MetaQuotes have announced a significant upgrade to their MetaTrader 5 iPhone mobile platform in the form of a facility which enables users to arrange a chat conversation with any registered MQL5 user, regardless of with which brokerage they hold their trading account. In creating an MQL5 community, messages can be sent directly to recipients’ mobile devices by specifying the MetaQuotes ID, listed in all users’ MQL5 profile. 

The facility adds a new dimension to the type of social trading interactions which will take place, owing to the neutrality of the community. It has created a facility to message all users of the MetaTrader platform, rather than specific clients of specific brokerages.

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Currently, availability of this service is exclusive to the iPhone platform, however it will be rolled out to the Android mobile operating system in the near future. MetaQuotes explained to us: “We are releasing these on a gradual basis. Initially, these new features will be implemented over the coming days for the iPhone operating system. Subsequently, we will implement them on the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 mobile platforms for the Android operating system.”

One particular potential effect which springs to mind when considering the possible ways in which this will be used market-wide, bearing in mind that its primary function is to allow users to interact with each other, is the potential for clients of MetaTrader brokers to use this facility as a means of sharing information with clients of other brokers, to the detriment of each other’s interest.

Will clients of one broker sharing information about better spreads in order to attract a client of another broker? Or will an IB use it to introduce clients to the brokerage with whom he has a partnership by accessing another broker’s client base via MQL5 chat? There are many interesting ways in which this new innovation could adapt the dynamic of the mobile trading world.

On this issue, Gaies Chreis, COO of MetaQuotes Software Corporation, explained: “No third-party brokers have access to traders. Only those who know specific MetaQuotes IDs can send messages from their terminals via Alerts or Expert Advisors using the SendNotification function.”

“Traders can arrange chat conversations with each other using MQL5.community logins. In this case, you do not have to know your interlocutor’s MetaQuotes ID. Soon the brokers will be able to use MetaTrader 5 Manager to send personal messages to traders who specified their MetaQuotes IDs. It is impossible to send notifications without knowing MetaQuotes ID and using our services. If anyone tries to send spam or ads, the access will be blocked”.

Other upgrades include support for background mode, meaning that when the application is closed, it switches to background mode which saves the current operating state. Users also can view a simplified account summary, and the messaging has been upgraded to include an audio signal alert when a push notification is received. This can be enabled or disabled via notification settings, rather like SMS notification audible alerts.

Two new languages have been added as part of the ongoing localization. In this case, they are Polish and Czech.

The forex industry’s concentration on the various methods of social interaction between traders continues among software houses, signal providers and brokers alike. Certainly this particular facility could have a major effect on the way business is conducted between groups of traders due to its practicality and constant availability as a mobile platform and its ability to connect all traders worldwide regardless of brokerage.