ATFX launches institutional brand, expands educational offering

Transcript

ATFX is a global forex and CFD brokerage. In the UK it’s been regulated by the FCA since 2017, and it’s been growing fast. Managing Director Wei Qiang Zhang and Head of Marketing Ergin Erdemir discuss the brokerage’s competitive edge, its recently launched institutional offering, and the upgraded educational support that ATFX offers to its customers.

World Finance: First, how does ATFX set itself apart in the highly competitive forex market?

Wei Qiang Zhang: Yes, correctly, the FX market is very, very competitive now. We set up ourselves differently, focused on two things: people and technology.

We recruit talented people from around the world. They are multi-tasking, multi-skillsetted. For example, our customer services team can speak 10+ languages in 15+ offices around the world.

We invest heavily on technology. Now we have our own aggregator, we have developed our front end and back end system into second stage. Very soon our clients will be able to create an account with one or two clicks.

Of course our products also stand out from others; I will give Ergin, our head of marketing, for more details.

Ergin Erdemir: Thank you very much Wei. At ATFX we differentiate ourselves in three different key areas: being flexible, being competitive and cost effective, and being customer-centric.

Another key area we are focusing is offering the best possible competitive spreads to our clients. To do that we have redesigned our account types based on our client feedback. And each account type comes with multiple benefits, starting from competitive spreads and raw spreads with 0.0 pips on major products.

At ATFX we think the customer is everything. That’s why we put our customers at the heart of our business. We listen to them day in and day out, meet their needs through our products and services, and I think this is the best way to provide them the best possible trading experience.

World Finance: It’s not just retail forex you offer; you’re also stepping up your institutional offerings?

Wei Qiang Zhang: Exactly. Last month we launched our new brand: ATFX Connect, which is our institutional platform. We can aggregate 20+ liquidity providers, we can configure the price into different requirements. For example some clients maybe need a retail price with smaller tickets; some clients maybe need a bigger ticket from non-bank liquidity. We are proud of this product; we think we can offer this to our clients in hedge fund areas, in asset managers, and other brokers. Even some big banks.

We can deal with the prices through different channels such as API, webpage, GUI. Also a mobile app in the future.

We are also offering special solutions for some brokers, such as exchange data, which is very popular now. And we have some events worldwide coming in October-November; so if you’re interested, please watch out!

World Finance: Now, how do you ensure that your customers are educated and empowered in their trading?

Ergin Erdemir: At ATFX we take education very seriously, because we think there’s a lack of good education materials available within the forex industry. That’s why we have recently created a brand new education strategy – not only for new beginners, but also for intermediate and advanced level traders.

Our clients can join daily and weekly webinars with our global chief market strategist, and discuss the latest market trends. We also offer up to 20 webinars every month, covering major European languages, and touching various topics like technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and trading psychology.

Through offline channels, globally we run more than 10 seminars in our local offices, where our clients can come in and discuss their trading strategies, and improve their trading knowledge.

Finally, we’re attending trading events across the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world: to meet our partners and traders, to discuss their trading needs.

World Finance: And what protections and support are in place for your customers?

Wei Qiang Zhang: As s responsible broker under UK regulation, we have put various measures and tools to protect client interests and also client money, of course!

For example, active balance protection. Clients will not lose more than they have with us. And we have also a dedicated team to reconcile client money up to the penny on a daily basis.

We’re also looking for extra insurance to protect the client money further. But everything is based on the integrity and professionalism of our staff: we train them regularly, not only for skills and knowledge, but also for compliance and regulation, so we can serve our clients best.

Ergin Erdemir: In terms of support, we do not limit our customers to contacting us only via phone or email: they can simply go on our website, one click, open the live chatbox, and start talking to ATFX team members, and get the answers of their questions instantly.

As a result of our investment in customer service, ATFX won the Best Customer Service award by ADVFN in 2019, and the Best Forex Broker award through the UK Forex Awards.

World Finance: Finally, what does the future hold for ATFX UK?

Ergin Erdemir: At ATFX group, we are committed to grow our business across the UK, EU, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, even Latin America.

We will keep investing in our technology so that we can provide an excellent user journey to our clients. We are also in the middle of developing our mobile application, which is due soon.

Of course we’ll be investing on education and customer service, so that our clients can feel comfortable and competent while trading with us. We will keep investing in our products and offerings so that our clients can feel they are getting value for money. Last but not least, we will keep releasing new features for our professional traders.

Wei Qiang Zhang: Also, the market is very competitive now. So simple, pure brokerage doesn’t work anymore. So we have to move away from it, to build a more advanced, fintech model. That’s why we set up a new IT team in one of the European countries. Also we are updating our institutional offering: we’re going to sign a new PP, we’re going to have our own aggregator. We will also have our new bridge. So hopefully next time we can tell you more!

World Finance: Wei, Ergin, thank you very much.

Wei Qiang Zhang: Thank you.

Ergin Erdemir: Thank you.