Not explicitly illegal for an individual, but a provider serving Thai residents without a Thai SEC licence is operating outside the framework.
Sourcing note: we could not confirm the legal position in Thailand against a named primary instrument published by the SEC Thailand. Verify with the regulator before acting on it.
Archive notice: this page was written in 2013, 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.
OneTwoTrade Overview
The service
OneTwoTrade offers trades on 100 of the most popular assets including stocks, commodities, indices and currencies – so whatever gets you excited, will probably be there. You can also deposit and trade in £, $ and €. Once you’ve signed up, it takes no time at all to get to the trading centre where you can choose how to trade. All the trades are binary, meaning you simply select whether you think the price will go up or down, that’s it - although you also choose how much you want to invest and the end time of the trade with a choice of 60 seconds, half an hour or weeks ahead. There are also 3 trading page styles to choose from: select from the first binary options trading page with its simple drop down style menu or go for instant gratification with the 60 second trades. Our preference was for the Pro-trader page which includes a few more advanced features but was equally easy to use and navigate. As well as viewing the historical trend of a trade, the special features in Pro-trader differentiate and (in our opinion) add to the experience. The ‘Buy Out’ option allows you to sell your SmartOption before the expiration time – useful if your trade is looking unsuccessful and you want to claw back some investment or if you want to get out quickly for a little less whilst a trade is looking good. ‘Roll Over’ allows you to extend the length of your trade to the next expiration time – great if your trade is looking unsuccessful and you fancy your chances over a longer period. ‘Double Up’ – we particularly liked this feature – allows you to double your investment in a live trade when your position is looking good i.e. it’s been on the rise all day.Paying and being paid
The payouts are good - they can vary between 70 and 85% depending on the type of trades you select and extra tools you use. That said, payouts and conditions are always stated up front before committing to a trade so you always know where you are and what the potential outcome is. Good to know! And, if your trade is unsuccessful you still retain 15% of the original investment. You do need to make a deposit to get started which is straightforward enough on the secure deposit page - accepting visa and mastercard. You can also make a withdrawal on your account profit at any time without limits – another difference and advantage of OneTwoTrade.The Interface
The trading platform is web-based but also offers an iphone app – so you don’t have to be at your desk to be trading – a huge advantage in a world where we increasingly do everything on the move. A key advantage to using OneTwoTrade for your trades is the well designed, intuitive interface. The account pages are clear, incredibly easy to use and really help you stay in control. Starting with the Account overview page, the charts instantly show you the status of your account: your available balance, your next 5 trades broken down by payout size, and the potential payout (helping you to quickly see which are going to make you the most money – because lets face it that’s what we care about). The account statement page contains every transaction you’ve ever made but the best thing is you can choose how to view the information: by the number of transactions shown or the transaction type. You can even order the statement by purchase date, expiration date, purchase amount and more – you really don’t have to work hard to get the information you need. The trends page helps you easily see where you’re making the most money – so you can really focus on the trading sector you’ve had the most success with.Support and Insight
As we’ve already mentioned, everyone has a dedicated account manager that you can talk or even meet with but we’d heard good things about the market insight. Relevant news and in-house market analysis is updated every day on the site (as it should be in such a fast paced market). We particularly liked the daily videos - really punchy information and fast. You can also view historic updates, useful for the research- keen, longer-term analysts out there.Overall
In summary, we can see why OneTwoTrade are the market leaders. The platform is sound, the interface well designed and more importantly the service offered is outstanding. Having a dedicated manager, up to date reports and market analysis allows you to really plan your strategy and up your game – it’s more than a ‘make a quick buck’ site. So if you’re serious about binary trading or even just starting out we recommend you check out this site.Funding and withdrawals in Thailand
Local rails here are PromptPay, local bank transfer and card. 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 the Revenue Department the relevant authority.
Brokers accepting Thai 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.