Tools for Brokers' COO Albina Zhdanova Talks about Weekend FX trading

As we all know that forex trading is available 24/7, but actually many brokers and traders need to rest on weekend and forex market is usually closed during the period. Breakout of COVID-19 rises to people’s reflection on traditional trading ways,  software solutions provider Tools for Brokers (TFB)​ announced the support of the Weekend FX trading through a new add-on application by TFB earlier this month.

Today, Fazzaco invited Albina Zhdanova, COO at Tools for Brokers to talk about this announcement and share views on weekend forex trading. 

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Fazzaco: Thanks for joining Fazzaco today. Please tell us more about the announcement you made about supporting weekend FX trading.

Albina Zhdanova: Thank you for having me. Yes, we have just announced the support of Weekend FX trading with our new add-on application. It allows our clients to expand their trading to Saturdays and Sundays hassle-free. The application integrates into the existing and familiar software, so it takes no time to start using it. We are very excited to be one of the first companies to provide this functionality.  

Fazzaco: Why have you decided to support Weekend FX trading？

Albina Zhdanova: There have been many talks in the trading world over the last few years about real 24/7 trading. It has already existed to a certain extent, but not fully. And we were always among those who believe that trading must be round-the-clock. With technology, progress, and our lifestyle in general, it is almost strange at this point that something is not readily available 24/7.

Many traders have limited time during the work week that they can dedicate to trading, but have plenty of time on the weekends. We help brokers and traders make more money by supporting Weekend FX, so it’s a win-win for all parties.  

Fazzaco: How successful was this for the FX industry——what has changed, what would you like to leave behind?

Albina Zhdanova: The TFB integration with Weekend FX has just launched recently, so it is a bit early to say how it has been doing, but we definitely see much interest from our clients. Several brokers have already implemented it in their environment. We honestly don’t see the reason for this not to become a huge success. As I mentioned earlier, this is something that all market players have been waiting for.

What we’d like to leave behind is probably the need to limit oneself to trading only during the weekdays.

Fazzaco: What technical work have you undertaken to achieve this?

Albina Zhdanova: As this is a very specific task, it requires a separate set of instruments. The switch from weekdays to weekends must be flawless. The key here is the integration with the matching engine and control of the switch back to the weekday trading. To facilitate this, we have developed additional software to support this process and to switch it on and off.
Also, as we implement a decentralised architecture in our system, it allows the server to run throughout the weekend without shutting down for regular bridge maintenance.

Fazzaco: What type of clients are you expecting to target? MM broker? STP broker?

Albina Zhdanova: We believe that every kind of broker would be interested in our weekend trading functionality, and we are seeing the interest from very different companies at the moment. So, as we see it, weekend trading will become a standard that any brokerage will need to have. However, it is still early days, and there are currently only a handful of currency pairs available for trading on Saturdays and Sundays. There will probably be further interest once there are more pairs available for trading.

Fazzaco: As we all know, the trading desks of most banks do not function, so how can we ensure liquidity if investors trade on weekends?

Albina Zhdanova: Banks are, undoubtedly, an important component of market liquidity. Yet, they are no longer the predominant source. There are a number of non-bank institutional liquidity providers that are able to trade 24/7, providing a better source of liquidity for weekend FX.

Fazzaco: In your opinion, what is the most important factor in choosing a liquidity partner?

Albina Zhdanova: There is no right or wrong answer really, as each company has its own priorities and criteria. However, we always recommend looking at the partner’s history, how long they have been around, what communication with them looks like, and what services they offer. It is important to partner with someone who invests in its platform, keeps it up-to-date, and is ready to answer any of your questions.

Fazzaco: Can we expect any new products from Tools for Brokers in the near future?

Albina Zhdanova: Right now, we are working on enhancing our existing ecosystem of solutions. The key focus for us is our flagship product — Trade Processor liquidity bridge. There is a roadmap for 2021 with many exciting things to come, so there will be many great opportunities for our partners.