FAQ: Trading with Alpari FS

No, you are allowed to have an active live account with a balance of zero.

Yes, we do. Instead of being charged interest for holding a position open overnight (a swap), with a swap-free account, you will be charged a fixed amount, which varies by financial instrument (see our Contract Specifications for more). We currently offer a swap-free version of the standard.mt4 account.

To open a swap-free account, log in to MyAlpari (after registering) and select the "New Account" icon from the Trader's Desktop. In the form, choose "standard.mt4" as your Account Type. A box will appear below, labeled "Overnight commission type". Select "Swap free account with commission charges".

Forex is an over-the-counter (off-exchange) market. Since currency pairs are not traded on an exchange, there are no trading sessions (like at the New York Stock Exchange, which opens and closes daily). The Forex market is in operation around the clock from 23:00 Sunday until 23:59 Friday server time (the time shown in your trading platform, currently GMT+2).

Our Dealing Desk (to place an order by phone) is open 24 hours. It can be reached by telephone: +357 25 257 303
Our Client Support Team is available by telephone Monday to Friday from 08:00-17:00 (GMT+2): +357 25 257 301

For more contact information, see our Contact Us page.

We have no restrictions with regards to scalping. You can scalp with us.

In Forex trading, 1 lot is equal to 100,000 units of the base currency.

0.1 lots: 10,000 units of the base currency

0.01 lots: 1,000 units of the base currency

In a currency pair, the base currency is the first currency listed. For example, in EURUSD, EUR is the base currency. 1 lot of EURUSD is a position for 100,000 EUR.

For information about our spreads, margin requirements etc. for different trading instruments, please see our Contract Specifications page.

Alpari FS does not charge any commission for trades made on standard.mt4 accounts. The only transaction cost on this account is the spread (the difference between the Bid and Ask price).

You will, however, be charged commission for trades on our ecn.mt4 and pro.direct accounts. For further information, please contact us .

Yes, you can. To change the leverage, select the "Change Leverage" icon from the Trader's Desktop in MyAlpari. Before changing the leverage, you must close all open positions on your trading account.

The default leverage provided varies based on the type of trading account.¹

The foreign exchange market (forex) is an international, decentralized market for trading currencies. Today, the forex market is one of the largest financial markets in the world because of its huge trading volume and high liquidity.

Each world currency is given an abbreviation. Take a look at the following chart for some of the more common currencies traded on the forex market:

Forex, as with any field, has a bit of its own specialized terminology that you should be familiar with before you get started trading. Below are a few of the most critical terms along with a brief explanation.

Currencies are traded in pairs. The first currency shown is the 'Base' currency and the second is the 'Quote' or 'term' currency.

The above example shows the amount that should be paid in the quote currency in order to receive one unit of the base currency. So in this example, you must pay 120.25 Japanese Yen (JPY) for 1.00 US Dollar (USD).

The smallest amount that an exchange rate can change is called a pip (percentage in point) or a point.

The majority of currency pairs have four digits after the decimal point (e.g. 0.0001), so in this case a change from 0.0001 to 0.0002 would be one pip. USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, CHF/JPY and GBP/JPY are exceptions and have only two digits after the decimal point (e.g. 0.01), so in their case a change from 0.01 to 0.02 would be one pip. Please note Alpari FS quotes the pairs to an extra digit to provide a more detailed and accurate view of the market.

Occasionally, quotes are shortened and represented only by their last two digits. For example, EUR/USD being traded at 1.2391/1.2395 may be shown as simply 91/95.

On the forex market the currency pairs are represented as Bid and Ask (or Offer) prices:

Bid is the rate you use to buy the quote currency (JPY) by selling the base currency (USD).

Ask (or Offer) is the rate you use to sell the quote currency (JPY) by buying the base currency (USD).

The Spread is the difference between the Bid and Ask prices.

Currency Rate is the value of any given currency in relation to another currency. The changes in a currency's rate are contingent upon a variety of different criteria and factors, such as money demand and supply, volume of transactions, interest policies of central banks, levels of business activity, gross domestic product (GDP) and employment levels in different countries.

Lot is the standard unit size of a transaction. For most currency pairs 1 standard lot is 100,000 units of a base currency, 1 mini lot is 10,000 units of a base currency and 1,000 units is a micro lot.