Trading from a phone
What you learn in 3 minutesThis lesson shows what changes when you trade on a phone instead of a desktop. The app can place the same order, but the screen is smaller, so you see fewer candles and less of the price history. That changes how much you can check before you tap buy or sell.
One pip on EUR/USD at 1.0850
| Step | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard lot size | 100,000 units | the contract size for one standard lot of EUR/USD |
| One pip in price | 0.0001 | the fourth decimal place on EUR/USD |
| Pip value in quote currency | 10 units | 100,000 x 0.0001 |
| Exchange rate used | KES 129.50 per unit | this rate varies between brokers and changes daily |
| Pip value in shillings | KSh 1,295 | 10 x 129.50 |
Your broker may round the exchange rate, add a spread, or charge a commission on top. The rate used here is an example only and will differ from the rate on your account.
The mistake people make here
The common mistake is to place the same order on a phone that you would place on a desktop, without checking how much of the chart the small screen is hiding. On a six-inch screen you might see only the last few hours, so a stop that looked safe on a desktop chart can sit inside a normal swing you never saw. Before you tap buy or sell, pinch out to the widest view the app allows and note the highest and lowest price of the last few days. If the app cannot show that, treat the trade as one you cannot fully check and wait.Check yourself
If one pip on a standard lot is KSh 1,295, what is the pip value on 0.10 lots?
0.10 x 1,295 = KSh 129.50.
A phone chart shows only the last 6 hours. The price moved 40 pips in that time. How many pips would a desktop chart showing 5 days likely reveal?
More than 40 pips. A 5-day view covers many more hours, so the total range is usually wider. The exact number depends on the market, so check the chart.
In Kenya
- Regulator
- The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) licenses and supervises investment firms in Kenya.
- Money
- The shilling is written KSh (KES).
- Payment methods
- M-Pesa and bank transfer are common ways to move money to and from a trading account.
- Instrument example
- EUR/USD traded around 1.0850 in this lesson.
- Pip value
- On one standard lot of EUR/USD, one pip is 10 units of the quote currency, converted at the current rate.