A margin is the relative amount necessary to carry out a leveraged deal, taking into consideration spreads, leveraging and currency conversions. When trading on margin, you are using borrowed funds to place orders, in contrast with directly owning and using the funds deposited or held on your account. When trading Forex, you are only required to put up a small amount of capital to open and maintain a new position. This capital is known as the margin. Here, margin can be described as a deposit or collateral that is needed to open a position and keep it open.