Because market makers are taking the opposite side of their client’s trades it adds a great deal of liquidity. It can also assure traders that they get filled quickly when placing trades. Market makers also set their own spreads, and because competition in this space is so fierce these spreads are often very good. The market making broker also provides trading software to clients free of charge, and often their price movements aren’t as volatile as the prices quoted on ECN or STP networks.
Because an ECN passes all its trades along to the institutions it receives pricing from there is little chance of price manipulation taking place. It is also possible to get excellent spreads from the ECN broker during periods of great liquidity. In some cases, you could get zero spreads on the most liquid pairs like the EUR/USD, USD/JPY, or GBP/USD. Even when there is a spread it is often quite low since the ECN broker gets its prices from a number of sources. Scalpers can do better with an ECN broker too because their pricing tends to be more volatile.
The STP broker has many of the same benefits as the ECN broker. They will typically offer very competitive spreads since they are getting pricing directly from the interbank market. They also offer almost no chance of price manipulation because they never take the other side of their client’s trades. STP brokers are also the most likely to offer no requites and positive slippage, or better prices than what you’re quoted. Finally, the STP brokers typically have no restrictions on scalping, hedging, news trading, and high-frequency trading.
We offer two types of accounts: Standard STP account and our most popular,Raw ECN account.
There is no commission charged on the Standard STP account but instead, there is a markup on the spreads above the Interbank rate received from our pricing providers.
Our Raw ECN account shows the raw spreads received from our pricing providers. On this account, there is a commission charge applicable for USD$6 per standard lot round turn.
You can compare the difference between our various trading account types by using the table at our compare forex trading accounts page here.
ECN trading, short for ‘electronic communication network’ trading, is a state-of-the-art trading method that operates on a computerised system. It matches buy and sell orders for various financial instruments, such as currencies, stocks, and derivatives. ECN trading allows traders to tap into deep liquidity provided by multiple market participants, resulting in highly competitive pricing, rapid order execution, and enhanced transparency.
While it has traditionally been popular among professional traders like hedge funds and institutional investors, ECN trading is increasingly being embraced by retail traders, levelling the playing field for all.