IQ Option FAQ

Legitimacy Questions

The legitimacy question has a factual core and a noisy surround. The core is a public register entry; the noise is losses, verification friction and impostor websites using the brand name.

Almost every "is this a scam" search resolves into one of four questions. Here they are, separated.

Is IQ Option a scam?

The evidence does not support that characterisation, and this site does not make it about any broker. What can be documented is that the European business runs through a Cypriot investment firm listed on the CySEC public register — IQBroker Europe Ltd (ex IQOption Europe Ltd), CIF licence 247/14, dated 30 July 2014, status Authorised when checked on September 3, 2026. A firm on a live EU register with ongoing supervisory obligations is not the profile of an anonymous operation. What is also true is that the products can lose you money, that verification causes real friction, and that neither of those is fraud.

Why does the reputation say otherwise?

• Losses. Leveraged trading loses money for a large share of retail accounts, and losses get written up as theft far more often than as market outcomes.
• Verification friction. Documents demanded at withdrawal time feel like an obstruction even when they are a legal obligation.
• The removed binary product. Users arrive expecting something the 2018 EU measures took off the retail menu and conclude they were tricked.
• Clone sites. Look-alike domains and messaging-app pitches collect deposits under the brand name, and the victims blame the brand.

Has anyone actually withdrawn money from it?

This site holds no withdrawal evidence of its own — no funded account, no transaction, no screenshot it can vouch for. Presenting someone else's screenshot as proof would be theatre. The only proof that means anything to you is your own: complete verification, make a small first withdrawal back to the funding method, and document it before larger amounts are involved.

Is the website I am on the real one?

Type the official address yourself rather than arriving from an advertisement, a forum link or a message. Then confirm that the client agreement names the entity and licence number that appear on the regulator register. A bonus offer aimed at an EU retail account is a strong signal that a page is either stale or an impersonation.

The legitimacy answer is a register entry plus four separate explanations for the bad reputation, none of which is evidence of fraud.

Regulation Questions

One EU regulator, one licence number, one register entry — and a clear boundary around what that authorisation protects. Everything below is checkable in about a minute.

These are the regulatory questions in the order people ask them.

Who regulates IQ Option?

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) supervises the Cypriot Investment Firm behind the European offer, under the EU MiFID framework.

What are the licence details?

Checked against the CySEC public register on September 3, 2026.

Why is the name on the register different?

The register shows the current name with the former name, IQOption Europe Ltd, in brackets. Regulators keep former names visible so searches on the old name still reach the right entry. It is not a discrepancy.

Does the licence protect my money?

It protects the process, not the outcome. Client-money handling rules, disclosure duties, an appropriateness assessment, a formal complaints procedure and a named supervisor to escalate to — those are what authorisation delivers. Losses on your trades sit entirely outside it, and the investor compensation scheme that applies to eligible clients of Cypriot firms addresses a firm failing to meet its obligations rather than a losing position. The boundary is drawn in full on the regulation page.

Am I covered outside the EU?

Not automatically. The Cypriot authorisation covers the regulated business of that entity, and arrangements outside the EEA differ. Read the client agreement presented at registration, identify the contracting company and its registration details, and verify that entity in its own jurisdiction. Whether you may open an account at all depends on local rules where you live.

Search licence 247/14 on the CySEC register yourself, then check that the client agreement names the same entity before funding anything.

Money Questions

No figure for minimum deposits, fees, payouts or processing times appears on this site, because none was verified. What can be explained is the mechanism behind each of them, which is more durable anyway.

Every number in this category moves, and a stale number is worse than none. So these answers describe how the money side works and point you at the screen where the current figures live.

What is the minimum deposit?

Whatever the funding screen shows for your country and method. This site publishes no figure. The same applies to the minimum withdrawal.

What does it cost to trade?

• Spread — the difference between buy and sell prices, the main cost on most positions.
• Overnight financing on leveraged positions held past the daily cut-off, so holding time is itself a cost.
• Payment provider costs, which may apply on funding or withdrawal depending on the method and country.
• Possible inactivity charges on a dormant account.

Live rates for all of these sit on the platform's own fee page. Read them before the first deposit rather than after a surprise.

How long do withdrawals take?

No hours or days are published here. The sequence is what matters: a request is submitted, identity verification and any checks must be complete, the firm processes the request, and then the payment provider adds its own settling time. Delays almost always attach to the second step, which is why finishing verification early is the single most useful thing a new user can do.

Which payment methods work?

The usual families — cards, bank transfer and e-wallets — are typically offered, subject to your country, and the available list changes. Fund with the method you intend to withdraw to: payment rules generally require money to return along the route it arrived, and a mismatch is one of the most common causes of a stalled withdrawal.

Is there a bonus or a promo code?

Not for EU retail accounts. Monetary inducements were removed from that offer under the 2018 measures, and codes circulating online are unverified at best. No code, amount or terms are published here.

Read every money figure on the platform screens themselves, fund with the method you plan to withdraw to, and finish verification before there is anything at stake.

Product Questions

Three families are available to retail clients: forex, CFDs across several underlying markets, and digital options. Binary options are not among them and have not been since the 2018 EU measures.

The product questions almost all trace back to one change, so it is worth answering that one first.

Can I still trade binary options?

Not as an EU retail client. The 2018 EU product-intervention measures prohibited the marketing, distribution and sale of binary options to retail clients, and national regulators subsequently adopted equivalent permanent measures. That was market-wide, not an action against one broker. The background is on the page about the 2018 measures.

What are digital options, then?

A contract where a strike price and an expiry are chosen before entry, with the outcome depending on where price sits relative to that strike at expiry. The amount at stake is known in advance. That structure is what distinguishes it from the prohibited all-or-nothing binary contract. No payout percentage, minimum stake or expiry list is published here.

What can I trade as a CFD?

Contracts for difference on underlying markets — currency pairs, shares, indices, commodities and crypto — without owning the underlying asset. This site publishes no instrument counts or symbol lists. Retail leverage is capped by regulation, with the cap varying by asset class and client classification.

Is there a demo account?

Yes, a practice account funded with virtual money, available before anything is deposited. No virtual balance figure is published here. It is the right first step, with one honest caveat: trading without real money does not reproduce the pressure of trading with it.

Which devices does it run on?

The platform runs in a desktop or mobile browser after sign-in, in Android and iOS apps, and through a downloadable desktop client, all against the same account. The full product breakdown is on the products page.

Forex, CFDs and digital options are the retail line-up, and any source still offering you binary options is describing a product that left the EU retail market in 2018.

Getting-Started Questions

The order that avoids most problems: practise on the demo, verify identity immediately, fund small with a method you can withdraw to, and prove the withdrawal route before scaling up.

Sequence matters more than any setting. This is the one that removes the largest share of the difficulties described elsewhere on this site.

How do I open an account safely?

1. Reach the platform by typing the official address yourself, never from an advertisement or a forwarded link.
2. Register and answer the appropriateness questionnaire honestly — EU rules require it before access to complex instruments, and a warning triggered by a truthful answer is information worth having.
3. Confirm the entity name and licence number in the client agreement against the CySEC register entry.
4. Complete identity verification straight away, while nothing is at stake.
5. Spend real time on the practice account before funding anything.
6. Fund the smallest amount that lets you trade your plan, using a method you can also withdraw to.
7. Request a small withdrawal early to prove the route end to end, and keep the record.

Do I have to verify my identity?

Yes. Anti-money-laundering law obliges regulated firms to establish identity and sometimes source of funds. Doing it at registration rather than at withdrawal is the difference between a form and a crisis.

Is it suitable for beginners?

The interface is approachable and there is a practice account, so the on-ramp is gentle. The products are not beginner-friendly in themselves: leveraged trading loses money for a large share of retail accounts, and never fund an amount you cannot afford to lose.

Where should I read next?

• What the platform is, in plain language.
• Strengths and limitations, written to the same structure.
• Account types for the ladder from demo to funded.
• Methodology for what was checked, against which source, and what could not be verified.
• The full review for the combined assessment.

Demo first, verify second, fund small third, and test a withdrawal fourth — that order prevents most of what people later complain about.