Exclusive: Move Over WhatsApp - Dukascopy Bank Launches A Secure Instant Messenger

Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term Magnates has discovered that Swiss FX firm, Dukascopy Bank SA, is launching an app for mobile phones and the web called Dukascopy Connect. The new app is a free instant messenger that is also connected to Dukascopy Community, the firm's social network.

Instant messaging apps have returned to the headlines of the global financial press recently after the social network Facebook paid $19 billion to acquire the WhatsApp messenger. Cybersecurity Cybersecurity Cybersecurity is a blanket term that refers to the protection of computer systems and networks from the theft.More broadly speaking, cybersecurity can also represent countermeasures against damage to hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.It was not long ago that the term cybersecurity not exist as it was first used in 1989. In today’s vernacular cybersecurity, refers to measures taken to protect a computer or computer Cybersecurity is a blanket term that refers to the protection of computer systems and networks from the theft.More broadly speaking, cybersecurity can also represent countermeasures against damage to hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.It was not long ago that the term cybersecurity not exist as it was first used in 1989. In today’s vernacular cybersecurity, refers to measures taken to protect a computer or computer Read this Term and privacy is also a hot topic these days more than ever, thanks to the revelations of Edward Snowden about the NSA worldwide spying network, leading many to look for more secure and trusted means of communications. Dukascopy Connect seems to come at a perfect time to gain from both of these trends.

Reviewing the product page for Dukascopy Connect, it is clear to see the company is putting a lot of emphasis on privacy, trust, confidentiality and secrecy as to the reasons why users should choose their app over the many other messengers, building on the strong reputation of Swiss banks in keeping private accounts.

The app is not aimed specifically at FX traders as the markets are not mentioned at all in the description of the messenger on Dukascopy's website nor on the different app stores, but as anyone who signs up to the service becomes a member of the firm's social network it might help enhance the company's brand and help it reach new potential clients.

The most interesting feature in the description of the app is the promise of the possibility to "make cash transactions to anyone in your phonebook." This is not something that is available in the popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook yet and can also be beneficial to Dukascopy if it connects users to its bank services.

After finding out about the app, Forex Magnates contacted Luis Sanchez, Vice President and Head of Institutional Sales for Europe and America at Dukascopy for a comment. Mr. Sanchez said that the messenger has been under development for the past year and was initially only meant for internal use in the bank to protect the security of its data but later it was decided to release it to the public.

"Right now we have secure connections via HTTPS and WSS protocols," said Mr. Sanchez. In the near future personal chats will be encrypted based on private security keys, meaning that all the chat data will be encrypted on Dukascopy servers and will not be transparent to the firm itself. Estimated time for implementing this feature is about two weeks, according to Mr. Sanchez.

Forex Magnates asked when will this new tool will allow direct money transfers and Mr. Sanchez explained that it will happen in about two months from now due to the time it takes to implement the solution on the server side. When it is ready, both sides will not have to have the app to make a cash transfer but rather only the one who starts a transaction must have the Dukascopy communicator and account for money transactions.

Lastly, Forex Magnates asked what the aim of offering cash transactions is, whether it is to allow users to fund their Dukascopy FX accounts. Mr. Sanchez answered: "The main idea of Dukascopy Connect is to provide a new service to the clients that will use it and serve all the people that need to send funds abroad in a secure, fast, easy and reliable way."