Dukascopy is an online broker and subsidiary of Dukascopy Swiss bank, founded back in 2004 with its official headquarters located in Geneva. Its financial activities comprise trading on Forex and CFDS as well as binary options. The Swiss FX marketplace is an ECN since it allows traders to trade directly with eachother.
Account Features
Dukascopy only offers one type of account, which may be used to trade both binary options and forex. The minimum deposit amount starts at just $100, which is one of the lowest we’ve come across when compared to other brokers.
In order to open an account with Dukascopy, traders must first register online but will then be required to submit a number of verification documents by email as well as post, to provide proof of identity. The trading account can only be activated when all these documents have been duly received.
Dukascopy currently offers its binary options customers the opportunity to receive a ‘binary anniversary bonus’ of 100% within 30 days of depositing into their account and before making any withdrawals. Of course, the bonus comes with trading requirements which must be fulfilled within 1 year of the bonus being applied. The broker also organizes various contests to entice its members. The ‘best binary options trader contest’ for example, where monetary prizes totally $28,000 are given out to 30 lucky winners each month.
They also offer traders the opportunity to sign up for a free demo account for a 14-day period. This feature is extremely useful to test out their platform before investing any real funds and moreover, it is an exact replica of the real thing, including all the same features and tools as a live account.
The site and platform are available in 13 different languages.
Trading Software & Assets
Dukascopy’s web binary trader provides its members with an original modern trading platform to trade binary options. The large graphing area is spread horizontally across the page and can be alternated between line and bar mode. The indicators are listed in image tabs above the graph while the trading controls are located in a pane to left. Here traders can easily customize their preferred trading settings. The Option log clearly lists all your executed trades with full details.
This intuitive, user-friendly platform also offers a reporting option, allowing traders to analyse their performance levels.
The software is also available on both iOS and Android systems, with an HD version developed specifically for iPad devices. These systems all offer all the same features on web-trader such as business reports, technical analysis charts and economic calendars.
As for option types, Dukascopy only offers short-term options such as High/Low, daily stock options and pairs, which can be traded over the course of 1 day (intra-day trading). The expiration time is set at 21:59:59 GMT (1 hour earlier during daylight saving time), while the duration is set in minutes, ranging from 1 minute up to 23 hours 59 minutes.
The minimum transaction starts at just $1, with a maximum payout of 90%. The only downside is that they do not offer such a wide range of assets as many other brokers; their proprietary platform comprises a total of 29 currencies, stocks and indices.
Support Information
We were pleased to discover that Dukascopy delivers a high quality level of support options; they provide 2 email addresses, one for general questions and another for queries related to your account. They also offer a live chat option, which we tested out and happy to report that they replied to our quries within 30 seconds. Customers may also contact them via telephone during business hours, in the case of more urgent matters.
Additional support features include the possibility to report an issue or request a call-back at a time of your own choosing, if you cannot get through to them, by filling out a short form.
Banking & Company Information
Dukascopy broker is a subsidiary company operated by Dukascopy bank. Both bank and broker are regulated by the Swiss agency FINMA and must adhere to its strict policies, meaning that customers should feel safe investing with them. Additionally, like all othe Swiss banks and brokerage firms, Dukascopy was required to sign a government agreement safeguarding customers’ deposits up to CHF 100,000.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Dukascopy accepts all major debit and credits cards (Maestro, Visa, Mastercard), as well as by wire transfer and the maximum amount accepted for cards is EUR 8000. Funds are normally credited to your account within 1-2 business days. As for withdrawals, these can only be made through bank transfer and include fees of around EUR 15.