Easy Binary Option

Independent coverage of binary options since 2012 — legal status, licensing and what replaced the product.

Trading binary options for a living

Permitted Regulator: FSCA ZAR
Permitted

Binary options are not prohibited in South Africa. They are treated as OTC derivatives, which means the counterparty needs an ODP licence — and no binary options provider currently holds one.

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.

Published 2013-06-02 Last reviewed 2026-08-02

Many part-time traders dream of becoming a full-time trader, dictating their own timetable and effectively becoming their own boss. Whilst this is an excellent ambition for those who are on their way to developing a profitable trading strategy, the question of when is the right time to make the transition, and indeed having the resources and discipline to work as a professional trader? For those looking to trade binary options as their primary income, it is well worth considering several factors before making the leap to becoming master of your own time and income.

The hidden benefits to working in an office


For most professional traders working in the financial districts of the world’s capital cities, timetabling your working schedule is simply a matter of turning up to the office. Whilst is one of the most attractive factors about becoming a professional binary options trader, it can one of the most difficult to adapt to in reality. Creating a rigid timetable, based on the markets that a trader is looking to purchase options, is essential and the discipline to stick to this is a defining element of becoming a successful home-based trader.

Resisting the temptation to over trade


As binary options provide the possibility of trading options with expiry times of just one minute to several months, it is always going to be more difficult for long-term traders to make the transition. Despite the fact that several hours can be spent each day looking for high-probability trading opportunities, there is also the temptation to over-trade and take positions that differ from the successful trading strategy. This temptation, to move from becoming a profitable binary options trader based on a daily swing strategy, to a day trader entering and exiting several exciting trades per day is something that these traders need to consider. For some, it january be worth considering if it is necessary to devote a full-time timetable to binary options.

Withdrawing and realising profits


Many traders like to build their accounts when they begin to employ a successful trading strategy. Using trading software to establish an ‘equity curve’ is a favourite for traders showing how their method is successful over time. For those who choose to trade binary options as a full-time job, this ‘curve will need to take in to account that traders need to withdraw a living budget, effectively paying a salary for your efforts. Withdrawing money from a trading account is not only an essential aspect of professional trading, but also a healthy one which allows traders to realise the profits that they make and also to galvanise their trading as a way of making a living.

The importance of Separation time


There is evidence to show that people who work from home do more hours on average than those undertaking regular employment. For full-time binary options trader this goes without saying and many will find themselves ‘justifying’ their lifestyle with longer hours than january be necessary or helpful. Discipline to only engage in the hours necessary to reach daily or weekly goals as well as regular ‘disconnection time’ away from a screen and the markets is also something that many quote as being essential for successful trading.

Accepting the down days


Finally, one of the hardest aspects of trading binary options with the knowledge that this is the primary source of income is dealing with losses. As a general rule all traders should understand that losses will be frequently incurred as the most guaranteed rule of trading. Resisting the temptation to chase the market on these days in a desperate attempt to recover losses is something which every trader should fully develop before committing hard-earned funds to trading binary options. Acceptance that some days will result in a net loss, whilst also acknowledging that other opportunities will exist to trade the strategy that has proven to be profitable is essential.

Funding and withdrawals in South Africa

Local rails here are instant EFT, card, and local bank transfer through Ozow or PayFast. 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 SARS the relevant authority.

Brokers accepting South African 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%
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.