Forex margin requirements are based on a percentage of the USD trade value when
the trade is initiated.
Forex margin is the amount required to open and maintain a position. The rate is determined by
IIROC, (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada), varies according
to the currency pair and is subject to change at any time. See the section
calculating margin for details.
Margin call procedure
If your margin balance drops below the total margin required for all your open positions,
a margin call will be issued for your account. The margin call will communicate
the need to deposit additional funds and/or reduce positions. Questrade will give
you the opportunity to satisfy the deficiency on a best efforts basis only. Questrade
may liquidate your positions if you fail to comply with the terms of the margin call.
If your margin balance drops below 10% of the total margin requirement for all open
positions, your account will be flagged for immediate liquidation of positions,
regardless of any previous margin call communication and without further notice
to you. There may be other market conditions that also require immediate liquidation
of positions to satisfy the margin call without further notice.
The terms of a margin call are determined at the discretion of Questrade. If you
do not fully understand the terms of your maintenance margin call, promptly contact
Questrade forex client services at 1.866.980.9591.
The forex margin and account
liquidation policies are provided in accordance with the FX agreement under section
16 and the obligation to maintain margin under section 1.14 of the account agreements and disclosure document.
Calculating margin
To obtain the USD value of your open position(s), on your trading platform click
the Reports tab and then click Open FX Positions. To calculate the margin requirement
for a particular position multiply the USD value of the position by the maintenance
rate shown in the table.
| Currency pair |
Margin rate |
| AUD/CAD |
3.00% |
| AUD/CHF |
8.00% |
| AUD/JPY |
8.00% |
| AUD/NZD |
8.50% |
| AUD/USD |
5.00% |
| CAD/CHF |
3.00% |
| CAD/JPY |
5.50% |
| CHF/JPY |
6.00% |
| EUR/AUD |
9.00% |
| EUR/CAD |
3.00% |
| EUR/CHF |
7.00% |
| EUR/DKK |
14.00% |
| EUR/GBP |
7.00% |
| EUR/JPY |
7.00% |
| EUR/NOK |
8.50% |
| EUR/NZD |
8.00% |
| EUR/SEK |
8.50% |
| EUR/USD |
4.00% |
| GBP/AUD |
8.00% |
| GBP/CAD |
4.00% |
| GBP/CHF |
6.00% |
| GBP/JPY |
6.00% |
| GBP/NZD |
7.00% |
| GBP/USD |
3.00% |
| NZD/CAD |
3.00% |
| NZD/CHF |
7.00% |
| NZD/JPY |
7.00% |
| NZD/USD |
4.00% |
| SGD/JPY |
13.00% |
| USD/CAD |
3.50% |
| USD/CHF |
3.00% |
| USD/DKK |
10.00% |
| USD/HKD |
10.00% |
| USD/JPY |
3.00% |
| USD/MXN |
4.00% |
| USD/NOK |
4.50% |
| USD/SEK |
4.50% |
| USD/SGD |
10.00% |
| USD/ZAR |
25.00% |
Last updated: July 19th, 2010