Should you trade Forex online?

Posted by Makhale Ntsekele on December 17th, 2018

The forex market is the largest financial market in the world, facilitating more than 1 billion transactions and accruing 3 trillion dollars in revenue each day. Forex brokers, financial institutions and even retail traders scout the currency markets every day for investment opportunities. What’s even greater about it is that you can also join the forex trading revolution in just a few simple steps. Just open an account with a reputable broker like CM Trading and you ‘ll be well on your way for a successful career in forex.

Is online forex trading safe?

What you should know if you are a newbie in all this, is that you should first start by finding a regulated forex broker. When a forex broker is regulated by a supervising authority, you know that you are trading safely. The broker is required to submit detailed reports on both its operations as well as regarding its clients. This guarantees that everything’s on the up and up which means your funds are safe and not tied with the brokers own equity and that the broker does not operate as a dealing desk i.e. taking the opposite side of your trades in order to profit off them which obviously would create a conflict of interest issues.

Regulation is a pain point in the industry and huge steps have been taken to increase entry requirements under the various authorities and all forex brokers who want to enjoy the certification need to comply with the guidelines imposed.

Even though regulation is great for the client it also might make things a bit difficult for them as well. For example, during the signup process, as directed by the financial authorities, you are required to submit various personal information documents including bank statements, proof of address, your national id card and other documents to prove your identity, as well as to prevent any illicit activity like money laundering and protect both you and the broker from any legal action.

It’s important to note that your forex broker will try to make this process as painless as possible with various mobile apps that make it easier for you to submit your documents and prove your identity but sometimes it takes a while to get approved, but it’s worth it in the end so you can have peace of mind.

I supplied my documents and I am finally approved, what now?

Halfway there! Now you need to find a way to get your funds in your trading account in order to be able to start trading. Your broker of choice can make things much easier here by partnering up with various international and local payment processors so you are able to make a deposit through them without going to the bank.

What to look for? Abroker with lots of mainstream deposit and withdrawal methods that are popular as well as reputable and if they are local to your region and deal with your currency often, even better.

You don’t have to go in blind, however, as most brokers will offer a free demo account so you can test the waters. Starting out with a demo account when you are trying out a new broker is a must as it gives you a good idea about the experience with the pricing and how well it handles market volatility without actually investing any real money.

Online forex platforms

So, we finally got approved and made our first deposit – how do we actually make some trades? We need an online forex trading platform and there’s none better than the industry’s favorite, the Metatrader 4 or MT4 for short.

There is a variety of online forex platforms out there and each broker could even have a different offering but MT4 has become the standard for most forex brokers due to its simplicity and versatility. It truly is a robust trading platform with lots of useful features and tools to help you navigate the financial markets.

You can download a trading platform by going to your forex brokers website and going through the Platforms section. Usually, you will find a couple of options to choose from depending on the device you will be doing most of your trading on. If your broker offers the MT4 trading platform, for example, you will likely have the option to download it as an app on your mobile phone or tablet as well as on your desktop computer. There are even platforms built on the web so you can make some quick trades from any device without downloading anything. As long as that device has a web browser like Chrome or Firefox, you will be able to access your account.

Before you jump right in, however, it’s important that you know what you are doing. A good advice is to take things slow, educate yourself and take advantage of that free demo account. All brokers will have an Education section on their website but you can find learning resources online as well. Don’t forget about your forex broker’s customer service if you have some questions but during your search, you will probably find a lot of forex trading communities as well. It’s always good to talk with people who already have some real experience and you will find that most are eager to impart some advice and helpful tips.