A Forex affiliate program is a type of partnership between a publisher and a Forex trading platform provider. Through such a partnership, the affiliate signs an agreement with the Forex provider that it will promote its services/products on the affiliate website, in return of a commission. This way, a shorter definition of a Forex affiliate program would be a partnership that on one hand generates leads/sales for a provider through an affiliates’ website, and on the other hand generates commission for the affiliate.

The main idea behind a Forex affiliate program is this:

• You, as an affiliate, put a banner/text link on your website and your site visitors click on the banner
• The Forex product/services provider that you advertise will know that the visitor came from your site (using cookies or other tracking behaviors)
• If the visitor will purchase Forex services/products and will pay a certain amount, the Forex product/services provider will pay you a commission 

There are two main types of Forex affiliate programs, single tier and multiple tier Forex affiliate programs. A single tier Forex affiliate programs means that when you refer a client to the Forex provider, you will get a commission depending on the amount of money that client spends. If you refer another affiliate to the Forex provider, and that affiliate has a paying client, you won’t get any money if it’s a single tier Forex affiliate program. However, if it’s a multiple tier Forex affiliate program, which means whenever you refer another affiliate to the Forex provider, you will get a commission from whatever sum of money that affiliate receives too. And this goes as deep as many levels the Forex provider offers (2nd tier, 3rd tier, …).

When deciding to sign up for a specific Forex affiliate program, take into account the following aspects:

• How credible is the Forex trading provider you’re signing up with (search online for Forex affiliate program reviews)
• What type of commission it offers (is it cost-per-action, is it a commission from the amount spent, or is it a hybrid one)
• What marketing materials is the Forex trading provider giving you access to (banners, currency tickers, mini-websites)
• How do they pay you the commission (by check, via PayPal, bank transfer, …)

To sum up, a Forex affiliate program is a partnership between you and the Forex services provider, which should have mutual benefits for both of you – the provider will get more Forex trading clients, and you will get either a fixed amount per client referred, or a commission based on what they spend.