AskOption

Why Doesn’t AskOption Suck in 50 Words

What doesn’t suck (that much) is their trading platform from Panda TS. It is fully featured, hosts all the top traded assets, and has expiry to match short and mid-term trading styles. It looks smooth and user-friendly and on each losing trade, you get 5% of your investment back automatically. This is always a positive feature in addition to the relatively high payouts at 81% on several currency pairs.

Why Does AskOption Sucks in 50 Words

AskOption is not regulated and that’s a big downside. I’m not even sure they intend to be regulated in the future. Why? Because of their unfavorable bonus terms that are not in line with CySEC regulations. Once you accept a bonus, you cannot withdraw your own deposit unless you reach the trading volume! Furthermore, their “Chat Now” was not available despite the advertisement of support is available 24/7 under the “About Us” tab which also says honesty is a high priority.

Is AskOption a Scam?

AskOption is not regulated but that doesn’t make them a scam. It is a little alarming that I’ve confirmed they accept US traders, we know that CFTC and Canadian authorities do not allow brokers to accept their citizens as clients unless they are licensed to do so, but again, this doesn’t make them a scam. In AskOption’s defense, their terms and conditions clearly state that: “the ability to access our Site does not necessarily mean that our Services and/or your activities through the Site are legal under the laws, regulations or directives relevant to your country of residence.” Basically, this means that you might be able to register as a US trader but it’s your own responsibility not to. To judge if AskOption is a scam we need to turn to the traders that use it and at this time it appears to at least be trying to operate legit.

Should I Open an Account with AskOption?

AskOption is owned and operated by PeakMedia Group Limited, located in the Marshall Islands. They operate through a virtual address registered in London for PeakMedia Group at: Suite 50 2 Old Brompton Road London, SW7 3DQ – confirmed at endole.co.uk. Their phone number is +44-3308082064 in the UK but they have numbers in the US, Canada, Australia, Russia, and Bahrain. You can contact them by email via [email protected]. PeakMedia Group was incorporated in December 2015, the company is still very young and is currently not under any regulation.

The Panda TS platform looks good and is user-friendly although I would love to see more functions and features. For example, some kind of charts other than the line charts as most brokers today try to make candlestick charts available. I would also love to see a bigger variation of expiries.

Moving on, I like the fact that 5% of the investments are returned on every losing trade. You can also trade One Touch, Range, and Hyper where the latter is the same thing as the short term. Hyper options offer 30 and 60 seconds, 2, 5, and 10 minute expiries. The regular high low expiries are like SpotOption, each 15 minutes and up to an hour but no longer than that.

The minimum deposit is 250 and the minimum investment is only 15$ which is pretty good. The bonus policy sucks because it will lock your money! In my opinion, it’s actually a classic “bonus trap scheme” and should be avoided (the bonus that is). Overall, AskOption seems to me as another white label brand with only one difference; Panda TS instead of SpotOption.

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AskOption Complaints

AskOption is very new but I found a complaint regarding one of their account managers who wiped a client’s account. The allegations are serious and the client shared his story on the forex peace army. On a positive note, AskOption returned his original deposit but the fact remains, shady account managers may not have your best interests in mind.

Pushy account managers that impede withdrawals and trade client accounts down to zero is a huge red flag that often occurs on non-regulated, scammy, brokers. This reminds me of another statement I read under their “About us” section, “Our main principles are: Acting in the interests of our clients”, yeah right.

These issues could have been the act of one bad account manager – but I would be careful to risk my money with AskOption after that story. Especially when there are other trusted and regulated brokers already operating.

AskOption Bonus

The bonus percentage can go as high as 100% but that depends on what type of account you have. A 250$ deposit is eligible for a 30% bonus but you need to reach a 50,000$ deposit to get the 100% bonus. AskOption’s bonus terms are not in line with regulators as they will not allow you to withdraw unless you reach the required turnover. The turnover needed is 30 times the bonus and canceled trades are not counted.  Any attempt to withdraw before the turnover is met will negate any profits and all losses incurred by trading will be taken out of your deposit before any refunds are given.

AskOption Withdrawal

Before withdrawals can be processed, you have to provide valid identification and due to money laundering laws, all your withdrawals will only be sent to where they originated from. Withdrawals via Wire Transfer will always be charged $30, credit card withdrawals are free once per month. Withdrawals may take up to 7 business days, the minimum for withdrawal is only $30.

AskOption Ratings

User Friendly 18/20

The website is translated into 2 languages besides English, Arabic, and Russian. The platform is Panda TS which is the same as CTOption and seems to be loading quickly. It’s an easy-to-use platform and your open positions and trading history are easily accessed via one click below the platform.

Number of assets and expiry times 16/20

There are 4 commodities, 33 currencies, 8 indices, and 23 stocks making a total of 68 assets which is fairly low and below the 100 advertised assets. The platform could use a wider range of expiries for the high/low options such as the end of the day, week, and month.

Commissions, Support, and Effective return 15/20

As usual, there are no fees to register and to open an account but a $30 fee will be paid if the client wished to make more than one wire withdrawal per month. The payout ranges between 60% and 81% which is a little on the low side, in case of an unsuccessful trade you will get a refund of up to 5%. I could not reach the support via their “chat now” as they were apparently not online even though 24/7 support is advertised.

Deposit, Payment, and Bonus 15/20

The minimum you can deposit is $250 and the deposit methods are credit/debit card and wire transfer. Withdrawals can take up to 7 business days and if you have a bonus you cannot withdraw unless you have reached the minimum turnover for the bonus which is 30 times the bonus. Bonuses range from 30% up to 50 and 100% but then you also need to make a much larger deposit.

Website Extras 12/20

The Panda TS platform has a similar feature to SpotOption’s “iFollow” which allows you to copy other traders on the platform.

AskOption Overall Ratings 73/100

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