Casual traders
If you're new to currency trading, the mini account is a great trading vehicle.
The minimum trade size is 10 times smaller than with a standard account and the minimum
balance is also much lower. This is the perfect environment for traders who are still
learning about the behavior of the foreign currency market. There is no maximum to how
much you can deposit into a mini account.
Active traders
If you're an experienced or active currency trader, the standard account is the obvious
choice. You can trade up to $5 million per deal online. High volume traders are also eligible
for reduced spreads. The standard account opens the trader up to greater potential profit
and greater potential risk. An understanding of market behaviour, risk management techniques,
and strategy tools is critical.
| |
MINI ACCOUNT |
STANDARD ACCOUNT |
| Minimum deposit |
$250 USD |
$2500 USD minimum |
| Minimum trade size |
10,000 units of base currency* |
100,000 units of base currency* |
| Initial margin requirement (leverage) |
0.5% of the USD trade value (200:1)** |
1% of the USD trade value (100:1) |
* The base currency is always the currency to the left of the slash in the currency pair
quotation. For example, in the EUR/USD currency pair, the euro is the base currency.
** Margin is the U.S. dollar down payment you must deposit with Questrade in order to
trade a larger sum of currency. For example, if you would like buy 10,000 USD/JPY in your mini
account, you must have $50 USD in your account(10,000 x 0.005 ). Multiply your account balance
by the leverage ratio and you get the account's total USD buying power. For example, a deposit of
$250 USD will give you the power to control up to $50,000 USD. For calculating margin on currency
pairs where the USD is not the base currency, please refer to the
FX Trading Handbook.