MetaQuotes Raises MT4 Fees as PFSOFT Waives License Fee – Best of the Week | Finance Magnates

During the passing week the top news in the international online trading industry involved the changing price of technology, the distressed Israeli market and major changes in binary options. We also got a look at how smaller competitors in the social sphere are expanding their market share at the expense of the biggest player.

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Israeli market

On Sunday we reported on two developments from the online trading industry in Israel. In another instance of market consolidation the Israeli branch of Colmex bought out its rival Matach24 after the latter failed to receive authorization to operate in by the regulator.

We also exclusively reported that one of the big binary options brokerages from Cyprus, OptionRally, has laid off its last 20 employees from its English desk located in Israel, which leaves the broker with almost no presence in the country.

If you are wondering if the regulator fears the loss of these jobs, the answer is a resounding no. The ISA head said:  “Binary options are similar to gambling, and with the harm caused to investors in this field with huge leverage we are not willing to accept. We are also not willing to accept the wrongful and ugly phenomena of aggressively marketing these toxic products to the public. The testimonies that get to us are simply horrifying. Hard working people, that saved money all their lives so they can grow old with dignity, fall into the trap of greedy charlatans sucking their lifeblood. They take from them everything they have, and even what they don’t have, and leave them penniless.”

Alpari UK

On Monday the news broke that KPMG postponed the final distribution of funds owed to Alpari UK clients. KPMG said it won’t distribute the funds until after the court gives a judgement on the appeal by a ‘significant client creditor’.

The Joint Special Administrators said they have adjudicated all claims, including sending notices of full or partial rejection where deemed appropriate. KPMG intended to make a final distribution to clients by 24 July 2017.

PFSOFT

On Tuesday we revealed that PFSOFT, the developer of one of the most powerful platforms on the market – Protrader – is waiving its startup license fee of $150,000 as the company aims to shift its B2B line pricing model towards a more flexible structure.

Commenting on the move, the Global Head of Business Development at PFSOFT, Roman Nalivayko, explained: “The rationale behind this decision is to help market participants to diversify risk and extend their business activity by implementing proven multi asset technology.”

MT5 < MT4

On Wednesday we reported that MetaQuotes has informed its clients about more upcoming changes to the fee structure of its most popular software product. The company has increased the monthly support fees it charges on every additional MetaTrader 4 server that clients use by about a third.

Earlier today the company highlighted in an official announcement that the effort is paying off with over 100 brokers currently offering the MetaTrader 5 trading platform. With a discounted license fee of $50,000 for existing clients, the latest solution from MetaQuotes is cheaper than the lucrative MetaTrader 4 license that costs about $100,000. This further makes it seem like the fee hike is an attempt to nudge the market toward the newer platform.

SpotOption

On Thursday SpotOption announced the launch of its MT4 plug-in, which integrates the company’s binary option offering with the MT4 environment. SpotOption has partnered with the B2B forex technology provider Tools For Brokers, to include its T4B Binary Platform into the newly launched solution.

David Ripstein, CEO of SpotOption, commented: “We knew that our binary options platform would be a great benefit to operators offering MT4, and we looked for the right partners who could give us the best synchronization. Tools For Brokers demonstrated the technological expertise we were looking for, and they definitely delivered the seamless integration that we imagined.”

Social Forex Referrals

On Friday the latest Referrals Ranking from Finance Magnates Intelligence Department for November was published. The top social sources for relevant traffic for brokers has some very interesting data.

While the number one social referral source is still Facebook with about 44% of the market, smaller competitors have grown at its expense – especially Twitter which is still at number three. Twitter has expanded from about 9% to 15% in the last three months of social traffic.