Why You Need a Forex Account to Trade

Last Updated July 23rd 2021

6 Min Read

Forex is an acronym for Foreign Exchange.

Forex is a huge financial industry with $6.6 trillion traded 24-hours, five days a week. It's attractive and easy to start trading Forex.

A foreign exchange account is for holding and trading foreign currencies where you buy or sell currency pairs based on whether you think the price will rise or fall.

It's easy to open a Forex account, and it can be done in a few minutes, and you can get started trading Forex for a few hundred dollars. All you have to do is choose a Forex broker and deposit your money in the denomination of your country.

Then you download the broker's trading software and start buying and selling currency pairs. You may wish to practice first by opening a demo Forex account.

You want to make money from trading Forex, but at first, this may be challenging.

Most novice Forex traders lose money. Indeed there is a 95% failure rate for Forex traders. Many new Forex traders will lose all of their money in the first few months and end up closing their Forex trading account.

It takes patience and skill to trade Forex successfully. It's why you need a Forex account to trade safely and with the least risk.

Some people believe that Forex is a scam, as many online critics suggest.

There are many Forex scams online. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of unregulated brokers making grand promises to new Forex traders.

These fraudulent Forex brokers may have glossy, professional websites that make it look as if they are established and safe. But, it's essential to do some ground-level checks before depositing your money with a Forex broker.

Forex has widely available leverage, which sounds attractive. But a novice trader can quickly run into trouble by over-leveraging their Forex account. Unscrupulous Forex brokers may offer higher leverage accounts to new traders, but it is better to avoid these offers.

It isn't easy to make money on highly leveraged currency trades. It can take years of practice to develop the expertise to become a successful Forex trader. Making money from Forex is possible, but it takes discipline and patience.

How You Open a Forex Trading Account

Opening a Forex trading account is simple.

There are many online Forex brokers to choose from for trading Forex. Opening a Forex account can be done within a few minutes. You can find a Forex broker specialising in Forex.

Or you can find a brokerage you use for stock market investing and trading that may also offer Forex.

When you open a Forex account, the broker will ask a few questions about your financial knowledge and experience of trading and what your intentions are for trading Forex. They will ask for an ID and whatever minimum deposit they require for you to start trading Forex.

Once you deposit your money with the broker, you are ready to start trading Forex.

When we say deposit money, we typically mean with your debit or credit card and not cash. Make sure you are only trading Forex with money you can comfortably afford to lose. If you use a credit card for your deposit, be aware of the high-interest rate on credit card debt.

Forex Brokers

One aspect of currency trading is that is riskier than trading the stock market is the difference in regulation.

There are many unregulated Forex brokers that don't have to follow any rules. The whole currency trading industry has light regulation or no regulation at all. Conversely, the stock market is heavily regulated and not so easy for traders to get started.

Novice Forex brokers aren't aware of the lack of regulation in Forex. They fail to check the reputation of the Forex broker before they deposit their money. There are many horror stories online of Forex traders losing all of their money due to fraudulent practices from their unregulated Forex broker.

Check out Forex brokers reviews online and Forex brokers comparison reviews. If you are not in the United States, search for a broker licenced in your country, like Forex brokers UK regulated.

How can a Forex Broker Avoid Being Scammed?

How trustworthy is Forex trading?

The trustworthiness of Forex trading depends on ensuring you deposit your money with a broker who has strict rules to follow for their trading practices.

A common question asked by new Forex traders is. 'How do I know if a Forex broker is legit?' and 'what is the safest broker?' It's a real worry for Forex traders when you don't know how to find a reliable Forex broker.

Here are a couple of ways to make sure you deposit your money with a trusted broker and get started trading Forex.

One way to avoid fraudulent specialised Forex brokers is to open an account with an active United States general stock brokerage regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC have strict rules and guidelines which offers a much safer environment for the Forex trader.

The second way to avoid a fraudulent Forex broker is to undertake careful checks before committing your money.

Open an account with a U.S. broker with membership in the National Futures Association (NFA). You can verify the brokerage and compliance records by checking the NFA's Background Affiliation Information Center.

Choose a large well-known, established Forex broker like Forex.com.

You can get started trading Forex with a free practice account, often called a demo account. You can test out your skills with potential Forex currency trades and become familiar with trading Forex so that you are ready to start trading Forex with real money.

Typically, commission rates for Forex trading are low. But, before you choose a Forex broker, compare the commission rates. You want to know that transaction costs are reasonable, so they don't impact your Forex profits.

Recap On Why You Need a Forex Account to Trade

It isn't possible to trade Forex without a Forex account. But there are guidelines for ensuring you deposit your money with a reliable Forex broker.

It's easy to open a Forex account and start trading for a few hundred dollars
Choose a Regulated broker and avoid fraudulent Forex brokers
It may be preferable to open an account with a stock exchange that offers Forex and regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Take your time choosing a Forex broker
Check commission rates by comparing Forex brokers

Please note that the above information is not providing advice on tax, investment, or financial services. We provide the above information without consideration for risk tolerance and a specific investor's financial circumstances.

Trading or investing in financial instruments such as Forex may not be suitable for all investors. It does involve risk and the possibility of a loss of capital.