Pocket Option is a broker specializing in binary options. You can use this broker to gain exposure to forex, stocks, stock indices, cryptocurrency, and commodities. This broker is only suitable for daytraders, since the longest possible lifespan for options here is 4 hours. The quickest options will expire 5 seconds after purchase.

With Pocket Option, you get access to the proprietary trading platform and the big independent third-party platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Mobile apps are available for iOS and Android touch-screen devices.

Leverage is available, even for non-professional traders. This broker does not provide negative account balance protection.

Is Pocket Option licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)?

No, Pocket Option is not licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

The issuing and distributing if binary options to retail clients can not be licensed by ASIC.

In September 2022, ASIC announced that their product intervention order banning the issue and distribution of binary options to retail clients has been extended until 1 October 2031, following approval by the Honourable Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. The original order came into effect in May 2021.

For more information, see Report 736.

About Pocket Option

Behind Pocket Option is Infinite Trade LLC, a company registered in the Republic of Costa Rica.

Company address: San Jose-San Jose Mata Redonda, Neighborhood Las Vegas, Blue Building Diagonal To La Salle High School

Company registration number: 4062001303240

Does Pocket Option / Infinite Trade LLC have a Costa Rica license?

No, Infinite Trade LLC is licensed by the Mwali International Services Authority.

Licence number: T2023322

Mwali, also known as Mohéli, is an autonomous island that forms a part of the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of the African continent. It is the smallest of the four major Comoro Islands.

So, while the company is based in Costa Rica in Central America, it´s license comes from a small island nation in the Indian Ocean. This is a complex legal situation which can be difficult for an individual trader to navigate.

Is the broker Pocket Option available to Australian traders?

Yes it is.

Depending on the region and payment method, Infinite Trade LLC does not provide service to residents of the EEA countries, United Kingdom, USA, Israel, and Japan.

Background

Pocket Option was founded in 2017. It used to be owned by Gembell Limited, a company based in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Three trading platforms

You can use your Pocket Option account to gain access to three different trading platforms:

• The Pocket Option proprietary platform, which is used only by Pocket Option traders.
• Meta Trader 4 (MT4), a big independent third-party platform used by a wide range of brokers and traders around the world.
• Meta Trader 5 (MT5), another big independent third-party platform used by a wide range of brokers and traders around the world. MT4 and MT5 are provided by the same company.

MT4 & MT5

• You can download and install on your computer, or you can trade directly in the browser window.
• Mobile apps available for Android and iOS.
• A lot of tools for technical analysis. The MT5 has a bit more than the MT4, but both are well-stocked.
• Supports automated trading.

The proprietary Pocket Options platform

The proprietary platform is not as big and packed with data, tools and services as the MT4 & MT5 platforms. For many novice binary options traders, this is actually a plus, since the the platform is more minimalist and less overwhelming.

It is not possible to download and install the proprietary platform; it can only be used in the browser window.

Mobile apps are available for iOS and Android.

Does Pocket Option offer automated trading?

Yes, you can use this broker for automated trading.

Does Pocket Option offer social trading?

Yes

Does Pocket Option offer copy trading?

Yes

Try out Pocket Option with a free Demo Account

With a free Demo Account from Pocket Option, you can check out what this broker has to offer and test the platforms without risking any real money.

• You do not need to make a first deposit to open and use a Pocket Option Demo Account.
• You do not need to verify your identity to open and use a Pocket Option Demo Account. You will need to provide Pocket Option with a working email address.
• The Demo Account comes with $10,000 in play-money. This way, you can feel how it is to actually use the platforms to place orders.
• If you run out of play-money, contact the Pocket Option support and they will give you a refill.

Binary options trading with Pocket Option

When you pick a broker for your binary options trading, it is important to pick one that suits your bankroll and trading strategy. With Pocket Option, the smallest possible binary options trade size is just $1 which is within the budget even for small-scale traders. Even with a fairly small deposit, you will be able to do some risk-management and will not be forced to stake a majority of your total account balance on each single trade.

When it comes to lifespans, Pocket Option has become popular among Australian traders looking for short-lived binary options, because the minimum expiry time here is just 5 seconds form purchase. The longest available lifespan is 4 hours, so this broker is not suitable for anyone who needs binary options with a longer lifespan for their trading strategy.

Another point that makes Pocket Option unsuitable for certain traders is that this broker only does not offer Boundary binary options nor Ladder binary options. The focus is on the classic High/Low binary option.

There are some binary options available here where the payout exceeds 90% but there are also many that payout considerably less. Make sure you check expected payout levels for your particular trading strategy. The payout offered for a binary option is influenced by a variety of factors, including lifespan and underlying asset. At Pocket Option, a majority of the really high-paying binary options have stocks as their underlying asset. When forex is the underlying asset, it is unusual to find binary options payout out more than 85%-89%.

What can I speculate on using binary options at Pocket Option?

The fivemain categories are forex, cryptocurrency, commodities, stocks, and stock indices. Both the forex category and the cryptocurrency category are well filled and varied. You can speculate on over 30 different foreign currency pairs and over 30 different cryptocurrencies.

The commodity category contains both metals and energies. You can for instance use binary options to get exposure to the price of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, UKBrent oil, USCrude oil, and natural gas.

With stocks, you can either speculate on specific stocks (e.g. exchange-traded shares in Apple or Facebook) or you can gain exposure to the broader market by using stock indices. Examples of available stock indices are S&P 500 (USA), Dow Jones Industrial Average (USA), FTSE (United Kingdom), CAC 40 (France), DAX GER 40 (Germany), and IBEX 35 (Spain).

Many Australian small-scale traders like using binary options for their stock speculation since they never have to worry about having enough money to actually buy the shares outright. At the time of writing, actually buying and becoming the owner of 100 shares in Apple costs around $17,500 + commission. For many small-scale traders, this is either completely out of reach or would violate their risk-management strategy since they would need to allocate such a big part of their total budget to shares in a single company. With binary options, you can speculate on the price movements of the stock without ever buying it and this is a big plus for traders with a small bankroll.

Trading hours at Pocket Option

The platforms are always open and trading is going on 24/7, but the assortment of available binary options vary depending on the trading hours of the underlying asset.

A binary option based on a stock listed at NYSE will follow the NYSE trading hours, or so on.

Cryptocurrency trading is not centralized and is available 24/7.

The global forex market is open five days a week, but since there are trading centres across the world there is some overlap and trading centres just to the west of the international date line (e.g. east Asia and Australia) have their forex trading up and running when it is their Monday morning even if it is still weekend in London and New York City. For the same reason, trading will continue in the United States long after Friday closing time in Australia. The main forex session starts at 9 pm UTC on Sunday evening (when it is already Monday in Australia) and closes at 9 pm UTC Friday evening. (UTC = Universal Time Coordinated. It is also known as Greenwich Mean Time /GMT, Zulu Time and Z time.)

For some heavily traded currency pairs, Pocket Option offers binary options based on over-the-counter (OTC) trading outside the main forex session.

Leverage

This broker offers leveraged binary option trading, even for non-professional clients. The maximum leverage is 1:1000 but what you will be offered for a specific deal can vary significantly.

You do not have Negative Account Balance Protection with Pocket Option. As always, it is important to have a proper risk-management strategy in place when using leverage.

Tournaments

Pocket Option arranges trading tournaments where traders can compete against each other for prizes and trophies. Achievement awards can result in perks, including higher pay-outs on certain binary options.

Account types

Pocket Option does not offer different account types or tiered accounts (e.g. Bronze Account, Silver Account, Gold Account).

If you make the minimum $50 deposit, you get access to the same account type as all the other traders.

Special Account Types

Ethical Investments Account: No

Islamic / Muslim / Sharia / Halal Account: No

ECN Account: No

Demat Account: No

DMA Account: No

LAMM Account: No

MAM Account: No

PAMM Account: No

STP Account: No

Account currency

All accounts have USD as their account currency at Pocket Option. You can not select any other currency as you account currency. For an Australian trader, this means a certain type of currency exchange risk will be present, as you can not have the AUD as you account currency.

Deposits and withdrawals

The minimum deposit is $50 and the minimum withdrawal is just $10. A minimum deposit of $50 is a bit higher than some of the other brokers, but still okay for most small-scale traders.

Pocket Option does not charge deposit fees and withdrawal fees. The transaction method you use can charge a fee, so make sure you know in advance before you decide which transaction method to use. Pocket Option accepts many different transaction method types, including bank transfer, cryptocurrency transfer, credit/debit card, wire transfer, and many e-wallets.

Examples of accepted transaction methods:

• ADVcash
• Bank transfer
• Bitcoin Payments (cryptocurrency)
• Cashu
• Debit/Credit cards, including MasterCard, VISA and Maestro
• Doku Wallet
• Ethereum Payments (cryptocurrency)
• FasaPay
• GlobePay
• JCB Card
• Neteller
• PayRedeem
• Perfect Money
• QIWI
• Skrill
• Sofort
• WebMoney
• Western Union
• Wire transfer
• Yandex Money

Customer support

You can reach the Pocket Option customer support by phone, email and live chat.

Phone support: +1 (800) 982 1251 and +44 20 8123 4499

Live chat support: The live chat support on the Pocket Option site is open 24/7

Email support: support@pocketoption.com

The UK phone support is open 10:00-02:00 UTC+2.

Common questions about Pocket Option

What is the commission on binary options trading at Pocket Option?

Pocket Option does not charge a commission on binary options.

What is the commission on CFD trading at Pocket Option?

Pocket Option does not offer Contracts for Difference (CFDs).

How big is the Pocket Option welcome bonus?

The standard welcome bonus is a deposit bonus, which will give you 50% bonus on the first deposit.

Sometimes, there are time-limited campaigns with other welcome bonus offers.

Make sure you understand the terms and conditions attached to the bonus money before you accept any bonus.

Is P2P trading available with this broker?

No, P2P trading is not available.

Does Pocket Option offer VPS hosting?

No, Pocket Option does not offer Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting.