The social media phenomena is continuing to make a presence across all indsutries including financial markets, with Facebook reaching around 500 million active users.
Interbank FX one of the worlds leading FX brokers has taken the traditional social networking concept and evolved it to be a full service for traders giving them the the ability to:
- Identify, follow and copy trades from top performers
- Analyze your performance & stats with charts and graphs
- Share trade ideas and collaborate in a familiar environment
- Get instant audio, visual and email alerts on relevant activity
Forexmagnates' team caught up with Todd Crossland, CEO of Interbank FX, discussing IBFX Connect and where they see the future of FX social networking.
Please explain what the IBFXConnect is - what it does, benefit for traders, how to use it, what languages it is available in, the target market, etc. (detail please, I will request some screen shots to put on the post) IBFX Connect†
IBFXConnect is a platform where traders from all over the world can connect, collaborate and learn from fellow traders. The power behind this platform is that everyday traders can follow and learn from traders that have demonstrated successes. Who better to learn from? In simple terms, all you need is an IBFX account (live or demo) to begin collaborating. By downloading and installing the IBFX Connect Bridge (an MT4 EA), members create a real-time, two-way connection (sending and receiving) between their account and IBFX Connect. The IBFX Connect instantly synchronizes the account and monitors for any new trading activity. Members can continue trading as they normally would, or place trades from their IBFX Connect profile - the IBFX Connect bridge keeps everything in synch, in real-time. Best of all, it's free for all of our customers in over 140 countries.
There could be instances where traders misuse the service and make it difficult for novice traders, how do you deal with that?
We have disclaimers on our website and clients who are monitoring traders should monitor their trade history, the currency pairs they trade, the instances in which they hold positions for a period of time, if this meets their objective and risk reward strategy they can set up a demo account or a small live account.
Why did you set up this product? What triggered this? Industry demand, new trends, consumer demand, competition?
At Interbank FX, we pride ourselves on being the most transparent broker and are always looking for innovative ways for customers to experience this personal transparency for themselves. We wanted to create a gathering place for traders of all experience levels to easily communicate trade information and interact with other traders (across the globe) from all over the globe. Although there are already a few FX social networking sites out there, IBFXConnect is unique in that it is free for customers. It also offers live trading, one of the key components that differentiates us from our competitors.
How successful has it been so far? in terms of users signed up, do you have any targets?
Right now, we currently have several thousand users- and we’re growing every day.† In fact, we reached 1,000 users within the first 24 hours of our official launch! The great thing about IBFXConnect is that it's all-inclusive. We invite every type of trader-- regardless of experience level. Every individual can customize their individual profile as they wish, and we're constantly adding new customization features. We are pleasantly surprised with the current numbers, they are well above our expectations. Currently a few thousand live account holders are using the service, and we project that several thousand more will seek us out by the end of the year.
If I am a successful trader do i really want to share my potential goldmine? My question is gearing towards is this actually what you perceive it to be - will successful traders share or will it be the rejects?
We actually find that many successful traders are more than willing to publish their activity –†check out the site! And with 4 trillion in daily Turnover, an individual’s involvement in the Forex market won’t†impact his/her “goldmine” at all!† In addition, we hold weekly contests and top traders are earning cash prizes. There is an incentive for all, regardless of experience level.
You’re the second broker to enter this market, there are other social platforms specifically for traders - should brokers stick to their speciality of providing a service whereby clients can trade as opposed to getting into areas that are ancillary to the core product?
We are the first NFA regulated broker to enter this space.† Our core business is still providing a great trading experience for traders around the world.† However, we felt it was important for us to create a space for our traders to interact with each other on our turf. Our goal is to take the good from all of the social sites out there and cater it to forex traders, make it our own, and continually add improvements based on customer feedback.
Is there any special Regulatory approval you needed?
Our experienced compliance team has a very robust approach to ensuring we adhere to all principles and procedures; we are confident that all points have been addressed.
If all the leading brokers create their own social platform how will you try to compete? Is there anything new coming, have you found and enhancements that can be introduced after this is live in production?
We’ve implemented a number of enhancements to IBFXConnect since our launch – many of our initial efforts were aimed at supporting the community’s rapid growth!† But, to name a couple, we added the ability to filter by demo or live accounts & the ability to view & rank weekly and monthly trade performance.† We’ve also had weekly contests and we’re giving away thousands of dollars every week.
Where IBFXConnect is headed?
We’re working on providing the ability for traders to autocopy each other’s trades – which we believe will be a best of breed offering.† Many products on the market today have too much latency built into them to work well for fx.† We will integrate ours directly with the Metatrader server so trade execution will be, core to our brand, awesome!
How much should you focus on social media?
Social media is important for us, and we will continue to offer what we feel is the best community for collaborative trading. However, we have great pride in our core functionality which gives us the competitive edge: a multi bank Liquidity , pricing and execution, very low rejection rates and excellent research and education resources. Social media is an add-on and with the success of real-time tweets, Facebook and now IBFXConnect—we think it can impact the transparency found within the industry. Our clients- whether they’re in brazil, Malaysia, Singapore or Eastern Europe can now connect with each other and be part of a community that continues to give back to the end user.
What can we expect from Interbank FX, are there any new products going to be launched?
Yes we are keen to continue to deliver new products; we will be launching indices through our Australia office in the next couple of months.
Interbank FX is definitely a leading force in the online FX markets, with new and innovative products like these they continue to strengthen their brand and presence in this highly competitive market.
