Direct answer
Forex (foreign exchange) transactions generally do not work like a bond or a savings account where you receive a regular, direct interest payment. In typical forex market practice, traders focus on changes in exchange rates between two currencies. However, interest rates are still relevant: differences in interest rates between the two currencies can influence the pricing and the carry-related cost or credit that may apply when a position is held.
How it works (interest vs. currency exchange)
A forex trade is an agreement to exchange one currency for another. The quoted exchange rate determines how much of one currency you get for a unit of the other. That exchange rate can move for many reasons, including macroeconomic expectations about inflation and growth.
Interest-rate relevance shows up indirectly. When two currencies have different interest rates, holding a position for some period can create an imbalance in the “economic benefit” of receiving one currency versus paying the other. In many forex contract designs, this imbalance is reflected as a carry effect—often expressed as a cost or credit tied to the interest-rate differential—especially when positions are rolled over from one settlement/valuation time to the next.
Example checks to understand what you may see
If you hold a forex position rather than closing immediately, you may encounter carry-like adjustments in the contract’s ongoing valuation or settlement mechanics. One check is to look for whether the contract explicitly mentions rollover/financing or carry terms. Another check is to compare what happens when you hold positions of similar size but in currency pairs with different interest-rate environments: if the cost/credit changes with the interest differential, that indicates interest is being incorporated into pricing, even if you are not “earning interest” in the simple deposit sense.
Limitations and uncertainty
The effect of “interest in forex” is not universal in the same way for every market participant and contract type. It depends on the exact contract structure, settlement/rollover mechanics, and the way financing/carry is defined. Also, because exchange rates move for multiple reasons, you cannot infer future results from interest-rate considerations alone. Finally, without reviewing the specific contract terms and the method of carry calculation used by the trading setup, you cannot determine the exact cost or credit for a given situation.