Professional trading account
As a professional client of OANDA, you’ll be eligible for benefits like access to increased leverage (but professional clients lose certain regulatory protections, including negative balance protection).
Learn more about the professional trading account from a member of our team.
Eligibility criteria
To qualify for a professional online trading account, you must meet at least two of the criteria outlined below:
You’ve placed at least 10 trades in each quarter, over the past four quarters, with a notional value of at least £50,000 per trade with OANDA Europe Ltd or other providers.
You have an investment portfolio that exceeds £500,000.
You’ve worked in the financial sector for at least one year in a professional position that requires knowledge of FX and CFD trading.
Features of an OANDA professional account
Margin rates for professional clients
| Instrument | Leverage* |
|---|---|
| GBP/USD | 1% |
| Gold | 1% |
| UK 100 | 1% |
| EUR/USD | 1% |
| US Wall Street | 1% |
| USD/JPY | 1% |
*Margin - corresponds to: 100:1 - 1%, 50:1 - 2%, 40:1 - 2.5%, 30:1 - 3.3%, 20:1 - 5%, 10:1 - 10%
Support from our dedicated client relationship managers
Our professional clients have access to a dedicated relationship manager. You’ll have their direct telephone number and email address. To find out more about the professional trading account, email us at proenquiries@oanda.com.
As a professional trading account holder, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that your account does not fall into a negative balance. If it does, you’ll be expected to add deposits to cover the difference.
Choose from multiple platforms
If you have an online trading account with us, you can speculate on the markets using our award-winning OANDA trading platform**, the globally recognised TradingView social platform, MT5, or MT4.
**See our latest awards here.
Open a professional account with an award-winning broker†
Get award-winning, exceptional service when you open a professional trading account.
†See our latest awards here.
Why OANDA?
Identify potential trading opportunities using the range of powerful analysis tools that are available on our trading platform.
Protect your positions from market gapping and slippage with a GSLO. Available on indices, gold and forex.
Our range of platforms include OANDA Trade web, mobile and tablet. You can also trade on TradingView, MT5 and MT4.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t qualify for a professional trader account, you can always apply to open a live account.
Retail trading account clients have higher margin requirements than professional clients.
However, retail clients have an increased level of protections compared to professional clients, including negative balance protection. As a professional trading account holder, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that your account doesn’t fall into a negative balance. If it does, you’ll be liable to provide additional funds to cover the difference.
The FCA sets limits on the amount of leverage available to retail clients on various CFD products. Professional clients aren’t affected by these rules and aren’t provided with this protection.
Professional clients may not be eligible for the Financial Ombudsman Service (the FOS) — which is available to retail clients — unless they’re an individual (professional client) trading in a personal ('consumer') capacity and not by way of business.
Where client money is held, it’s held in accordance with the rules in CASS 7. As a professional client, however, you may choose to opt out of these rules.
Cash, stock portfolios, stocks and shares ISAs, trading accounts and mutual funds, and SIPPs. Physical assets and managed company pensions are not accepted.
You can’t transfer your status from another broker. You’ll need to apply for professional client status at OANDA by contacting proenquiries@oanda.com.
Yes. Trading history in the form of trading statements from other brokers will be considered for criteria 1.