Auto Currency Exchange
1. What Is Auto Currency Exchange
When purchasing securities settled in any currency, if your trade is executed using cross-currency margin buying power, any amount beyond your available cash in that currency will first be covered through margin financing. After settlement, if there is a shortfall in the required currency, the system will automatically convert your available cash in other currencies to cover it and reduce margin interest.
Example:
If you purchase US stocks using margin buying power at 3:00 PM ET on May 14, 2025 (3:00 AM HKT, May 15), the trade will settle on May 15 ET. Auto Currency Exchange will then convert your available cash to USD after 10:00 AM HKT on May 16.
2. What Are the Benefits of Auto Currency Exchange
- Streamlined Trading Process
Trade directly in your margin account, no need to exchange currencies in advance. - Efficient Use of Funds
Maximize the use of available funds across different currencies in your account. - Cost-Efficient
Prioritizes the use of cash in the settlement currency. When insufficient, cash in other currencies is converted to cover the shortfall.
3. How to Check Auto Currency Exchange Amounts
Auto Currency Exchange aggregates both the currency deficits from the previous day's settlement and any real-time funding deficits, then uses your available cash in other currencies to repay them.
- If your cash in other currencies is sufficient, all currency deficits will be fully repaid.
- If your cash in other currencies is insufficient, all available cash will be converted, and the remaining deficit will be retained as a liability in the settlement currency.
You can view currency deficits under: Accounts > Select an account > Net Assets > Cash Details
The final exchange and repayment results are subject to your actual account status at execution time.
4. How to Enable or Disable Auto Currency Exchange
- Auto Currency Exchange is disabled by default. Please enable it manually if needed.
- Mobile: Me > Settings > Accounts & Positions > Auto Currency Exchange
- Desktop: Settings > Trading > Auto Currency Exchange
Note: Auto Currency Exchange service will be unavailable if financing is turned off.
5. When Does Turning off Auto Currency Exchange Take Effect
If you enable or disable the Auto Currency Exchange, the change will take effect at the next scheduled automatic exchange.
The specific effective time depends on when you make the change:
- Monday to Friday before 10:00 AM HKT: Takes effect the same day
- Monday to Thursday after 10:00 AM HKT: Takes effect the next day
- Friday after 10:00 AM HKT to Sunday: Takes effect the following Monday
6. Supported Currencies and Exchange Rates
Currently, Auto Currency Exchange is supported for all currency deficits in your account.
Exchange rates are determined by market conditions at execution time.
You can check the rates in the app under Fund Details or Statements.
7. Are There Fees for Auto Currency Exchange?
Futu does not charge additional fees, but exchange rates are set by upstream institutions and may include spreads. Actual costs are reflected in Fund Details.
8. Currency Exchange Priority
The system dynamically matches currencies for exchange based on the following rules:
Currencies to exchange from: After converting all available currency amounts to a single reference currency, they are ranked from largest to smallest.
Currencies to exchange to: After converting all currency deficits to a single reference currency, they are ranked from largest to smallest.
Example: Before Auto Currency Exchange executes, your account balances and real-time exchange rates to USD are:
| Currency | HKD | USD | JPY | CNH |
| Balance | 10,000 | 50 | -10,000 | -8,000 |
| /USD Rate | 0.1277 | 1 | 0.0063 | 0.1466 |
The exchange priority order would be:
|
Currency to Exchange From |
Balance in USD |
Currency to Exchange To |
Deficit in USD |
| HKD | 1277 | CNH | 1172.8 |
| USD | 50 | JPY | 63 |
9. Notifications and Records
When the Auto Currency Exchange is complete, you'll receive a notification. You can also view all records in the app by going to Accounts > Select an account > History > Fund Details.
10. How Does Auto Currency Exchange Relate to Cash Plus Auto Redemption?
Auto Currency Exchange and Auto Redemption operate independently at different times.
When you have Auto Redemption enabled but Auto Currency Exchange is off:
If you trade using your Cash Plus buying power, we check for deficits daily at 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM Hong Kong Time and redeem your Cash Plus holdings of the same amount to cover.
Redemptions can only repay deficits in the same currency automatically.
For cross-currency deficits, you need to manually exchange currencies or use Auto Currency Exchange after the redemption settles.
Example: On May 15 at 8:00 AM, your account has:
- 1,000 USD deficit
- 0 HKD cash
- 1,000 HKD and 500 USD in Cash Plus
Then:
- 500 USD from Cash Plus is redeemed first, leaving a 500 USD deficit.
- Assuming an exchange rate of 1 HKD = 0.1277 USD, 1,000 HKD from Cash Plus is redeemed. The deficit remains at 500 USD.
- After receiving the HKD redemption proceeds, you must manually convert 1,000 HKD to 127.71 USD to partially settle the deficit. If not, you will incur a margin interest charge on the 500 USD deficit.
With both Auto Redemption and Auto Currency Exchange active: After 8:00 AM, you will receive your HKD redemption proceeds from Cash Plus. If your account still has a USD deficit, Auto Currency Exchange will automatically convert available HKD to USD at 10:00 AM to cover it.
Case 1: Auto Redemption is on, but Auto Currency Exchange is off. No cash balance before redemption settles.
On May 11 at 8:00 AM, your account has:
- A 1,000 USD deficit
- 0 HKD in cash
- 10,000 HKD and 500 USD in Cash Plus
Then:
1. At 8:00 AM on May 11, 500 USD from Cash Plus is redeemed first. Until the redemption settles, you still have a 1,000 USD deficit.
2. At 9:00 AM on May 11, you manually redeem 10,000 HKD from Cash Plus. Until the redemption settles, your HKD balance remains 0, and your USD balance remains -1,000.
3. On May 12, both redemptions have settled. Your account now shows 10,000 HKD and -500 USD. You can manually exchange HKD to USD to repay the remaining 500 USD deficit.
Case 2: Both Auto Redemption and Auto Currency Exchange are on. No cash balance before redemption settles.
On May 11 at 8:00 AM, your account has:
- A 1,000 USD deficit
- 0 HKD in cash
- 10,000 HKD and 500 USD in Cash Plus
Then:
1. At 8:00 AM on May 11, 500 USD from Cash Plus is redeemed first. Until the redemption settles, you still have a 1,000 USD deficit.
2. At 9:00 AM on May 11, you manually redeem 10,000 HKD from Cash Plus. Until the redemption settles, your HKD balance remains 0, and your USD balance remains -1,000.
3. If both redemptions settle before 10:00 AM on May 12: Your account will show 10,000 HKD and -500 USD. After 10:00 AM, assuming the USD/HKD exchange rate is 7.8, the system will automatically exchange 3,900 HKD for 500 USD to cover your remaining deficit.
4. If both redemptions settle after 10:00 AM on May 12: Your account will show 10,000 HKD and -500 USD until 10:00 AM on May 13, at which point the system will automatically execute the exchange to cover your remaining deficit.
Case 3: Both Auto Redemption and Auto Currency Exchange are on. Account holds cross-currency cash before redemption settles.
On May 11 at 8:00 AM, your account has:
- A 1,000 USD deficit
- 10,000 HKD in cash
- 500 USD in Cash Plus
Then:
1. At 8:00 AM on May 11, 500 USD from Cash Plus is redeemed first. Until the redemption settles, you still have a 1,000 USD deficit.
2. At 10:00 AM on May 11, the system detects your 1,000 USD deficit and a pending 500 USD Cash Plus redemption. Assuming the USD/HKD exchange rate is 7.8, the system will automatically exchange 3,900 HKD for 500 USD to cover the remaining deficit (after accounting for the pending redemption).