What are ECN & STP Forex Brokers?
An Electronic Communications Network (ECN) or Straight Through Processing (STP) broker will send all of the trades it receives directly to its “liquidity providers”, who are other market participants such as banks. In HK they are known as “no dealing desk” brokers. When trading on an ECN or STP Forex broker in Hong Kong, a trader is not trading against that operator. Therefore there is no conflict of interest between the trader and operator.
ECN and STP Forex brokers usually offer low spreads, but will charge a commission for each trade. They also will often require Hong Kongers to make a high deposit to get started. This means that ECN and STP accounts are mostly available to experienced and professional traders in Hong Kong.