Editor’s Verdict
Overview
Review
Headquarters | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
Year Established | 2011 |
Execution Type(s) | Binary Options |
Minimum Deposit | $250 |
Islamic Account | |
Signals | |
US Persons Accepted? | |
Managed Accounts |
Ucapital, founded in 2017, is an unregulated binary options broker based in the Marshall Islands. They provide a trading platform that offers traders a range of assets for options trading in 29 currency pairs, 5 commodities, 15 individual stocks and 6 major stock market indices across both major and minor financial markets.
Accounts
There are five different account types to choose from at Ucapital. One feature of the accounts structure that is very innovative is that the higher-end accounts give higher winning payouts per trade. The Micro account can be opened with a deposit of as little as $250, providing maximum payout at 70% and a welcome bonus of 20%, as well as free signals for an initial period of 14 days. The Mini account can be opened with a deposit of as little as $500, providing maximum payout at 75% and a welcome bonus of 25%, as well as free signals for an initial period of 30 days. The Standard account can be opened with a deposit of $1,000, providing maximum payout at 80% and a welcome bonus of 30%. The Gold account can be opened with a deposit of $5,000, providing maximum payout at 90% and a welcome bonus of 40%. Finally, the Platinum account can be opened with a deposit of $10,000, providing maximum payout at 95% and a welcome bonus of $5,000. From the Standard to the Platinum accounts, free signals are provided on an unlimited basis, as well as a dedicated personal broker, an advanced guide, trader protection insurance, and the “flip” and “buy me out” features.
This account offers only a proprietary Web Trader Platform, and although there is no dedicated app for smartphones or tablets, it may be accessed through such devices by means of a web browser.
The Micro account offers maximum leverage of 200:1, while the other account types offer considerably higher leverage capped at 400:1. The Silver account requires a minimum deposit of $10,000 or its Euro equivalent, while the Gold account requires a minimum deposit of $25,000 or its Euro equivalent.
A demo account is available, and that is an unusual feature for a binary options broker, in fact it is practically unique.
Islamic accounts are offered. They are suitably swap free and of course carry a no-interest policy.
Features
Looking at the binary options themselves, a wide range of time periods are offered, from 5 minutes to 1 year. This is a little on the long side compared to the industry standard and we admire this approach as it gives clients a higher chance of completing winning trades which pay out successfully. There are few binary options brokers offering expiries as far as 1 year away. The intermediate periods offered are logical: 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week and 1 month.
Payouts offered are clearly shown on all price tickets in the trading platform, and recent prices shown in charts which may be toggled between line formation and Japanese Candlestick as per the user’s preference. The tickets also include an interesting “sentiment” feature, showing what percentage of traders are currently either long or short of that option across all time frames.
The platform includes a social element. Firstly, within the generalized price tickers at the left of the screen, closed trades are shown as they close, although frankly we are a little dubious about their accuracy as we never saw a single losing trade. There is a dedicated social sidebar, listing traders who are currently long or short, and showing each trader’s running percentage of successful trades. You can follow any trader listed there, as you wish.
Education
The Ucapital website includes a Traders Academy, which consists of some simple explanations about binary options trading, a glossary of terms, and a description of the one-on-one training that is offered to clients by the broker. There is also a screen where live advanced charts of a range of tradable assets can be viewed, and some “how to” guides. Overall, the most important element here though is the education center, which consists of a series of 12 static e-books, presentations, and videos. By the standards of the industry, it is a reasonably comprehensive educational offering.
Bonuses and Promotions
At the time of writing, sign-up bonuses are offered, ranging from adding an additional 20% to the deposit into a Micro account, increasing to $5,000 with a Platinum account.
Deposits/Withdrawals
A wide variety of payment and withdrawal methods are offered: credit cards, cashu, wire transfer, neteller and skrill. Withdrawals must be made by the same method that was used to initially deposit the equivalent amount, and must be made subject to a minimum of $50. Electronic proof of identity verification must be provided before a withdrawal can be made.
Customer Support
Customer Support Methods |  |
|---|---|
Support Hours | 24/6 |
Website Languages |    |
Customer support is based in Dublin, Ireland, but is available in a very wide range of languages with dedicated lines for each. Traders can contact a 12 Trader representative by telephone during business hours six days a week and can use email anytime of the day. Chat is also available as a communication channel, as is email.
Conclusion
Ucapital seems to have a well-rounded and competitive offering for traders looking to trade CFDs in major stock market indices as well as Forex currency pairs. However, their seeming lack of regulation is a factor deserving thoughtful consideration from anyone considering opening a real money account with them.
Features
Features Introduction
uCapital has many attractive features including the website itself which uses colorful snapshots and easy access to information. The nicest feature of this broker is its wide choice of trading accounts and its range of CFDs which can be traded along with the more usual and typical Forex currency pairs.
The major features that are likely to stand out for most binary option traders are its “buy me out” and “flip” features. The “buy me out” feature allows you to close a trade before its expiry time is reached. The “flip” feature allows you to change the direction of an existing trade up to 5 minutes before its expiry time.
Platforms
Proprietary Web Trader
Ucapital offers one single trading platform: an advanced web based proprietary trading platform. The platform is entirely web-based, requiring no download or software installation. The platform has a built-in, sophisticated charting package and includes one-click trading. It is certainly intuitive and easy to use, and very unlikely to cause any navigation problems for anyone.
The platform includes an innovative social trading element, where within the actual platform itself you can see what other traders are buying and selling, giving traders the chance to learn from other traders and share in real time as they trade.