What is a swap fee in Forex

A forex swap is a commission or rollover interest charged by a broker for extending a trader’s position overnight. This is the reason why most traders refuse to prolong a deal until the next day.

How to calculate a currency swap? For instance, a trader wants to keep a position open until the day to follow. In this case, he has to pay a commission or swap for extending a position overnight. A currency swap is calculated on the basis of a differential between interest rates. Let’s take an example. NZD 1.75% – USD 0.5% = 1.25%. This differential should be divided by 365 days, thus we get a percentage value which has to be paid.

A forex swap could be either positive or negative.

Recently, forex swap-free accounts or Islamic accounts have been introduced in the forex market. Traders do not have to pay a commission for using such accounts. In other words, a broker does not debit any money from an Islamic account for an overnight position on any currency pair. So, a trading result will depend only on exchange rates in a particular time frame. Forex swap-free accounts are targeted primarily at the Muslims who are not allowed to trade using long-term strategies by Islamic law. Indeed, payment of interest like a swap is prohibited by Shariah law. Besides, such accounts are used on trading platforms which operate without adjustment for swaps.