ECN Forex Brokers (ECN Trading Account)

The ECN account is quite popular among experienced traders. But first, let’s find out what ECN is, how it works, what its advantages are, and how different it is compared to a Standard account. We also provide you with a list of trusted ECN brokers with the best trading conditions.

An ECN broker is a financial intermediary that uses ECN, or electronic communications networks, to provide the clients with direct access to the market. As the name suggests, the process is done electronically through a digital system.

There are two types of ECN brokers, namely the non-dealing desk (NDD) / STP brokers (straight-through processing) and ECN brokers.

STP brokers are the "middlemen" between you, the trader, and the liquidity providers, such as banks, investment houses, hedge funds, and other financial institutions. They pass your order to a liquidity pool consisting of various liquidity providers that offer different prices. Then, your order will be executed by a liquidity provider that offers the best price. That is why your broker charges a mark-up in the form of a spread for the services rendered. The prices offered by your broker may not be the same as the prices offered by the liquidity provider.

ECN brokers act as a "bridge." They automatically and directly match your order to liquidity providers. The ECN system allows traders to bypass brokers or other third parties, so there is no mark-up. However, traders still need to pay ECN brokers a fixed commission per transaction. Moreover, since in an ECN environment, the process is faster and more direct, the prices are provided in real-time. In other words, the prices that you see are the live prices offered by the liquidity providers allowing you to formulate your strategies and execute them accordingly. In this way, your trading will be more convenient and cost-effective.

You may ask, why do we need an ECN broker to help us access the ECN system? Because the majority of liquidity providers require a minimum of trading transactions in large volumes. Retail traders usually find it difficult to meet the requirements because they trade in smaller lot sizes, so we still need the help of ECN brokers to connect us to other market participants.

Advantages of ECN Accounts

There are a number of reasons why an ECN account is popular among traders. By registering an ECN account, you can enjoy the following benefits:

Lower spreads

Spread is the difference between the bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. When buying and selling financial assets, you may get different spreads depending on your broker or trading account. Charging spreads is your broker’s way of earning money for their services.

By using an ECN account, you can get the best buy and sell prices from all market participants since price quotations are directly received from the liquidity providers. ECN brokers can offer tighter spreads to their clients; therefore, traders can get more favorable prices than the normal prices offered by the usual brokers.

Outside usual trading hours

Not all traders have time to trade during normal market times. ECN is a good alternative for investors who cannot trade actively during the usual trading hours and require more flexibility in trading. ECN traders can continuously trade outside the usual trading hours regardless of opening or closing times, and also be more flexible in formulating their strategies.

Transparent and live pricing

The pricings provided by ECN brokers are live and the same since they have the access to the same feeds. Therefore, it lowers the chances of price manipulation. In addition, most ECN brokers usually offer no re-quotes or slippage. And since ECN brokers only match trades between other market participants, they cannot trade against the clients.

Faster trading activities

Since ECN gives you direct access to major liquidity providers, all trading activities are done in real-time. There are no system lags, glitches, or delays. This is essential for traders because every fraction of a pip or millisecond counts in Forex trading.

Furthermore, traders do not need to wait for brokers to find a counterparty to their trades since the ECN system will match buyers and sellers automatically. Thus, they can easily enter and exit positions in the financial markets.

Anonymity

Some traders may prefer a level of anonymity for large transactions. The good news is, in an ECN environment, no one will know which liquidity provider matches your order and even the liquidity provider will not know where the order is coming from. Thus, ECN accounts are more suitable for experienced and professional traders who often have big trading volumes.

What are the differences between ECN and Standard accounts?

You now know about the ECN system and its advantages, but which account should you choose, ECN or Standard?

To make the right decision, you need to know the main differences between the two accounts, so you can choose based on your trading objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite.

The differences between the ECN and Standard accounts are summarized as follows:

If you have just started your journey in the Forex world, it is better to choose a Standard account since it is safer. On the other hand, as a professional trader, you may prefer an ECN account since you have more experience in dealing with the highly complex and risky FX Market.

Best ECN Forex Brokers

Not all forex brokers in Sri Lanka provide ECN services, and only a handful of those ECN brokers can be trusted. Therefore, you need to make sure that your broker offers an ECN account with reliable services and decent trading conditions.

Some of the best and most established ECN Forex brokers are as follows:

FBS

With 11 years of experience in the financial industry, FBS has become one of the best choices to open an ECN account. This broker offers one single ECN account.

FBS traders only need to deposit a minimum of 1,000 USD to start their trading journey. There are 25 currency pairs to trade in with floating spreads as low as -1 pip, leverage up to 1:500, and a $6 commission. There are no maximum open positions and pending orders, and the minimum volume is 0.1 lots. The FBS ECN account is only available on the MT4 platform.

Payment methods: Bank wire, Credit Cards, Skrill, Neteller, Bitcoin, PerfectMoney, Local bank in Sri Lanka

Regulations: CySEC, ASIC, IFSC
Country: Cyprus
Founded: 2009
Sri Lankan Support Desk: Yes

Open FBS ECN Account

FBS Sri Lanka Review

Exness

Founded in 2008, Exness understands its clients' needs for ECN services and offers two ECN accounts, namely Raw Spread and Zero.

Raw Spread and Zero accounts use market execution with low spreads starting from 0 pip. By making a minimum of $200 deposit, traders can enjoy unlimited leverage with a minimum of 0.01 lots in Forex, metals, cryptocurrencies, energies, stocks, and indices. Both accounts are available on the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms.

The difference between these accounts lies in the amount of commission. The Raw Spread account requires a fixed $3.50 commission per lot for each side, whereas the Zero account holders are to pay a fixed $0.2 commission per lot for each side. Traders can also request a swap-free account by contacting the support team.

Payment methods: Bank wire, Credit Cards

Regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSA
Country: Cyprus

Open Exness ECN Account

Exness Sri Lanka Review

Exness

RoboForex was established under the RoboMarkets Group in 2009. The broker offers 12,000 trading instruments in 8 asset types, and two ECN accounts, namely ECN and RoboForex Prime with market execution.

The ECN account is available in USD, EUR, CNY, and GOLD. Traders can trade in 36 currency pairs, Metals, CFD, and Cryptocurrencies with leverage up to 1:500 and floating spreads as low as 0 pip by making a $10 minimum deposit. Moreover, the minimum order volume for this account is 0.01 lots and a fixed $20 commission is required per $1 million trading volume. This account is accessible on the MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms (available on Android, Apple, and RoboForex terminals). In addition, you can receive up to 15% of the commission in the form of cashback. Please note that this account does support swap-free services.

Using the RoboForex Prime account, traders can trade in 28 currency pairs, Metals, and CFD trading instruments on the MT4 and MT5 platforms (available on Android, Apple, and RoboForex terminals). The offered base currencies include USD, EUR, and Gold. To enjoy floating spreads starting from 0 pip, leverage up to 1:300, and a minimum order volume of 0.01 lots, traders have to deposit at least 10 USD or 10 EUR. There is a $10 commission for 1 million USD trading volume; however, RoboForex offers 10% of the commission in the form of cashback. Similar to the ECN account, this account does not support swap-free services either.

Payment methods: Bank wire, Credit Cards, Skrill, Neteller, PerfectMoney, Bitcoin, Tether

Regulations: IFSC, CySEC
Country: Cyprus
Founded: 2009
Sri Lankan Support Desk: Yes

Open RoboForex ECN Account

RoboForex Sri Lanka Review

FXTM

ForexTime, also known as FXTM, is another trusted broker that has served more than 4 million clients from 150 countries. This company offers two ECN accounts, namely Advantage and Advantage Plus in 1000+ trading instruments. Both accounts can be accessed on the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms with market execution.

With a minimum deposit of 500 USD/EUR/GBP or 80,000 NGN, traders can open an Advantage account and use spreads as low as 0 pip and floating leverage as high as 1:2000 for Forex, Metals, Commodities, Indices, FX indices, Stock baskets, Stock CFDs (only on MT5), and Stocks (only on MT5). The minimum volume for this account is 0.01 lots and the average commission is between 0.4 USD to 2 USD based on the trading volume. A swap-free account is available by request.

The Advantage Plus account offers the same minimum deposit, leverage, and trading volume, which are 500 USD/EUR/GBP or 80,000 NGN, up to 1:2000, and 0.01 lots, respectively. This account requires no commission; however, the offered spreads are higher and start from 1.5 pips. Furthermore, this account enables you to trade in Forex, Metals, Commodities, Indices, FX indices, Stock baskets, Stock CFDs (only on MT5), and Stocks (only on MT5). Traders can also request a swap-free account.

Payment methods: Bank wire, Credit Cards, Google Pay, Skrill, Neteller, PerfectMoney, Webmoney, Bitcoin, Local bank in Sri Lanka

Regulations: CySEC, FSC, FSCA, FCA
Country: Cyprus
Founded: 2011
Sri Lankan Support Desk: Yes

Open FXTM ECN Account

FXTM Sri Lanka Review