How To Choose and Evaluate a CRM for Your Forex Brokerage – A Full Guide

Rise of CRM solutions
Why do forex brokers need a CRM designed specifically for them?
Features a CRM for forex brokers should have
Final thoughts on CRM for forex brokers

Rise of CRM solutions

The global Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5%, from $63.91 billion in 2022 to $145.79 billion by 2029. Apart from the increasing digitisation, especially in financial services, the focus on lead generation and customer retention are likely to drive this growth. A CRM has become indispensable for forex brokers, given how such software can improve customer management and end-user experiences.

The use of cutting-edge technology is important given that the largest consumer segment is made up of millennials today, with Gen Z coming in a close second. The behaviour and expectations of these generations vary greatly from those of their predecessors. For instance, millennials are sensitive to negative customer experiences and don’t hesitate to shift to your competitor if they are dissatisfied. Plus, these digital native generations expect nothing less than the latest technology-based solutions for their needs.

So, to succeed in the intensely competitive financial markets, forex brokers need to prioritise customer experience and cutting-edge technology support. A forex CRM system can prove to be a boon under such circumstances, providing an automated management system that eases collaboration with clients.

The problem is that there are multiple CRMs available, not all of which are built specifically for the forex market. This means you need to choose the right forex CRM provider to ensure the best possible experiences for your team and your clients.

Why Do Forex Brokers Need a CRM Designed Specifically for Them?

A CRM is a software that allows forex brokers to manage interactions with clients smoothly. It has proven its worth in improving customer services, increasing sales and optimising marketing strategies by storing customer information. It can also help streamline business processes and provide analytics for data-driven business decisions.

Forex brokers function very differently from other financial services providers. They need to interact with and engage thousands of traders on a daily basis. So, the CRM needs to be built keeping in mind that the brokerage will need to provide responsive support, while keeping traders informed about the latest promotions and products and driving repeat deposits in trading accounts. Plus, the CRM can prove invaluable in keeping track of the trading activities and journeys of individual clients.

So, as a forex broker, you need a CRM that will allow you to gather, store and analyse customer data, securely store personal and sensitive information and offer personalised services, based on each client’s trading behaviour. In addition, it should help you support and manage your IBs and affiliates. The perfect CRM should, therefore, include back office management tools, as well as personalised partner and trader portals. In short, it should help differentiate you from the competition by providing smooth and seamless experiences to all types of users.

So, how do you know whether the forex CRM provider you choose will help with all this? For that, check the features of the software.

Features a CRM for Forex Brokers Should Have

From easing KYC to reducing overheads, the CRM you choose should include powerful features that can drive business success, such as:

Multi-Platform Compatibility

The forex CRM system should be both multi-functional and platform agnostic. This way, regardless of the geography to which you expand or the trading platforms you add to your offerings, the CRM will remain compatible. This also means that if you wish to add social or copy trading platforms to your offerings, the CRM should be able to easily integrate with them.

High Level of Customisability and Flexibility

The aim should be to give your clients a complete brand experience using a white label CRM that ensures professional and consistent branding across channels, including your website, client and partner portals, and social media pages. You also should be able to fully customise its functions to the needs of your business, including the various aspects of your operations, chat tools, email support, payment solutions, notifications and SMS.

According to Jonas Eldborn from Fair Trading Technology experienced CRM Provider

“Operating an online brokerage can be quite challenging and only way to survive long term is to have the best tools available along with of course a strong team using it. Therefor you can’t settle with an off the shelf solution made for generic usage when it comes to CRM functions. By using a true Forex CRM you get all the important data served to you right away so that you can become more efficient and get a streamlined process for dealing with daily tasks”

Compliance Ready

The financial landscape is wrought with regulatory challenges. So, any CRM built for forex brokers should ease compliance with built-in RegTech. It should allow effortless KYC and verification, while also following anti-money laundering guidelines. Your team should be able to view clients’ trading activities, track KYC protocols, manage deposits and withdrawals and implement compliant marketing.

Empowers the Sales Team

The software should ease the generating and nurturing of leads for your sales team, IBs and affiliates. It should enable the tracking of the contact information of each lead, where they came from and the stage of the sales funnel they are in, so that your team can easily follow up on the right channels to drive conversions.

Multi-Level Partner Management

The efficiency and productivity of your IBs and affiliates depend on the tools you provide them to nurture clients on your behalf. Make sure it easily integrates with your existing IB and MAM system and allows you to offer a personalised partner portal. It should ease the payment of rebates across partners, even in a multi-level model. You could also choose to allow IBs to track their clients’ information and calculate their commissions. It should also allow you to seamlessly manage partners with multi-level support, tracking of referral links, provision of marketing materials and more.

Backend Management

Check with the forex CRM provider regarding the administration functions of the software. It should offer powerful yet flexible back-office tools, including multi-asset trading support, markups and markdowns on group-level influence charts and swaps, support for clients and reporting tools across time zones (rather than based on server time) and customisable security settings. It should also allow you to manage and monitor client accounts, create custom reports and configure trading conditions to offer the best customer experiences.

Easy API Integration

The forex CRM system should help you cut costs on maintenance, administrators, server hardware and internet connections through seamless integration with open APIs. It should simplify the transition to the platform without needing the installation of server-side software or hardware. With a cloud-based infrastructure, it can offer easy localisation, minimal latency and instant scalability.

Final Thoughts on CRM for a forex broker

The bottom line is that the CRM should drive business growth by allowing you to provide best-in-class customer services, while supporting your expansion across geographies. For this, any CRM built for forex brokers should include powerful tools for gathering and analysing data. It should allow you to generate customised reports that not only ease compliance but also help you with customer segmentation, business strategising and operational efficiency. Learn more about white label solutions for forex brokers.