GFC Markets is a relatively new online Forex broker based in Cyprus and owned by Safecap Investments Limited. The broker is fully licensed with the European Union and is also CFD regulated. They offer a wide range of financial products and services and are quickly making a name for themselves on the market due to their top notch trading platform, excellent services and uncompromising financial standards.

An Overview of GFC Markets

GFC Markets is a new online Forex broker that is becoming quite a powerful player in the market due to their professional setup. The broker is based in Cyprus and is regulated under the European Union’s Financial Instruments Directive, which demands that the broker adhere to strict regulations. GFC Markets is authorized to operate in all the member states of the European Economic Area and as such is registered with eight regulatory bodies spanning the EEA, including with the Financial Services Authority in the UK and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, to name a few. Being based in Cyprus, they are also subject to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

GFC Markets: The Trading Platform

GFC Markets makes trading as easy as possible by offering four different platforms so that traders may choose the most efficient solution. Three of the platforms are proprietary software while the last, but definitely not least, is the ever popular MetaTrader 4.

Their proprietary software is available both in a downloadable, Windows based platform as well as an online version. It is a comprehensive, yet easy to use platform based on ACT Forex technology, which means that it has all the standard features such as entry orders, stop losses, market orders, take profit, trailing stops, OCO (one cancels the other) orders and more. It also comes with charting and analysis tools built in and it is very flexible allowing traders to customize it to their heart’s content, both from an operational as well as a design viewpoint.

Traders using other operating systems, such as Linux or Mac, can use the online version of the proprietary software, which is practically identical to the downloadable platform. Additionally, this is also an excellent way for customer to conduct trades from any terminal.

Additionally, GFC Markets offers traders the ability to trade while on the go via their GFC Mobile platform designed to work on any mobile device, from mobile phones to PDAs, as long as there is Internet access.

For traders who prefer the flexibility of installing their own expert advisers and writing their own indicators, then MetaTrader 4 is the perfect solution, another platform offered by GFC Markets. This platform is preferred by professional traders due to the incredibly advanced analysis tools it comes with as well as the level of customization, including charts on custom time frames, automated trading with expert advisers and much more.

GFC Markets: Accounts

GFC Markets offers a wide range of accounts from mini accounts that require a minimum deposit of only $50 and offer 200:1 leverage to VIP accounts that require a minimum $20,000 deposit but offer top notch services. These include unlimited access to a Personal Market Dealer, free trading signals and the latest news, both delivered via SMS and more. New customers receive a bonus depending on the size of their deposit as well as the account type. So, for example, mini account holders can receive up to $250 in bonuses, standard accounts qualify for up to $2,000 and have free access to the GFC Markets News to Mobile service and VIP accounts receive special welcome bonuses tailored to each individual account.

GFC Markets also offers practice accounts for beginner traders looking to sharpen their trading skills, or for those looking to test their trading platform and services. Traders receive 100,000 in virtual funds and can trade any of the instruments GFC Markets offers. The practice accounts include real-time charts as well as news and analysis. It should be noted, however, that free practice accounts have a 30 day limit.

All accounts have tight, fixed spreads, starting at 3 pips for the majors, which account for GFC Markets’ revenue as they have a strict no commission policy. However, it should be noted that spreads are doubled after 22:00 GMT until 04:00 GMT.

Customers can fund their accounts with any major credit card, fast wire transfers, regular wire transfers and with WebMoney. Besides Forex, GFC Markets also enables their customers to trade CFD, stocks, commodities and indices.

GFC Markets: Resources

GFC Markets also offer novice traders a comprehensive list of educational materials covering the basics of trading for the Forex and CFD markets, fundamental analysis techniques, technical analysis strategies and more. All the educational materials are very informative but easy to understand, even for those who have no idea what the Forex market is all about.

They also provide the latest news from the Foreign exchange market and as well as an in-depth analysis of the events. There is also coverage of indices and commodities available and an economic calendar covering all the important data releases. Furthermore, for live accounts, GFC Markets offers trading signals through their proprietary platform under the Technical Analysis Tab.

GFC Markets: Customer Service

The broker offers a multi-lingual 24 hour customer support service via phone or email. GFC Markets offers customers over 25 local phone numbers spanning the entire globe, making it easy to get in touch with them whenever a trader may have a problem or require guidance. However, it is rather surprising that they have not implemented a live chat feature, especially since most online Forex brokers offer support via this communication channel.

GFC Markets: Conclusion

Overall, GFC Markets appears to be a highly reputable broker and are truly customer oriented as they try to make the trading experience as pleasant and as profitable as possible. Proof of this is the flexible trading platform as well as the fact that they continually update and expand their education and news centers with breaking news, market overviews and in-depth analysis as well as the latest in trading trends and techniques.

Read reviews from traders about GFC Markets on Forex Peace Army.

Broker	Broker Details	Spread	Min Deposit	Max Leverage (p.a.)	Min Trade Size	Pairs
AVA FX	Enjoy $50-$1200 Welcome Bonus with AVA FX	3-4	Min $100	Min 200:1	Min 5,000	49

With the financial turmoil that countries across the world have seen over recent years, it is little wonder that people are far pickier with regards to the types of investments and trading they are prepared to get involved in. Many forms of trading have hit a really rough patch over the past few years, which has, of course, had a huge negative impact on the finances of those involved. However, forex trading has managed to weather the storm admirably, which has led more and more people to believe that this is the method of trading to put their money on!

Whilst all forms of trading involve taking financial risks, many people have found that with Forex trading they can make a nice bit of cash if they put some time and effort into learning about this trading and building a solid knowledge base. For some of those who continue to gain experience, expertise and confidence when it comes to this form of trading, it has been possible to make a pretty comfortable living this way.

Getting the Knowledge and Experience You Need Through the AVA Free Online Trading Course

In order to get the knowledge, experience and confidence that you need in order to enjoy success in the world of forex trading, you should take advantage of the various tools and resources that are available to help you on your way. Whether you are completely new to Forex trading or have already had some involvement, you will find a range of tools and resources that can help you to build the solid foundation knowledge that you need and this includes the AVA free online trading course.

Brought to you by AVA FX Online Trading Centre, the AVA free online trading course is designed to provide you with invaluable knowledge, experience and information, so that you can really kick start your Forex trading career and start earning impressive money from your trading. With this course, you can learn how to be a professional trader in a structured and easy to learn way, as you will be supplied with valuable information that will prove vital to your success at a trader.

Amongst the information and knowledge you will get when you use the AVA free online trading course is invaluable advanced Forex strategies, which will provide you with access to insider secrets and trading practices to really boost your Forex trading career. In addition to this you will learn about technical analysis, which is a very important part of successful trading.

The Benefits of the AVA Free Online Trading Course

There are many benefits to getting the AVA free online trading course as a means to learning more about vital areas of forex trading. These courses can be accessed with ease and can make a big difference to both new traders and those with some knowledge and experience in Forex trading. Some of the key benefits of the AVA free online trading course include:

• No Cost to You: As the name suggests, the AVA free online trading course is free of charge, so you won't have to pay a penny to benefit from the invaluable information and tips that you will pick up as a result of the course.
• Suitable for Different Levels: Whether you are someone who is new to trading and looking to find your feet through learning more about the important aspects of trading, or whether you are a trader with some experience who is looking to brush up on strategies and knowledge, you can benefit from the AVA free online trading course.
• Easy to Access: You can access the AVA free online trading course simply by providing your details via the AVA FX site. The AVA free online trading course comes in two parts in the form of two video webinars.
• Convenience: Since the AVA free online trading course comes in webinar format online, you can enjoy the convenience of studying and learning when and where it suits you.
• Valuable Information: The two part AVA free online trading course offers a wealth of invaluable information covering vital aspects of Forex trading. This includes advanced Forex trading strategies, which will enable you to enjoy greater success through access to insider secrets and practise. It also includes technical analysis, which will teach you how to read technical indicators and charts.

Broker	Broker Details	Spread	Min Deposit	Max Leverage (p.a.)	Min Trade Size	Pairs
AVA FX	Enjoy $50-$1200 Welcome Bonus with AVA FX	3-4	Min $100	Min 200:1	Min 5,000	49

There are some people who make a nice bit of cash from successful Forex trading and some who even make a comfortable living from this form of trading. However, in order to enjoy success with Forex trading it is important for new traders to develop the knowledge, skill, confidence and experience that successful traders already have. It is sometimes also advisable for those who might already know a bit about Forex trading to take time to brush up on their skills and knowledge so that they can keep up with changes in the market and brush up on their strategies.

The good news is that there are many tools and resources available these days to help those who are interested in getting into Forex trading for the first time as well as for those who have already dabbled with Forex trading but want to update their knowledge and skills to boost their chances of success. This includes tools and resources such as online forex trading guides, forex courses, demo accounts for traders, and Forex books, one of which is the AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook.

About the AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook

The AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook can serve as an invaluable resource for those who want to increase their chances of successful trading. This book will help you to learn how to be a professional trader, which means that you could have a very lucrative trading career ahead of you if you dedicate time to learning the important strategies and tips and then apply that knowledge to your trading.

The AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook is an award winning book, which offers invaluable tips and advice normally used and shared by top traders. You can benefit from gleaning insider tips and information from this eBook, which can be hugely beneficial to you not just as you are starting out but also as you progress within the world of forex trading. You will be able to learn about the secrets of trading, find out how to identify hot trends, and learn about technical analysis and how to use this to boost your profits from Forex trading.

The AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook is brought to you by AVA FX, which is an online trading centre. More and more people are now realising the benefits of being able to trade online, which means that they have greater control, greater flexibility, and can trade wherever and whenever it suits them. This online trading centre offers a host of facilities for budding and experienced traders to benefit from, including trading accounts, news, market reviews, technical analysis, webinars, an educational centre, demo accounts for newbies to practice, and of course the AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook.

How to get the AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook

The great thing about this eBook is that you do not have to go to any undue hassle or even part with any money in order to enjoy its benefits and gain the edge through the valuable tips and information that are contained within it. The AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook is being offered free of charge, so you have nothing to lose by downloading it and everything to gain. Getting your free eBook couldn’t be easier – all you have to do is enter your name, country and email details on the AVA FX website and then submit the details. It's as simple as that. You have the added benefit of being able to enter your phone number in the event that you would like to take advantage of a free one hour phone consultation where you can find out more about using the trading strategies.

Using the right tools and resources can make a big different to how quickly you start to make a profit from your Forex trading and how successful your time as a Forex trader will be. The AVA FX Forex Strategies eBook is one of the tools that can really benefit traders, particularly those who are pretty new to this form of trading. Since it is free of charge, new traders have nothing to lose and everything to gain from downloading and reading this eBook, which services as an important reference and educational tool for traders.

There was a time when trading was exclusively for investment experts and the investment process and strategies were a closely guarded secret between the client and the fund managers and expert traders. However, the trading world saw a great change when social trading was introduced four years ago.

Broker	Broker Details	Spread	Min Deposit	Max Leverage (p.a.)	Min Trade Size	Pairs
eToro	eToro offer up to $1,000 on your first deposit.	2-4	$50	400:1	10,000	16

Social trading works just like Facebook and other social networks, but with an investment twist. It allows you to trade online with the support of your social network or friends. You can share secrets and strategies or copy the method of a successful trader in your network. Other social trading sites, like eToro, allow you to observe and track down progress of a particular trader of your choice through a software that feeds you live streams of trading done in real time.

The eToro Way

eToro is considered as one of the trailblazers in social trading. Founded in 2007, it started as a trading game which eventually evolved into one of the biggest social trading networks. Just like any other social trading sites where you get to observe experienced traders, eToro also does the same thing in three simple and easy steps – watch, follow, and copy.

• Watch – The eToro social trading program thrives on the simple principle of ‘watch and learn’. You can do this through a program called the Openbook where you get to observe traders trading in real time. By observing what other seasoned traders are doing, you will be able to gain firsthand knowledge about strategies that work and pitfalls to avoid. In short, you can learn from the success and mistakes of other traders who have gone before you.
• Follow – If there is a certain trader whose skills and strategies have made quite an impression on you, you can choose to follow him closely through the Openbook software. By choosing to follow a certain trader, you can receive one- on-one mentoring about the ropes and tricks of the trade. If you want to gain more trading knowledge and insight, you can broaden your network and easily find other experts through the list of top eToro traders on Openbook or find them using the Guru Finder.
• Copy – Just like the word suggests, you can copy the trading style and strategy of a certain trader based on the observations you have made. This will put all your observations and learning to the test in real trades with your money. Of course, if you copy the strategy of a wrong trader, chances are you might fail yourself. On the other hand, choose the right trader and you can become a successful trader. Hence, the first two steps- watch and follow - are very crucial before you get your feet wet so to speak.

Why Social Trading?

To the uninitiated but interested people who want to try their hands on trading, you might be asking what benefits and advantages can social trading have for you. Compared to traditional trading, social trading is cheaper but with a lot of support to draw from. You also have access to an apprenticeship program where you can get pointers and learn tactics according to your own schedule and style. Moreover, the insights you get from the large network of traders can save you a lot of time on research.

As an eToro social trader, you can get even more extra perks and benefits on two levels – as a beginner trader and as an expert trader or guru.

• Beginner Trader – As a beginner, you can gain helpful insights from the experts through the eToro Openbook community. You can even choose an expert to mentor you on the things you need to know about trading. Mentoring gives you access to monitor and follow your mentor’s activity and progress. If the idea of one expert is not enough, you can always ask helpful tips and advice from other traders in the network.
• Expert Trader – As you build your portfolio online, you can earn more in many ways aside from trading. As an expert trader or guru, the eToro social trading program has designed and created more opportunities where you can earn more money. Two of the most common ways of earning extra income in eToro is through recruitment and the number of people whom you mentor or copy you. Therefore, if you are doing well as a trader, there is a good chance that you will soon gain followers from whom you can gain income from.

Helpful Tools for eToro Social Traders

As the eToro social trading network grows, the company has developed more tools to make trading fun and easy for you and the hundreds of other traders. Some of the most helpful and common tools eToro has are CopyTrader, Guru Finder, and Copy.me. You can find these functions in the Openbook program.

• CopyTrader - This function allows you to see all the traders allowing you to closely monitor who performs well and who doesn’t. It also gives you an idea who you should follow and copy. Instead of spending your time and money doing research and hiring a mentor, you can do this at your own pace in the comfort of your own home with CopyTrader.
• Guru Finder – The Guru Finder is a supplementary function that works with the CopyTrader. Where the CopyTrader allows you to track down traders based on rankings, the Guru Finder allows you to easily search the network for other successful and exceptional traders in half the time.
• Copy.me – This page is especially designed for the seasoned trader. Copy.me allows you to advertise your skills to fellow traders giving you more opportunities to earn through mentoring.

Sign Up for the eToro Guru Program

Becoming an eToro guru is basically the same as becoming a skilled craftsman – by becoming an apprentice or a follower of a seasoned eToro guru. You get to observe what your chosen guru is doing and learn the ins and outs of trading from him. Then you follow what he is doing based on his performance, after which you can start trading.

Once you start trading, your progress will be tracked down and showcased on the Openbook, where other traders – both old and new – can see it. Therefore, if you are performing well and others can see it, you can gain followers and extra cash as well. This is because you are paid for every person who follows and chooses you to become their eToro guru.

Aside from that, there is an extra income for you in addition to trading and through leading, that is through marketing. What you do is tell others about the eToro program, have others sign up as a broker and start trading. For every person who enrols as an eToro trader, you get $100 dollars. Being an eToro guru gives you a lot of opportunities to generate and build your income.

In order to find out how well your particular forex robot is working you will need to back-test the software. By doing this you will be able to gain a better idea of its performance by looking at its reward/risk ratio, as well as its consecutive losses and wins record. What makes one forex robot better than another will often be a personal choice depending on how you adapt to its particular peculiarities, as all are designed to improve your chances of success. The following 10 forex robots have been reviewed by forex traders who have given them more ticks than crosses:

1. Pro Forex Robot. Professional floor trader, Ron Carter, has developed the trading system used within the Pro Forex Trader. Its highlights include its ability to make full trading reports available for the past three or four years. It also gives an average 86.3 percent monthly return and its exit/entry is based on PSAR among other private indicators that adopt a sell low – buy high entry. The Pro Forex Robot also contains an optional Martingale money management system as well as being programmed with automated high spread protection that stops spread hikes when volatile periods occur. The Pro Forex Robot gives you a low chance of losing money when you adopt the Martingale strategy. It is reported to work very well and catches profits when trendy conditions prevail.
2. Xtreme Pip Poacher. This forex robot is reported to have produced up to 194 live trades creating a profit of $89,918.19. It is an automated forex trading robot that has been developed by Williamson following his experiences with no less than 553 failed systems over a 26 year period. Its trading system operates on a pattern of price movements along with sensitive filters but it only trades with the four principal currencies. One feature is that you can customise it so that most of the money management work such as risk percent for each trade, sizing and position are to your own individual liking.
3. Forex Bling. This is the first forex robot to incorporate four separate forex trading methods. These being Grid Training, Scalping Trading, Breakout Trading and Trend Following Trading. You will find no less than six expert advisors inside this package and you are able to select any one or all of them to trade with the four trading methods. You are also able to allocate differing amounts of capital to each expert advisor. Your risk management is strong when you use the diversity of this trading system because of the multiple trading systems it incorporates where most other forex robots only adopt the one trading method.
4. Ivybot. Ivybot also incorporates four trading systems that are available for you to trade in each currency. It doesn't take opposite trades and it only trades with the current trendline. It is also a forex robot that specialises in short rather than long trades. Ivybot also offers all kinds of downloads such as forex market indicators and scripts for non-automatic traders. It specialises in one hour trading timeframes.
5. Forex Outbreak. This particular automated forex robot was first launched in August 2010 with a limited 500 copies only. It is a long term forex trading robot that is capable of carrying out intra-day trades and trendy EURUSD currencies. At the time of its launching its designer claimed it hadn't lost a single trade in a whole year of trading. It focuses on trading in one currency pair only.
6. Forex Shockwave. A forex trading system that its creator claims has turned $500 of capital into a six figure sum. Other claims include; making almost $20,000 profit in less than a day, nearly $5,000 in eight consecutive trades, over $5,000 from seven consecutive buy trades. It is a forex robot that can be configured to trade during specific hours each day or trade around the clock. It is reported to work well with all kinds of currency pairs but gives best results when trading in EUR/USD pairs. It is able to trade as well as locate consecutive trades even when the market becomes unpredictable and volatile. It can also be adjusted to take profit and stop loss levels.
7. Forex Bulletproof. This particular forex robot was never released for public use but it remains the personal robot for three developers of the FapTurbo robot. It gets a mention here because of it being able to turn $1,000 into $149,484.00 during the last six years. It was designed to produce five percent growth every month. It is only for the brave in heart however as its trading system sacrifices high yields before stability or the safety of any money that has been deposited. It is therefore a high risk but high reward forex robot that is able to double your investment money in just days.
8. Push Button Pips. If you thought you would like to get your hands on the Forex Bulletproof forex robot then you hadn't heard of Push Button Pips. This particular forex robot is claimed to have turned an investment of just $2,000 into over $1 million in no more than three months. With these sorts of results it is no wonder it comes with a password that only allows the investor who purchased the software to log in and check his or her trading results. These results are then verified by a third party. One such trading result was as follows:

• Gross earnings = $1,650,591.82.
• Gross loss = $503,011.90.
• Percentage return = 57,378.99 percent.
• Net profit = $1,147,579.92.

A forex trader who is currently using Push Button Pips is allegedly making between $10,000 and $100,000 a day.

• FapTurbo. The workhorse of the Forex Bulletproof creator. This forex robot has become a best seller because of its high trading frequency by scalping for quick pips whenever possible. This combined with its stop/loss tightness allows your account to multiply faster as time goes on.
• Forex SAS. An intra-day scalping forex trading robot, this forex robot trades as much as is possible in a day as well as closes these trades. It creator is claiming that it is earning him $30,000 a month and that he had tried 500 other trading systems before perfecting this one. It can also adjust to take profit at the right time as well as stop loss levels.

Many forex traders actually use their automated forex robot as their only trading system while others only use it to help manage a part of their forex trading portfolio. The working success of a forex robot depends a lot on the worth of the strategies you have adopted along with your money management structure.

A foreign exchange broker can be either a company, or an individual, that buys and sells according to their Forex trader's decisions. The Forex trader is then you, the investor. The Forex broker makes their living by charging their client a fee or commission for the service they provide. However, because of the way their business is structured, a foreign exchange broker will need to be closely associated with a bank or other financial organisation so that they have sufficient funds available for margin trading. Most countries require a foreign exchange broker to be registered or licensed to protect against fraud.

Online Forex Houses Open Forex Trading to a Wider Market

In order to gain access to a foreign exchange broker in the past it was necessary to make contact through a financial institution or a bank, but with the internet being such a bustling marketplace in every industry, it is now possible to work from home through an online broker. Online foreign exchange brokers will arrange their websites so that you have full access to any pertinent news services as well as any other advice you may need in order to make an educated decision on how you wish to proceed. These online foreign exchange brokers operate from firms known as houses and they will walk new Forex traders through all stages of Forex trading. They will offer detailed research advice and even have simulators set up to help you in the usage of various tools used in the process. More experienced Forex traders are looked after by other online Forex brokering houses. These houses offer less instruction but give more in-depth advice. Before you decide on which online foreign exchange broker to use it is best to try out many. All will be different and use different tools to gain the best trading results. Where one structure might not be suitable for you personally, another could be.

When seeking the best foreign exchange broker to work with, it is prudent to carry out much research in order to discover the standing of the various houses. Some of your enquiries should cover the following points:

• Account Balances. Ask what the broker’s requirements are regarding minimum account balances? Interest paid on account balances? Which currencies can be traded and which can't? Are your funds insured and what small print is involved in that insurance? And what is the size of the lots that must be traded?
• Trading Software. Trading software is a most important part of being a successful online Forex trader. Don't be afraid to ask for some demonstration software so that you can get a feel of what you are getting into. Some software features may only come at a cost so find out which services you have to pay for, and at what cost? You will be entering a very fast moving market so you will need to be in control, the software will need to offer automatic trading and trading from the chart, as well as trailing stops.
• Margin Accounts. Margin accounts are at the heart of Forex trading therefore you will need to know your foreign exchange broker’s margin terms before setting up your account. Find out how your margin is calculated and what the requirements are? Does the margin change when currency is traded? Does it remain the same under all conditions? Is there a different margin for standard and mini accounts?
• Fees. Is there any trade off between spread and service? The smaller the spread the more profit for the trader. Are mini accounts subjected to wider spreads? Is the spread fixed or variable and does it change according the account type? Are there any other fees to be concerned with?

You will find that foreign exchange brokers display live prices on their trading platform site but the important thing to know is will these prices be honoured when you push the buy and sell button? You can find this out by starting off with a demonstration account. In this way you will get the chance to see how fast the broker’s execution is. This is important because when you decide to buy you will want to do so immediately. Not wait around for five or ten minutes to have your order confirmed.

When you start trading with an online foreign exchange broker, you could finish up trading with a broker who is on the other side of the world from where you live. It is therefore important that you are certain that if something goes wrong you can contact somebody by phone, especially if your internet connection fails at a crucial stage. It is a 24 hour a day market therefore your broker should be able to offer you 24 hour support.

Know Your Money Exchange Rates

It is important to know the exchange rate of your country if you are a businessperson, especially how it affects your budget when you purchase stock from overseas and once again if you sell your product to other countries. As an individual it is important when it comes to planning your overseas holiday or business trip. This is why it is imperative for you to know how money exchange rates work.

Money exchange rates differ from day to day, sometimes from minute to minute, they are very volatile and are dependent on many variables. To arrive at an exchange rate you have to value your home currency against that of the country you are dealing with. This means you might receive more Euros for your dollar, if you are travelling through Europe, or if something has occurred in the economic management of one of the countries you may get fewer Euros for your dollar. It is something you are not in charge of, and can do nothing about, but accept the differences.

Beware of Hidden Fees

The only control you do have is over the fees you have to pay in order to have your home country's currency exchanged to that of the country you are visiting. This is made much easier if you change your local currency to that of American dollars (USD) before you leave, as most money exchange rates you will find at the various airports, and exchange rate kiosks, will be in American dollars.

Whilst looking for a reputable money exchange dealer, don't allow yourself to be fooled by the eye catching advertising signs telling you they won't be charging you a fee for the service they provide. They will be, there will be no doubt about that. Without charging you a fee they wouldn't be able to remain in business. What they will actually be doing is hiding their fees in the money exchange rate they are offering. If you want to know how large a fee they will actually be charging, you can take a seat in the lobby before getting down to business, open up your laptop, and check with Google. Google is updating the money exchange rates continually. When you check with Google you will find the rate they give you will be different to that being advertised at the exchange counter. The difference will represent the fee the dealer is charging for making the transaction.

Use Your Credit Card

You will usually get the best deal on money exchange rates when you make an overseas transaction with your credit card. By using your credit card you will find you can save anything from two to seven percent when compared to exchanging cash or travellers cheques. In fact, whenever you want to make a reasonably large transaction always do it with your credit card for this reason. Save your cash for small things like cups of coffee or snacks at little cafes that have no EFTPOS device. Always use your credit card for paying for things such as car rentals, airline tickets and hotel bills. You will no doubt have to pay a small fee for making transactions on your credit card in a foreign currency but it will be cheaper than withdrawing more cash at a money exchange rate kiosk.

You may also find it more economical to withdraw money at an ATM, if they are readily available in the country you are visiting. You will find this a rather easy way to withdraw enough cash each day to keep you going so you can avoid having to carry too much cash on your person. Once again there will most likely be charges involved with each transaction but it will be something you will have to accept as part of the cost of travel.

When you need to cash your travellers cheques you will find you will usually get the best money exchange rates at post offices or banks. If they are American Express travellers cheques your best money exchange rates will be at an American Express office if one is available. Some hotels will give you a good deal as part of their service but it will pay you to avoid the money exchange kiosks you find at airports, tourist areas and the big railway stations.

The availability of money transfers in Australia has changed a lot in recent years because of the evolution of online banking but some circumstances could still be outside the realm of online banking and if this is so you will have to look further afield to access your funds.

Bank to Bank

It is much easier to avail yourself of a money transfer in Australia from your home country’s bank account, to an Australian bank account if you are going to be in Australia for any length of time. If you are planning to migrate to Australia the best way to access your money will be to open an Australian bank account before you leave your home country. In this way you will receive a better exchange rate every time you transfer money from your home country bank account. When you sell up many of your assets that you can't bring to Australia, such as a house, and a considerable amount of money is involved, you will be in a far better position to negotiate a more reasonable exchange rate if you make the transfer between the two banks.

Specialists Money Exchange Organisations

If you don't want to use the services of a bank to transact your money transfer in Australia you can approach an establishment that specialises in money exchanging. A specialist organisation in money transfer matters will do all the arranging for you and electronically transfer the amount you require, often at a better exchange rate that that offered by a bank. But be careful here and only use companies which have a high profile, have been in the industry for a number of years and have a good reputation. Some of these organisation will allow you to make arrangements far in advance, this will allow you to take advantage of the exchange rate at that time, if you feel it is favourable, and there is a chance it may not be so favourable when the time comes in a year or two, to actually have the exchange take place. This practice can be dangerous however, as it could happen that the exchange rate between the two countries could worsen during that time and you may come out of the exchange worse off.

Taking Money Through Customs

You can, of course, stuff your pockets with cash and physically carry your fortune with you as you travel. If you do this you should remember that if you are carrying any more than the equivalent of $10,000 Australian dollars on your person, or in your luggage, you will have to declare it at customs or you might lose it. The good thing is that you will not to be asked to pay any tax on it. This will not last for too long however, as once you intend taking up residence you will have to register as a taxpayer, and any capital gain you make from the money you bring into the country you will be liable to pay tax on. This will also apply to any money you left in investments back home or in any other country.

Money you don't bring into Australia on your person will be costly however you go about it. There will be fees to pay on top of the exchange rate differences and this can be substantial. Some of the specialist establishments that are involved in money transfer in Australia include the following:

• Western Union. This company have been in business for more than 150 years and have 400,000 agents located in 200 countries scattered around the world. 5,000 of their agents are in Australia.
• MoneyGram. A global company operating in 170 countries with more than 100,000 agents.
• Ozforex. A part of Macquarie Bank, the Carlyle Group and Accel Partners.

Online

You can also create a money transfer in Australia by going online. Western Union has a website where you can go through the whole process yourself. But two of the most popular are PayPal and Google Check. Both these sites offer instant money transfers that can be sent to any country as long as the recipient has an internet connection and an email address.

Most banks will transfer money on the same day if requested to do so but there could be a delay because of time zones in regard to the different deadlines of different countries. You will need to ask the bank when the money can be collected at the other end to save disappointment.

Whatever way you choose to carry out your money transfer in Australia it will finish up being electronically transferred by some party. Your bank can save you much time and trouble especially if you are conducting the transfer between accounts with the same bank. PayPal is easy, especially if you have been using it yourself for other transactions when you buy products online, but your recipient will need to have an email account and preferably a PayPal account also.

A foreign currency exchange rate is determined after pairing two currencies and evaluating the rate of one against another. The value of a currency when paired to the currency of another country does not mean it is the value of the country’s currency against that of a third a country. A currency exchange rate therefore can only be determined between any two countries at any one time.

The currency exchange rate of any particular country only becomes important when trade or money exchange is taking place between the two countries involved. It is therefore of importance to travellers, travelling through a foreign country, with regards to how much that currency will buy them, in comparison to that of their own currency, when it is converted into the foreign country's currency. The exchange rate is important for the tourist industry in any country as to which country's tourists they will attract and to whom it will be financially prohibitive. The currency exchange rate will also affect trade as it will either make imports cheaper or dearer, the same goes for exporters. Trade is especially important, in that much of the world trade is done in American dollars therefore if your country's currency appreciates higher than that of the American dollar it will make exports dearer on the world market and make imports cheaper. The reverse happens when a country's currency exchange rate depreciates against the American dollar.

Currency Rate Quotation

In most forex trading markets around the world, there are two types of quotation given to determine the exchange rate of a currency. These are either a direct quotation or an indirect quotation.

Direct Quotation

A direct quotation is where the quote is shown using the country’s base currency as being the price currency. This is the standard for most countries. For example, if you lived in Europe and you were being quoted how many Euros you would need to spend in order to buy 1 US dollar, your quote would look like this:

• EUR 0.8084 = USD 1.00

Indirect Quotation

An indirect quotation is generally used more frequently in Australia, New Zealand and some of the Euro-zone. This is where the base currency unit is quoted as 1 and the foreign currency is quoted as a relative value by comparison. This means for every 1 Australian dollar you trade, you’ll receive a variable amount of the foreign currency you’re trading against, like this:

• AUD 1.00 = USD 0.8757

Fluctuations in Currency Trading Rates

The value of a country’s currency will fluctuate depending on a number of macroeconomic factors. However, as a basic rule of thumb, any currency is more likely to become more valuable if the demand for that currency is higher than the supply available.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true, where a country’s currency will become less valuable if there is plenty of supply compared to the demand for it.

Speculators, governments and large banks may tend to invest in foreign currencies when the interest rate return on the foreign amount they’ve bought is high enough to warrant holding a long position. As a country’s interest rate rises, this increases the demand for that particular currency. Conversely, as a country’s interest rates fall, investors tend to look elsewhere for economies offering more preferable interest rates.

A country’s economic health and growth can impact on that country’s currency exchange rates also. Things like Gross Domestic Profit (GDP), national employment levels and other economic factors can play a part. A healthy, strong economy can signify a better performing currency value, while a struggling country may experience poor performance or even a decline in currency values.

Likewise, high inflation can often decrease the value of a currency, although there are times when rising inflation can have the opposite effect. This could be partially due to speculators buying that currency based on an expectation of that country’s central bank raising interest rates to slow the rate of inflation.

Political conditions can also have a serious effect on the forex exchange rates. Political upheaval or instability can be considered to impact negatively on any nation’s economy.

The Workings of the Foreign Exchange Market

Foreign exchange markets operate by trading in what is known as 'tiers.' The biggest buyers and sellers in the market trade with each other and what they are paying is what you see displayed each day in the media. Smaller foreign exchange traders also trade among each other even though, when looked at as a whole, they trade in quite large amount of business. This means there can be many tiers in the market at any one time and the prices paid are quite volatile.

As the market is in operation 24 hours a day it sometimes occurs that only small amounts are needed to be exchanged but there are only the bigger participants available. When this happens the small trade will be charged a 'spot' rate (otherwise known as the exchange rate or benchmark), the smaller the amount the larger the price. This can come about when a person travelling to a war torn country or one close to financial collapse, needs to exchange his or her country's currency for that of the economically precarious country. Few people would want that country's currency so they would jump at the chance to get hold of some American dollars or British pounds and you could make the currency exchange at a very cheap rate. If, after your visit you have some of that currency left over and want to convert the other way, you would find it very hard to effect the exchange because nobody will want to take the currency from you.

Travellers buy From the Retail Tier

Travellers will often experience the situation where the currency exchange rate will be offered to them two to three units (cents) below the 'spot' market price. This is known as the 'retail' tier. The difference represents the profit the seller is making on the transaction. If a large amount is to be exchanged a better price will be able to be negotiated.

Some foreign exchange rate bureaus will also charge a fee, or commission, in addition to the variation in the exchange rate. The lesson here is to make a large transaction whenever you can in preference to making smaller transactions, and at the same time try to choose a foreign exchange trader that doesn't 'double dip.'

Credit Cards Make Trading Easier

The easiest way to navigate your way around the different currency exchange rates in the different countries you visit is to use your credit card. Your credit card company will automatically make the conversion every time you make a purchase but some cards charge a hefty fee for this service. It is therefore in your interest to check with your bank or credit card company before embarking on your trip so you fully understand where you stand financially, and don’t receive a nasty shock when you return home and get your statement.

With the growing use of the internet, PayPal is becoming quite useful as a converter of foreign currencies and it does so through your own bank. Other handy places are through banks, post offices, and some financial institutions. The main thing to keep in mind when making the conversion is to know your currency exchange rate. If you are in any doubt you can find it out on Google. Google has up to the minute rates on a large number of currency pairs and it only takes a few minutes of your time to find out if you are being treated unfairly. Just because there is foreign exchange counter in a major airport doesn't mean it’s not there to make a significant profit from you. It may not be, but if you enter the transaction with some knowledge of what your currency exchange rate should be through your own research, you can back off and seek out another fairer exchange.