Membership Requirements All financial institutions are eligible to become members provided that the following requirements are fulfilled: Where relevant, be registered, licensed or otherwise permitted by the appropriate regulatory body to conduct business on the Trading System Have financial resources of at least 50,000 USD for proprietary business and 50,000 USD for agency business unless the applicant is supervised by an appropriate regulatory body Have good commercial standing and business experiences Be duly organized, existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization Have appropriate operational capabilities (hardware, software, communication systems, staffing) Be authorized by, or a clearing member of The Clearing Corporation As a non-U.S. applicant, enter into a written agency agreement appointing a third party as its U.S. agent for service of process Clearing Members Companies may apply for clearing membership with The Clearing Corporation. Depending on the type of clearing membership, companies can clear transactions for themselves, affiliates or third parties. Clearing members must conform to the rules and procedures of The Clearing Corporation or USFE. For more information about clearing membership requirements please contact: Charles McElhenie The Clearing Corporation Business Development T +1-312-786-5709 Trading Members Companies or individuals may become trading members without being clearing members. Trading members are the only ones permitted to enter and execute transactions on the exchange. If a trading member is a registered FCM (or similar non-U.S. entity), then it can also execute transactions on behalf of customers. Trading members who are not also clearing members must have a clearing agreement with a clearing member of The Clearing Corporation. If the trading member has a clearing agreement with a Clearing Corporation member, the trading member must authorize the clearing member to exercise and perform trade and position management functions online. At all times, clearing members can maintain a system-side overview of the payment and delivery obligations that result from their trading activities. The trades executed on an exchange may be cleared and settled only by a single clearing member. However, trades can be 'given-up' to other participants via the 'give-up/take-up' trading feature. Transactions made on USFE are legally binding between The Clearing Corporation and a given clearing member, and in turn between that clearing member and the specific trading member. Margin deposits, for example, are made to the clearinghouse via the contractually stipulated clearing member. To begin the membership process, click here.