Best Binary Brokers
Binary trading has many advantages over traditional forms of financial investments. It’s a quicker learning curve, your payouts and risk levels are both known before even placing a trade and they are much more affordable than buying shares. With Australia being a major financial center in the southern hemisphere, it is not surprising to find many binary options brokers actively trying to recruit Australian traders. With brokerage firms courting Australian traders, it’s even more important to know that the company you are dealing with is legally authorized to operate in Australia. To help our Aussie readers, we have compiled a list of recommended brokers which are legally authorized to operate in your country. These recommended brokers are selected based on:
- The quality of their services and product offerings
- Their regulatory status
- Their reputation
There is no better time for Australians to start trading binary options as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have recently began to regulate binary trading activities in Australia. This means that an Australian based trader can now focus his attention and efforts on trading the markets rather than spending sleepless nights worrying if he has been scammed or not.
Best Brokers in Australia
Given the fact that Australia has recently decided to regulate trading in Australia, the best brokers that Australian based traders can sign up with are those which are registered and regulated by ASIC. By dealing with ASIC regulated brokerage firms, traders can have the confidence that there is a regulatory agency that is actively looking after their legal interest by ensuring that the brokers that they trade with operate with transparency and fairness.
However since binary options have only recently come under ASIC regulatory oversight, there are very few brokers that are ASIC regulated. For the convenience of our readers in Australia, we have listed below those firms that are currently regulated by ASIC.
Regulations
In Australia, the financial industry is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Established in 1998, AISC is empowered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act in 2001/2010. In addition, it is also responsible for administrating the following Australian Acts of Parliament:
- Corporations Act, 2001
- Insurance Contracts Act, 1984
- National Consumer Credit Protection Act, 2009
While AISC’s main role is the supervision of the Australian financial markets, its specific areas of responsibilities include the following:
- Monitoring the Insurance Industry
- Promoting financial literacy
- Protecting consumer interests
- Supervision and monitoring the provision of financial services
- Supervision and monitoring the trading of securities and derivatives
Over the past several years, offshore binary operators have been targeting Australian based binary traders with illicit purposes in mind. Due to the unscrupulous activities of several binary brokers in scamming Australia traders, this has prompted ASIC to act. With the expansion of AISC regulatory powers under the amendments of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2010, binary trading activities came under the jurisdiction of ASIC.
ASIC has banned offshore binary operators from soliciting traders in Australia. In order for a broker to operate legally in Australia, they are required to register and obtain an operating license from ASIC.
ASIC Licensing
With ASIC’s mandate being expanded to cover binary options trading in Australia, they have now come up with strict guidelines which dictate the quality and base requirements which binary brokers have to provide to Australian investors. Brokers in Australia are now held to a higher standard and are required to operate with fairness and a high degree of transparency with their operations.
One of ASIC’s main goals is the restoration of confidence which Australian traders have with regards to the online trading industry. By offering legal protection to investors and holding brokerage firms to a higher standard of accountability, this will go a long way in safeguarding Australia’s reputation as one of the major financial centers in the southern hemisphere.
Deposit Methods Available In Australia
As a well developed economy, Australia has a strong financial payment infrastructure in place already. This means that all internationally recognized methods of fund transfer are supported in Australia. As such traders in Australia can easily fund their trading accounts with their credit/debit cards, eWallets such as NETELLER or direct bank transfer. Given the fact that ASIC has banned offshore brokers from operating in Australia, bank wire transfers is not a cost effective method of depositing funds with an Australian based broker.
FAQ
- Is it legal to trade binaries in Australia?
Yes. It is legal for an Australian resident to trade binaries.
- Are binaries regulated in Australia?
Yes. This trading type is now regulated by ASIC.
- How to trade binaries in Australia?
In order to trade in Australia, prospective Australian binary traders have to open a trading account with an ASIC regulated broker.
Conclusion
While binary options is a fairly new market innovation and despite its popularity among retail traders, it’s important to be aware that the trading of financial instrument is largely unregulated. Regulatory authorities all over the world are currently working to come up with a legal framework to regulate this new form of financial trading. Hence it is safe to say that the binary regulatory landscape will continue to develop and change further.
