In order to trade Forex you will need to open a Forex account with a Forex broker. There are wide range of Forex brokers available for you to choose from. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when opening an account with a Forex broker:

Check with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission — Before you consider opening an account with any broker check their status with the commodity futures trading commission to see if there are any complaints against them.  You can also find out about the financial strength of a variety of Forex brokers at the CFTC website.

Forex account types — Most brokers will offer the following account types.

Forex demo account — A practice account with “virtual” money. Forex demo accounts are offered by most all Forex brokers at no cost to the Forex trader. This is the perfect place to practice your trading without any financial risk.

Forex micro account — An account that can be opened with as little as $25 and where the pip size can be as small as $.10

Forex mini account — A mini account can be opened with as little as $400.

Forex standard account — A standard account allows you to trade where each 1 pip move is the equivalent of $10.  Standard accounts can be opened for as little as $2000.

Forex managed account — This account type differs from the previous ones in that you do not trade it yourself.  A Forex money manager is assigned to your account and decides how your account is to be traded and executes these trades on your behalf.

Now that we’ve reviewed some Forex account types let’s take a look at some other features that we might like to have as part of our Forex trading account.

Good Forex trading platform — A fast and reliable trading platform will make a world of difference in the speed and ease of executing your trades.  Check out a couple of different trading platforms then select the one that feels best to you.

Lowest possible Forex spread– Since the Forex spread will basically be our costs in the Forex trade it’s wise for us to choose the lowest possible spread to keep our transaction costs at a minimum.

Customer service — It should go without saying that we want to have a Forex account with the best possible customer service. Check the website of the Forex broker you are interested in to see how easy it is to contact them. Call them on the phone and ask questions. Email them questions and see how long it takes for them to get back with you.  These are just a few things that you can do prior to opening an account to give you an idea of how responsive the company is.

Fees — It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but there may be some fees involved with your Forex account that you aren’t immediately aware of. As an example, there are Forex brokers that charge you a fee for you to withdraw money from your account. Just make certain you know and understand the fee structure prior to opening an account.

We’ve covered some Forex account basics. Your next step is to check out the brokers that you’re interested in and contact them. If you can, open a Forex demo account with several different brokers to get a feeling for how their platform works. Keep good notes on the pros and cons of each Forex broker account you are considering. Once you’ve evaluated your notes you should easily be able to select the Forex account that’s right for you.