If you hold a trade open overnight, you may notice a small charge or credit on it called a swap. It catches a lot of beginners by surprise. This guide explains what swap (overnight) fees are, why they exist, when they apply, and how to keep them from eating your profits.
What is a swap fee?
A swap is an interest adjustment for holding a leveraged position overnight. Because every forex trade involves borrowing one currency to buy another, there is an interest difference between the two — and that difference is applied to your position each night it stays open.
Why do swaps exist?
Each currency has its own interest rate set by its central bank. When you hold a pair, you are effectively earning the rate on the currency you bought and paying the rate on the one you sold. The net of those two is your swap:
- Negative swap: you pay (most common).
- Positive swap: you receive (when the bought currency has the higher rate).
Swaps also apply to other markets you hold overnight, such as gold, indices, oil and crypto.
When is swap charged?
Swap is applied once per day at the daily rollover (around the end of the New York trading day). If you open and close a trade the same day, you usually pay no swap at all.
Triple swap on Wednesday
To account for the weekend (when markets are closed but interest still accrues), brokers typically charge three days of swap on Wednesday. So a position held over Wednesday night carries a larger swap than usual.
How to check swap rates
Swap rates vary by instrument and change with interest rates, so always check the current rate in the instrument’s details / contract specifications inside the SCapitalFX app before holding a position overnight.
How to reduce the impact of swaps
- Trade intraday — close before the daily rollover and you avoid swap entirely.
- Be aware of triple-swap Wednesday when planning multi-day holds.
- Factor swap into longer-term trades — for trades held days or weeks, include it in your cost.
Risk warning: Trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk. Swap fees add to your costs on positions held overnight. You could lose some or all of your invested capital.
Frequently asked questions
Do I always pay swap?
Only on positions held past the daily rollover. Trades opened and closed the same day usually have no swap.
Why was I charged three times the swap?
That is the standard triple-swap on Wednesday, which covers the upcoming weekend.
Can swap ever pay me?
Yes — if the currency you bought has a higher interest rate than the one you sold, the swap can be positive (a credit).
Where do I see the swap rate?
In each instrument’s details / contract specifications inside the app, since rates differ per market and change over time.
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