When trading in the forex market, you're buying or selling the currency of a particular country, relative to another currency. But there's no physical exchange of money from one party to another. That's what happens at a foreign exchange kiosk—think of a tourist visiting Times Square in New York City from Japan. He may be converting his physical yen to actual U.S. dollar cash (and may be charged a commission fee to do so) so he can spend his money while he's traveling. But in the world of electronic markets, traders are usually taking a position in a specific currency, with the hope that there will be some upward movement and strength in the currency they're buying (or weakness if they're selling) so they can make a profit.
These articles, on the other hand, discuss currency trading as buying and selling currency on the foreign exchange (or "Forex") market with the intent to make money, often called "speculative forex trading". XE does not offer speculative forex trading, nor do we recommend any firms that offer this service. These articles are provided for general information only.