As in the rest of the country, binary options trading have become very popular of late. There has been an increased interest and actual trading in binary options even as information on the trade is scarce. Most traders rely on other traders and unofficial sources for information.Despite being legal in Canada, and by extension in Quebec, there are no binding official guidelines, regulations or policies around this trade offering protection to the traders or other players in binary options. With this in mind, Quebec residents must be reminded that when they open accounts with foreign based brokers and platforms, the possibility of fraud is there and caution is advised as there is no Canadian agency regulating this business or its players.
Binary options trading in Quebec
Being a legal investment practice in Quebec, traders are already in the trade, but questions abound on the trade and concerns are being raised about binary options. Most of the answers that traders are looking for will be gotten from other traders who have had more experience in the business. Questions on the broader aspects of binary options as an investment and trading method can be answered by the Québec’s Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the official government agency that regulates the province’s financial markets and is charged with the provision of advice and guidelines to the investing public.
Established in 2004, the AMF bases its mandate from the Canadian Securities Administrators CSA. Unlike the other provincial securities administrators, the AMF adapted other financial sectors to operate under their regulation. These sectors include securities, insurance, deposit taking institutions and all financial services provision. To ensure adherence to best practices and compliance requirements, the AMF has internal auditors and an Advisory board. All financial sectors have always been under the AMF, then came binary options. With increased interest and activity in this sector the AMF will undoubtedly become interested too and this may lead to some regulation binary options soon.
The safety of traders
With very little regulation so far in Canada, the safety and security of all traders in binary options, their investments and their personal and investment information must always be prioritized. Binary options’ trading does not demand as much money for investments as the traditional investment vehicles do. As such, traders are often relaxed about their safety and security when opening accounts and trading on the various platforms that there are. They should stand advised that these are aspects of financial trading that they should take as seriously as they do with all the other investment decisions that they make.
Their sense of caution should be activated as soon as they start considering the various platforms to open trading accounts with. Platforms that do not come with effective protection like SSL encryptions and firewalls should be avoided as should brokers who do not have secure policies for withdrawals whether it is through bank transfers or other electronic money transfer methods. The selection of a secure trading platform is paramount as binary options’ trading is largely web-based. A secure platform has the trader concentrating more on making profits other than security.