Local Currency Trading #

Local Currency Trading allows customers to trade US equities in over 15+ local currencies, with FX conversion done on-the-fly. Customers can place, monitor and sell their positions in their local currency.

API responses are all in your local currency, with all calculations handled by Alpaca.

Further below, we will examine the some common scenarios with LCT. The recurring theme you will notice is that many of Alpaca’s API commands are almost the same, it is just the response that have changed. In some cases, barring the introduction of a currency specification or a swap rate, the only indication of the trade being in Local Currency is the inclusion of a USD second order JSON.

For further questions about LCT, such as supported currencies or any other relevant details, see LCT FAQs.

Supported Features #

Feature	LCT	Broker API (USD)
Allows Trading in Local Currency of US equities	Yes	No
Supports JIT*	Yes	Yes
Stop and Limit Orders	No	Yes
Swap Rate on the Orders Endpoint	Yes	No
Supports Crypto	No	Yes
Market Data	Yes, in local currency	No
Omnibus	Yes	Yes
Omnibus in Sub Ledger	Yes	Yes
Fully Disclosed Account Type	Yes	Yes
SSE Events	Yes	Yes
Rebalancing	No	Yes
Margin	No	Yes

Get Market Data #

With LCT, we have introduced a currency parameter for stock market data. You can request pricing data for any equity and we will handle the necessary convertions to quote the asset in the requested local currency.

The example below shows how to get pricing data for AAPL in Euro. The pricing information is converted from USD to the relevant local currency on the fly with the latest FX rate at the point in time of query.

curl --request GET 'https://data.alpaca.markets/v2/stocks/AAPL/bars?start=2021-05-01T0:00:00Z&end=2021-05-31T11:00:00Z&timeframe=1Min&currency=EUR'

{
    "bars": [
        {
            "t": "2021-05-03T08:00:00Z",
            "o": 109.58,
            "h": 109.87,
            "l": 109.58,
            "c": 109.69,
            "v": 4106,
            "n": 75,
            "vw": 109.72
        },
        ...
    ],
    "currency": "EUR",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "next_page_token": "QUFQTHxNfDIwMjEtMDUtMDRUMTI6NTA6MDAuMDAwMDAwMDAwWg=="
}

Note currency key value is EUR. Request the same endpoint without the currency parameter to compare the pricing data agaisnt its USD equivalent.

Create LCT Account #

For LCT, you can leverage the traditional Account API to create any of the following account types:

Fully Disclosed
Omnibus
Omnibus via the Alpaca Sub Ledger Solution

Below we provide an example of creating a account for a fully-disclosed setup with Euro as the local currency.

{
  "contact": {
    "email_address": "[email protected]",
    "phone_number": "555-666-7788",
    "street_address": ["20 N San Mateo Dr"],
    "city": "San Mateo",
    "state": "CA",
    "postal_code": "94401",
    "country": "USA"
  },
  "identity": {
    "given_name": "John",
    "family_name": "Doe",
    "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
    "tax_id": "666-55-4321",
    "tax_id_type": "USA_SSN",
    "country_of_citizenship": "USA",
    "country_of_birth": "USA",
    "country_of_tax_residence": "USA",
    "funding_source": ["employment_income"],
    "annual_income_min": "30000",
    "annual_income_max": "50000",
    "liquid_net_worth_min": "100000",
    "liquid_net_worth_max": "150000"
  },
  "disclosures": {
    "is_control_person": false,
    "is_affiliated_exchange_or_finra": false,
    "is_politically_exposed": false,
    "immediate_family_exposed": false
  },
  "agreements": [
   {
      "agreement": "customer_agreement",
      "signed_at": "2020-09-11T18:13:44Z",
      "ip_address": "185.13.21.99",
      "revision": "19.2022.02"
   },
   {
      "agreement": "crypto_agreement",
      "signed_at": "2020-09-11T18:13:44Z",
      "ip_address": "185.13.21.99",
      "revision": "04.2021.10"
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    {
      "document_type": "identity_verification",
      "document_sub_type": "passport",
      "content": "/9j/Cg==",
      "mime_type": "image/jpeg"
    }
  ],
  "trusted_contact": {
    "given_name": "Jane",
    "family_name": "Doe",
    "email_address": "[email protected]"
  },
  "currency": "EUR"
}

Note the newly introduced currency parameter as part of the payload to create a new code.

Fund LCT Account #

Accounts can be funded for LCT by either:

Bank Wire
Just in Time Cash
Just In Time

The below example funds one of our Euro accounts created above, with JIT API POST /v1/transfers/jit/transactions with the following body:

{
  "account_id": "27529bc0-3ab5-34f5-ac29-54a98162472d",
  "entry_type": "JTD",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "amount": "500000",
  "description": "Test JIT EUR"
}

Calling the above mentioned API yields the following response,

{
    "id": "9a0ab8c2-4575-46b6-a6cc-f280c899b756",
    "account_id": "27529bc0-3ab5-34f5-ac29-54a98162472d",
    "created_at": "2022-08-31T16:29:44-04:00",
    "system_date": "2022-08-31",
    "entry_type": "JTD",
    "amount": "500000",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "description": "Test JIT EUR"
}

Estimate Stock Trade #

Customers using LCT for the first time may not be sure how much their local currency can buy of a US stock. To address this pain point we created the Order Estimation Endpoint. The customer can enter:

the security
the notional value
on the developer side you can input your swap rate to return the realistic value that your customer will receive.

We get in return indicative quantity, average price and USD value.

{
  "symbol": "AAPL",
  "side": "buy",
  "type": "market",
  "time_in_force": "day",
  "notional": "400",
  "swap_fee_bps": 45
}

The above payload will get an estimation for a market order to purchase AAPL stock with a notional amount of 400 EUR.

{
    "id": "b2f5f3f9-f6b9-4051-9e92-5872248f4830",
    "client_order_id": "b67e1ff9-794a-45b1-bd22-8d40f66c9f6a",
    "created_at": "2022-08-31T20:49:31.203137997Z",
    "updated_at": "2022-08-31T20:49:31.203137997Z",
    "submitted_at": "2022-08-31T20:49:31.200932908Z",
    "filled_at": "2022-08-31T20:49:31.200932908Z",
    "expired_at": null,
    "canceled_at": null,
    "failed_at": null,
    "replaced_at": null,
    "replaced_by": null,
    "replaces": null,
    "asset_id": "93f58d0b-6c53-432d-b8ce-2bad264dbd94",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "asset_class": "us_equity",
    "notional": "400",
    "qty": null,
    "filled_qty": "2.527276938",
    "filled_avg_price": "156.769502669363693758",
    "order_class": "",
    "order_type": "market",
    "type": "market",
    "side": "buy",
    "time_in_force": "day",
    "limit_price": null,
    "stop_price": null,
    "status": "filled",
    "extended_hours": false,
    "legs": null,
    "trail_percent": null,
    "trail_price": null,
    "hwm": null,
    "commission": "0",
    "swap_rate": "0.9948565977241001",
    "swap_fee_bps": "95",
    "subtag": null,
    "source": null,
    "usd": {
        "notional": "398.2483",
        "filled_avg_price": "157.58"
    }
}

Note the usd object at the bottom.

Submit Stock Trade #

Once having estimated a given order, we can actually commit to and execute the order using the usual Order API.

We note here a few key LCT specific order attributes:

Order type - must always be market
swap_fee_bps - this is the correspondent spread. You as the correspondent can increase or decrease this as you require. Note: Alpaca will have an separate spread
Quantity-based orders will also be accepted

{
  "symbol": "AAPL",
  "notional": "400",
  "side": "buy",
  "type": "market",
  "time_in_force": "day",
  "swap_fee_bps": 100
}

The response for the purchase of AAPL worth 400 EUR can be seen below,

{
    "id": "5e9ead9b-c73d-47d3-abcf-14301b4bc44c",
    "client_order_id": "6125fce1-ecf3-4ea9-a020-2f97f237fbca",
    "created_at": "2022-08-31T20:51:30.710557089Z",
    "updated_at": "2022-08-31T20:51:30.710618479Z",
    "submitted_at": "2022-08-31T20:51:30.70808831Z",
    "filled_at": null,
    "expired_at": null,
    "canceled_at": null,
    "failed_at": null,
    "replaced_at": null,
    "replaced_by": null,
    "replaces": null,
    "asset_id": "93f58d0b-6c53-432d-b8ce-2bad264dbd94",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "asset_class": "us_equity",
    "notional": "400",
    "qty": null,
    "filled_qty": "0",
    "filled_avg_price": null,
    "order_class": "",
    "order_type": "market",
    "type": "market",
    "side": "buy",
    "time_in_force": "day",
    "limit_price": null,
    "stop_price": null,
    "status": "pending_new",
    "extended_hours": false,
    "legs": null,
    "trail_percent": null,
    "trail_price": null,
    "hwm": null,
    "commission": "0",
    "swap_rate": "0.9947972168892468",
    "swap_fee_bps": "150",
    "subtag": null,
    "source": null,
    "usd": {
        "notional": "396.0606",
        "filled_avg_price": null
    }
}

Get Account Position #

The below position is the AAPL stock purchased previosly with 400 EUR.

[
    {
        "asset_id": "93f58d0b-6c53-432d-b8ce-2bad264dbd94",
        "symbol": "AAPL",
        "exchange": "NASDAQ",
        "asset_class": "us_equity",
        "asset_marginable": false,
        "qty": "2.5132",
        "avg_entry_price": "156.7700934095764032",
        "side": "long",
        "market_value": "393.969232",
        "cost_basis": "393.9945987569474165523984",
        "unrealized_pl": "-0.0253667569474165523984",
        "unrealized_plpc": "-0.000064383514463",
        "unrealized_intraday_pl": "-0.02536675694741652224",
        "unrealized_intraday_plpc": "-0.000064383514463",
        "current_price": "156.76",
        "lastday_price": "158.087157481573854921",
        "change_today": "-0.008395099910178",
        "swap_rate": "1.0048551416746259",
        "avg_entry_swap_rate": "0.9947972168892468",
        "usd": {
            "avg_entry_price": "157.59",
            "market_value": "392.0656974929108971",
            "cost_basis": "396.055188",
            "unrealized_pl": "-0.0252441928148389",
            "unrealized_plpc": "-0.000064383514463",
            "unrealized_intraday_pl": "-0.0252441928148389",
            "unrealized_intraday_plpc": "-0.000064383514463",
            "current_price": "156.0025853465346558",
            "lastday_price": "157.3233304236430846",
            "change_today": "-0.0083545374472457"
        },
        "qty_available": "2.5132"
    }
]

Journaling Local Currency #

Journalling in LCT is almost exactly the same as our regular Journals API.

In this example we will journal some Euro between two accounts.

{
  "from_account": "51461a2a-8f98-3aa5-ae51-fad8d03037b3",
  "entry_type": "JNLC",
  "to_account": "27529bc0-3ab5-34f5-ac29-54a98162472d",
  "amount": "5000",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "description": "Test Euro Journal"
}

{
    "id": "1717b9c7-f516-4e85-a21b-bbeb7ef7a87a",
    "entry_type": "JNLC",
    "from_account": "51461a2a-8f98-3aa5-ae51-fad8d03037b3",
    "to_account": "27529bc0-3ab5-34f5-ac29-54a98162472d",
    "symbol": "",
    "qty": null,
    "price": "0",
    "status": "queued",
    "settle_date": null,
    "system_date": null,
    "net_amount": "5000",
    "description": "Test Euro Journal",
    "currency": "EUR"
}

Disclosures

Brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities, member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc.

Technology and services are offered by AlpacaDB, Inc.

Brokerage services are provided to customers who can write automated investment code and self-direct their own investments. Alpaca brokerage services are only provided to customers who agree to electronically sign agreements and agree to receive messages, confirmations, and statements electronically. Is Alpaca right for me?

This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities or cryptocurrencies, or open a brokerage account or cryptocurrency account in any jurisdiction where Alpaca Securities or Alpaca Crypto respectively, are not registered or licensed, as applicable.

The Paper Trading API is offered by AlpacaDB, Inc. and does not require real money or permit a user to transact in real securities in the market. Providing use of the Paper Trading API is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, securities derivative or futures products of any kind, or any type of trading or investment advice, recommendation or strategy, given or in any manner endorsed by AlpacaDB, Inc. or any AlpacaDB, Inc. affiliate and the information made available through the Paper Trading API is not an offer or solicitation of any kind in any jurisdiction where AlpacaDB, Inc. or any AlpacaDB, Inc. affiliate (collectively, "Alpaca") is not authorized to do business.

You should know that the use or granting of any third party access to your account information or place transactions in your account at your direction is solely at your risk. Alpaca does not warrant against loss of use or any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses to you caused by your assent, expressed or implied, to a third party accessing your account or information, including access provided through any other third party apps, systems, or sites.

Market prices, data and other information available through Alpaca are not warranted as to completeness or accuracy and are subject to change without notice. System response and account access times may vary due to a variety of factors, including trading volumes, market conditions, system performance, and other factors. A more complete description of the impact these factors may have can be found in our risks of automated trading systems section.

All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk it does not assure a profit, or protect against loss, in a down market. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities, or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing.

There are risks unique to automated trading algorithms that you should know about and plan for. You should setup a method or system of continuous monitoring or alerting to let you know if there is a mechanical failure, such as connectivity issues, power loss, a computer crash, or system quirk. You should also monitor for instances where your automated trading system experiences anomalies that could result in errant, missing, or duplicated orders. A more complete description of these and other risks can be found in our FAQ section.

Conditional orders may have increased risk as a result of their reliance on trigger processing, market data, and other internal and external systems. Such orders are not sent to the market until specified conditions are met. During that time, issues such as system outages with downstream technologies or third parties may occur. Conditional orders triggering near the market close may fail to execute that day. Furthermore, our executing partner may impose controls on conditional orders to limit erroneous trades triggering downstream orders. Alpaca Securities may not always be made aware of such changes to external controls immediately, which may lead to some conditional orders not being executed. As such, it is important to monitor conditional orders for reasonability. Conditional orders are “Not Held” orders whose execution instructions are on a best efforts basis upon being triggered. Furthermore, conditional orders may be subject to the increased risks of stop orders and market orders outlined above. Given the increased potential risk of using conditional orders, the client agrees that Alpaca Securities cannot be held responsible for losses, damages, or missed opportunity costs associated with market data problems, systems issues, and user error, among other factors. By using conditional orders the client understands and accepts the risks outlined above. Alpaca Securities encourages leveraging the use of Paper accounts to become more comfortable with the intricacies associated with these orders.

ETFs can entail risks similar to direct stock ownership, including market, sector, or industry risks. Some ETFs may involve international risk, currency risk, commodity risk, and interest rate risk. Trading prices may not reflect the net asset value of the underlying securities.

All accounts are opened as limited purpose margin accounts. You should know that margin trading involves interest charges and risks, including the potential to lose more than deposited or the need to deposit additional collateral in a falling market. Before using margin, customers must determine whether this type of trading strategy is right for them given their specific investment objectives, experience, risk tolerance, and financial situation. For more information please see Alpaca's Margin Disclosure Statement and Margin Agreement. These disclosures contain information on Alpaca Securities's lending policies, interest charges, and the risks associated with margin accounts.

Commission-Free trading means that there are no commission charges for Alpaca Securities self-directed individual brokerage accounts that trade U.S. listed securities through an API. Relevant regulatory fees may apply.

Commission free trading is available for Alpaca's retail customers. Alpaca reserves the right to charge additional fees if it is determined that orders flow is non-retail in nature.

Cryptocurrency is highly speculative in nature, involves a high degree of risks, such as volatile market price swings, market manipulation, flash crashes, and cybersecurity risks. Cryptocurrency is not regulated or is lightly regulated in most countries. Cryptocurrency trading can lead to large, immediate and permanent loss of financial value. You should have appropriate knowledge and experience before engaging in cryptocurrency trading. For additional information please click here.

Cryptocurrency services are made available by Alpaca Crypto, a FinCEN registered money services business (NMLS # 2160858), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Alpaca Crypto is not a member of SIPC or FINRA. Cryptocurrencies are not stocks and your cryptocurrency investments are not protected by either FDIC or SIPC. Please see the Disclosure Library for more information.