Glossary
Swap (Rollover)
Forex
A swap is the interest credited or debited when a leveraged position is held past the daily rollover, reflecting the interest-rate difference between the two currencies.
Holding a currency with a higher interest rate against one with a lower rate can earn a positive swap; the reverse costs money. Brokers add a markup, so both sides are often negative in practice. Wednesday rollover is normally charged at triple rate to cover the weekend settlement.
Swap is negligible for intraday trading and material for multi-week positions, where it can exceed the spread as a cost. Swap-free (Islamic) accounts replace it with an administration fee.