Is There a Difference Between Forex and Foreign Exchange?

Forex is just another name for foreign exchange, which refers to the exchange of currencies between countries. Forex is crucial to today's globalised world and governments, businesses and individuals around the world carry out forex transactions on a daily basis. Investors acquiring a foreign business, tourists using traveler's checks, or people exchanging one form of currency for another are all participants in the forex market.

Foreign exchange has been occurring for decades, but the formal market was formerly only open to banks and corporations. However the forex market is now open to retail investors. These retail investors contribute a small part to forex volume with large banks, financial institutions and multinational corporations providing the lion's share.

The foreign exchange market offers new investment opportunities to traditional investors worldwide. Forex features non-centralized transactions, and the market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (excluding weekends). It also offers massive total trade volume, high volume of individual trades, and is extremely liquid.

The forex market is globally based, transactions are not centralized and the forex market handles numerous transactions, all over the world, simultaneously. With huge amounts of money traded through forex, the market offers a high possibility of large profits. However, the volatile nature of the market makes profits anything but a guarantee, so investors must do research before investing.

Investors interested in getting involved in the foreign exchange market should be sure to get the very best in information and resources to minimize risk and maximize profits. They can visit the Colt FX website for more information and resources.