The forex words on the screen, in plain language

The first currency in the pair. In USD/ZAR the base is the US dollar. You are counting how much of the quote currency one unit of the base costs.

The second currency, the one the price is written in. In USD/ZAR the quote is rand. If the account is also in rand, the pip value on this pair is easier to see, because the quote currency and the account currency match.

A standard step in the price. On USD/ZAR a pip is usually 0.0001. Move the price by that much, on a known size, and you can turn the step into rand. The worked table is in the cost guide.

A word platforms use loosely. Sometimes it means a pip. Sometimes it means a tenth of a pip, the extra digit on a five-decimal quote. Read the ticket’s own definition before you multiply anything.

The gap between the sell price and the buy price. You buy at the higher one and sell at the lower one, so the gap is a cost on the way in. On the rand pairs it is often wider than on euro-dollar, and wider at night than in the London afternoon.

The size of the contract. On USD/ZAR, 1.00 lot is typically 100,000 dollars of notional, 0.10 lot is 10,000, and 0.01 lot is 1,000. Notional is what the market moves. The cash you sent is only the margin.

The deposit the firm sets aside to keep a position open. It is not a fee, and it is not a promise that your loss will stop there. With leverage, margin is a small slice of the notional value.

Borrowed exposure. It lets a small margin control a large pair, which means a small move in the pair is a large move in the margin. A firm’s maximum is often far too high for a first account. You can choose less.

The overnight financing charge, or credit, for holding past the firm’s roll time. Long and short often differ. Many desks book three days on a Wednesday to cover the weekend. Your ticket is the authority, not the rumour.

A contract for difference. You settle the change in price rather than taking delivery of the currency. The screen can look like a spot deal. The client agreement is where the product is actually named.

Bid is the price you can sell at, the lower one. Ask is the price you can buy at, the higher one. The pictures on this site label them Sell and Buy for that reason.

The difference between the price you tapped and the price you were filled at, usually when the market jumps. It shows up around data, speeches and thin holiday sessions. A demo that never slips is leaving out a real cost.

South African Standard Time, UTC+2, all year. London and New York move their clocks. A session you remember as 15:00 in July may sit an hour differently in January if you were thinking in their time rather than ours.

Cash, plus or minus the open profit or loss on positions that are still running. It moves while you watch. Equity is not the same as the amount you could withdraw this minute, because open positions and margin get in the way.

The moment the firm books the overnight financing and, on the date, rolls the value date forward. Many retail tickets do this around 00:00 platform time, which may not be midnight SAST. Check the clock on the statement, not the one on the wall.

An order that tries to close a position once the price reaches a level you named. It is a request. A gap can fill you further away, and a stop that sits inside the spread can close the trade immediately. The worked picture is in the order guide.

An order to buy below the current price, or sell above it. It waits. It may never trade. If it does trade while you are away, you still own the position, including the overnight charge if it is held past the roll.

A jump from one printed price to the next, with nothing in between. USD/ZAR often does this from Friday night to Sunday night, South African time, and around a surprise headline. Stops and limits can fill at the new price, not at the line you drew.

Over-the-counter derivative provider. A firm offering this sort of product to the public in South Africa is expected to hold the matching FSCA permission. Confirm it on the register against the legal name, using the steps in the firm guide.