It seems like just yesterday we were at the Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre for iFX Expo last September. Here we are again, and it is always good to return to any of these B2B conferences to meet up with old friends, to get a feel for the state of the industry and take a good look at what might be around the corner.
iFX Bangkok 2023 provided the usual array of exhibitors from liquidity providers, to signal providers, to complete broker-in-a-box solutions.
One of the most popular categories was Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), Banks, and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
Why?
To simply put, the world is changing at high speed in front of our eyes. Governments and regulators are increasing their scrutiny of this sector and many FX Brokers have found themselves without banking facilities.
Another area of great interest for the industry was that of Platform Providers. We all know that Apple, rightly or wrongly, blocked MT4 and MT5 from their app store last year causing confusion and concern. As well, at least one major platform provider is now trying to enforce unreasonable KYC policies so many brokers are looking at alternatives. Our informal discussions with all the platform providers, except one, noted a huge increase in broker uptake.
As well, iFX 2023 delivered an excellent array of seminars and panel discussions.
The Idea Hub was an open area with a constant flow of industry experts sharing ideas. Everything from payment technology, to platforms, to crypto, to liquidity, to copy trading, to workplace diversity was on offer.
The Idea Hub was an open area with a constant flow of industry experts sharing ideas. Everything from payment technology, to platforms, to crypto, to liquidity, to copy trading, to workplace diversity was on offer.
Of course, on a bit grander scale, the Speaker Hall was very busy as usual. While the Idea Hub included topics and concepts that covered our industry as a whole, the Speaker Hall focused mostly on doing business in the Asia-Pacific region.
The biggest buzzword around, not just in the retail trading business, is Artificial Intelligence (AI). At least one seminar was devoted to AI and how it can revolutionize online trading…not just for the trader looking to create new strategies, but for the broker looking to modernise their financial infrastructure and create a better customer experience.
Crypto and Blockchain found their way into quite a few of the seminars as, let’s face it, these are changing the way we do business. Not only are retail traders demanding the facilities to trade crypto, but payment providers seem to be lagging behind as brokers and fintech are switching to those providers who can facilitate transactions in stablecoins such as USDC and USDT. As it was pointed out, more than once, these transactions are lightning-fast compared to traditional fiat transactions.
But, the highlight of the Speakers Hall was the very first seminar moderated by Aeby Samuel, CEO and founder of FYNXT, an industry leader in multi-asset broker CRM systems.
The Asia Century: Tech Trends in Online Trading looked at just that with 6 key industry leaders sharing their thoughts and experience.
Jon Light, of Devexperts pointed out that most brokers in Asia are experiencing massive increases in signups and that the new generation of traders is younger and better educated. Also, he pointed out that most traders in Asia have only a smartphone as their main access and brokers have to deal with a wide variety of languages. Aeby followed up by stating that the disposable income of these traders is higher than ever before.
Ran Strauss of Leverate reminded us that when the industry first started to grow in Asia the biggest stumbling block was the lack of internet connection. However, very quickly, technology companies and brokers were able to capitalise on the market thanks to the growth of mobile networks and smartphones (80% of traders in Leverate’s case). This was aided by global giants such as Amazon Web Services which offer cloud services, enabling impressive infrastructures without huge costs.
As we all know, proper risk management is a key component of any successful brokerage. Ivan Egorov of Tools for Brokers shared insights from their client requests and from their own development as to how AI can help with risk management and how AI can help the broker identify trading patterns and pinpoint weak points.
Regarding the use of AI in trading strategies for retail traders, Or Gold of Panda Trading Systems pointed out a fact that we may find informative and maybe a bit frightening: the machines have way more data than we do and they are a lot smarter than we are. Watch this space!
As iFX wrapped up Wednesday afternoon, we could not find a single person who did not benefit from the overall experience, the seminars, and their discussions with suppliers.
What will be looking for next time?
Technology is on an upward march and so is regulation. Perhaps the next time we meet, we will see technology and regulation merging, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the retail trading business.
