Australian online broker Bell Direct has chosen Sybase 365 to power a new mobile platform that will enable investors to trade shares using SMS text messages.
To use the service investors enter a PIN number before submitting their order by SMS and receiving a confirmation. The text-based order becomes a registered trading process in the corporate order management system. Sybase 365 acts as the gateway between Bell Direct’s trading platform and investors’ mobile phones.
The service is free, although customers have to pay a standard SMS charge, says Bell Direct. Lee Muco, COO, Bell Direct, says he expects to see a healthy adoption rate for themobile service, due to the popularity of text messaging in Australia.
Commenting on the new service Jo Rich, regional director, Australia and New Zealand, Sybase 365, says: "Worldwide, the financial services industry is increasingly recognising the value of mobile services for customer interaction and loyalty."
However mobile trading is not new and other brokers have launched similar services in the past. In 2004 a deal was struck to bundle the Promyzer platform, a joint venture formed by Swedish dealing systems vendor Orc Software and Trustlink, with Sony Ericsson's smartphone P910.
The Promyzer platform provides mobile access to around 80 electronic markets worldwide via the Orc Software's trading technology with users able to execute orders using the handset, as well as receive price updates and news.
Online broker E*Trade also provides mobile trading services over eb-enabled phones, PDAs and Blackberrys.