launched every day, all looking the same, with the same trading conditions and somehow, they are all The Leader. By the looks of things so far, Wise Banc is part of this category and we cannot recommend them.
Wise Banc is located at Popovo Street 10, Lozenetz District, Sofia 1421, Bulgaria. They can be contacted at email [email protected] and a few phone numbers available on the site.
Wise Banc Complaints
There are tons of complaints online, ranging from withdrawal problems to disappearing money and to high-pressure tactics to make you deposit more. More often than not, people are calling them scam. Be warned!
Wise Banc Regulatory Announcements And Warnings
02.10.2018: The Central Bank of Ireland warned against Wise Banc. See full warning here.
04.10.2018: The British FCA warned against Wise Banc. See full warning here.
12.12.2018: The Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand warned against Wise Banc. See full warning here.
20.03.2019: FINMA placed Wise Banc on a warning list. See details here.
22.03.2019: The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) warned against Wise Banc. See full warning here.
The Australian Securities And Investments Commission (ASIC) has warned against Wise Banc. See full warning here.
The other broker owned by Orion Service – PrimeCFDs – received some warnings as well. Read our full PrimeCFDs review here.
Wise Banc Withdrawals
All withdrawals will have a 2 – 5 business days processing time. After this period, clients will have to wait additional 5 to 7 business days until the money reaches them. All that adds up to a LONG time, and that’s not even taking into consideration any problems that may arise. The methods are credit cards, some e-wallets and wire transfer. The latter method has a minimum of 500 USD and carries a fee of 25 USD.
Wise Banc Bonus
Depending on your account type, you may get a bonus ranging from 40% to 100%. However, I couldn’t find any information about the bonus terms on the site and the Live Chat representative was of absolutely no help. If you accept a bonus, make sure you ask detailed information about the strings attached.
Wise Banc Extras
They really don’t have anything out of the ordinary, except maybe their Trading Mentor programme. No additional details are specified.
Wise Banc Ratings
User Friendliness 12/20
The website is translated into 9 languages, the platform is easy to use but it will take some time to get used to. Demo accounts are available. They offer mobile versions of the platform. Some basic but very important information, such as company name is not available. US clients are not accepted.
Range Of Markets, Spreads And Leverage 11/20
They offer enough assets, including stocks, indices, commodities, currencies and cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) but the advertised spreads are nothing close to the real spreads, which you can find on the trading platform: on the site you will see a 0.0007 spread for EUR/USD (extremely low) but on the platform you will get a 3 pip spread. BTC has 135 spread on the website and more than 200 on the platform. The leverage is okay, going up to 1:500 for Fiat currencies and 1:10 for cryptocurrencies.
Deposits And Withdrawals 13/20
The methods are credit cards and wire transfers. They list a few e-wallet logos on the website but there’s no information about how to actually deposit/withdraw through them. The minimum deposit is 250 USD/EUR/GBP. The minimum withdrawal is $500 for wires; there is no minimum requirement for the other methods (according to their FAQ).
Fees And Support 11/20
The fee for wire transfer is $25 but the bank may add extra fees (check with your bank for that). All withdrawals are subjected to a service fee of 3.5%. After 2 months of inactivity, the company will charge a “monthly account dormant fee”. Believe it or not, this fee is 500 USD/EUR/GBP, per month! Make sure you understand all fees before depositing/withdrawing. Live Chat was relatively fast to answer but proved of no help once the rep joined.
Website Extras 11/20
Trading Mentor programme can be considered an extra feature but unfortunately they don’t offer enough information about it. Basically, nothing really stands out (except maybe the $500 monthly inactivity fee).