Icap Launches Spot FX Matching Platform

Just under three years after it sold Nex Group, including the EBS spot FX platform, to CME Group, Icap is stepping back into the e-FX market with a new spot platform.

SpotMatch has been developed, according to TP Icap, the result of a merger at the time Nex Group was created in 2015, “to meet client demand for an alternative and cost effective e-matching solution” and will provide clients with access to a pool of liquidity across the interbank marketplace.

The firm says the new product is a key part of TP Icap’s electronification strategy, using HTML5 technology and FIX API connectivity. The secure platform enables traders to submit orders prior to pre-scheduled FX matching events and take advantage of first-in-first-out methodology. Matched trades then flow through to a client’s benchmark order book using post-trade solutions.

This is not the first foray into the spot world by the TP Icap group, Tullett Prebon launch TP SpotDeal, an aggregation platform in 2012, but the firm is clearly looking to take advantage of its position in the inter-dealer market.

“We have developed SpotMatch to meet client demand,” says Andrew Berry, senior managing director, Icap. “Following many discussions with our clients it became clear there is a need for a simple, user-friendly interface for e-matching trading across FX markets. We’re continuing to focus on electronification right across the business and this is another example of where TP Icap is taking important strides forward to deliver innovative electronic offerings in key marketplaces.”