FOREX Trading on FOREX.com: A look at the Standard Trading Account features and trading process
FOREX Trading on a Simple Platform
A quick FOREX, or foreign exchange, google search will return FOREX.com at the top of the list, sure that’s purposeful on FOREX.com’s part. So, since they’ve put in so much work to be the first google search result, I’ll dive into their platform and create a standard forex trading account.
First, FOREX trading is not for the feint of heart. It is more volatile than equities, complex and very risky. Macroeconomic factors, monetary policy, government and regional stability, as well as countless other variables all impact how currencies trade in relation to each other. You can swing from a substantial profit to a complete loss in no time.
For the most part, currency trading is used by companies, banks, and major investment firms to facilitate money movements or hedge against fluctuations in currency rates, which might impact their operations. That doesn’t mean you can’t make money trading currencies. So, if you’re sure FOREX trading is something you’re wanting to pursure, let’s get started.
FOREX Trading Account Options
Like many platforms, FOREX.com offers multiple account types to cater to novice traders as well as active traders and everything in between.
FOREX.com offers 3 tiers of accounts for users. The Standard Account offers a desktop trading platform or an online portal for trading forex. The Commission Account is for more active traders looking to reduce the costs of trading based on the spread. This account reduces the spread and adds a $5 commission per 100k traded, so a lot more activity than most users. Finally, the Pro Account is for professional traders transacting millions in trades per month. The minimum trade size for this account is 100k and commissions are based on monthly trading volume from $0 to $2 billion.
I’m not an active trader, and my forex trading is focused on opening another option to diversify my portfolio and gain exposure to changes in US monetary policy and macroeconomic changes. Because I’m not expecting to become a high volume trader, I’m going to stick to the Standard Account, deposit a small amount to get started and use their web portal to trade.
Opening a FOREX Trading Account
Opening an account is easy and straightforward. FOREX.com requires name, address, social security number, date of birth and a few other pieces of information get started. The process takes about 5 minutes.
Once you open your account, you’ll need to fund your account to start trading forex. FOREX.com offers several options to fund your account – ACH, wire transfer or debit card. I tried to use ACH, but PLAID was unable to access my bank account. So, I had to use my debit card. Not a huge deal since I depositing only a few hundred dollars. Might be a problem if I wanted to transfer a large amount of capital.
Using my debit card to fund my account was easy. No issues with my bank or FOREX.com. The $500 deposit was immediately available for trading.
FOREX Trading Account Features
The web portal for trading on FOREX.com’s Standard Account is not overly complicated. It provides windows for news, market prices, current positions, and options for currency pair charts. The platform is customizable, so play with the windows and figure out what information is most important to you.
For my trading, I don’t need much info. So, I trimmed my main screen down to news, positions, and market prices for currency pairs. If I want to see a chart, I create a new tab with the currency pair I’m interested in analyzing.
Placing a Trade
Again, FOREX.com has made the FOREX trading process easy. Once you’ve identified a trade you want to make, simply click on the “Buy” or “Sell” button for the desired currency pair.
Here, I’ve selected to buy the EUR/USD pair. This means I’m buying 10,000 Euros and selling USD. I’m expecting the Euro to strengthen which means I will get more USD when I sell it. I’ll get into this and other trades in future updates.
After placing the trade, it appears in my Open Positions window and I can easily see the value of my trade. From this window, I can sell the currency pair to close the position, set a limit order and place a stop loss order.
Get Started Trading FOREX
Think FOREX trading and FOREX.com are for you? That’s great, use the link below to get started.
FOREX not for you, maybe cryptocurrencies are a better fit? A Bitcoin IRA or investing through Robinhood may good options for getting started in Bitcoin. Learn some of the best strategies and gain market insights through Dchained.
Disclosure Statement
The statements in this post are my opinion and reflect my personal experience investing through FOREX.com. I cannot, and do not, guarantee that your results will be similar. Please, invest carefully and understand that your investment may lose value.
I do not receive compensation from FOREX.com for writing or maintaining this post. However, I do receive an affiliate fee if you use the link above to open an account.
Questions? Contact Me