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Foreign currency trades were once available only to wholesale market players, or in other words, institutional investors and professional fund managers. The infrastructure and tools to allow individuals to trade foreign currency were simply not available. However, over the past decade or two, all that has changed. A large number of online forex trading platforms have been specifically developed to open up the retail market. Today, tens of thousands of individual, independent traders participate in foreign exchange market. Trades on the platforms are available 24×5, being closed on weekends.
These platforms provide a simple, easy to use and transparent way to trade currencies. Some also offer the ability to trade other assets such as major equity indices (the Dow, S&P500 and FTSE) and commodities (gold silver and crude oil).
The platforms are very popular with a wide spread of users on a global basis. Any one single platform may have over a million users resident in over a hundred countries. One of the key attractions is that the minimum deposit required to commence trading is very small. Some platforms have a minimum deposit level of only $50.
The platforms provide traders with user friendly interfaces, free practice account using live market rates, low initial investment, personal trading coaches graphic trade visualizations, spreads as low as 2 pips, no dealing desk, automatic execution, personal account managers, leveraged investment ranging from 1:5 up to 1:400.
Most platforms are rich in educational and trading tools. They assist new traders with free online forex trading courses, video tutorials, and online forums or blogs. They also provide live private and public chat rooms, live video access to trading rooms and the strategies of with experienced users (sharing of top trader insights) and 24×5 online help support.
The deposit of funds is accepted from a variety of sources including direct bank transfer, credit cards, Western Union and various online payment platforms such as PayPal, Neteller, Webform and Moneybookers. Interest on deposited funds is not commonly offered. Withdrawal of funds is also relatively hassle-free although the identification process is can be time consuming and generally fewer withdrawal options are available compared to deposit.
In conclusion, as is common in all foreign currency markets, the trading options are quoted as foreign currency pairs. A pair is simply the quotation of one currency relative to another currency. The currency that acts as the reference on forex trading platforms is called the base currency.
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