Rakuten Trade, a well-known online securities firm in Malaysia, added a foreign currency account service (Foreign Currency Account) on August 26, 2022, allowing investors to directly hold U.S. dollar assets in their accounts, not only making it more flexible and efficient to buy and sell U.S. stocks, but also effectively reducing the cost of exchange rate differences and making it more economical to invest in U.S. stocks.。

What are the features and advantages of Rakuten Trade foreign currency accounts?？How to exchange ringgit to US dollar？How to place an order in US dollars？

This article includes:

◇ Rakuten Trade Foreign Currency Account Features

◇ Ringgit to US Dollar Currency Exchange Teaching

◇ Use the U.S. dollar to place an order to trade U.S. stocks teaching.

* Note: Rakuten Trade has officially opened its Hong Kong stock trading service on December 27, 2022, and users can also hold Hong Kong dollars through the Foreign Currency Account service (Foreign Currency Account).。

Rakuten Trade Foreign Currency Account Features

Rakuten Trade has set a record for U.S. stock trading commissions as low as RM7 since it opened its U.S. Market Trading Service (US Share Trading Service) in January this year, allowing domestic investors to plan diversified asset allocations at a lower cost。With the introduction of Foreign Currency Account (FOREIGN CURRENCY ACCOUNT), users can directly hold the ringgit (MYR), U.S. dollar (USD) and Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and decide which currency assets to trade in at the time of trading, greatly enhancing the flexibility of trading.。

Prior to this, Rakuten Trade's U.S. stock trades were settled in ringgit.。When buying U.S. stocks, the dollar transaction volume will be converted to ringgit at a specific exchange rate (Indicative Rate) and a commission will be calculated based on the final ringgit transaction volume, while the user will pay all transaction costs in ringgit.。When selling U.S. stocks, the same amount is exchanged for ringgit and remitted to the user's ringgit account at Rakuten Trade.。Simply put, users must perform a conversion when buying or selling their holdings, disguised as having to bear some risk of exchange rate fluctuations.。

With the opening of foreign currency accounts, users can not only exchange large amounts of dollars at one time and deposit them in US dollar accounts, but also trade directly in US dollars, and the US dollar profits from the exchange can also be deposited in US dollar accounts for the next transaction, eliminating the need for the US dollar-ringgit exchange process, saving foreign exchange differences and making it cheaper to invest in US stocks!

Foreign currency accounts are open to hold ringgit and US dollar assets, and users only need to use the system's built-in currency exchange function to convert ringgit to US dollars.。(Note: Deposits and withdrawals can only be made in ringgit through domestic banks)

After the opening of the Rakuten Trade U.S. stock trading function, the ringgit and U.S. dollar dual foreign currency accounts will be automatically opened.。Log in to your Rakuten Trade account and check your cash balance on the My Account page.。

How to convert ringgit to US dollar？

Rakuten Trade Currency Exchange Teaching

Rakuten Trade trading system built-in currency exchange function, 24 hours online exchange, and the exchange of foreign exchange immediately to the account, whether ringgit - US dollars, US dollars - ringgit exchange can be quickly to the account, very convenient!

The process of currency exchange is simple, and the following example shows the process of transferring money from ringgit to USD.。

Step 1: Log in to your Rakuten Trade account and select "Currency Exchange"

Login to Rakuten Trade iSPEED.my App, select Currency Exchange in the main menu to turn on the currency exchange function。

You can also click the $icon in the My Account Cash Asset field to turn on the currency exchange feature.。

Step 2: Set the currency and amount of the transfer.

The second step is to set the currency for this transfer, such as the transfer of the ringgit (MYR) to the US dollar (USD)。The system will display the current day's exchange rate (Indicative Rate) and the total amount of cash assets currently held.。Next, enter the amount you want to redeem and the system will estimate approximately how many dollars you can redeem.。

Click on Confirm to proceed to the next step。

* Based on August 24, 2022, the National Bank shows that the exchange rate of the US dollar against the ringgit is 4.4855, the exchange rate of Rakuten Trade is 4.508, Rakuten Trade is relatively superior。

Step 3: Confirm the exchange information and perform the exchange operation

Check the exchange information, confirm the correct, click "Convert," you can successfully exchange from ringgit to us dollars。The system will complete the exchange request immediately and record the foreign currency without waiting.。

Once the redemption is complete, Rakuten Trade will send app push and email notifications。

If you want to exchange Hong Kong dollars (HKD), the whole process is the same as exchanging US dollars, except that the exchange options are different.。

Attention

◇ The maximum amount of currency exchange is based on the cash assets held by the account.。

◇ No handling fee is charged for currency exchange。

◇ The exchange rate shown on the exchange page is for reference only and must be based on the actual amount converted.。

How to trade U.S. stocks in dollars？Just one more step when placing an order!

After the opening of the foreign currency account, users are free to trade U.S. stocks in ringgit or U.S. dollars.。Simply set the trading currency (Currency) to either the ringgit (MYR) or the US dollar (USD) when placing an order。

If you want to trade Hong Kong stocks in Hong Kong dollars, the whole process is the same as trading U.S. stocks.。

Note that trading in US dollars and Hong Kong dollars will not be able to rebate commissions on Rakuten Trade (RT) Points。

Even if you have previously bought U.S. stocks in Malaysian dollars, if you want to sell them next, you can set the trading currency to U.S. dollars (USD), sell the stock in U.S. dollars, and the amount from the sale of the stock will be automatically deposited in the foreign currency account.。

Traded in ringgit (MYR) * MA / US / HK	Commission (MYR)
< 699.99	Minimum RM1 (1% of transaction value)
700 – 9,999.99	RM9
10,000 – 99,999.99	0.10%
>99,999.99	RM100

US Stocks Traded in Dollars

Commission: 0.1% * turnover (minimum USD1.88, maximum USD25)

Hong Kong stocks traded in Hong Kong dollars

Commission: 0.1% * turnover (minimum HKD35)

Is it more cost-effective to trade U.S. stocks in dollars?？

The order to trade U.S. stocks in ringgit or U.S. dollars is more about the user's own investment strategy。Since Rakuten Trade does not impose any fees for currency exchange, trading U.S. stocks in any currency differs mainly in terms of "exchange rate fluctuations."。It is recommended that users can decide according to their personal investment strategy.。

The following is an example of the process of using the ringgit (MYR) and the U.S. dollar (USD) to trade U.S. stocks.。As you can note, trading U.S. stocks using the ringgit generates more exchange times。

If you use the ringgit (MYR) to trade U.S. stocks

When a [Buy] transaction is made, the system automatically transfers the ringgit to USD	MYR - USD Exchange X1
Bought US Stock A	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
Sell US Stock A	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
When a [Sell] transaction is made, the system automatically transfers the U.S. dollar to the ringgit and deposits it into the ringgit account	USD - MYR Exchange X1
When a [Buy] transaction is made, the system automatically transfers the ringgit to USD	MYR - USD Exchange X2
Bought U.S. stock B	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
Selling U.S. stocks B	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
When a [Sell] transaction is made, the system automatically transfers the U.S. dollar to the ringgit and deposits it into the ringgit account	USD - MYR Exchange X2

If the U.S. dollar (USD) is used to trade U.S. stocks

Currency exchange to transfer ringgit to USD before trading	MYR - USD Exchange X1
The system used the dollars directly from the dollar account to buy U.S. stock A	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
Sell US Stock A	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
When a [Sell] transaction is made, the amount received from the sale of Stock A is deposited directly into the U.S. dollar account in the form of U.S. dollars
The system uses the dollars of the dollar account directly to buy U.S. stock B	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
Selling U.S. stocks B	U.S. Stock Transaction Fees
When a [Sell] transaction is made, the amount received from the sale of Stock B is deposited directly into a USD account in the form of USD
Transfer US dollars to ringgit, deposit into ringgit account for use in cash or horse stock trading	USD - MYR Exchange X1

Is it cost-effective to trade Hong Kong stocks in Hong Kong dollars (HKD)?？

Since the commission amounts for "trading U.S. stocks in U.S. dollars" and "trading U.S. stocks in Malaysian dollars" are very close, it is necessary to take into account the exchange of foreign exchange to measure which currency is more cost-effective.。

However, in most cases, the difference between the commission amount of "trading Hong Kong stocks in Hong Kong dollars" and "trading Hong Kong stocks in Malaysian dollars" is at least RM 10, so the SSF decides which currency is more cost-effective without considering the exchange.。

The following is a list of trial balances for different transaction amounts so that you can see directly which currency to trade in and which commissions are cheaper.

Single transaction value	Commission (MYR)	Commission (HKD)
RM800 (≈ HKD1,432)	RM9★	HKD35 (≈ RM20)
RM8,000 (≈ HKD14,317)	RM9★	HKD35 (≈ RM20)
RM20,000 (≈ HKD35,738)	RM20	HKD35.74 (≈ RM20.12)
RM 80,000 (≈ HKD143,177)	RM80	HKD143.18 (≈ RM80.60)
RM 120,000 (≈ HKD214,800)	RM100 ★	HKD214.80 (≈ RM121)

As can be seen from the above trial examples, trading Hong Kong stocks with Malaysian ringgit (MYR) is cheaper。

However, if your single transaction amount falls between RM20,000 and RM100,000, the commission is almost the same whether you trade in RM20,000 or in Hong Kong dollars.。That's when you need to consider the exchange.。

SUMMARY

Rakuten Trade's U.S. stock trading service offers users a more cost-effective way to invest in the U.S. stock market。Through the introduction of a new foreign currency account service, the platform has successfully reduced the cost of foreign exchange (FX conversion fee) of the ringgit against the U.S. dollar, making it cheaper to trade U.S. stocks, easier to buy and sell, and expanding the profit margin! This innovative service allows investors to participate in the U.S. stock market more flexibly, enjoy more competitive trading conditions, and provide investors with a better trading experience。