The application of online technology to foreign exchange
trading has taken a surprisingly long time to get going. One of the
industry's leading players admits that the pace of innovation has
been, until the last year, disappointingly slow. Only two online
platforms are trading so far - the independent Currenex and State
Street's Global Link FX Connect system. These will soon be joined
by the new consortium sites FXall and Atriax.
Though no firm dates are yet forthcoming for when these will begin
full trading, both are in final testing and are expected to go live
this summer.
It may be that development of these online forex facilities has
been held up by a lack of consensus among leading forex banks as to
how to develop the sites and a reluctance to undertake investment.
Some insiders even contend that certain of the bank members of the
consortia sites have deliberately held back...
