The Forex market moves fast and you need “up-to-the-last-second” information to guide you in your trading decisions. It is urgent to have a high-speed Internet connection if you plan to trade online. A quality Forex broker should be able to offer you real-time quotes and enable you to enter and exit the market quickly. These are only the minimal requirements of any trading software. Brokers offer upgraded software packages for extra fees.

Very small “mini accounts” and even smaller “micro accounts” for as low as two hundred dollars are now offered by brokers. These very little accounts are an affordable way to get started and test your trading skills. This is an inexpensive way to gain experience on forex trading. When choosing the right online forex broker for you, you should first examine carefully their features and policies. Firstly, you should get a confirmation that it offers the seven major currencies at minimum. Costs of transactions should be calculated in pips. Traders can make more profit if broker requires lower number of pips per trade. If the major requirement is lower (meaning higher leverage), the chances for bigger profits and losses are greater.

The minimum trading size requirement may vary from broker to broker. A standard lot consists of 100,000 units, while a mini lot consists of 10,000 units. A micro lot consists of 1,000 units and some brokers even offer fractional unit sizes. These are called odd lots. These allow you to create your own trading size.

How do you determine the rollover charges? This is done by getting the difference between the interest rate of the country of the base currency and the other country’s interest rates. The rule here is the bigger the interest rate difference between the two currencies, the bigger the rollover charges.

Almost all brokers give interest on a trader’s margin account. The interest rates are unstable and fluctuate with prevailing national rates. If you extend your break from trading, money in margin account accrues interest and brokers do not allow interest accruals unless margin requirement is at least two percent. Brokers observe trading hours. Almost all brokers align their time with the time of the Global Forex Market. When examining a prospective broker’s fine print section of the application, be on the lookout for nuances that broker may impose on the new trader.

The above features and policies of a prospective broker should be examined thoroughly. Finding the right broker is not easy and requires some real efforts on the part of the would-be trader. Do not just pick out the first one that looks okay to you, instead keep on requesting for demos until you find the broker that you are comfortable with and you feel is the right one for you.

Before you can start trading in the Forex market, you need to open an account with a forex broker. A broker is a middleman, an individual or company that buys and sells orders that the trader will decide upon. Brokers charge fees for their services. It is significantly important that you choose the right broker to handle your account. Selecting a broker will require some research work. Find out the available services and fees charged by several brokers.

When choosing a Forex broker, find out if it is regulated and which regulatory agency it is registered with. Regulatory agencies were made to protect the public against fraud, manipulation and abusive trade practices. Among the registered firms, select the ones with clean records and stable, solid finances. Always remember, beware of non-regulated firms.

The NFA is putting more efforts to educate investors on retail forex trading. A brochure on “Trading in the Retail Off-Exchange Foreign Currency Market” is made available and NFA advises that it be read carefully before deciding on investing in the Forex market. A “Forex Online Learning Program” was also developed by NFA to guide would-be traders before opening a forex account. This program is interactive and self-directed. It explains how retail forex contracts are traded and the risks involved in trading. It also guides individuals on the steps to take before opening a forex account. Take advantage of these benefits. Both brochure and program are free to the public.

What about customer service? The quality of support from broker to broker varies so it is best to check this out before choosing your broker. Do they give 24-hour support if needed? Forex market works 24 hours. Find out if the firm is easily accessible by phone, email, etc. Check if they know their job well. You can probably get the answers to your questions by choosing several online brokers and contacting their “help desks.” How they promptly answer your questions, how they respond to your needs and the politeness you get, may be used as gauges in order for you to estimate the quality of the broker. You can more or less ascertain if they can be trusted with your investment.

The strength of any trading platform is their ordering system. This makes trading software very significant. Find the option available to you by requesting a demo account at some online brokers. Examine carefully the broker’s screen layout. Can it view real-time currency exchange rate quotes? Does it show an account summary of your current account balance indicating realized and unrealized profit and loss, margin available and any margin locked in open positions? Most trading platforms are either Web-based or a client-based programs that you can install in your own computer. You can choose whichever version you prefer. With the Web-based software, you can trade from any computer that has an Internet connection. A client-based software program is one that you can download and install, and will allow you to trade through your own computer.

The “download and install” program runs faster. However, if your broker offers on a Microsoft Windows and you are a Mac user, you cannot install the application and you will have to use your broker’s Web-based platform. The Web-based or Java-based software programs are popular among brokers because they believe it is safer and reliable against viruses and hackers during transmissions. Before opening a real account, make it a point to open a demo account first where you can practice on, and test your broker’s platform first.