OANDA launches raw spreads plus commission pricing for US clients

Online trading and technology provider OANDA has started offering a new pricing option for its US clients – in its essence, it combines core pricing plus commission. Putting it otherwise, this is the familiar pricing model of raw spreads plus commission.

According to a post in OANDA’s forum, the new pricing option is still in beta. An information sheet shows that this model is effective for trades executed as of March 6, 2017.

The main idea behind this pricing model is to offer eligible OANDA US customers a reduced spread relative to the broker spread-only pricing account in exchange for the payment of a fixed commission per trade. With Core Pricing the total cost for each trade will equal the sum of the applicable Core Pricing spread plus the commission.

This pricing model applies to 70 FX pairs. An important condition to qualify for the offer is for traders to have a minimum balance/deposit of $10,000.

If someone feels a deja-vu, this is because, back in 2014, FXCM, which is now leaving the US retail FX market, rolled out this type of pricing to its US customers. Back then, FXCM said the move will benefit customers thanks to lower trading expenses, while also boosting pricing transparency – instead of charging customers with a hidden mark-up included in the spread, a broker charges a commission on top of raw spreads.

Now, as FXCM exits the US, some customers may find it appealing to shift to the same pricing model – this time with OANDA. Well, we should not be judging brokers for trying to make use of a business opportunity when it comes along. But traders are the ones to decide which broker they trade with and what pricing model they choose.

Meanwhile, GAIN Capital’s Forex.com completed the acquisition of FXCM US accounts on February 24, 2017. Yesterday, GAIN Capital’s CEO Glenn Stevens said the broker was pleased with the trading activity of the transferred accounts.