BuzzTrade
Closed!
  • BuzzTrade

  • Regulated:  CySEC
Broker Name: BuzzTrade
Platform: AirSoft
Founded: 2015
Bonus: 100%
Return/Refund: 75-85% / 0-15%
No. Of Assets: 190
Regulated: CySEC
Demo Account: No
Minimum Deposit: 250
US Traders: Not Accepted
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2

BuzzTrade Review

by Martin Kay

Why BuzzTrade doesn’t Suck in 50 words

Regulation steals the show once again. BuzzTrade is regulated and that’s the main thing that attracted me to them. If a binary options company is not regulated, that doesn’t mean they are a scam right out the bat, but I am a lot more confident trading with a regulated brokerage. At least I know to whom to complain if something goes wrong.

Update December 2016: The owning company had its license suspended and later renounced it voluntarily so the main reason why this brokerage didn’t suck is now gone and honestly, I cannot find another.

 

Why BuzzTrade Sucks in 50 words

This is not such a big deal, but I get a little confused by this company: their name is AirFinance Pro Ltd. and they own another brand named Binary Royal. This second brokerage looks a little cheap, sorry to say it, and I don’t understand why a company would need 2 brokerages. I mean isn’t one enough? What is the purpose of having two?

Update December 2016: Most of the company’s other websites are not operational anymore but buzztrade.com continues to operate.

 

Is BuzzTrade a Scam?

The brokerage is very new on the scene and so far we couldn’t find any scam reports but I would like them to clarify why their license number takes me to another company name. As mentioned before, on buzztrade.com it is stated that BuzzTrade is a registered brand name of AirFinance Pro Ltd (CySEC license 206/13) but on CySEC’s official website, this license number returns the result YTF Trade Limited. I am sure there’s a reasonable explanation for this and I would like them to make it public. Also, I would like to understand why did they feel the need to have another brand – Binary Royal – and what is the difference between the two. Why have two brokerage sites, if one is so strongly branded like BuzzTrade, and the other looks poor? That’s the question…

Update December 2016: Indeed, there was a reasonable explanation but they kept it for themselves until recently. Now their website clearly states that YTF Trade Limited was the previous name of AirFinance Pro Ltd. The same information is available on CySEC’s website. After the Voluntary Renunciation of the license (which followed a suspension of said license by the CySEC), several of the company’s websites stopped functioning. At the time of writing, most of the websites operated by AirFinance Pro Ltd are not functioning and on the others, a red banner says that their license has been suspended.

But let’s return to the original question: Is BuzzTrade A Scam? Well, the initial reason for the suspension was suspicions of non-compliance with regulation and operation requirements and while this doesn’t make them a scam, I have to say it’s quite a serious deal. Also, we know that CySEC is not too quick to suspend licenses (they issue some warnings first, maybe a fine or two) so if they opted for this radical solution… I don’t know, I would be wary of doing business with this brokerage. But I don’t want to jump to conclusions and accuse them of something they are not guilty of (maybe). What we know so far is that BuzzTrade is no longer a regulated brokerage; they had their license suspended and later gave it up altogether.

 

Check out our Recommended Binary Options Brokers

 

Should I Open an Account with BuzzTrade?

BuzzTrade was founded in 2015, owned and operated by AirFinance Pro Ltd., a company located at 16 Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue, 2nd floor, Office Number 201, Limassol Cyprus, and was regulated until recently by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license number 206/13. The registered office is at Modestou Panteli 4, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, Limassol, Cyprus. AirFinance Pro Ltd was previously named YTF Trade Limited and this initially created some confusion because it wasn’t mentioned on their website (now it is).

In mid-2016, the CySEC suspended AirFinance Pro’s license and consequently extended the suspension until mid-September. Due to Voluntary Renunciation, the company gave up its license and is no longer regulated by the Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission (CySEC). However, the company will remain under the supervision of the CySEC until it settles its obligations.

The platform is nothing I’ve seen so far and is developed by AirSoft, but you will find the main features of all the well-known platforms such as SpotOption or TechFinancials. The chart is on the right, open trades and history on the bottom, and the asset list on the left. The chart can be set to display candlesticks but you cannot add technical indicators or even trend lines, so technical analysis cannot be performed. They offer short-term options (ranging from 60 seconds to more than an hour) and long-term options but unfortunately when I clicked on the Long Term button, the list of assets didn’t appear. I tried it several times and I still couldn’t get it to work but you’ll be happy to hear they offer a free Demo account (no deposit needed) so you can test it out for yourself. BuzzTrade definitely needs to improve but they look relatively good at the moment; however, I would like to see some issues addressed as soon as possible: Long Term options, make the platform faster and fix the license number problem I’ve talked about earlier.

 

Check out our Recommended Binary Options Brokers

 

BuzzTrade Complaints

So far no major complaints have surfaced, mainly because the brokerage is new, but we will keep monitoring and let you know if things change. As a side note, BuzzTrade and FC Porto are official partners and this kind of marketing exposure will most likely bring in a wave of clients, so we will probably soon see if BuzzTrade is up to the challenge of becoming a top brokerage or if complaints will start pouring in.

 

 

BuzzTrade Bonus

The bonus percentage will depend on your initial deposit amount and differs from client to client but the general rule is that you will need to reach a trading volume of 50 times the bonus received before you can withdraw. This requirement is too high in our opinion and even BuzzTrade recommends you only take a bonus if you know how to make it work to your advantage.

 

BuzzTrade Withdrawal

Before withdrawing the client will have to send identification documents but that is normal with most binary options brokers who comply with Anti Money Laundering (AML) procedures. The usual time until money is available in your account is 5 business days and the methods for withdrawing are credit card, wire transfer, and e-wallets (Skrill and Neteller).

 

BuzzTrade Extras

They offer Daily Market Analysis, which is actually updated every day, and considering that most brokers forget to post daily market reviews, this may be considered an extra. Other than that, I can mention their candlestick charts but it’s not an amazing extra because traders cannot use technical tools. The best extra is the free Demo account, which as we know is a rare bird among binary options brokers.

 

 

BuzzTrade Ratings

User Friendly 15/20
The website is available in 6 languages and the AirSoft platform is easy to use. Also, they offer a Demo account which will help you a great deal in getting used to all the features and functionality.

 

Number of assets and expiry times 16/20
Their asset index contains more than 100 stocks, 15 indices, 43 currency pairs, and 23 commodities, making it one of the most wide-ranging in all of the industry. Unfortunately, the platform had difficulties displaying the Long Term options but the Short Term options range from 60 seconds to the end of the day, with enough options in-between.

 

Commissions, Support, and Effective return 12/20
Inactive accounts (no activity for 6 months) will be charged a monthly fee of 42 USD/EUR/GBP. This is a big fee so make sure you close your account if you don’t want to trade it anymore.

The live Chat support was not available and I only got the option to send them a message… that’s pretty disappointing considering what they say on their About page: “…providing a user-friendly trading environment and unparalleled customer support”. I’d say the first condition if you want to offer unparalleled customer support is to have a Live Chat. The average effective return is 77%, with a handful of assets offering 85%.

 

Deposit, Payment, and Bonus 14/20
The minimum deposit is 250 USD for a Mini Account and can go as high as 15,000 USD for a Black Account (the most expensive account out of the 5 available). Bonuses start at 25% (Mini Account) but go as high as 100% for a Black Account; the required turnover is 50 times the bonus. Both deposits and withdrawals can be made via Credit Cards (Visa/Mastercard), wire transfers, and e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller).

 

Website Extras 17/20
Although I’ve mentioned several extras, I consider the best one to be by far the free Demo account. You can create an account in minutes and you will have access to demo trading without depositing any money. This feature should be normal but the fact that so few brokers offer it makes it special.

 

BuzzTrade Overall Ratings: 74/100

Check out our Recommended Binary Options Brokers