What ideas led to develop a X Open Hub solution?

X Open Hub concept was based on creating an open environment which allowed brokers to control and customise all aspects of their business. There are a number of solutions already present in the market but they are limited which results in broker not being able to compete effectively.

Being part of one of the biggest online trading brokers in the world is a great advantage for us. We were able to build this environment based on constantly receiving feedback from the brokerage operations of the group and later from our clients based in many different countries. We can confidently say our developments directly come from traders themselves. Our R&D department at our Headquarters is focused on making that suggestions and ideas into reality. Our close relations with all our partners means that we are able to improve our services exactly where it is needed.

How have volatile forex markets and new entrants affected you?

Volatile markets are part of our job and a huge opportunity for our partners and clients to make profits. Normally, on a volatile scenario, traders demand the smartest possible executions to make sure they will take the positions with precision. Volatile markets helps us asses the quality of our liquidity and technology.

Also, the evolving environment in markets gives us the chance to include in our offer of multi assets, which is not limited to just FX, but also CFDs, Indices, Commodities, ETFs and Equity DMA.

What are X Open Hub’s most successful and known products and services?

Amongst our solutions X Open Hub’s own environment the most successful and complete brokerage solution product. We offer a multi-device web-based platform including support for Apple Mac users and clients unable to download desktop platforms. This cutting-edge multi-asset trading platform includes video news, economic calendar and market commentary, social trading platform showing market sentiment to increase trader confidence and branded native Apple and google Play apps for mobile and tablets. And to complete the solution, we include the latest broker back-office management tools to manage client information (platform xManager), risk and exposure (platform xRisk) in the most efficient manner. In addition, our hosting facilities give our partners the chance to work with our solutions from the popular MT4 desktop platform.

But even when the brokerage or banks already have their own technology, in many occasions we are requested to offer Liquidity solutions.

How does your portfolio of products in the industry differentiate from competition?

At X Open Hub, our open concept was very well received. As more partners joined us, we had to ensure that we can adapt to their requirements. We did want to limit ourselves with just Forex and Indexes. We explored and implemented single share CFDs and ETFs and our latest addition is Cash market based index CFDs. As the market grows and end clients of our partners become more and more sophisticated we will continue to provide good quality instruments our partners.

On the technology side of X Open hub, we are due to release the HTML 5 version of our web based platform which is currently being tested by some partners. The initial feed is great and we will make this platform available to all partners very soon. The tools and back office applications we have created are very well suited for the needs of our partners. Our White label creator enables out partners to create their own white labels which helps them grow the B2B partnerships. Our risk management system has taken an approach which allows the partners to customise how risk is can handled in a way which has improved profitability for partners across board.

What impact has social trading had on the forex industry?

We believe social trading is a big part of the industry now, we do believe that is room for further growth. We are seeing new ideas coming to life and making social trading more mainstream and part of trader societies.

We have made numerous changes to our social network such as visual tools for traders to see which direction the trading in general as well pinpointing who to follow based on your requirements.

Why choosing good liquidity provider is so important?

As a broker, there two aspects which are critical to a successful operation where first is the technology you are offering to your client and second is the liquidity you provide. Without a good liquidity partner, a broker cannot compete in the market and execute client requests it receives.

A broker needs to evaluate the instruments being offered, as well as overnight financing. All these factors affect the profitability for the broker. More important are factors such as the liquidity provider being regulated by financial services and how the orders are handled and executed.

An ideal regulated provider in our view is regulated in a jurisdiction which is recognised and operates in a similar legal framework as the broker such as MiFiD. The liquidity provider has the ability and the capacity to handle addition requests for instrument coverage. Liquidity provider should also be aggregate liquidity from multiple sources to provider the broker with the best possible price in the market.

How do you think the forex market will change over the coming years?

We are seeing some changes to the industry over the past few months and its mainly related to leverage and handling of client money. Financial regulators around Europe are tightening the rules to protect consumers.

There was been a lot of talk with regards to centralising the Forex market and trade using exchanges which are a norm when it comes to Securities. We don’t see that becoming a reality in the near future. Forex seems to be dominating force when it comes to liquidity and Volatility. We do see some seasonal shifts where some Forex pairs become favorites for some time but tend to normalise after some time.

In our view, liquidity aggregation and algorithmic trading techniques are on the rise. The interconnectivity between a greater numbers of market players, which is allowing for more widespread sharing of risk among market participant. The focus will be on quicker execution times and lower trading costs, ultimately resulting in an increase in total FX turnover.

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