Since 1971 until recent years the virtual players of the Foreign Exchange Market were the banks, multinational corporations and large brokerage firms. Today the most important participants consist of five groups: central banks, commercial banks, brokerage companies, multinational corporations, and individual participants.

Over the last 10 years, individuals have been the fastest growing group of participants. Thanks to the boom in computer and communication technologies the Forex Market has become easily accessible to everyone.

Unlike traditional trading, which brings buyers and sellers together in a central location (trading floors), for Forex transactions there is no centralized location. Forex is an over-the-counter market where participants conduct business over the telephone, computer terminals and via worldwide internet connections.

Transactions in the Forex Market can be either spot or forward. The difference between them is that a spot transaction has a settlement (liquidation) of maximum 2 working days following the opening of the position, while a forward transaction can have a settlement of 1 week, 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6 or 12 months or even longer.