Nigeria has no binary options licensing regime, and sources disagree on whether offshore providers are merely unrecognised or actually prohibited.
Sourcing note: we could not confirm the legal position in Nigeria against a named primary instrument published by the SEC Nigeria. Verify with the regulator before acting on it.
Archive notice: this page was written in 2012, before binary options were banned for retail clients across the EEA, the UK and Australia. It is kept for reference. For the current position, see Legal status by country.
If you want to start binary options trading it is absolutely necessary to first get used to the trading language. Fortunately, the terminology is very easy to learn. We have compiled a short overview about the most important binary options and trading terms:
Trading Terms
ITM – “In-The-Money” - If your market trend prognosis comes true the option is "in-the-money". For example: Gold is trading at $1500 an ounce and you buy a call binary gold option. If the gold price rises above $1500 your derivative is "in-the-money". However, ITM doesn't necessarily mean profit. The option has to be ITM at expiration to make a profit.OTM – “Out-of-The-Money” - If your market trend prognosis does not come true the option is "out-of-the-money". For example: "Facebook" is trading at $23.30 and you buy a "Facebook" binary call option. If the stock price goes down your option is OTM and you will loose your bet if the stock price is still below $23.30 at expiration.
Expiry Time/Expiration - The time and date when an option expires. Many brokers offer the early exercise of their options so you can lock in profits. Therefore, it's very important to know the exact expiry time to make the best decision - especially in volatile markets.
Asset - An asset is the underlying instrument used to determine a contract: currencies, commodities, stocks or indices. When trading binary options you don't buy or sell the asset itself. You actually bet on the price development of the underlying asset.
Payout - The profit realized for an ‘in-the-money’ option expiry. The payout is up to 90% depending on the broker you are trading with and depending on the underlying asset.
"Loss Protection"/Refund - The amount refunded to the trader if an option expires OTM. This is a kind of "loss protection" and is not offered by every brokerage company.
More Terms
Broker - To buy or sell binary options, you need a binary options broker. The broker provides you with a special online platform designed for binary options trading.Binary (Digital) Options - A binary option, sometimes referred to as a digital option, is an exotic option that offers a fixed return. In mathematics jargon, a binary number is one which is given a value of either 0 or 1 from which the name is derived. Based on whether or not the option expires in the money the investor makes profit or loses his bet. The return is predetermined by contract.
Funding and withdrawals in Nigeria
Local rails here are local bank transfer, card and crypto; CBN limits on foreign card spending affect funding. Deposit method decides whether money can come back out: card payments carry a chargeback route with a time limit, transfers to an offshore entity generally do not. Confirm the withdrawal method, minimum, fee and stated processing time in writing before funding an account. Profits are generally taxable, with FIRS the relevant authority.
Brokers accepting Nigerian clients
Ranked by our published methodology, which weights licensing at 35% — on an unsupervised counterparty every other quality is contingent. Ratings are derived from the sub-scores, not assigned.
| # | Broker | Rating | Entity holding your funds | Min. deposit | Payout | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deriv | 7.9 | Deriv (BVI) Ltd / Deriv (V) Ltd | $5 | up to ~95% on synthetics | Visit |
| 2 | IQ Option | 5.1 | IQ Option Ltd (international) — unregulated | $10 | up to ~95% | Visit |
| 3 | Pocket Option | 4.7 | Gembell Limited (Comoros) | $5 | up to ~92% | Visit |
| 4 | Quotex | 4.6 | Awesomo Ltd — unregulated | $10 | up to ~98% | Visit |
| Regulated alternative — does not offer binary options | ||||||
| — | Exness | 8.8 | FSCA (South Africa) — ODP · FSP 51024 | $10 | n/a — CFDs and FX only | Visit |
Advertiser disclosure: buttons marked ad are affiliate links and earn us a commission if you open an account. The others do not. The ranking is derived from the published sub-scores either way, which is why the highest-rated provider here is not the one that pays us.
Risk warning: binary options are high-risk speculative instruments and most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to trade.