Online brokerage firm Zecco (www.zecco.com) today announced the release of Zap Trade, the world's first plug-in trading experience for the web. Zap Trade is a platform of innovative, web-based technologies that enables Zecco Trading customers to place trades directly from top finance and investing websites. Zecco also announced that StockTwits is the first third-party web site to become Zap Trade enabled, making Zap Trade a key new feature available to all StockTwits members.
"As we've seen during the last few weeks, markets move fast and unpredictably. Investors need powerful tools like Zap Trade to react quickly to trading opportunities," said Zecco CEO Michael Raneri. "Zap Trade offers significant new value to both individual investors and web site publishers, and is another example of Zecco's technology innovation and focus on our goal of delivering the best online brokerage experience to our customers and partners."
The Zap Trade experience is available in two different versions: (1) The Zap Trade Plug-In and (2) Zap Trade Enabled. Both components of Zap Trade support stock and ETF trading for all transaction types available in the full Zecco Trading platform, including buy, sell, short, and cover transactions.
Zap Trade Plug-In: Trade where you research
The Zap Trade Plug-In is a Firefox browser plug-in that allows Zecco Trading customers to place orders and get real-time quotes while visiting popular third-party investment and research websites, without having to leave those sites. These research sites include Bloomberg, CNN Money, Google Finance, MarketWatch, Motley Fool, MSN Money, Reuters, TheStreet, and Yahoo! Finance. Zap Trade also works on the public research sections of the online brokerage sites of E*Trade, Scottrade, and TD Ameritrade.
As a web browser plug-in, Zap Trade works by adding Zecco-specific functionality to the user's browser. Zap Trade detects stock symbols and related links on popular investing websites while browsing, and overlays real-time quote and trade ticket controls in the form of a Zecco "Z" on top of the user's view of these sites. A user can click the "Z" to pop up a Zap Trade order ticket and, with just a couple of mouse clicks, place a trade through their Zecco Trading account, all without leaving the site they are on. The Zap Trade Plug-In is free, and available now for download. Download Zap Trade.
Zap Trade Enabled: Trade without leaving partner sites
Zap Trade Enabled is the Zap Trade functionality embedded in a website itself, empowering all visitors to that website to place trades with Zecco Trading and get real-time quotes without downloading a browser plug-in. To the user, a Zap Trade Enabled site works the same as a site supported by the browser plug-in: the user clicks the on-screen "Z," which pops up a pre-filled trade ticket that can be completed to place a trade or to get a quote. Again, this all happens without the visitor ever having to leave the site they are on.
Zap Trade Enabled provides website publishers a powerful new tool that offers new capabilities to website visitors and increases the time visitors spend on the site. To support the launch of Zap Trade Enabled, Zecco has created the Zap Trade Partner Program, which rewards partners when users sign up for Zecco Trading accounts from their site. For more information on the Zap Trade Partner program, contact Zecco at bizdev@zecco.com.
"Zecco is offering a tool that does not force clients to change their research behavior, but rather embraces it," said Sean O'Dowd, Senior Analyst with IDC Financial Insights. "By observing client trade activity cycles, Zecco has identified a unique way to insert itself into the extended network of news, social and financial sites. Doing so provides an ease of execution that tests the norm of the retail trading experience. The benefit we see is an overall improved real time, user enabled, value experience."
StockTwits: Zecco's First Zap Trade Enabled Partner
StockTwits (www.stocktwits.com) is Zecco's first Zap Trade Enabled partner. Effective today, all StockTwits visitors can access Zap Trade functionality embedded across the site, regardless of which browser they are using and without the need for a browser plug-in.
StockTwits is an open, community-powered idea and information service for market participants. Members can eavesdrop on traders and investors or contribute to the real time conversation organized by ticker and by user to build their reputation as savvy market wizards.
"At StockTwits, we are always looking for interesting new ways to bring more value to our members. Adding Zap Trade functionality to our site is a no-brainer," said StockTwits CEO Howard Lindzon. "People come to StockTwits to get investing ideas from our community and to share their own. Letting investors act on that information without having to leave the StockTwits web site is a winning combination for StockTwits, our members, and Zecco."