Mini Trading FAQs

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

How can a smaller trading sizes be offered?
Smaller trade sizes pose several challenges to foreign exchange firms. There are two primary issues that have prevented firms from offering smaller trade sizes: high labor costs and risk management. To offer smaller trade sizes, most firms would have to hire more dealers, which would make the cost exorbitant. The Mini account features automatic execution for most accounts. All trades are executed without human intervention (just like a demo account). This keeps labor costs low. The second issue is risk management. The smaller size trades offered on the Mini account are difficult to offset in the broader market. A proprietary risk protocol has been developed for the Mini, which involves aggregating volume into sizes that can be offset in the broader market.


What is the difference between the Mini account and a regular account?
The Mini account is designed to introduce traders to the excitement of trading currencies online and for those with limited investment capital. With a Mini account, you trade using the same platform as our regular traders. With as little as $25, a trader can open a Mini account and begin trading foreign exchange. On the Mini trading platform all trades are executed in standard sizes of 10,000 base currency per one lot, 1/10th the size of a regular account. The smaller trade size means less initial risk capital is required.


How does the Margin Call work?
If the equity balance in your account falls below the margin requirement of 1/2% per lot, a margin call will be generated. In the event that an account exceeds its maximum allowable leverage, some or ALL open positions will be liquidated regardless of the size or the nature of positions held within the account. For example, a Mini account with 8 lots in open positions would need to have 1/2% of the total position value in account equity. If the account equity falls below 1/2% of the position value due to floating trading losses, the entire 8 lots would be liquidated at market price. Clients are not notified prior to the liquidation of their positions.


Do you Charge a Commission on the Mini account?
There are no commissions or transaction fees to trade a Mini account. We are compensated for services through the bid-ask spread.


How Do I Switch from a Regular Account to a Mini account?
Please contact us to change from a regular account to a Mini account, or a Mini account to a Regular Account.