Forex margins are set at a percentage of the USD trade value. Initial margins for standard accounts are 1% and mini accounts are set to 0.5%. The system performs an automatic pre-trade check for margin availability, and will only execute the trade if there are sufficient margin funds in the account. Maintenance margin is the margin balance that must be maintained to keep a position open, and the rate depends on the account size (see below).
The aggregate USD value of all open positions is reported in the QuestradeFX platform under the Margin Analysis section. To calculate your intraday maintenance margin, simply multiply the “Open Position” figure by 0.5%. To calculate the maintenance margin for positions held past 5pm ET, multiply the position’s USD value by the margin rate quoted in the table below. To view the USD trade value on a particular position, please refer to the “Open FX Positions” report under the Reports tab.
| Initial Margin | Maintenance Margins** | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currency Pair | Standard* | Mini* | Intraday MM | <$49,999*** | $50,000-99,999*** | $100,000+*** |
| AUD/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| AUD/USD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| CHF/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/AUD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/CHF | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/GBP | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/USD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| GBP/CHF | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| GBP/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| GBP/USD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| NZD/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 6.00% |
| NZD/USD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 6.00% |
| USD/CAD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| USD/CHF | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| USD/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| CAD/JPY | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| EUR/CAD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| AUD/CAD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| AUD/NZD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 6.00% |
| GBP/AUD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| GBP/CAD | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
*applies to positions opened and closed before 5pm ET.
**applies to positions open past 5pm ET. These rates are subject to change at any time.
***account margin balance, or account balance net of realized/unrealized profit & loss
The Forex margin and account liquidation policies are provided in accordance with the FX Agreement under section 16 of the Account Agreements and Disclosure Document.
Intraday Maintenance Margin Call
If your margin balance drops below 0.5% of the USD trade value, your account will be flagged for liquidation. Please note that account liquidation is not an automated process. This means that when an account is flagged, the trade desk will review the flag prior to action. Depending on market liquidity or activity on the trading desk, liquidation trades may take anywhere from 2-20 minutes to execute and/or post to your account’s trading history. This may lead to a worse than expected fill price. It may also lead to a situation where the market reverses and your positions become adequately margined again. Nonetheless, positions will still be liquidated. If the account flagged for liquidation is a mini account, all positions will be liquidated. If the account is a standard account, positions are liquidated in the order of greatest unrealized loss until the margin requirement is satisfied.
Please note that you will not be alerted if your account is flagged for liquidation. It is, therefore, your responsibility to monitor your margin balance.
Maintenance Margin Call
If your margin balance drops below the aggregate maintenance margin required for all your open positions, a margin call may be issued for your account. Enforcement of the margin call will depend on a) the size of the position relative to account equity, b) the length of time the position has been open, and/or c) the size of the position relative to Questrade’s total client position for the currency pair. Therefore, all margin calls will be dealt with on a client-by-client basis. Clients may be called upon to deposit additional funds and/or reduce positions. Failure to comply with the terms of the margin call may lead to the liquidation of trades by Questrade. Please note if your account margin balance falls below the 0.5% margin level at any time during the margin call window, your account will be flagged for liquidation as per the intraday trading margin policy above.
Please note that if you are not called upon to remedy your margin call, this does not waive Questrade’s right to enforce the same or new margin call at a later time. If you do not fully understand the terms of your maintenance margin call, please promptly contact Questrade client services at 1-888-783-7866.
