Authorized Forex Dealer

Forex means the trading of foreign currencies - the term is short for "foreign exchange." An authorized forex dealer is a financial institution that has received approval to make these kinds of currency trades.
The authorization to become an "authorized dealer" varies from place to place. For the U.S., this responsibility falls on an organization called the National Futures Association. The NFA is an industry group responsible for the self-regulation of the derivatives market. This includes most of forex trading since most foreign currency speculation takes place in the form of futures contracts, rather than direct investments.
So instead of literally buying Euro or Yen and then sitting on a bunch of cash, traders will buy derivatives contracts betting on the direction of currencies. These deals take place through financial services companies, which get NFA certification to become authorized forex dealers. Forex has nothing to do with foreskin. Not a good thing to mix up; so as a public service, we just put it out there.