FOREX, also known as Foreign Currency Exchange is a market where the currency of a country is switched with that of another. This type of trading is the biggest financial market on the face of the planet, because on a daily basis about 1.9 trillion $ are passed between different people.
What makes the Forex market special is the fact that is has no physical headquarters and no central exchange office. It is simply the result of a worldwide network of banks, companies and private users trading a currency for another. The absence of a physical trade helps the Forex market to work and exist 24 hours a day, being active in all areas and in all the major financial centers.
In the past, the only way for retail investors to gain full access to a distant exchange market was with the help of banks that moved large amounts of money for financial purposes. The trading amounts have increased hugely in time, mainly after exchange rates were granted the possibility to become autonomous in 1971. In the present day, importers and exporters, multinational companies, opportunists and day traders use FOREX as a way to pay for goods and products, to exchange certain financial assets or to lower the risk of currency variations by facilitating their exposure on other markets.