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Trading Hours
FOREX.com's trading desk is open 24 hours daily from 17:00pm ET
Sunday through 16:30 ET Friday.
Currency Pairs
24-hour trading is available in 15 currency pairs: EUR/USD, USD/JPY,
GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF,
GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, GBP/CHF, NZD/USD.
Dealing Spread
Normal dealing spreads are 3-5 pips for the major currency pairs.
Trading Minimums
- Mini Accounts:
Minimum transaction size for mini accounts is 1/10th
standard sized lot, or 10,000 of the base currency, with a minimum
margin deposit of 0.5% (200:1 leverage). For example, a US$10,000
position would require an initial margin deposit of US$50.
- Standard Accounts:
Minimum transaction size for standard accounts is 1 lot, or
100,000 of the base currency, with a minimum margin deposit
of 1% (100:1 leverage). For example, a US$100,000 position would
require an initial margin deposit of US$1,000.
Fees
FOREX.com charges NO trading commissions or fees, regardless of
account balance or trading activity.
Price Quotes
FOREX.com clients have the ability to execute trades directly
from real time streaming bid/ask quotes. Live prices are continuously
published to clients via FOREX.com's trading platform, and traders
can at any time click on the current bid or offer and instantaneously
execute a trade. Prices are updated automatically as market conditions
dictate. On average, FOREX.com traders make 100,000 prices per
day. More importantly, FOREX.com publishes the same dealing price
to the entire client base and allows any client to deal on the
available price.
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Trading over the Internet
Executing a deal with FOREX.com via the Internet is a simple two-step
process. Simply enter the number of lots and then click on the
bid (buy) or offer (sell) for the currency pair you wish to trade
- your deal is automatically executed. The dealing software automatically
calculates the initial margin requirement based upon the notional
amount of the deal, and if sufficient funds are available in your
account, will accept the transaction. Deals are confirmed online,
normally within one second, and the system instantaneously updates
both your open position and calculates your current P&L.
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Phone Trading
Live clients may trade over the telephone 24 hours a day, from
Sunday at 1700 ET through Friday at 1630 ET. When trading via
phone, our dealers will quote the same tight spreads available
via the dealing platform. All trades executed via the phone are
subject to a pre-deal margin availability check and will be manually
entered into the customer's account for integrated P&L analysis
and reporting. All telephone calls are recorded for the safety
of both parties.
Phone Dealing Procedure
- Immediately state your ID and Password.
- State your interest. Always be sure to include the number of lots and the currency pair you are interested in.
Example: "I would like a price on 5 lots of Euro/Dollar."
- The Dealer will then provide a 2-way price quote.
Example: "Euro/Dollar is 1.2416/20" (the first number being the bid, the second the offer)
- State your trade.
Example: "At 1.2416, I sell 5 lots of Euro/Dollar,"
or
"At 1.2420, I buy 5 lots of Euro/Dollar"
- If you do not wish to deal at the quoted levels, simply say "Nothing Done", hang up and call again later.
Or, place a limit or stop order at your desired level.
- Remember: A price given is the dealing price at that time; haggling is not allowed nor are Traders allowed to
remain on the phone until the price changes.
- It is important to remember that Dealing Desk phone lines are reserved for dealing/order purposes only, and
that proper Phone Dealing Procedures be observed at all times. All other inquiries, such as account issues or
general information, can be addressed through 1.908.731.0750 or 1.877.FOREXGO or via
email: support@forex.com.
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Order Types
FOREX.com's dealing platform provides sophisticated order entry
and tracking. Orders may be entered at any rate - inside or outside
the existing spread - using the following order types:
- Limit orders
An order with restrictions on the maximum price to be paid or
the minimum price to be received.
If a trader is long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a limit order would be
entered to sell dollars above that price, for example, at 1.4800.
- Stop Loss orders
Order type whereby an open position is automatically liquidated
at a specific price. Often used to minimize exposure to losses
if the market moves against an investor's position.
If the trader above is long USD at 1.4627, a stop loss order
could be left at 1.4549, in case the dollar depreciates below
1.4549.
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid, and buy stops are
filled on our offer. This allows FOREX.com to fill client stop
orders at the rate they requested in almost every case. In the
rare instance that the market gaps over a requested rate, the
stop is filled at the best available price. This is an important
point for traders who are accustomed to being filled on sell
stops when the offer reaches the requested order rate. For example,
if a stop order is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader
will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549 (i.e. the bid/offer
is 1.4549/54).
- One Cancels
Other orders (OCO's)
A contingent order providing that one part of the order is cancelled
if the other part is executed. This is a particularly useful
order type in that it allows traders to execute specific trading
strategies based on technical analysis - without having to watch
the market tick by tick.
As above, with the trader long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a typical
OCO order would be a stop loss at 1.4562 and a limit (take profit)
at 1.4700. If one part of the order is filled, the other is
automatically cancelled.
- If / Then Single
A conditional order providing that if the first order ("If"
order) is executed, the second order ("Then" order)
is activated as a live, single order.
In cases where the If order does not execute, the Then single
order will remain dormant. When either part of an If / Then
order is cancelled, all parts of the order are cancelled as
well.
An example of an If / Then single order would be to first place
an 'If' limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0690, fifty points below
the current market rate of 1.0740. The 'Then' part of the order
would be a limit sell order to take profit at 1.0770 (eighty
pips above the 'If' order execution rate of 1.0690). If the
market dips to 1.0690 the 'If' order will execute and the 'Then'
leg of the order will become active. Note: the 'Then' order
could also have been a stop loss order at 1.0650 (forty pips
below the execution rate of 1.0690).
- If /Then OCO
A conditional order providing that if the first order ("If"
order) is executed, the second order ("Then" order)
is activated as a live, One Cancels Other (OCO) order. Full
description of an OCO order. The execution of either one
of the two 'Then' orders automatically cancels the other.
In cases where the 'If' single order does not execute, the 'Then'
OCO order will remain dormant. When any part of an If / Then
OCO order is cancelled, including either leg of the OCO order,
all parts of the order are cancelled as well.
An example of an If / Then OCO order would be to first place
an 'If' limit order to buy USD/JPY at 118.80, fifty points below
the current market rate of 119.30. The 'Then' part of the order
would be an OCO order: one leg of the OCO could be a limit sell
order to take profit at 119.60, (eighty pips above the execution
rate of 118.80) the other leg a stop loss order to sell at 118.50
(thirty points below the execution rate). If the market reaches
118.80, the 'If' single order is executed, and the 'Then' OCO
order is activated. If activated, the execution of either leg
of the 'Then' OCO order automatically cancels the other.
For step by step instructions on how to place orders on the trading
platform, see our User
Guide.
All of the above orders may be entered as Day Orders, entered
today and good until end of NY business day (1700 ET). Or, clients
may choose to may enter a Good 'til Cancelled Order (GTC), which
is valid until the order is executed or cancelled. Orders remain
open until they are triggered or cancelled. If you close out a
position manually, you must cancel any order(s) relating to that
position.
Order Execution
- First In First Out (FIFO)
Open positions are closed according to the FIFO accounting rule.
All positions opened within a particular currency pair are liquidated
in the order in which they were originally opened.
- Stop Loss Orders
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid and buy stops are
filled on our offer. This is an important point for traders
who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer
reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a stop order
is placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled
when the bid reaches 1.4549. In the rare instance the market
gaps over a requested rate, a stop order is filled at the best
available price.
- Limit Orders
Sell limit orders are filled when the bid reaches the requested
rate; limit orders to buy are filled on the offer. For example,
a limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0456 will be filled when FOREX.com's
offer hits 1.0456.
- Good Til Cancelled (GTC)
Orders
All GTC orders remain open until they are triggered or cancelled.
If you close out a position manually, you must cancel any order(s)
relating to that position.
- Orders left over the weekend
or holidays
Orders left pending at close of trading on Friday at 1630 ET
or placed over the weekend are subject to a gap open on Sunday
evening when FOREX.com starts trading at 1700 ET. For both stop
loss and limit orders - if your order is triggered due to news,
events or other fundamental factors, it will not be executed
over the weekend. Your order WILL be executed at the prevailing
price when FOREX.com's trading desk opens Sunday. Because of
the additional gap risk involved, you may want to reconsider
leaving open orders over the weekend or holidays.
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Margin
The maximum available margin is .5% (200x leverage) for mini accounts and 1% (100x leverage) for
standard accounts. Traders always have the option of employing a lower degree of leverage.
The minimum margin requirement is approximately $50 per lot in a mini account and approximately
$1000 per lot in a standard account. The requirements for leverage may vary with account size or
market conditions, and may be changed from time to time at the sole discretion of FOREX.com.
If maximum leverage is employed, traders must maintain the minimum margin requirement on their
open positions at all times. It is the customer's responsibility to monitor his/her margin account
balance. FOREX.com has the right to liquidate any or all open positions whenever a trader's minimum
margin requirement is not maintained. This is an important risk management feature designed to
strictly limit trading losses in your account.
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USD Based Currency Pair:
Margin = (Contract size / Leverage)
You have $500 in a mini account. To calculate the margin required to execute 8 mini
lots of USD/JPY (80,000 USD) at 200x leverage, simply divide the deal size by the
leverage amount e.g. (80,000 / 200 = 400). You post $400 margin for this trade,
leaving a $100 balance in your account.
Non-USD Based Currency Pair
Margin = [(Contract Size x Price) / Leverage]
In this example, you have $5,000 in a standard account. You want to execute 3 lots
of EUR/USD (300,000 Euros) at the current market price of 1.2710 using 100x
leverage. To calculate the required margin for this position, multiply the
deal size (300,000) by the price (1.2710) and then divide by the leverage (100x),
e.g. [(300,000*1.2710)/100] = $3,813. After you executed this trade,
you would have a $1,187 balance in your account.
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The trading platform automatically calculates margin requirements and checks available funds
before allowing you to successfully enter a new position. If you do not have adequate funds
available to enter a new position, you will receive an "insufficient margin funds" message
when attempting to deal.
If the unrealized P&L of your net total open position falls below your margin balance, your
account is under margined and all your open positions may be liquidated. To avoid liquidation
of your positions, do not use your entire account balance as margin for open positions.
Instead, leave enough funds in your account to withstand a market movement against your open
positions. We suggest you always use stop loss orders to limit your downside risk.
Please contact FOREX.com client services should you wish at any time to use a lower degree
of leverage or otherwise adjust the margin settings in your account.
Rollovers
A rollover is the simultaneous closing of an open position for
today's value date and the opening of the same position for the
next day's value date at a price reflecting the interest rate
differential between the two currencies.
FOREX.com automatically rolls forward all open positions to the
next day's value date following the close of NY trading at 1700
ET.
FOREX.com clients have the opportunity to earn interest on rollovers,
depending on the direction of their positions and interest rate
differential between the two currencies involved. For example,
UK interest rates are significantly higher than Japan's, so if
a trader is long GBP/JPY (i.e. holding British Pounds), they will
earn interest on the roll. Conversely, if a trader is short GBP/JPY
(i.e. holding yen) they will pay interest on the rollover.
The spot forex market is traded on a two-day value date. For
example, for trades executed on Monday, the value date is Wednesday.
However, if a position is opened on Monday and held overnight
(remains open after 1700 ET), the value date is now Thursday.
The exception is a position opened and held overnight on Wednesday.
The normal value date would be Saturday; because banks are closed
on Saturday the value date is actually the following Monday. Due
to the weekend, positions held overnight on Wednesday incur or
earn an extra two days of interest. Trades with a value date that
falls on a holiday will also incur or earn additional interest.
Rollover credits or debits are reflected in the unrealized P&L
of the open position, and a rollover report (available in the
"Reports" tab of the trading platform) provides additional
detail of rollover activity.
Daily Housekeeping
Daily Housekeeping will occur each evening at 1700ET and will
last approximately 5 minutes. During that time, back office staff
will conduct daily rolls and important system maintenance tasks
will be performed. Online trading MAY be unavailable, but we will
accept phone orders.
Confirmations
Deals are confirmed on screen, typically within one second. Full
transaction details may be accessed on screen as well, including
date, time, rate, notional amount bought and sold, USD value,
and reference number.
Reporting
The dealing software tracks all trading activity in real time,
allowing clients to view current open positions, real-time profit
and loss, margin availability, account balances, and all historical
transaction details directly on-screen.
In addition, by clicking on the 'reports' tab on the menu bar,
clients may access five ad hoc reports:
Account Value Summary -
an online monthly account statement. View current account balance
(realized P&L) for a selected month, as well as all deposits,
withdrawals, interest earned, and fees charged (if any).
Detailed Transaction Listing
- lists complete trade detail for any selected date range, including
deal date, currency pair dealt, trade direction (buy or sell),
contract size for both currencies in the pair dealt, and executed
deal rate.
Open FX Positions - a summary
view of all open positions, including contract size, USD value,
average rate of open positions, reval rate (current market rate),
and unrealized P&L. This report supplements real-time position
information available in the position management screen of the
trading platform.
Order History - provides
detail on all order activity for a selected data range, including
order entry date and time stamp, listing of all cancelled and/or
executed orders, along with its reference number. The Log Entry
column provides a confirmation number and action detail for any
order.
Rollover History - provides
rollover details for any transaction held open past 1700 EST,
including rollover rate and USD value. May be generated for any
given date range.
Note: All reports can be printed and/or exported into Microsoft
Excel via a simple cut and paste.
Account Statements
Customer account statements are provided online in the Reports
section of the trading platform. Customers have access to a full
suite of available reports, including account value summary, detailed
transaction listing, open positions, etc. Reports may be generated
for any date range, and printed or saved for future reference.
For more information on the available reports, please see our
user guide.
Monthly account statements are mailed upon request only. To receive
monthly account statements by mail, you must complete and return
a Request to
Receive Monthly Account Statements by Mail.
Account Protection
FOREX.com holds Financial Institution Bond and Bankers Professional
Liability insurance policies to protect deposited funds against
failure of service, dishonesty, forgery, alteration etc.
Please note that investment products themselves are not covered
by insurance, and therefore are not protected against losses.
Funding Your Account
There are four easy ways to fund your account.
- Wire Transfer - The fastest
way to fund your account
Funds sent via wire are typically received by FOREX.com within
1-2 business days, and credited to client's account the day
of receipt. All wire transfers should include the client's name
and account number in the reference section of the wire. Please
be sure that the beneficiary is listed as FOREX.com.
Wire to:
FOREX.com Customer Funds
Bank of America
59 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
ABA # 026009593
A/C # 94211-56100
Note: Indicate client's name for new accounts or Client's Name
and Account # ___ if the funds are to be credited to a pre-existing
account. Please be sure that the beneficiary is listed as FOREX.com.
- Bank or Cashier's Check
Once received, Bank or Cashiers Checks are typically credited
to client's account within one (1) business day.
- Personal or Business Check
Funds sent via personal or business check take 5-10 business
days (from date of receipt) to clear and be credited to client's
trading account, according to our banking partner's posted schedule.
This can vary depending on the bank and state of issue. International
checks may take several weeks to clear.
Please make all checks payable to "FOREX.com " and
mail to:
FOREX.com, 550 Hills Drive
Bedminster, NJ 07921.
- Credit Card*
Deposits via Visa and MasterCard are accepted.
Please click
here to start the credit card deposit process.
*All card-based transactions are automatically converted to
US Dollars; you may incur additional fees by your card issuer
for currency conversion.
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Withdrawal Requests
To withdraw funds from an existing account, please complete, print and sign the withdrawal
request form and fax it to: +1.908.731.0747
Withdrawal requests are processed within two (2) business days
of receipt. There is no fee for withdrawal requests via check.
Withdrawal requests via wire transfer will incur a $25 fee for
wires within the United States, and $40 fee for international
wires (including Canada).
To expedite processing, please indicate your account number on
all wires, checks, and withdrawal requests and all other correspondence
regarding your account. To avoid delays, please include intermediary
bank information on all international (non-US) wires.
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