Sector: Forex and financial services · Platform: isCT
The challenge
When Central FX was established, operations and data entry were carried out in a very manual way. The company needed a more efficient operating system — one that could look after clients, produce the relevant notes, and let the team book currency without going onto counterparty sites to do it.
It was also crucial that business information was stored in a way that made creating and accessing reports straightforward.
Central FX needed a solution that:
- Automated, streamlined and improved their trading process
- Minimised errors in their operations
- Was easy and efficient to use
- Involved Straight Through Processing
- Offered a digital client web portal
- Reported on complex position computation, such as Mark to Market, instantly
The solution
Impress Solutions offered its internally developed isCT platform to provide the data management and reporting Central FX needed.
The system linked Central FX directly to one of the major banks through a FIX engine and API. The team could then book trades on their own internal system with the client, who would receive a trade contract confirmation note — instead of booking currency through a counterparty’s user interface and manually keying the data back into Central FX’s own system. Everything became recorded and automated at the press of one button.
The results
Straight Through Processing across the operation let the team process transactions quickly and accurately, with auto funds matching across all areas of the business, so payment could be carried out swiftly and securely.
Instant position computation. Loading a simple list to show complex calculations such as Mark to Market has helped review the company’s risk position with clients and counterparties.
A digital client offering. Launching the web portal, so clients could process trades themselves, was an important milestone for the company in staying competitive.
Finance without re-keying. The solution linked seamlessly to Central FX’s Sage accounting system, making finance postings and regulatory compliance reporting faster and easier.
The automation delivered a 30% increase in turnover after the trading process was automated in 2018, alongside an 80% increase in processing speed.
The experience
“Impress Solutions are constantly making improvements to ensure good customer service. We have a good relationship with the team, they are all superb. A lot of the work we request on our systems does have to be done out of hours when we’re closed to minimise interruptions, and the Impress team will work to whenever they have to get a job done. That is testament to their commitment to customer service.”
— Altan Ali, Director, Central FX