Fixed telephony management in trading rooms

In trading rooms, smartphones are often forbidden or their use is strictly regulated. The main reason is that in trading and dealing rooms, traders buy and sell financial instruments like stocks, bonds, currencies and derivatives. High-stake transactions and the sensitive nature of the information involved make communication a critical factor. Therefore, fixed desk phones are still commonly used. The main reasons to forbid or restrict mobile phones are:

• Prevention of insider trading and market manipulation: A key concern in financial trading is the illegal use of information. Mobile phones can easily be used to receive or share confidential information that impacts trading decisions. They are also an easy distributor of rumours or false information. Banning mobile phones contributes to an environment of fairness and transparency and helps to maintain market integrity.
• Regulatory Compliance: Financial markets are heavily regulated. Trading companies must comply with strict rules in which all trade communications must be recorded and archived. A measure can be that all fixed-line phones in trading rooms automatically record calls to ensure compliance. Organizing this for mobile phones is complicated since many staff bring private smartphones with different operating systems.
• Cyber security: Mobile phones, with their open model in which people can install their own apps, offer a large attack surface for cyber-attacks via phishing, malware, and other security vulnerabilities. Given the high value of the transactions discussed via the communication channels, it’s crucial to minimize risks. Restricting the use of mobile phones helps protect against unauthorized access to the trading firm’s systems and data.
• Avoiding Distractions: The trading business requires intense focus and quick decision-making; mistakes can result in costly mistakes. Mobile phones have proven to be a significant source of distraction, and therefore, broker firms often restrict mobile phone use in trading rooms.

In summary, restrictions for the use of mobile phones in trading rooms are a measure that is defined to protect the integrity of the financial markets, ensure regulatory compliance, enhance security, and ensure focused and efficient trading. As a result, in many trading and dealing firms, fixed-line desk phones are still used.

Extension Mobility for dealing or trading rooms

Of course, fixed-line telephony has disadvantages. A trading room is a call centre type of environment. In such a flexible workplace, you switch between desks; every desk comes with another phone number. Consequently, you cannot access your contacts, voicemail and features. Cisco solves this using the Extension Mobility feature that allows employees to log into any desk phone. After logging in, traders can be reached via their own number, use their contacts, and listen to their voicemails. Logging in via Extension Mobility is, however, inconvenient, as you must enter a username and PIN code via the telephone keypad; again and again for each workshift.

Manage desk phones for brokers, trading firms and dealers

Our ALM (Active Login Manager) application has solved this problem. In trading rooms, employees typically also use a computer. ALM synchronises the trader’s computer account with the associated desk phone. Traders or dealers log into their computers and automatically upload their phone settings to the corresponding desktop telephones. At the end of their shift, the phone is automatically locked again so that no confidential information can be accessed by other staff.

Our software can also be used to centrally manage desktop phones. A planning application can assign a trading agent to a specific desk and the associated telephone and configure the phone with the agent’s personal number and settings.