Electronic platforms short circuit

Multi-bank forex platforms have not lived up to the hype that surrounded their initial launch, with rumours of an imminent merger between FXall and Atriax pointing to just how deep the problems lie. John Ferry examines the reasons behind the e-FX souring

Rumours that FXall and Atriax – two of the leading foreign exchange electronic trading platforms – are set to merge have been circulating for over six months now, but the whispers intensified in March thanks to a series of leaks from their executives. The possible merger highlights the fact that a slew of problems have haunted the forex electronic platform industry for some time now. This is because the arguments used to sell electronic platforms to investors and end-users – cheaper