Before you open an IQ Option account, you should read this detailed and comprehensive IQoption review of their services. IQ Option is one of the most popular Forex brokers online but being popular doesn’t always mean they are good people. Unlike other IQOption reviews, we will show you the truth. Chances are, you might never get an IQ Option refund, if you do business with them.
Why?
Because they are a greedy, fraudulent, and shady enterprise. Here are some reasons why you should stay away from IQ Option:
Mismatched Address and Governing laws
IQ Option belongs to the shady region of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The address of the broker is Hinds Building, Kingstowne of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
However, it is not a specific address. There are no details about the office number or the level number in the Hinds building. This is an awkward situation as the broker does not mention any details about the exact address of its office. Just imagine a company that mentions a building as its address which has several offices, but doesn’t specify anything else. There is no way for traders to get the exact address of IQ Option and this raises many questions.
What is more shocking is that the address of another broker is identical to the address of IQ Option. In addition to the mockery, that firm also, claims its registration with the same address. The snapshot of the address details of the duplicate firm is below.
It is a sheer case of criminal activity going on in the region. How can 2 companies in the same industry operate from the same address? If the Hinds building is a single specific address of the broker, then there must be a single office operating in the region. If there is a single office, then how can another company operate from the same region? In case I consider the Hindus building as a corporate hub, then why did IQ Option not mention the details of the office number or the floor number of its corporate address? It is their contradicting data that indicates the level of their fake services.
Shady Region of Operation
The region of Saint Vincent and Grenadines is popular for the weak governance on the financial services companies. The island country is an ideal location for several offshore brokers for their smooth operation. The country has no strict jurisdiction on registration. As I have mentioned earlier, IQ Option is already facing the problem of identical addresses. The weak laws, the improper criteria for registration is an ideal location for the scam brokers to operate illegal activities.
The broker provides services to the far-away countries so that their laws cannot reach IQ Option. My IQ Option review strongly advises all investors that mere registration is not enough. Traders must go through the area of the jurisdiction and the laws gunning the broker firm. The excerpt from the terms and conditions of IQ Option states that it is under the jurisdiction of the laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines region only. Needless to say, there is no efficiency in the system of the said island region that can be helpful to the investor.
Their high claims of registration bite dust as there is no effectiveness in the regional authority. Apart from that, the address of IQ Option fails to establish its authenticity. Clearly, IQ Option forex isn’t suitable for real traders. They are an illegitimate enterprise.
Unknown Owners of IQ Option
In another major blow to traders, IQ Option fails to mention any details about the team which is behind their operations. There is no outline of the hierarchy of the executives. Most of the regulated brokers do mention the messages from the CEO, MD, COO, and the finance chiefs of the firm. The reason for mentioning the details of the team is to create awareness among traders regarding their association with the reputed dignitaries of the field. traders can go through the details of the executives on professional networking websites like LinkedIn to have a clear view of the experience of the executives.
It inculcates a feeling of security among the investors that their money is in safe hands. The investors rely on their team to implement the committed ethical code of conduct while dealing in highly volatile markets. The company may offer big claims about its operations and ethics abut at the end, the team of the firm is responsible for the execution of the operations according to the standard guidelines.
In the case of IQ Option, the team opted to stay behind the limelight and to work with undisclosed conditions. There is no outline of the experience and the skills of the professionals working in IQ Option. The possible reason for hidden details is that no experienced person is working within the team. If this is not the reason, the second reason is that the firm belongs to the group of amateur persons. The hiding of information has two reasons that either that information is not available at all and second is that the information is of the sub-standard level.
Fined by CySEC!
The Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) imposed a fine of as high as 450,000 Euros on IQ Option.
The link for the details of the ban is in the references section.
IQ Option achieved a settlement against the fee amount to free itself from the judicial review of the fine. The imposition of a fine occurred as the financial regulatory body of Cyprus noticed that the company is providing its services illegally to unauthorized areas. More on, the fund’s transfer and the money laundering laws are on stake by the illegal shameful activities of the company. The CySEC thus imposes a fine on IQ Option.
It is not wise to trade with a broker which is facing scrutiny and fines from various regulatory watchdogs. The financial authorities found a gap in the standard and shady activities of IQ Option. And the broker did nothing to improve its services. Instead they tried to hide their mistake. I advise traders to do a detailed background check of any broker before investing with it.
The Illegal Relation with FXShqip
The broker firm FXShqip is promoting the products of IQ Option. In addition to this, registration on the platform of FXShqip only results in registering on IQ Option.
The Financial Service Authority of Albania is aware of the fraud operation of the two firms. It has released a warning against FXShqip which is acting as a promoter of IQ Option in the unregulated market of Albania. The company can not provide legal services in the region and thus adopts this policy of cheap promotion by another firm. It is a serious case of illegal activities of IQ Option.
Binary Options
IQ Option provides binary options trading. The expiry date of binary options and the holding time for the commodity create a concern for traders. The change in the price of good stocks does not happen overnight. Binary options have more risks as compared to the traditional options for trading.
As indicated by the name “binary” the profits earned by traders are very less in the case of binary trading. It is suitable for new traders but not for the professional investors. Moreover, it is not beneficial to trade using binary options in the long run. The professional traders know about the disadvantages associated with this method and that’s why they prefer to stay away from brokers like IQ Option.
IQ Option’s Trading Platform
In a shock to traders, IQ Option does not allow trading on the reputed and all-rounder Meta Trader platforms. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are the most popular trading platforms in the industry. Automated trading signals, market analysis charts, highly secure interface, etc. are some of the benefits of these platforms.
IQ Option provides another trading platform which is nowhere near in matching the high-end services of the classic Meta Trader platform. The advanced charting capabilities, high-end customer support, expert advisors, security, and flexibility in operations are some of the missing features of their cheap and low-maintenance trading platform. There is no option for social trading provided to traders. Social trading is helpful in creating a profitable business. Not using MT4 or 5 shows how less they care about their customers.
They Don’t Offer Auto-trading!
IQ Option does not provide any facility of auto trading to its investors. Auto trading enables the programmed entries for trades. It is the best methodology to trade with less pain as the execution of the trade is automatic as per the program. It is good for traders who have the bad habit of trading under the winning gush of emotions and for traders who panic to hit the trade button. Automatic trading provides a high level of consistency and discipline. It allows the trader to concentrate on other accounts and saves his/her time. This broker fails to provide such a great facility to its customers and that’s clearly a major red flag.
IQ Option Doesn’t Offer a Bonus
They don’t provide any promotional bonuses to traders. The bonus amount helps to encourage traders to execute more trades. Regulated brokers provide 25-100% of the deposits as bonuses to their traders. Customers have the option to use these amounts for executing trades. A skillful trader who has good experience in successful trades can earn substantially by using the bonuses wisely. Some brokers also allow traders to withdraw the bonus amounts under certain conditions. IQ Option doesn’t provide this facility to its customers as well.
IQ Option’s Payment Methods
The withdrawal policy of IQ Option states that the time taken by the withdrawal funds can take as long as 9 days to reach the client’s account. Such response time is too slow according to industry’s standards.
There is no clarity on the deposit conditions. Moreover, there is no definition of the fee related to the minimum deposit along with their payment methods. Many regulated brokers provide a detailed list of their payment partners to their customers along with the clear charges associated with those transactions.
There is no outline for the maintenance fee, processing fee, and the dormant fee. A screenshot of the withdrawal policy is as shown below.
IQ Option Trading Account
It is shocking to learn that IQ Option does not provide any variety of accounts to its traders. There is no differentiation of their live trading accounts based on the trader’s experience and interest. Variation in trading accounts helps customers in choosing the right option according to their needs.
Sadly, there is no such provision by IQ Option. There is only a standard lie trading account. However, the broker does not mention anything about its account on the website. There are no details about the leverage ratio and the spread offered.
This IQ Option review 2021 finds that the spread offered in the trading account of the firm is far away from the standard spread of 0 pips for the popular EUR/USD pair. This difference in the asking price and the bid price guarantees substantial loss to traders. Their accounts have a leverage ratio of 1:300 which is not competitive. Regulated brokers start the leverage with as best as 1:50 to provide a fair chance to traders to win. There are no details about the other services of the trade size, trade lot, etc.
IQ Option may forget to mention the basic details but does not forget to mention the high investment involving the VIP status of their account. To convert your IQ Option standard account into a VIP account, you’ll need to invest $1900. There is no clarity on the difference in services of a standard and a VIP account apart from the provision of an account manager in the VIP account. I have already mentioned the absence of ownership details and in this scenario; it is difficult to rely on the skills and experience of the account manager IQ Option provides. The services and the trading account of IQ Option add to the gripe of traders.
No PAMM Accounts
There is no provision of PAMM accounts to the professional traders of IQ Option. The Percentage Allocation Management Module allows traders to earn without executing trades. Traders get the option to invest their funds into the trading accounts of well-performing traders. These traders use their own money along with the invested money for getting profits from the market. In return for this money, they earn a percentage of the total profits.
It is an advanced modification to the traditional trading methodology. IQ Option fails to realize the importance of PAMM accounts. Most of the regulated brokers provide this facility to its traders so they can earn through the company. The professional traders are thus, not satisfied with the services of IQ Option.
IQ Option Social Media Presence
The Facebook account of IQ Option has very few followers. The last post on their account was around 3 months ago. The broker rarely cares to give any updated published content to its Facebook followers.
The Twitter account of IQ Option has the same issue. It is also rarely updated and the posts are redundant. The broker fails to provide any engaging content or support to its followers.
There is no online presence monitoring team of IQ Option. Their accounts are ill-maintained. IQ Option fails to provide relevant and useful posts to traders. A broker can use its social media as a key to enhance the business. A simple technique of suggesting traders to post their experience can do wonders in multiplying the online reputation of the firm. The informative content about their operations and their upcoming updates help traders to make up their minds.
IQ Option fails to use social media platforms properly. The company abandons its social media accounts and does not communicate with its traders.
IQ Option’s Website
The website of IQ Option is https://IQoption.com
The details on the website are more or less the same as any the other broker in the market. There is nothing eye-catching about their monotonous website as the color combination is not pleasant. In addition to all these problems, it is well-noted that the broker fails to give priority to providing important information at the top. The website uses a single tab for providing all the important and unimportant details. Traders are left scrolling for information without proper accessibility.
IQ Option Customer Support
This broker provides a long list of toll-free numbers to claim high-quality customer support to traders. The claims are soon blown away because the waiting time on their support calls is painfully higher than the genuine response time. Adding to the woes of traders, there are no dedicated email-ids for customer service. Some concerns may require the urgent need to share their details through email, especially when the contact numbers respond so slowly. The broker fails to understand the value of a dedicated email-id in providing technical support to traders.
They don’t provide live technical support to their traders. Keeping in mind that traders are working on the company’s generated trading platform only, the missing live support is an elicit shock to them. A delay in handling a ticket results in a loss of thousands for the trader but IQ Option doesn’t seem to care.
Multiple Problems in the Customer Support
There is no option for an inquiry form on the website. An inquiry form on the website may result in an early response. There is no such provision to traders of IQ Option.
Sadly, the technical support wears a deserted look against their high claims. Their inefficiency in handling the complaints and resolving the issues of their customers only shows how self-absorbed they are as a forex broker.
In the case of IQ Option, it is difficult to understand if the company has a real dedicated customer services team or not. If there is a customer support team, then why are there no means provided to traders to connect with the team? The technical support to traders needs special attention. IQ Option should respect the time and money of traders but it doesn’t.
Suppose you want to delete your IQ Option account and encounter a problem, your natural response would be to contact the customer support. But that’s too slow and it might take them forever to respond to you. That’s why we recommend staying away from this forex broker.
Iq option isn’t processing my payment of $315 and it has been months. Ive sent them emails and emails but they don’t respond. Iq option if you’re reading this review, plz release my payment.
My withdrawal request has been stuck since January. I have requested them but they just don’t respond. It’s my money and I need it. Plz Iq option, process my withdrawal.
Oh IQ option is totally a sham company. They run these ads and make fools out of their customers every time. Trading with this broker is a nightmare for so many reasons.
First, the customer support is non-existent. So, if you encounter an issue with IQ option, you can’t do anything about it except waiting or praying.
I had an account with IQ option. But for an unknown reason, I can’t log into it anymore.
I have tried to log in through the website, as well as through different devices but it’s of no use.
This horrible platform wouldn’t let me log in.
I had around $620 in my account when it signed me out automatically and led to this terrible situation.
Now I’m stuck.
I contacted the customer service of IQ option and that’s when I found out that it doesn’t exist.
IQ option has a horrible way of handling customer complaints. When I contacted them, they didn’t respond for a week. After I got the response, I told them about this problem but they just sent me an automated email after that. It has been weeks and I haven’t heard anything from IQ option. I’m pretty sure I have lost those $620.
So my review is simple: IQ Option IS A SCAM!!