The forex industry is one which thrives on change. And demands change. And no leading company in the forex industry has probably seen more change over the past year than platform provider Leverate.
Leverate now has a new management team in place, led by longtime Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) and Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ:DOX) executive Kobi Gur who took the reins of the company from Ran Strauss back in May. Kobi and his team spent the better part of the summer revamping the company’s products and strategy, leading to the launch of the company’s new-and-improved platform SIRIXActive this month.
LeapRate is pleased to have this opportunity to speak with Kobi about SIRIXActive and all the other changes now afoot at Leverate.
1) Hi Kobi. We understand that following the changeover in management at Leverate, including your joining the company, that a major review of Leverate’s products and strategy was undertaken which has led to the launch of SIRIXActive. Can you let us know a little more about the process you went through and the decisions taken?
Leverate has always distinguished itself for being an innovative company with smart people. We were the first ones to market a full turnkey solution and the first ones to implement social trading for example. When I came on board, I knew it was imperative to find the next big thing, so as a team, we looked at our customers for insight, and we listened to their wants and needs. Moreover, we looked at their critical pain points and at how we could make a difference in their success with smart technology. We discussed internally, and with leading consultants and came up with SIRIXActive. Our team worked around the clock and we are proud to have gone from concept to release in only 4 months.
It is important to mention that SIRIXActive is only one of a few elements in our strategy. We have additional features and products that will be out soon and others that will be developed over time. At the end of the day, however, we are aiming to provide our customers with the best offering in the market and SIRIXActive is one major contributing aspect to our goal.
2) Please let us know a little more about SIRIXActive. What are the major differences between SIRIXActive and your previous platform?
SIRIXActive is a whole new animal. Well, its a whole new animal but of the same species so to speak. SIRIXActive is not a new platform per se, but rather an integration and flow into our existing SIRIX platforms, like SIRIXWeb and SIRIXMobile. The best way to think about SIRIXActive is that it is a concept that is now an integral part of our systems. The concept basically says to our customers that technology can boost their top line, while lowering their costs and, who wouldn’t want that? The focus for now is on conversion and retention, but soon we will start looking at improving the acquisition part as well. It will not only be an automated process but also a personalization tool and it is all built on data-driven elements.
The system is extremely versatile and it completely streamlines the conversion process. The embedded platform allows for a smooth flow from banner to demo to real trading. The system’s automated and reactive messages, proactive chat and push notifications, in-app registration, deposits and verification and in-app tutorials, promote a smoother and quicker conversion process and a trader’s longer lifetime and larger deposits. The incredible response we have received since the recent launch of SIRIXActive has proven that this is what brokers want and need. We are confident that this new system will revolutionize the industry and give our clients a tremendous advantage.
3) From a broker’s perspective, what are the major benefits of running your business using SIRIXActive?
The benefits of implementing SIRIXActive are a direct response to our client’s needs. Implementing SirixActive smooths out the conversion process and with that, a broker will see a guaranteed boost in conversion rates. The availability of multiple languages increases a brokerage’s reach immensely. The system also promotes an increase in retention with higher volumes and LTV. Last but certainly not least, SIRIXActive allows a brokerage to reduce marketing costs both in terms of acquisition and staffing. All these benefits ultimately impact a broker’s ROI in a tremendously positive way.
4) How does SIRIXActive integrate with your existing products, such as social trading and your back end CRM?
SIRIXActive goes beyond integrating with our existing product lineup. The system is physically designed to work as a partnership with our other products in order to increase conversion, deposits and retention. It is somewhat of a holy trinity in which SIRIXActive, SIRIXSocial and LXCRM work in gear as part of the same well-oiled machine called SIRIXBroker. One example of how SIRIXActive works is that the trader interacts with the platform and with the social trading component, the CRM follows the trader’s activity and alerts brokers so they can establish contact accordingly.
5) Where do you see the most growth nowadays, where new FX and CFD brokerages are opening? In which regions are you putting the most effort and resources?
We are continuing to see growth in the traditional EU markets. APAC is growing exponentially and we are following suit by heavily investing in the region with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai to service mainland China and the Taiwan markets and expanding our teams in the area to serve clients all over SE Asia. We are also seeing a lot of growth in the former Easter block, from Russia to Ukraine, Latvia and Belarus.
6) What do you see as the major challenges facing Forex brokerages in the coming months?
The main challenges for brokers are trying to continue to grow when they are faced with strong competition from larger firms; keeping up with regulations and compliance standards that are becoming stricter, wider and more regional; and trying to expand their marketing reach, which involves additional staff to serve multiple languages and time zones, additional technology (e.g. ping under 5ms for zero latency, mobile presence), etc. SIRIXActive covers all the bases on behalf of a broker. Our system will soon become a must, rather than a nice thing to have.