The last segment of the Forex markets, the brokers, are usually very huge companies with huge trading turnovers. This turnover provides the basic infrastructure to the common individual investors to invest and profit in the interbank market. Most of the brokers are taken to be a market maker for the retail trader. To provide competitive and popular two-way pricing model, these brokers usually adapt to the technological changes available in the Forex industry.
A trader needs to produce gains independently while using a market maker or having a convenient and direct access through an ECN.
The Forex broker-dealers offset their positions in the interbank market, but they do not act exactly the same way as banks do. Forex brokers do not rely on trading platforms like EBS or Reuters Dealing. Instead, they have their own data feed that supports their pricing engines.
Brokers typically need a certain pool of capitalization, legal business agreements, and straightforward electronic contacts with one or multiple banks.
