Booking a Forward Trade

Forward trades help you to manage the risk of currency instability by allowing you to purchase foreign currency at a future date while locking in to the current exchange rate. You can then use these funds to make payments on a specific future date (Closed Forward), or within a specific time period (Open Forward).

Note: You must have a current (not expired) GMEI number in order to book forwards and forward drawdowns. If you do not have a GMEI number or it has expired, you will see a warning message at the top of Your Dashboard, and you will not be able to book forwards. If that is the case, contact your Account Manager.

To book a Forward Trade

1. On Your Dashboard, click FORWARD TRADE to expand the Forward Trade section.
   
   
   
2. From the You Buy dropdown list, choose the currency you want to purchase.
3. From the You Sell dropdown list, choose the currency you will use to settle the deal. By default, the system selects your base currency for settlement. If you want to use a different currency, you can choose another currency from the dropdown list.
4. In the Amount field, enter the amount you want to buy.
5. Use the lock icon to determine how you want your payment to be calculated. The value that you enter in the Amount field is considered to be in whichever currency is locked. By default, the You Buy currency is the one that is locked. To change the lock setting, click the unlocked icon and the unlocked icon changes into a locked icon.
   
   

EXAMPLE

In this example, the You Sell currency (USD) is locked. You can see that the locked icon appears beside the You Sell field. This means that USD $33,000.00 will be converted to GBP.




EXAMPLE

If you want to buy exactly GBP 33,000, click the icon beside the You Buy field. Notice that the locked icon is now beside the You Buy field.




6. In the Forward Type section, click a radio button to specify whether you want to book an Open Forward or a Closed Forward.
   • Open—Lets you lock in the current exchange rate, and use the funds to make payments within a specified time period. Any drawdown will be valued at the rate agreed upon when you booked the forward.
   • Closed—Lets you lock in the current exchange rate and receive funds in a foreign currency on a specified future date (the maturity date). You complete the transaction on the date it matures at the agreed rate of exchange.
7. In the Maturity Date field, click the calendar icon and choose the maturity date.
   • If you are booking an Open forward, the Maturity Date is the last date when you can draw down the funds.
   • If you are booking a Closed forward, the Maturity Date is the date when the funds become available for you to use.
   Note: If the Maturity Date that you choose falls on a weekend or a holiday, a message appears to let you know that the date is not valid. The message lets you know the next available maturity date.
8. If you are booking an Open forward, you will see an additional field called Open Date. This field lets you set the first date that you can start drawing down against the booked forward. Click the calendar icon and choose the first date you want the funds to be available.

   Note: By default, the Open Date field displays the current date, but you can choose another date in the calendar.

9. Click GET QUOTE to get a live quote.
   The conversion rates and the resulting payment and settlement amounts are displayed. The RATE EXPIRY timer indicates the amount of time you have to book the deal at the displayed rate.
   
   Note: If the value of the forward violates your personal trade limits or your organization's trade limits (per transaction and cumulative daily total), you will not be able to book the deal. You will see an error message at the top of the page letting you know that the amount is over the transaction limit.
10. Click BOOK NOW to confirm the rate and book the forward.
    
11. Proceed to the section Completing a forward.