Bontobel – What Makes it Unreliable?

Bontobel

Choosing an online broker may seem like a simple decision, but it can have long-term repercussions. This makes it necessary for every trader to spend some time and effort into looking for a brokerage if they want to achieve their goals. Most people are flummoxed because of the sheer number of brokers they find in the financial market. The numbers have increased significantly in the last decade or so and you will not run out of choices. But, this Bontobel review shows that no two brokerages are the same and doing your research is a must.

When it is your hard-earned money at stake, you should not take matters lightly and be prepared to invest some effort into researching a brokerage. After all, they serve as your partners during your trading journey and you need to be able to depend on them. The problem is that scammers are also very active in these markets and this adds a challenge for traders because they have to be able to navigate the options to find a reliable one.

They need to exercise caution because if they end up with the wrong brokerage, they can lose all their investment. Of course, this is not a scenario you want to see and the only way to prevent it is by making an effort and researching a company thoroughly. This is because most scams appear to be genuine at the first glance. There is no warning sign immediately noticeable when you check out their website. It is only through a proper follow up that you find the problems that show what kind of brokerage you are dealing with.

This is something you will also experience with Bontobel that presents itself as a reliable and professional forex brokerage. But, the broker is certainly not reliable and you will come to see this when you do some research. What will you find? You can learn more here.

The lack of licensing and regulation

There are regulatory authorities that issue licenses to brokers to provide their services in their respective jurisdictions. These have standards, laws and rules in place that are designed to ensure that people can enjoy fair and transparent services and are not exploited. For instance, licensed and regulated brokerages offer safety of funds that you cannot find with their unlicensed counterparts.

Moreover, it is possible to hold licensed and regulated brokerages accountable, but you cannot do the same with unlicensed ones. Thus, it is not surprising that the latter are the ones that usually turn out to be scams. A look at Bontobel shows that it has an address in the United Kingdom, which is considered one of the well-regulated jurisdictions in the world.

It should be licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in order to operate there, but Bontobel is not listed in their online register. You can check yourself and not find the company mentioned. Apart from that, you will also find it is contradicting the regulatory framework established by the FCA, as it offers bonuses and high leverage ratios.

What does this tell you? It shows that either Bontobel is lying about where it is based, or it is operating illegally from the UK. Both scenarios indicate that it is not the kind of broker you can rely on.

Malicious bonus policy

There was a time when trading bonuses were immensely popular amongst online brokers and they were given as an incentive to lure people to their platforms. They are still offered for the same purpose, but the difference is that most jurisdictions, including the UK, have imposed a ban on them. This is because these bonuses are usually offered with strings attached that are aimed at exploiting traders.

Thus, in order to ensure consumer protection, regulatory authorities had imposed a ban on offering trading bonuses. Yet, even though Bontobel claims to be based in the UK, it is still offering these bonuses and they also come with strings attached. In fact, their bonus policy shows why bonuses were banned in the first place.

According to Bontobel’s trading policy, people have to achieve a turnover of 25 times after getting a bonus. They will not be allowed to make withdrawals before they reach this milestone. Since this is almost impossible to achieve, even for the most professional traders, it allows Bontobel to prevent you from withdrawing your money and take control of your funds.

A basic trading platform

The trading platform that you find at Bontobel certainly does nothing for the broker’s credibility because it is a very basic and simple platform. Meanwhile, professional and reliable brokerages usually offer their clients access to top trading platforms like the MT4 and the MT5, which are the best ones in the market and offer a wide range of trading tools and features for traders. But, you cannot expect any such thing from Bontobel because their platform is severely lacking in this regard.

Uncompetitive trading conditions

The trading conditions of a broker are connected to your profitability, so they require attention. This is where you discover that Bontobel has uncompetitive trading conditions that makes it an unreliable platform. It has wide spreads of around 1.8 pips, which is definitely not acceptable because it is not profitable at all.

Secondly, you will also find that leverage ratios offered by Bontobel are around 1:400, which are considered immensely dangerous. Therefore, most regulatory authorities have imposed a cap on the leverage that can be offered.

Crypto payments only

The payment methods of an online broker are also relevant because you want security of your funds, when it comes to deposits and withdrawals. This is another area where you will find lacking because Bontobel is only offering crypto payments. Cryptocurrencies have become quite popular amongst scammers because they offer them anonymity.

Most importantly, crypto payments are irreversible and final and they do not come with the option of chargeback, unlike credit cards. So, you cannot get your money back from Bontobel once you have deposited it.

Bottom Line

The above mentioned problems with Bontobel show that the broker is completely unreliable and you should look for a different option.