How Mobile is the Forex Market?

By Yael Warman, Leverate

I often find myself sitting in front of my computer, checking e-mail from my phone. Does it ever happen to you? If you are like me, let me assure you we are not alone. Mobile is not about mobility anymore. According to a recent study, 16% of people use their mobile phones at home. A lot of those I picture sitting on their couch while surfing the web, but many others, like me, are doing it while within reach from a desktop or laptop.

The fact is, that every day activities, such as checking e-mail, searching for information on the internet, buying things and checking social media networks, are happening on mobile devices more so than on PCs. A reported 33% of people use their smartphones to access the internet.

That is more than double the number of people using their desktops to do so (14%), according to Ofcom Technology. And as consumers become more confident about the security measures available on their devices, screens become larger, mobile sites become more responsive and businesses focus their efforts on mobile development, the more mobile will become the preferred method for online access.

Forex trading often lags behind when it comes to the implementation of new technology, but with the rapid growth of mobile technology, the way in which we conduct trading is inevitably changing. For Forex, being a market that trades 24 hours a day, mobility plays a huge role and provides an immense advantage, helping traders untie themselves from their desks.

In case of immediate action required because the market turned in an unexpected way, a trader can now log into their mobile trading platform from wherever they are, so long as they have access to the internet.

Back in 2013, a study of all trades that went through our platforms revealed that only 15% of mobile trading logins resulted in a trade. The other 85% logged in to check the status of their existing positions, check their SL/TP trigger points or exit positions when the market took an unexpected turn.

With the level of freedom that the mobile revolution has provided traders though, those numbers have significantly increased. An online study conducted by ORC International for the investment firm Fidelity, 56% of U.S mobile users surveyed, are accessing financial apps for sophisticated investing tasks, such as conducting technical research/charting, conducting fundamental research/reading analyst reports and trading.

If the way in which users go about their online shopping becomes in any way a reflection of how traders will go about their trading, we will find users who are not committed to one platform, but who rather jump from one platform to the next, conducting research on their web platforms, opening trades on their smartphones and then monitoring price and pip changes on their tablets for example.

For Forex brokers to succeed, they’ll need to offer traders engaging and attractive mobile platforms that enhance the user experience and will need to offer traders the ability to trade over multiple platforms seamlessly, with features such as one-wallet and one-login.