Read Terms and Conditions

How often do you actually read the fine print for a product or service before you check the little box saying, “I accept the terms and conditions of service?”  Checking that little box is probably one of the most frequently told lies in the entire world.  The fact is, a lot of us skim right past that fine print because we are feeling impatient or excited, and we want to dive in and start using the product or service we are purchasing.  But in the case of binary options websites, it is very important not to skip reading the terms of service.  In fact, we recommend reading them word for word from start to finish, and not skipping over any of the content.  Let’s talk about why this is important.

Learn Who You Are Dealing With

Binary options brokers often do not even list the proper names of their companies on their front pages, but you can usually find this information in the opening paragraphs on most terms & conditions pages.  It is critical that you know who you are dealing with.  Looking up this information can help you to be more aware of regulatory topics that may apply to this broker.  This is the fastest way to determine whether a broker is actually regulated, and if so, by what authority and in what fashion.  If all you see is a business license number, that broker is not really regulated.  You can also research the company by proper name instead of just the name of the website to learn more about them before you send them your money.

Use our list of trust-worthy brokers to research which one fits you best.

Find All Withdrawal Terms and Limitations

Brokers often have really dodgy withdrawal terms.  Sometimes they are not perfectly clear about them in the FAQ.  The terms & conditions page has to list all of this information blatantly.  This is the place to look to find out what kinds of thresholds and limits may make it challenging for you to withdraw your money.

Read Up on Bonus Terms and Conditions

Bonuses are another topic traders can easily become confused about.  You need to find out whether a bonus is being awarded as cash or leverage (usually leverage), and how many times you need to turn over the amount in trading volume before you are free to claim it as cash.  You also will want to check to see whether the status of your bonus is easy to track, and whether the bonus status will have any impact on your withdrawals. Is a bonus good or bad for you?

Hidden Fees

Terms pages may also list fees which are not listed anywhere else on the site.  For example, you might be charged an obscure “maintenance fee” if you fail to place a trade within X amount of time.  This type of fee will usually not be listed on the FAQ page, so you would never even know about it if you did not read the terms and conditions. Learn about hidden fees here.

Technical Issues

If the binary options website has a technical glitch, will it cost you money, or will the site assume responsibility for your loss?  One very common scam in the binary options world works like this:  You place a trade and wait for it to expire.  At the time it is supposed to expire, you are in the money, but the clock runs for an extra thirty seconds.  When it stops, you are out of the money.  You contact customer service to protest your loss, but the agent tells you it was a site glitch.  You tell them that they owe you money, because it is their site and their mistake.  They then point you toward the terms of service where you see a line in the fine print that states, “Company X is not responsible for financial losses incurred because of technical errors.”

Reading binary options terms and conditions thoroughly from top to bottom is really the only way to know whether the terms governing your patronage are friendly or not.  At the end of the day, these terms determine what the company can get away with legally or not.  Customers often complain that they have been scammed, but then discover in hindsight that they actually gave the company permission to scam them when they accepted the dubious terms and conditions without reading them.  That is how so many scammy companies get away with robbing customers.

If you choose to be a well-informed customer, you are empowering yourself to avoid numerous binary options scams.  Being well-informed comes from exploring the site, pursuing answers to your questions, reading third party reviews and customer feedback, and talking to customer service agents before you deposit money.  Keep your head in the game as well. It also comes from reading those terms and conditions before you check that little box accepting them.  Taking a few minutes to inform yourself can save you a lot of money and hassle!

Discover Our Top Binary Option Brokers

• IQ Option: IQ Option is a well-respected broker with top-tier regulation from CySEC. They offer a diverse range of binary options, with potential returns of up to 95%. You can start trading these options for as little as $1 or open a free demo account with $10,000 of virtual funds. Besides binary options, IQ Option also offers FX options, digital options, forex currency pairs and over 250 other CFDs ranging from commodities to cryptocurrencies.
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• ExpertOption: ExpertOption is a global binary broker, serving customers from 48 different countries. With a trading platform that works on all devices, you can easily access over 100 assets whenever and wherever you want. ExpertOption offers six different account types, including a Micro account that only requires $10 to get started. You can also take advantage of the broker’s social trading platform, which enables you to study the trades of VIP clients.
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