MetaQuotes, the company behind the ubiquitous MetaTrader platform, announced changes to its MetaTrader 5 this Monday. The new features should streamline the onboarding process for brokers make trading clearer to industry newbies. A new app-store should also enable brokers to add additional features to their service offering.

Users of MetaTrader 5 can now open an account with a broker via the platform’s start dialog. The start dialog brings up a list of brokers that use MetaTrader, and the user can select the company they are opening an account with.

For trading newbies, this service is useful as they can also see the different account types available at the broker they have selected. For instance, if the user selects ‘demo account,’ MetaTrader 5 will have a small description of what a demo account is and what risks are involved in using one.

Regulatory helping hand

From the brokers’ side, the updates will be helpful in adhering to the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The account opening dialog has links to the relevant data protection agreements that firms must list and enables clients to give their consent to those agreements.

For regulated brokers, there are even more benefits, on the regulatory front, to today’s announced updates. Adhering to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II ) should be easier as clients can upload identification and address documents - something that was previously only available on the MetaTrader 5 mobile application.

This means that clients can open accounts faster and brokers can adhere to MiFID II more easily. For example, if a broker wants to request information related to a clients employment status and trading experience, that information can be accessed almost instantly.

New App-Store

Brokers will also have the ability to tap into third-party resources through a revamped app-store. This was previously only available as a web service which made integrating any third-party applications a burdensome process.

Firms will now be able to access these various applications, which cover everything from data feeds to Liquidity solutions, will be accessible straight from the MetaTrader5 platform. Currently, there are 16 software providers on the app-store that offer 80 products.