1+1
Proof of address (dated and posted within three months) and proof of identification.
API
Application Programming Interface.
Ask
The sell price.
BACS
Bank Automated Clearing System. Payments will take up to three business days to clear into a designated account.
Bank rate
The interest rate set by a central bank.
Base currency
The first currency in a currency cross or pair, e.g. GBP/USD, GBP is the base.
Bearish
Someone who forecasts prices will decline and/or a currency to depreciate.
Bid
The buy price.
BoE
The Bank of England--the UK's central bank.
Breach
Where a client trades outside agreed parameters.
Budget
An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.
Bullish
Someone who forecasts prices to rise and/or a currency to appreciate.
Cable
The Pound to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate.
CHAPS
Clearing House Automated Payment System. Faster than a BACS payment, and can be transferred and received on the same business day.
Currency pair
The two currencies involved in a transaction, e.g. GBP/EUR, USD/JPY, EUR/USD.
Deal ticket
The primary method of recording basic information relating to a transaction.
Dealer
Someone authorised to deal on the foreign exchange market, who by placing the order to buy or sell, acts as the principal or counterpart to a transaction.
Dealing systems
Online Internet trading platforms that link the contributing banks around the world.
Deposit
A down payment provided by clients as collateral to secure a forward trade.
Derivative
A product of two or more moving components.
Dovish
A tone of language used to describe a situation that is seen to be non-aggressive. For instance: The Bank of England Governor made dovish comments about the future of monetary policy.
Durable Goods Orders
An economic indicator that measures the changes in sales of products with a life span in excess of three years.
ECB
The European Central Bank, governing monetary policy for the 19 member states in the Eurozone.
Exchange rate
The rate at which one currency can be traded for another.
Exposure
The potential for running a profit or loss from fluctuations in market prices, risk.
Factory Orders
An economic indicator that refers to the total orders of durable and non-durable goods. The non-durable goods orders consist of food, clothing, light industrial products, and products designed for the maintenance of durable goods.
Fed
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank.
Flat
Where an earlier deal is reversed thereby creating a neutral (flat) position.
Foreign Exchange, Forex, FX
The simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another.
Foreign exchange centres
London is the largest centre of foreign exchange trading. New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Paris are also important.
Forward Contract
A trade booked at today’s price but delivered at a specified date in the future, a way of locking in an exchange rate.
Forward
A Forward/Forward deal is one where both legs of the deal have value dates greater than the current Spot value date.
Forward Outright
Foreign exchange deal that matures on any day past the Spot delivery date. Forward Points (Forward Pips or Forward Spread) Forward price used to adjust a spot price to calculate a forward price. It is based on the current spot exchange rate, interest rate differential (see Forward Rate) and the number of days to delivery.
Forward rate
Forward rates are quoted in terms of forward points, which represents the difference between the forward and spot rates. To obtain the forward rate from the actual exchange rate the forward points are either added or subtracted from the exchange rate. The decision to subtract or add points is determined by the differential between the deposit rates for both currencies concerned in the transaction, known as the Interest Rate Differential.
Front office
Usually comprises of the trading or dealing room/floor.
Fundamental analysis
Analysis of economic data and political factors to forecast future currency movements and values.