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To trade online or not to trade online? – that is the question that every forex trader or broker must ask and ultimately answer. When the concept of trading on the internet became a reality in the early 90s, it was only a matter of time before the world of forex trading leaped into the bandwagon. Online trading presented considerable perks such as lower commission fees, and transparency, which the forex trader could never have fathomed.
In the past, investors and brokers trading in stocks or bonds, for example, would go through an intermediary who would transact on their behalf. The intermediaries would charge a certain percentage as a commission for moderating the transaction. This old-fashioned method of trading was expensive and limited the forex trader’s control of the transaction. And it gets worse because the trader had restricted access or no access at all to real-time information on important data that would facilitate decision-making.
Decades down the line, advancements in digital technology triggered by the evolution of the internet have turned the tide and made individuals realize that the internet is the savior. Forex traders and investors jumped in and multitudes of companies in that spectrum moved their services online. Since then, the global online trading platform continues to boom at a galloping pace. Fortune Business Insights reports that the online trading market size will reach USD 12 billion by 2028. That is a steep rise from the USD 8.28 billion that the market was locked at in 2020. One of the reasons for this remarkable trend is the simplicity of the use of online trading platforms. The platforms cater to both newbies and experienced professionals. According to Verified Market Research, the understandable and user-friendly interface including continuous improvement to these platforms is expected to further accelerate the market’s continued growth.
Go web or go back
When discussing online trading platforms, the concepts of desktop trading and its alternative, the web terminal cannot be ignored. These two are pivotal to online traders and are the core driving force behind the innovation of online trading.
A web terminal is a web-based software that is used to access financial information and conduct transactions, such as forex, stocks, and bonds, online without requiring the installation of software. Desktop trading, on the other hand, allows the trader to carry out forex and other market transactions online but through special software that is installed on a computer. Both the desktop trading and web terminal are powerful options for a forex trader or investor in that they give the individual total control of his transactions and access to the market within the comfort of his armchair.
However, for the digitized broker and forex trader, the web terminal is the best option. The web terminal does not require any special skills associated with installing software on a machine because it does not demand the installation of any application. Accessing the terminal is as easy as entering a URL in the web browser. Equipped with simply a username and a password, the forex trader could log in to his account and instantly start trading from the web browser on the go. Slouched on her couch within the vicinity of the living room, an investor can access live market charts across multiple currencies, a dedicated news feed customized to her specifications, view open orders and charts, and receive up-to-the-minute quotes and real-time financial information via the web terminal.
Owing to this plug-and-play trading it is apparent that most brokers will migrate to the web terminal and relegate desktop trading to the bottom of the chart. The engine running the web terminal is cloud-based – it is deployed remotely away from the local computer accessing it. Cloud computing is the industry standard of the twenty-first-century internet infrastructure. To put this into perspective, more than 90% of organizations use the cloud, and cloud-based workloads account for 75% of workloads in 1 out of 5 organizations, according to CloudZero. This trend is also visible in the online trading market, and it is anticipated that increased demand for cloud-based solutions will contribute to market growth. The escalating number hoping to the cloud will directly cause a surge in the adoption rate of individuals using the cloud-based web terminal, leading to the eventual defunctness of desktop trading.
Furthermore, trading through a desktop app means that all related data is stored physically on the offline machine. The idea of storing data offline is not exactly the wisest choice in the modern world of cloud computing. Offline data is prone to file corruption from system errors, and loss through malware infection, human error, or theft – which puts the trader or investor under constant threat. One simple glitch in the desktop system would cause catastrophic losses to the trader.
Since desktop apps rely on data that is stored on the local hard drive, an error in the hard drive would mean countless hours of a trader’s technical analysis down the drain. According to a report by DeepSpar Data Recovery Systems, hard drive losses account for 38% of global data losses. The risk of losing data is essentially nonexistent in web terminals because traders have their data safely stored on the cloud, which is mostly shared across multiple locations.
The web terminal is always up-to-date and convenient. Brokers and stock traders are assured that they are using the latest version of the software when accessing the web terminal, giving the traders confidence. The privilege is almost absent in desktop trading since the trader must constantly keep updating the software manually to catch up with the latest updates. In the world of forex trading, every single second on the market counts, and in desktop trading, a trader can be temporarily locked out from using their desktop terminal while awaiting software updates, resulting in losses. The trader who adopts the web terminal is technically in the safe zone and buffered from such risks.
Choosing the ideal web terminal is not a walk in the park considering that the industry is saturated by a hoard of forex entities offering enticing services. Furthermore, when sifting through the myriad of options, it is imperative to cautiously assess the features of the web terminal and the flexibility of the services offered. The MetaTrader 5 Web Terminal from MetaQuotes is an example of a web terminal that is used by many top-ranking brokers, including Exness and IC Market. In the trading world, indicators and chart feature form a critical part of technical analysis. With technical analysis, a trader can pick the right financial securities to trade in or predict and forecast future prices. The MetaTrader 5 web terminal seeks to take web trading to a whole new level by shipping with the same robust list of indicators, trade notifications, and many other features which are available on its desktop counterpart and can be employed in technical analysis. It is easily adaptable by entry-level brokers as well as experienced industry experts and can be accessed by both iOS and Android users via a web browser. To level up security for users, the terminal uses an encryption algorithm that turns transmitted information into coding that makes the original data unreadable. The data is only readable by authorized users, offering a security level that is unparalleled.
MetaTrader 5 web terminal’s interface
Since MetaTrader 5 web terminal runs on the web, accessing it does not require the installation of any specific software. This means that the terminal can be accessed via any browser through the mobile phone, computer, tablet, and any other device that connects to the internet. Users are also allowed to take the web terminal on a test drive before signing up through a demo account. To get started, a user has to contact a customer representative at their regulated broker to help them set up a working environment.
In response to the changing trends in the online trading platform, in October this year, MetaQuotes revamped the MetaTrader 5 web terminal from scratch. The redeveloped underlying core powering the platform has improved the terminal, allowing users to execute trading operations faster and more efficiently. Another significant advantage of the redeveloped terminal is that users can instantly execute trades, unlike other similar platforms where there is a considerable delay for trades to settle.
Placing an instant order on MetaTrader 5 web terminal
The point is…
In the digital world of online trading, the web terminal is fast becoming a force to reckon with. Powered by a sharp rise in the rate of people migrating to cloud computing, and its inclusiveness in accessibility, the web terminal will become the digital broker’s best companion in online trading. As the rise in demand for customized trading platforms from end users continues to drive the growth of the global online trading platform market, the web terminal will take advantage of the trend to become the new name of the game. Thus, the great leap to the web terminal begins.
