Dukascopy

Why Dukascopy Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words?

I’ve been complaining about binary brokers looking the same, using the same old slogans like We Are The Leaders Of The Industry, and then failing to show even an ounce of professionalism. This all stops when it comes to Dukascopy because in this case, we are dealing with one of the giants of the industry – and I am not only referring to the binary world but the trading world in general.

Why Dukascopy Sucks In 50 Words?

This is a big institution, with several branches and sometimes with complicated procedures. I’ve had to spend a lot of time to understand all the structure and get all the information and this means they suck at user-friendliness but don’t worry, it’s not a deal-breaker.

Is Dukascopy a Scam?

I sit in front of my laptop thinking about how to answer this question in a professional manner. The first answers that come to mind are “LOL, are you kidding me?” and “What? How can you even think Dukascopy is a Scam?” but those are not very professional so I will try harder. We are talking about a broker that has its roots back in 1998 (later in 1999 they launched Dukascopy Trading Platform and in 2004, the Swiss Brokerage House) and is owned by a Swiss Bank with all the required credentials so I believe it’s safe to say Dukascopy is not a Scam. If we cannot trust a Swiss Bank with decades of experience in the trading field, then who can we trust?

Should I Open an Account with Dukascopy?

Dukascopy is a long-time leader of the online trading industry, offering FX, CFD, and Binary Options on different trading platforms. The owning entity is Dukascopy Bank SA and it’s very important to note that we are dealing with a Swiss Bank, regulated by FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority). The Swiss banking system is known to be the most solid in the world, so dealing with Dukascopy should be way safer than dealing with any CySEC regulated brokerage.

Dukascopy Bank SA has branches in Europe and Japan. The European branch is Dukascopy Europe IBS AS, an EU licensed investment brokerage company, (100% owned by Dukascopy Bank SA), based in Riga, Latvia, and regulated by the Financial and Capital Market Commission of Latvia (FCMC). Dukascopy Europe IBS AS is also EEA Authorised by the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), reference number 575672.

The Japanese branch is Dukascopy Japan K.K, which is a Type-1 licensed broker located in Tokyo and regulated by the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA).

When it comes to the trading platform, it’s clear right away that we are dealing with a professional financial institution, not a slot machine provider. The star of the show is the chart, which is big, clear, and shows candlesticks, bars, or lines. Technical indicators can be used, time frames can be changed and overall it gives you the possibility to conduct proper technical analysis. Of course, the platform is more complicated than what most binary options traders are used to, but with a little bit of practice, it becomes easy to use. And speaking of practice, they offer a free demo account – free as in you don’t have to deposit to get it.

All is great so far but there has to be a downside, right? Well, their minimum deposit is 1,000 USD and I’d say that’s a major disadvantage because most traders are not willing to invest such a sum. Then again, if I think about all the stories where a client wants to invest 250 bucks and due to the pressure of the broker, he deposits 10K total, just to lose it all because his account was traded into the ground by the account manager… maybe depositing 1K right from the start with a Swiss Bank is better. However, if you don’t have 1K, don’t despair because there’s hope: according to their rules, “The minimal deposit size of the account with Dukascopy Europe is 100 USD, while the minimum for Dukascopy Bank SA is 1’000 USD”.

In other words, if you are from Europe, you can open an account with as little as 100 bucks (but you will not be able to trade BO due to ESMA regulations; only FX and CFD); the rest of the world has to cough up 1K. If you are a client of a regular binary options brokerage – the “leaders”, the ones with the simplistic and limited platforms – you might think that using Dukascopy is more complicated because their platform is different and has more features. It’s not! Sure, it will take you longer to get used to it but I believe the extra effort is well worth it.

Dukascopy Bank SA is located at Route de Pre-Bois 20, ICC, Entrance H, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland, phone +41 (22) 799 48 88. Dukascopy Europe IBS AS, located at Lacplesa iela 20a-1, Riga, LV-1011, Latvia, phone +371 (6) 739 90 00. Dukascopy Japan K.K. is located at 6F Ginza Square, 2-14-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan. Dukascopy also has offices in Moscow, Hong Kong and more.

Dukascopy Complaints

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: The one who doesn’t work, doesn’t make mistakes. If your client base is huge, surely some complaints will surface and this is also the case with Dukascopy. There are some complaints online but these are mostly aimed towards their Forex platform which according to some, can be a bit clunky and freezes at times. So far binary options traders that have used Dukascopy didn’t have major complaints.

Dukascopy Bonus

The Bonus is 100% of the deposited amount and while under normal circumstances I would recommend staying away, this time I am not doing that. Here’s why: 1). You will receive the Bonus only if you specifically ask for it. 2). The Bonus will be added only after the turnover requirements are met (pending bonus structure). 3). The client CAN withdraw at any time but this will cancel the Bonus. In other words, you are not tied to the platform and this bonus is not a black hole for your money. However, the required volume is 40 times the bonus amount, which is pretty high, but you have one year to achieve it so there’s plenty of time.

Dukascopy Withdrawals

The available methods are credit/debit cards, wire transfers, Skrill, Neteller, and Bitcoin. Processing may take up to 3 business days, which is faster than with other brokers (they are a bank after all) but more importantly, it’s safer. Also, there are no minimum withdrawal amounts so you can take out whatever you feel like.

Dukascopy Extras

Putting aside professionalism, charts, technical indicators and the fact that they are one of the biggest brokers on the globe, Dukascopy offers tons of contests, ranging from trading contests to Miss Dukascopy. I understand the trading contest, but the beauty pageant, not so much. Well, different strokes for different folks. Other than that, we can mention that Dukascopy launched a crypto coin called Dukascoin. For more info, please refer to the White Paper.

Dukascopy Ratings

User Friendly 15/20

I have to admit that the entire website is kind of hard to navigate but this is mostly due to the huge amount of information available. It is well structured but it will take you a while to find what you are looking for. The platform is more difficult to use than a regular binary options platform, especially for a green trader. The website is offered in 13 languages, mobile platforms and demo accounts are available. U.S., Belgian, Israeli, and Canadian clients are not accepted.

Number of assets and expiry times 17/20

Dukascopy only offers 18 currency pairs to trade as binary options, which is not a lot, so they could use a bit of improvement here (they offer a lot more assets for CFD trading). Expiry times range from 3 minutes to 12 hours and 56 minutes, which will probably satisfy traders interested in fast and medium-paced options.

Commissions, Support, and Effective return 16/20

The fees for deposits range from 1.2% to 2.5%, depending on the method used. Withdrawal fees go as high as 50 USD for wires and 2.5% for Skrill which is a bit on the steep side. Support is quick to answer and helpful; you won’t get any pressure from them to deposit and the information given is accurate. The effective return ranges from 70% to 90% and the client has the opportunity to choose a lower payout in exchange for a higher refund, which makes for a great risk management tool.

Deposit, Payment, and Bonus 17/20

The minimum deposit for the European branch of Dukascopy is 100 USD while for the rest of the world is 1,000 USD. Payments can be made through the majority of credit and debit cards, wire transfers, e-wallets (Skrill and Neteller) and crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.). Withdrawals take up to 3 business days to appear in your account while deposits appear in 1 day or faster. The Bonus goes up to 100% but you can withdraw at any time before the 40 times turnover is reached (however, this will cancel the bonus).

Website Extras 17/20

Beauty pageants, trading contests, their own cryptocurrency, and Dukascopy TV, which is registered with the Federal Office of Communications from Swiss State regulator OFCOM, meaning they are an official Swiss TV broadcaster.

Dukascopy Overall Rating (82) + Regulated (+3) = 85/100