Ashish Jain,CEO, Future FX
The economic development of any nation completely depends on its financial structure both in long term and short term. The financial system and its efficiency determines the success of the nation in terms of economic growth.
As most of the sectors are taking advantages of the technology evolved since 1980, financial sector has also transformed immensely.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), dating back to 1875, started as a broker’s forum under a tree on Dalal Street, and is Asia’s oldest stock exchange. For over a century, registered brokers have made trades happen.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) came up in 1994 to provide screen-based electronic trading. It gave fibre-optic access to brokers in other cities who could join the trading in the centralized exchange located in Mumbai.
Dematerialization of shares started in the late 1990s and online trading began at the turn of the millennium where investors could buy and sell shares through electronic brokers such as ICICI Direct and Sharekhan.
As more and more elements of the stock market get digitized, it increases its potential to attract a new generation of investors.
Online financial services company Zerodha brought “discount broking” to India in 2010, applying a flat fee of ₹20 on a trade whatever its size. This attracted young investors who could do a trade in less commission. Now, we have all the marketing and trading apps on our phones and we can easily make trades.
The insurance sector has eliminates the role of broker and now anyone can buy insurance through mobile phones. Some such apps are HDFC ERGO insurance, Insure, Caringly Yours, etc.
Trade has always been shaped by technology but the rapid development of digital technologies in recent times has the potential to transform international trade profoundly in the years to come.
From the moment we wake up to check how the markets performed overnight until the time we go back to bed before doing another check of how the market is set to open on the other side of the globe, technology now plays a critical role in everything we do and the way we do things.
For the financial markets, the coming of advanced technology has been the key factor behind the transformation in the way things are done. Technology is also at the core of how companies operate and maintain their competitive edge in this vicious environment.
While forex trading and trading in general used to be the domain of institutional and corporate players, today even retail and private investors consider forex an essential component of their overall portfolio. And this is no doubt due to the ease of access and price transparency offered on the electronic platform.
Nowadays, providers need to have the latest technology all the time. They need to add new and build more features to their platform to attract and retain clients.
Traders are now able to monitor their trades from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection. This gives traders more freedom, mobility and flexibility.
The trading in global markets has thus become easy and convenient like never before.
