There are various players in the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and all of them are important in one way or the other. In this chapter, we take each one of them and check their major attributes and responsibilities in the overall Forex market.

Interestingly, internet technology has really changed the existence and working policies of the Forex market-players. These players now have easier access to data and are more productive and prompt in offering their respective services.

Capitalization and sophistication are two major factors in categorizing the Forex market players. The sophistication factor includes money management techniques, technological level, research abilities, and the level of discipline. Considering these two broad measures, there are six major Forex market players −

●      Commercial and Investment Banks

●      Central Banks

●      Businesses and Corporations

●      Fund Managers, Hedge Funds, and Sovereign Wealth Funds

●      Internet-based Trading Platforms

●      Online Retail Broker-Dealers

The following figure depicts the top-to-bottom segmentation of Foreign Exchange Market players in terms of the volume they handle in the market.