ECN which stands for Electronic Communication Network is the latest trend in the Foreign Exchange Market. ECN can be described as a bridge linking smaller market participants with tier-1 liquidity providers through a FOREX ECN Broker.
The ECN model is typically considered to be more transparent than the Market Maker model and is favored by the majority of professional traders today.
This linkage is done using sophisticated technology setup named FIX Protocol (Financial Information Exchange Protocol). Where from one side, the broker obtains liquidity from tier-1 liquidity providers (Major Banks) and makes it available for trading to its clients. From the other side, the broker delivers clients' orders to Liquidity Providers for execution.