It’s said that money makes the world go round but it’s time that keeps the financial world spinning. In today’s tech-filled world, time has become an important commodity in finance. With consumers wanting everything “on-demand,” financial institutions have had to react accordingly. Interestingly, banks weren’t the first institutions to embrace the financial sector’s 24/7 revolution. Before consumers were introduced to a host of novel innovations, traders were getting access to financial markets at all times of the day or night.
24/7 Access Opens up Trading
Thanks to the advent of online trading sites in the early oughts, investing in stocks, commodities, and forex became a 24/7 activity. The advent of round the clock trading has had the biggest effect on forex trading. Although it’s always been a 24/7 pursuit, access in the pre-internet trading days was tricky. In practice, market opening times vary between regions:
- London: 3 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon)
- New York: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sydney: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. (midnight)
- Tokyo: 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.
In the old days, this basically meant that getting access to exchanges located outside of your local region required time on the phone. Given the dynamic nature of forex markets, this system wasn’t ideal as there were often delays in getting information and executing trades. Today, anyone can trade in any market at any time.
For example, anyone that wants information on forex trading in USA markets can go online and call up a wealth of data. From the latest spreads and margins to price points, online trading sites are setup to provide instant access to copious amounts of data. In fact, it’s not just the ability to find information that’s made 24/7 forex trading possible. To ensure business runs smoothly for everyone, brokers allow traders to hold overnight positions.
This basically means they can keep a position open even if the market has closed for the day. Although a fee is charged to cover the money that’s effectively been loaned to the trader in order to open the position, the system allows people to make investments at any time and in any time zone. From these types of innovations, banks have followed suit in recent years. Today, everyone can manage their money whenever and wherever they want. Of course, we all know about banking apps but the changes run deeper than that.
Financial Frameworks Make On-Demand Banking Possible
In the same way that forex brokers allow overnight funding, banks have built a framework around their apps. In practice, this means customers benefit from 24/7 support and security services. To reduce costs, technology has been brought into the mix. Customer support chatbot systems can now take the place of humans and answer basic questions at times when no one wants to work. The same goes for artificial intelligence (AI) security technology in banking. Computers can now monitor and analyze internet activity and, in turn, prevent attacks.
Put simply, banking as an industry has evolved. Everything from personal access to the structures around B2C services have opened up the market in the same way they did for traders. That’s not only a testament to the power of modern technology but the way the world has changed. The on-demand culture has reshaped every type of industry and, as more innovations come to light, it will continue to shape what we expect from the financial institutions.
