GFX Foreign Exchange Products & International Payments Solutions

We offer our clients a wide variety of foreign exchange products to accommodate GFX’s tailor-made global payment solutions.

Spot Foreign Exchange (Spot FX)

Spot FX transactions are binding transactional agreements that lock in the price of one foreign currency in exchange for another and often settle one or two days after the FX transaction is entered into.

Settling a Spot Transaction:

A client will send GFX the currency they have bought or sold and we will send the equivalent corresponding currency to our client or directly to one of our client’s vendors.

Example: Spot FX

A GFX client received a US payment for services they provided to a US based client. The client deposits the US dollar payment into their US dollar account at a Canadian bank. The client calls GFX (or logs into our internet trading platform) and sells those US dollars to GFX at an agreed price for the equivalent Canadian Dollars. This type of transaction usually settles either the same day or the day after the foreign exchange rate has been agreed upon.

Forward FX Contract

A Forward FX transaction acts in exactly the same manner as a spot FX transaction but guarantees the price of a foreign currency conversion at a specified date in the future. At GFX we understand the importance of hedging to protect against volatile market conditions and their impact on international currency exchange. A Forward FX Contract is an effective way of managing client foreign currency risk.

Example: Forward FX Contract

A client knows he will need to pay a US based supplier US dollars in one month’s time. The client likes the USD/CAD currency exchange rate today so he locks in the rate today but uses a Forward FX Contract to arrange delivery in one month’s time.

Option Dated Forward Contract

An option dated Forward FX Contract or ""Forward Window Contract"" as it is commonly referred to works in the same manner as a Forward FX Contract but allows the client flexibility when they want to settle the transaction. GFX’s clients may select a range of dates rather than a specific date for settlement of the foreign currency exchange transaction. This type of money exchange contract is extremely beneficial to companies that know they will have foreign currency exposure in the future but are not sure of the exact date the payments will be required.

Example: Option Dated Forward Contract

A client knows that in 3 months time he will be receiving a Euro payment from a shipment he had sent to a client. GFX is able to buy the Euro from him in the spot market at a very favorable rate for the client. GFX then gives the client the ability to complete the foreign currency transaction whenever they receive the Euro over an agreed one month time frame.

Currency Options

An option contract gives the purchaser of the contract the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specified quantity of a foreign currency at a specific price within a specified period of time.

Example: Option

GFX had a client that needed to protect some Canadian dollar denominated assets that it had to revalue in US dollars at the end of the month for accounting purposes. The client purchased a Canadian dollar ""put"" option which gave them the right but not the obligation to sell Canadian dollars at an agreed upon price. This allowed the client to protect the monthly net income and effectively removed the currency risk from their business.

Order Management System

GFX encourages clients to benefit from their foreign currency exposure by taking advantage of movements in the markets. GFX closely monitors foreign exchange rates, regularly informs clients when relevant currencies move in their favour and makes recommendations on appropriate levels at which to transact.

GFX’s foreign exchange order execution system can take several forms including intra-day orders, overnight orders and stop loss orders.

Intra-day order - An order left during normal business hours to sell or buy a foreign currency at a particular exchange rate. If the currency price moves to the level of your order, your foreign exchange transaction is completed. An intra-day order normally expires at the end of the Canadian business day.

Overnight Order - Is the same as an intra-day order but is left in the overnight foreign exchange markets and monitored by GFX overnight. The client is then informed in the morning if the order was executed in the overnight market.

Stop Loss Order - A stop loss order is normally left in conjunction with an intra-day order or overnight foreign exchange order and it is left at a level that will limit losses and protect profits.